Post 2

I worked my first week for the Forest Service last week.  Already it all seems a blur and as if I have been here for months, not weeks.  For my first day I stocked up on food and essentials (mostly coffee) in Truckee, which is the main town I will be working in, and headed to the Ranger Station.  The building itself looked fairly new and seemed to be a combination of large rustic wood beams and large windows.  The Ranger Station was built above the town on a bluff that overlooked the railway in the valley and was in sightline of mountains to the south.  I would come to find out that the braided lines of snow on the mountains were the Northstar ski resort, which is apparently fairly famous among skiers. 

The learning curve in my department (Recreation) is just about as steep as the mountains that surround the town.  My department oversees the management of the non-motorized vehicle trails on the East side of the Tahoe National Forest.  On my first day in town I met my supervisor and was introduced to the office.  On first impression, it seemed like everyone was very friendly and happy to have me on the team.  It was immediately obvious to me that I was going to have to hit the ground running by knowing different projects that were on going and the locations that the projects targeted.  The office seemed to be about half full, which was a result of the summer season not yet starting and people being out of the office and working in the field.  After the initial introductions and the blur of faces and names that comes with starting a new job, I followed my supervisor, Joe, and our trail expert, Bob, to Sierraville.  I was going to be staying in the Sierraville barracks, about 25 miles from town, since a water pipe had burst at the barracks closest to Truckee.  The drive down to Sierraville was my first close look at the ecology of the northern Sierra Nevadas.  Being from Washington State, I am used to everything outside being green year round.  But, here the ground is usually barren or covered with brown underbrush since the area is so dry and cold.  There was snowpack still on the ground making the landscape the perfect alpine mix of snow and trees. 

The road dropped into a couple valleys, following the Little Truckee River that appeared to be the idyllic Wild West river that I thought only existed in the movies.  Later, one of my coworkers told me that you can still buy prospecting equipment from the local outdoor equipment stores and pan for gold in the local rivers.  If was able to grow the requisite mountain man beard, I might consider it.  I have a feeling that the venture would be just about as successful now as it was during the Gold Rush.  Although I can see why the myths told of mountains of gold; the lands around me brim with beauty and adventure.

The town of Sierraville consists of the Forest Service Ranger Station, a California Transit office, the gas station, and the Mexican restaurant.  I heard that Sierra County, which is where Sierraville is located, is the only county in California that doesn’t have any stoplights or golf courses.  An interesting claim, to be sure.  What the town lacks in local development, it more than compensates in locale: the town is nestled in a wide snow covered valley.  The valley is blanketed with long grasses, mixing browns and greens with the blues of nearby small creeks.  I have also heard that there is hot springs nearby replete with warm pools and scantily clad old men. 

Most of the trails that I will be coordinating maintenance on still have a large amount of snow on them and so they are still closed to the public.  This also prevents the employees of our department from working on the trails.  For now, most of my time in the office consists of learning the names of places that I haven’t been, which is like hearing the myths and tales of the wondrous beauty of an exotic place.  But, unlike tales of far off places, I will see the mountains and wildflowers and streams foretold. 

The work itself is pretty light so far since most of the trails are closed.  Most days are filled with planning and coordinating future volunteer projects for the variety of trails.  I have met with numerous non-profits and other organizations that our department is partnered with to manage the trails.  Not knowing the area or the trails makes understanding all of the conversations difficult to follow, but I pick up what I can.  Once I get out into the field and start working I am sure to be an expert. 

“The frontiers are not east or west, north or south, but wherever a man ‘fronts’ a fact.”

-Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.