I've been absent from my journal for a few weeks and rightfully so...ever since I went back out on the fire line after getting my wisdom teeth pulled I've been pretty damned busy. A lot has happened in the past few weeks. It's a funny thing how God answers your prayers...then again, it could've been God's will all along versus a desire you had wished He carried out but that's a philosophical debate for another post. After a typical Bevans-style debacle I got my passport in the mail and had stopped by the house long enough to grab the envelope and head back out while on our way to another fire in Ketchum (Sun Valley), ID. I got word that I had been PQed (physically qualified) for deployment to Antarctica which only leaves my airline tickets being issued sometime in the next couple of weeks. More and more, the still unbelievable is becoming a reality: I'm heading to Antarctica to work as a firefighter. The closer I get to October 6th, the more realistic this concept is becoming.
The fire season has been going pretty well. I had spent 3 August till 21 August working on the Cascade Complex Fire. Since this is all still somewhat new to me (wildland firefighting...west coast wildland firefighting at that) just being there was pretty exciting. That excitement, however, dwindle to a boring tone of monotony as we patrolled the same 3 to 4 mile stretch of road for a couple weeks. You run out of fires to mop up after about a week or so. We left Cascade to stop in Boise for a bit before heading to the Castle Rock Fire in Ketchum, ID. Things here have been a little more exciting. The first day was spent checking into the fire. I had heard about Sun Valley from a friend of mine back in Boise so I wasn't surprised to see an Ashburn-like community here in Idaho. Here liveth some pretty ritzy people if you ask me. The fire itself was situated in the Sawtooth National Forest and our Incident Command Post and fire camp were located in the lodges and parking lots of the Sun Valley Ski Resort. Lot's of money in this town let me tell you. The next day was spent a few miles north of Ketchum on a division deep into the forest. A typical day: laying line down, mopping up the fires edge, checking for spot fires, etc. Because it took us an hour to get to our division we decided to stay there for 3 nights at a time. Well, by the 4th day, the fire had made it to the ridge overlooking the valley in which we were situated. In a moment of sheer amazement, the fire blew up with such force that it started to back down into the valley. Without hesitation we heeded orders to haul ass off the mountain. The next day we were designed to a division at the very top of the ski resort (Elevation: 9010 feet). On top of the amazing views, 45 mph winds and 20 foot flame lengths made the day pretty fun. We've been spending the past couple of nights sleeping in the restaurant here on top of the ski resort. On top of all of all this, a few things have happened. All throughout the season I have been thinking of where I'll end up next season. I decided to narrow down my choices to Southern Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. The climber in me (which often speaks with the loudest voice) wants to work in Cedar City, UT several miles north of Zion National Park. Like usual, when I hear of a city such as Cedar City, I tend to investigate it out of curiosity and intrigue. While on the Cascade Complex, I met Randy Turrill, the head supervisor for Cedar City BLM. I asked him about working in Cedar City and on top of giving me information on the city, he gave me his card, as well as the information for the supervisors of Cedar City Hotshots and Zion National Park Heliattack (shut my mouth!). He wanted to offer me a job if I were to call him in November and he stated how he'd gladly act as a reference if I were to apply to either 3. Now, while here at the Castle Rock fire, I happened to meet Matthew Ott, the manager for the East Everglades National Park fire crews. It just so happens that he knows most of the park service supervisors and stated that I was "guaranteed a job" if I used him as a reference to work for Zion N.P. heliattack. My division sup. works for Maryland DNR and one of the other firefighters works at a trailer shop and knows of a few Airstream trailers he can hook me up with. I love this line of work!
As life goes, summer is drawing to a close. I have 6 days left in this tour which means I should be home on the evening of 2 September. I head back out either the 4th or the 5th only to be back in Boise on the 13th and D.C. bound no later than the 15th. Asides from a stop in Seneca Rocks, WV to climb with Mr. Dan Hovanec, I should be back in town in time for duty crew on the 19th. I'm so excited. I miss everyone back home. I also can't wait to start counting down to the day I leave for the Ice. Antarctica is beckoning me and I have a few days before I can heed it's call.
I've also been reading a lot more the past few weeks. I finished reading Young Men and Fire which left me pondering the concept of death as well as giving me an affinity for modern day fire behavior predictions and the forest service all together. When I finished Young Men and Fire, I picked up a book called High Infatuation about a girl who left the collegiate life of University of Maryland to pursue a life and career of climbing as well as dealing with the personal daemons most people such as her self deal with in that life. From there I read Antarctica: Heaven and Hell on Earth which tells of Reinhold Messner's 1990 journey across the continent from the Argentina side, across the South Pole, to the New Zealand side. That particular book left me pumped for my adventure to come as well as interested in cross country skiing and winter mountaineering and backpacking. I'm now reading a book called North to the Night. It's about a man and a woman who sail into the depths of the Canadian Arctic with intentions to be frozen in and survive a winter. When the wife is forced to leave for a family emergency, the husband is left with their pet cat as their only companion to wait out and survive the Arctic winter. This book has inspired me to learn as much as possible about the Inuit and spending time in Canada to appreciate it's true beauty to the fullest. With 60 pages left in the book and 6 days left on this fire, I'm going to need something else to pass my time.
All and all, the past couple of weeks have been an amazing experience. I pray to God every day and I'm appreciative for ever experience I gain and ever person I come across. Have fun throughout your days as well and be safe. I'll see you when I see you.
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