A week and a half into work and things are going great!! I can't believe I've only been here for 10 days, as I already feel so comfortable with all the other leaders in training. The first week consisted of basic orientation to SAGA, Alaska, outdoor living, and lots of team building activities, including a ropes course which is always fun. I really am enjoying getting to know all the other leaders out here.
My home is on the far left and thanks to some good investments in gear, I'm staying warm through the night!! :)
This is our wall tent. There are 8 of us that cook and eat in here. We got the crappiest tent that shrunk over the years so its WAY too small. We call our team the hobbits and this is our Shire.
Everyone one is super fun and interesting to get to know. One of my biggest fears of coming out here to do this work was that I was under qualified since I've never done this kind of work before. That fear has been put to ease, as the level of experience that my co-leaders have varies from none to lots. I am definitely not the only person without trail building experience and I am confident that SAGA will train me well to do whatever is required. I am excited to learn!!
This week we started our Wilderness First Responder Course. I really really love learning about how to take care of others in backcountry settings. I can't believe that I've done what I have in the backcountry without this knowledge in the past. We have a great teacher named Lucy who will continue to teach us all through next week. Yesterday I got to ride in a stretcher all wrapped up in a hypothermia wrap so that was quite fun! I really hope I don't have to use any of these skills this summer but if anything happens, at least I'll be more prepared.
Last weekend I hiked to Herbert Glacier. It seriously took my breath away. It was the bluest, clearest glacier I've ever seen. We wanted to get closer but unfortunatly there was a big uncrossable river that prevented a hike closer but we still had a fabulous view.
A close up of Herbert Glacier
This is the closest we could get to the glacier. It was so amazing!!
Where we are all camping is just a 5 minute walk to the beach. It is so much fun to go on a walk and watch the sea lions swimming in the sunset. We hunt in the tide poles for sea creatures and so far I've seen some really cool anemones, star fish, rock fish, and hermit crabs. We even got to eat some bladderrock, a sea kelp, and one night made soup with it!
The amazing view from just a few minutes from camp
Yummy bladder rack!!
As you can tell from the pictures, the weather is quite rainy and snowy. We are all getting used to it quite quickly because if you let it get you down, you'll be down a lot! I actually find it to be quite refreshing and makes me feel really alive. It also helps you to appreciate the sunny days so much more! There haven't been any signs of bears yet but they might be coming out soon. This has been an unusally warm winter so they might come out earlier than normal. Oh! I forgot to mention the bald eagles- they are EVERYWHERE! Today I got the closest I've ever been to one, it was just 20 feet away from me, swooping to the ground to steal some food from the parking lot floor. They are so amazing and HUGE! There are also lots of ravens here and I love to listen to their variety of calls.
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