Lake Skinner

I am starting to get back into a rhythm. I had a feeling this would happen, but I had to be patient. I have certainly learned to be patient over these almost-11 months, and it was just a matter of time that I got into a rhythm. Having the rhythm makes the days go by faster, and today, after a decent night’s sleep (I got up twice during the evening), I started my day just like on Monday. There is an interesting phenomenon that I have experienced while getting up in the morning to exercise. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t spring out of bed and start exercising. I still debate with myself on whether or not I should stay in bed. This doesn’t last very long because I know if I stay in bed I will only sleep another 45 minutes or, instead of sleeping, I would just lie there and feel guilty. Even though I technically “know better”, I still go through the debate every morning. After getting out of bed, I try to talk myself into only doing an hour workout; however, half way into the workout, I start to feel very good, and the next thing I know I have worked out for 1-1/2 hours. This is exactly what happened this morning. I did the pushup/burpee routine Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, doing 450 burpees equaling 1400 pushups. I have found a flat part on the grass where I have now worn away the grass while doing the routine. I guess I have left my “mark” on this area.

In spite of my little debate every morning, I do enjoy starting my day this way. The early morning is very cool, and I have to start out wearing a long sleeved shirt. About one quarter of the way into the routine, I shed the long sleeved shirt for my tee shirt. This routine continues to provide a very good muscular-cardio workout. I do have the opportunity to now lift regular weights, but I am very happy with this routine. I may change up in the coming months and make my way over to the weight pile, but for the time being, I will continue with the burpee/pushup routine. My workout ended in the 90-minute timeframe, and it was time for my first shower of the day. Taking 2 showers are part of my daily routine. The shower was over, and it was on to breakfast. The rhythm of the day is essentially the same for breakfast every day. I had the hot cereal, and my friend received my eggs. In addition to the hot cereals were biscuits and potatoes. The biscuits are delicious, and I really don’t want to know how they are made because I probably wouldn’t eat them. The potatoes are usually very tasty and are made differently everyday. Today, they were diced and baked. The potatoes were, in fact, delicious.

Breakfast was over, and I returned to my room to put on my boots. Yesterday, I wore my boots with gel inserts, and my toes felt like they were smashed. I took out the inserts and immediately felt a sense of relief in my toes. Last week, I developed blisters on my ankles, but now these blisters have turned to calluses. Even my feet are adapting to the situation. Once my boots were on, I went outside to fill up my CamelBak with ice and water. From there, my friend and I walked outside for the work call. Once the work call was announced, we headed for the fire bus. We boarded after checking out with the C/O and receiving our assignment. We were headed for Lake Skinner, which is a lake 10 miles from where my crimes were committed. I have heard a great deal about this lake from previous coworkers, and ironically, this past weekend was the annual Wine and Balloon Festival that was once sponsored by a previous employer. Now, here I was going there to clean up burnt ashes so they wouldn’t seep into the water supply.

The drive to the lake took about an hour, and once we arrived, the captain and two park rangers gave us more specifics. There was a burn pile which was about ¼ of a mile to a dumpster. This was another dirty job because it was like loading charcoal. The ash was black and got all over my clothing, gloves, and face. My friend looked like he was auditioning for a part in a movie to play Al Jolson! The project took until lunchtime, and hauling the 50-pound sacks the ¼ mile to the dumpsters was not exactly easy. My friend, myself, and another crew member seemed to do the bulk of the hauling. This was a very good workout. This job is not short of physical labor. I am in good shape, but the lifting of the bags was, indeed, challenging for me. I did my fair share and kept up with the bigger boys.

All of the ash was hauled to the dumpsters. I almost forgot to mention we had to wear bee netting over our faces. This was not for bees but for the thousands of mosquitoes. I have never worn a bee hat and looked very funny. My friend has mentioned several times we need a video camera because some of the stuff we do is very funny and only pictures will do it justice. Let me try and paint a picture; I wear orange pants, orange long-sleeved shirt, gray gloves, blue ball cap, and a white bee net over my face. Here I am lugging a 50-pound bag of ash over my shoulder with the ash getting all over me. In these past two days, I have become one with the outdoors, and I suspect all my days for the next nine months will be like this. This continues to be a good lesson for me, and I need recovery/GA in my life so I never have to go through this again. In 41 years, I have never been an outdoor person, but over the past two weeks, I am quickly learning.

Part one of our assignment was over, and we went to a nearby picnic area for lunch. Everyone on the crew participated in the “spread”. A “spread” is a prison stew complete with several soups, rice, beans, meat, and other food items. I gave two soups, a bag of beans, and a bag of tortillas. I did pass on eating the spread, and my friend had my serving. It really is quite impressive as to how this is made. All of the ingredients are dumped into a large plastic bag, and then boiling water is added. This mix then sits for the next two hours until lunchtime. Each person takes their share and eats it by itself, on bread, or on a tortilla. I stuck with PB&J sandwiches.

After lunch, part of the crew participated in a touch football game. I stayed on the sidelines with the over-40 crowd watching the game. My friend surprised me and did participate. He did take himself out after a few plays because his hamstrings were tightening up. He likes to have a good time and is quite the comedian. He is the life of the party. When he came out, he laid on one of the picnic tables, but his mouth was in working order. He didn’t stop talking the whole time. Even the captain was laughing at him. He is a good guy, and I am blessed even in a place like this to have him in my life.

The football famed ended just as a fire call came in. We hurried onto the bus and were off to the fire call. We must be ready once the bus reaches the fire, so we are required to put on our fire protective clothing while en route. The pants go over my regular pants, but I have to change out shirts. This takes no time, and I was ready within a minute. We were on the road for five minutes, and then the bus slowed down. We were cancelled. There wouldn’t be a fire fight today. We could have been cancelled due to a false alarm or they had enough crews. I don’t know which one, but we were now going to the second part of our assignment. This was quite simple. The two crew members who operate the chainsaws had to cut out tamarisk (brush which draws the water table) and the two park rangers would follow them spraying plant killer. Our job was to make pile of the cut tamarisk. This took no time, and our day was done.

The captain took the scenic route back to the camp, and I saw parts of an area that I have never seen in my five years of living very close to this area. I could not believe the amount of undeveloped land around. Yes, some of the land is very steep and rocky, but the residential boom hasn’t ever come close to the area. I lived not far from this area, and it seemed like I was a million miles away.

We arrived back into camp a few minutes before the official 4:30 p.m. check-in. We were allowed to go into the camp, and this gave us a head start on the showers from the other crews. First, I had to pick up my clean clothes, and then it was off to my second shower of the day. Once again, I was in need of a shower due the filth surrounding my body. My body has never been this consistently dirty on a daily basis, and (this may sound disgusting-sorry) my nose blew only black particles. I do feel like a coal miner. The shower was a welcome relief, and once again, I had 30 minutes to relax before dinner. This 30 minutes disappeared in the blink of an eye, and my friend and I were off to dinner.

Tonight was the camp’s version of Mexican food. This was better than anything we had been served at Jamestown. The main entrée was chicken fajitas, which I passed on, but the Mexican rice and beans along with the homemade salsa were delicious. The food is quite good here, and I do get my fair share of rice and beans. Just before dinner, I ran into one of the cooks (not the two I know fairly well but another one), and he asked if I ate the spaghetti sauce last night. I told him no because I wasn’t sure if there was meat in it or not. He then said that there wasn’t any meat in it, and he had some leftovers if I wanted any. This was so nice because, please remember, I have not asked for anything special, yet the cooks have gone out of their way to ensure I am getting enough food. I was so impressed with them and genuinely touched.

Dinner was over, and I was full. I went back to my room where I spent the entire evening writing. I have much less time to write during the week than I have ever had along this almost 11-month journey. This is a good thing because I am out and about all day doing something. As I was writing last night, an interesting event started to happen. We (my friend mostly and I ) had a steady stream of visitors in our room. My friend was tired from the day (especially the touch football game) and had lain down very early underneath the covers. There must have been six crew members who stopped by and asked me if my friend was alright. I answered them that he was fine and just tired. I do know these visitors are due to my friend, and I certainly don’t mind the diversion. The night passed by very quickly, and the rhythm of the day continued as I went to sleep at my regular bedtime hour.