Personal Journal Entry, June 5, 2010

For those who care, I hiked in along the Roaring Fork trail in Medicine Bow National Forest. GPS location of camp: projection 13, datum NAD83: 462584, 4683912

Some of the references: I worked in the Sierra Nevada in 2003, 2005, 2006. I hiked in Sequioa National Park in 2006, in Crater Lake National Park in 2005. SEKI refers to Sequioa-Kings Canyon National Parks. CT refers to the Colorado Trail, a 200 mile hike I did in August 2004. Errors are as they are written in the journal. Pictures represent a break/change in my thought pattern.

5 June 2010

Medicine Bow National Forest
north of Laramie Peak

I. Love. My. Job! In spite of the some of the long days I've had here - only because of the driving - I can't believe I get paid for this!

The point counts in Medicine Bow are a bit more exciting and scenic than the grasslands. For one, there is more topography! I love these mountains! I'm reminded of so many places the past few days. The Sierra Nevada. The southern cascades. Crater Lake National Park. The Rockies in Colorado.

I especially feel a kinship to my trips through Sequoia National Park and Crater Lake National Park. I have a cozy campfire going, for one. The formations of rock and the riparian areas for two and three.

And the lack of human sounds. On the hike here, I would see the dirt tracks of old forest roads - but it is hard to tell if they are even in use. I've been at camp for near 5 hours - and I have just sat and relaxed. A little like SEKI, but I'm not in as gorgeous scenery. But I can't always be.

I've been reflecting on the past year or so, and all the places I've been, and the people I've met. It has been an incredible time! I think of the wonderful people in NZ during my tramps, especially the group my age at the first hut in Nelson Lakes, and what a comfort that hut was. The couple in the second hut (hopeless). Mason Bay hut and all the folks. The Rakiura Track. Some of the hostel folks. My coworkers in Australia. Maine and Adrienne and the gang from Maine Coastal Islands NWR. Missouri. Costa Rica and all the different guests. Panama.

Wow.

And here - wow again. the hike today, though gruelling in the first stretch, was great. To think that I had to hike for work is incredible. The transect isn't overly remote - but I can feel my body really beginning to "chillax" and sort thru things mentally. I have no book to distract me, the camp chores got done in their time. And I'm just waiting for the sun to set enough, but in the meantime I'm enjoying my little fire.

Perfect. No other word describes this moment as adequately as that.

The only thing I do miss is the right company. During the hike, I thought of people in my past. The only perfect hiking partners I've had were Dave Rios and Jacob Cowan from my WIFL work in 2003 (wow? was it really that long ago?).

Jacob by far was as perfect a packing partner as I could have asked for. Right pace. Great guy to work with. Relaxed like me about the bird work (I'm not sure if that's the right way to put it, but anyway - )

Dave was fun too, if only for catching dinner. It's hard to describe just what was perfect about all that - conversations? Appreciation of everything outside?

The scenery of this job, and the terrain, are different (of course) of anything else I've had, work or otherwise. The rock faces are steep, but don't seem as bad as the Sierra Nevada. They seem more "rounded." But, the areas I've driven through recently have had a lot of glacier erratics - it's a different scene from what I recall from Yosemite and areas.

I even feel at times like areas are similar to those long-ago trips to the thousand islands. Of course, these riparian environs are way different from there. And I know now, of course, all the birds by song. Which I realize now is giving me a better understanding of the biology/ecology of these areas.
Today I got one of the best looks, or perhaps the best look, at Red Crossbills. Sometimes, just watching birds "do their thing" is fun. And I know that is why I enjoy guiding so much. Many a time I could give someone that moment, plus the thrill of having someone get a new bird because of me is exciting.
Sometimes I amaze myself and the amount of bird calls and songs I know. I can hear just a smidgen of a song, or a single call, and I can identify to species 90%+ of the time. I can even do this in the areas of Costa Rica I've frequented. It's hard to believe - and yet I still keep learning more.

I got to thinking the other day of what my top wilderness experiences were. In no particular order:

-Dive on great barrier reef. Fish in front of my eyes. Up close and real! Hearing and seeing terns by the hundred in a colony, as well as diving in the water. Nothing has topped all that.

-Karori wildlife sanctuary. Only for being able to see so much native NZ bird life. And somewhat close as well.

-My first bear encounter. Only for the fear/realization that I wasn't tops on the food chain. And because I had never seen a bear in the wild. And I was alone.

-My bear encounter with Jacob.

-My entire trip to Ecuador. I wasn't doing "serious" listing yet. Ecuador started it.

-The first day in Ecuador. Seeing an antpitta, and having no idea what it was. Seeing the trogon on the trail. Priceless. I knew then I was in a whole new environment.

-Coyotes in Mexico.

-Kangaroos at Wallaby Creek.
My favorite spots/moments:
-Columbine Lake, SEKI
-Lightning Spring (?), Crater Lake National Park
-[removed for personal reasons]
-the view from the areas near bowers 27 and 33 [above picture]
-this moment in Medicine Bow
-Edge of Lost Creek Wilderness, CO
-First look at a Jocotoco Antpitta
-First look at a toucan
-Triple life birds in 5 seconds: Aracari, Chachalaca, and Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan. All close enough for photos.
-coming along the pass on the CT near Copper Mountain. The moment when I knew the hill was done.
-New Years Eve 2009 - New Years Day 2010.