National Park Service Fire and Aviation Blog

September 18th, 2010

2010-09-22T00:23:00.001-06:00

I’m back home in California. It was hard to pack up and check out on the 15th. I checked my radio, GPS and other gear back in. I cleaned out my PG bag and turned it back in. I stuffed all my jump gear into my packout bag and left it on a shelf in the basement, with the faint hope that next spring I can return and refresh- which would open the door to coming back for a couple of weeks to jump if it got busy. But I have no illusions about ever jumping again. My job back at the park usually keeps me very busy during the summer. I’m glad the last couple of weeks have been cold and wet. I’d gone hiking with some friends last weekend and off trail I dug into a log to find it wet pretty much all the way through. The duff and litter in the sun was drying out but in shaded areas, it was still very damp. It’d be harder to leave if it were hot and dry and still busy. But once I knew the date I’d be travelling back, I started looking forward to it. My wife and son have made a paper chain and each morning he pulls one link off and can thus visualize how long it will be until I’m home. He’s got a photo of me in my jump gear in front of the Sherpa at the top of the chain. I’ve sent him several post cards from the smokejumper visitor center which he has up in his room. I’ve got an autographed coloring book that one of the smokejumpers did, and a book about smoke jumping that one of the featured smokejumpers autographed.

Over the last month I’ve been thinking about the detail and in particular this blog as the end has loomed. One objective of this blog was to document those “aha!” moments where I’ve learned something, an idea is born or some clarity is gained. I’ve been waiting (and perhaps some of you as well?) for some epiphany or at least some deep, insightful moment and in some ways have been feeling pressure to justify the time and effort of so many that have contributed to the detail. But while I’ve certainly felt myself at a heightened level of introspection- in part because of the blog, and have forced myself to be a conscious and dedicated observer, I can’t identify one particular moment or instance in which the clouds have parted and rays of light have illuminated some sacred chalice (Indiana Jones has it easy). The obvious (or perhaps cynical) explanation is that I’m a bit dense. I, however, choose to disregard the obvious in favor of a more complex, or plodding model of learning, that of processing and gradually working out some insights. Much like rookie training, I suspect (and hope) that as I continue to ruminate on the experiences I’ve had this summer, my ideas about what happened to and around me will change. It may sound lame but I do believe that the true lessons of this summer won’t be obvious for years to come.

That being said, there are a few observations I’ve made. On a personal level, I’m physically and mentally stronger than before. I’ve learned that I have the ability to push myself much further than I’d thought possible. I like the new level of fitness and hope to maintain a higher level of intensity than I’ve trained with before. I hope I’ve matured in my people skills- I think I’m going to be a better team player now that I’ve learned to look closer at what each person brings to the team.

On a professional level the summer has reinforced the excellent training I’ve received at Yosemite and thus I’ve got more confidence in my firefighting skills. I will miss cutting line. There is something visceral about taking action and I can see why fire suppression can be a default option in this age of fire management. Given the complex, dynamic and committing nature of wildland fire, it was easy for me to put my head down and work.

I’ve thought about the impacts of firefighting and have observed a few weaknesses in our ability to manage fire while thinking about resource issues. The summer has reinforced my belief that by becoming a workforce of specialists we are losing touch with some level of opportunity to manage for our resources. Fire is the greatest tool we have for managing so many resources on a landscape level and as fewer resource managers have “firefighting” experience, it is becoming harder to truly evaluate impacts and benefits- even if the situation allows us to do so. I understand why fire managers want concise, simplified direction and are often frustrated by the complex nature of the “if-then” information provided to them. For example, it would be easier to have someone say “Don’t cut snags” than to have someone say, “If it is late in the summer after the fledglings have fledged, then please retain snags of this species over this diameter in size.” Resource issues rarely have straight-forward answers. That is exactly why the Resource Advisor position is challenging- having to bridge both sets of knowledge.

Is it realistic to ask people to carry out the heavy tools that are needed to put out some of these fires? Are we willing to accept the helicopter impacts to wilderness? I think we should be. If we are committing to putting out these fires, do resource managers really know what impacts they’re accepting? Is it more environmentally sound to burn the cardboard, fuel and plastic out on a fire than to ask for a helicopter to sling it back in? I certainly don’t have answers to these questions. While the three fires I was on this summer were (probably-due to the steep slopes) low probability for archeological sites, we did find an old horseshoe on one that might have been associated with historic logging. The more remote nature of smokejumper fires means that it is less likely (though not impossible) to get archeologists or other resource managers out there. Would it be worth it? Would it be worth providing jumpers with some of the information necessary to do a rough survey or at least recognize resource issues? Again, I certainly don’t have absolute answers to these questions.

For the jump program, I hope that I might be able to provide a bit of an “outside” perspective. As I’ve talked about earlier, the original impetus of the jumper program was to put firefighters on a fire quickly so that they could put it out smaller and quicker. I’m not sure if that perception of when to order and how to use jumpers has changed which means that to some degree, when jumpers are ordered, the decision about how a fire is going to be managed may already have been made. I can only speak for the Region 1 jumpers but I was certainly impressed with the depth and versatility that the jumpers bring to a fire and, especially on the smaller fires, there could be more active or creative management of fire. Perhaps the jump program could figure out, or invent, and then be- the next manifestation of the “Fire Use Module”? As I mentioned earlier, one challenge is going to be getting fire managers used to using or “trusting” the qualifications of someone out on the ground that they’ve never worked with or met, for something as committing as long-term management of a fire.

So here we are. My 120 days of smoke jumping are coming to a close. There too many people I need to thank for helping to make this possible, for contributing time and energy and for mental, spiritual or even physical support. There are leaders I’ve tried to emulate, those whose astute suggestions I’ve trusted, and those whose footsteps I’ve followed. I’ve tried to publicly recognize people along the way. I’ve tried to privately and in person thank many as well. If I have inadvertently missed anyone, I do apologize. I’d also like to extend my appreciation to those of you that have followed the blog. I have tried to make it interesting and perhaps informative. I’m not sure if I’ll continue to update it or what form it might wind up taking, but thanks for reading along!

I do have to thank the National Park Service Fire and Aviation, Wildland Fire Training Program for financially and spiritually supporting this detail. Although supporting an archeologist (even a fire archeologist) seemed like a stretch, I hope to demonstrate the value of the detail through my strengthened commitment to fire management in the NPS.

I must also express my heartfelt appreciation to the National Park Foundation, Albright-Wirth Grant program whose grant helped to defer my travel costs. This grant and support has reaffirmed my belief in the NPS “family”, and the ideal that investing in an employee can yield both personal and agency dividends.
To that end, I hope to continue to grow and learn from the experience and I am committed to supporting both the NPS mission and the smokejumper program by sharing my positive experience. I fully expect that a great deal of what I have learned will show up in the Resource Advisor curriculum, and I hope to present a paper at the George Wright Society meetings in New Orleans next year.

I have no illusions about being able to come back and fall from the sky towards a fire. I will try. But again, I have no illusions. While I am proud to have made it through rookie training and to have jumped a few fires, I am filled with humility when I think of those that return year after year, committing to, and upholding the traditions and ideals of 70 years of smokejumping.

To the Region 1 Smokejumpers: I hope to see and work with all of you again. Until then, I’d like to express my undying gratitude to you all. Thank you for taking a chance on an old(er) archeologist. Thank you for giving up your time and energy to pass along your experience, to train and to teach me. Thank you for pushing me to be more than I was, and thank you (especially my rookie bros!) for pulling me up when I fell behind. Thank you for sharing your humor, your coffee, your ice cream, your SPAM and your friendship. I hope that one day I can return the favor. And I hope that every day I can make you proud to say, “he was a R-1 rookie”!

September 14th, 2010

2010-09-22T00:18:00.003-06:00

There is a historic ranger station, airstrip and homestead out at Moose Creek which the wilderness manager is trying to get cleaned up. This morning we unloaded the DC-3 and put the door on to fly six of us out there to help load up a pile of old farm implements, scrap iron, pipes, and other garbage. We flew out to this wilderness station which apparently many private pilots fly into to camp and fish at. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the wilderness manager there had been a ranger on the Chilkoot Trail out of Skagway, Alaska when I had worked there!

I have to admit that the landing strip looked small from the air, tucked away in the trees. What a beautiful spot though! I don’t think I’d ever landed on a grass strip before but it was pretty smooth. We bounced once and then came rolling in, with the trees seemingly just feet off the wing tips (the strip is actually plenty wide- it just seems close).

We loaded up about 5500 pounds (by hand!), which still left several loads but some of it will have to come out by sling load under a large helicopter. Most of it is too big to be packed out by mule and we’ve already brought out several loads with the Sherpa. We’ve also helped out by bringing in several loads of material that they needed there. It’s nice to help get some of that stuff cleaned up and out of the woods. This trip was a good learning experience for me, watching as we approximated and tallied weights and distributed and packed the load in the plane. Although the DC-3 could probably handle more weight, it’s the awkwardness of the load that is the limiting factor. After netting and strapping down the load so it wouldn’t shift, we ate lunch, went for a quick tour of the ranger station and then loaded ourselves up to head out. Taking off fully loaded was interesting- it seemed like we used every foot of the strip! But, we took off with no shifting of the load and had a beautiful and uneventful flight back.

After getting back we unloaded everything, sending some of the scrap iron to recycling and I vacuumed out the floor of “the Doug”. This was a great last flight.

September 11th, 2010

2010-09-22T00:09:00.004-06:00

This morning one of the Alaska jumpers and I flew, with one of the pilots and a USFS Cessna, to the Polson, Montana Fly-in to be smokejumpers on display. We brought along stickers, pencils and whirly-birds for the kids, brochures for the adults, our jump gear, and a complement of cargo including a Pulaski, sleeping bag, an MRE, an assortment of freeze-dried foods, a 5-gallon cubie, and a cargo chute. One of the organizers is a former jumper, a jump ship pilot and a legend in his own time. I’d heard his name before and had met him briefly during rookie training. He treated us to breakfast and we set up near the plane, laying all our gear out. The Alaskan jumper, therefore on the BLM “square” chute, donned his gear and all three of us (the pilot) began handing out stickers, pencils and brochures while answering questions.

One thing that struck me very quickly was the number of former jumpers that came over to say hi, check out the gear and share stories. Apparently, back in the day they weren’t given parachutes or food. Rookie training was harder and smokejumpers were much better looking back then too. Seriously though, I do think that Rookie training might have been harder back then. And we are lucky to have the evolution and advances that we do with our gear and systems today.

The bulk of the questions surrounded what we jumped with, how we got the cargo, whether we jumped from the Cessna (we don’t any more but up until 10 years ago the Cessna was used to jump two jumpers and their gear), and surprisingly (but amusingly) why our rear ends look so big. Given space constraints in our PG bags, along with the padding built into our jump pants the Alaska jumper had a tent folded into his and I have a sleeping pad that is folded into mine. Some of the smaller kids were, I think, a bit intimidated by the jump suits (I also suited up) but enjoyed the whirly-birds and stickers immensely. We talked about what kinds of things we did for rookie training, what it was like to jump and how hard it was to carry all our gear out.

There was a 1928 Travel Aire model 6000 plane that used to be owned and flown by Johnson Flying Services and had carried jumpers. It had been beautifully restored, complete with wicker chairs and a small, toilet in the very back (I think I’d have to be pretty desperate to use it). There was also a small Czechoslovakian jet which screamed over the airport. I poked my head into the life flight helicopter and plane as well.

We managed to exhaust our supply of whirly birds and most of the stickers and pencils by the time we packed up to go. The flight there had been spectacular, even though we didn’t fly directly over the Missions, with clouds just above the mountains.

The flight back was also beautiful. What a great way to spend the day and I hope that one of those kids is intrigued by smokejumping enough to come for a tour at the base and get inspired!

August 26th-30th, 2010

2010-09-10T11:00:00.014-06:00

One of my rookie bros and I tried to go climbing after work on the evening of August 26th. There were high winds that day and it had been very dry. On the way out of town we got caught in traffic that apparently was slowed by a fire higher up on highway. We got to the base of the route and scoped it out but before we could start climbing we got a call from Operations saying that there had been a jump request for the following morning and could we come in at 0700. Given the late hour-we were on the fence about climbing anyway, we abandoned the idea of climbing and instead went and ate a good dinner. I was first on the load, followed by a seasoned veteran, a jumper that lives here in the barracks. I had met him early in the season- he had been kind and friendly and in our subsequent conversations revealed a fascinating life. I was looking forward to jumping with him. My rookie bro was towards the back of the load but because of the high winds and dry weather, along with the fact that the fire had been growing during the period of high winds, we thought that we’d be all jumping a larger fire together.

On August 27th, we suited up and flew about 20 minutes to the fire. We spotted multiple fires, a couple of which we reported while in route. We arrived at the smoke that we had originally been ordered for, the Copper Point Fire. Supposedly there were two smokes on the ridge we were looking at although we could see only one from the plane. The fire itself looked small so the spotter decided that only two of us would jump it and the rest of the load would go to the fires we were seeing across the drainage. We circled the fire looking for potential jump spots, including one in a fern-covered but steep avalanche chute right next to the fire before settling on a less steep and perhaps more open slope on the back side of the ridge. Having selected the jump spot and determined the wind, we got ready to jump.

I experienced an interesting moment. I turned back from the door where I’d been looking at the spot, swapped out the spotter helmet (with the microphone on it so I could talk with the spotter) and attached my PG bag. It started when my JP asked about how we were going to split the jump spot. I had to think for a moment about the larger picture of how the two of us would approach the jump spot. I roughly knew that since I was first out I’d be going “long” and would probably wind up taking the uphill part of the jump spot, which was longest up and down slope. But I realized that I was missing some part of the picture. Upon turning back to the door I found myself disoriented as to where the jump spot was. I think I had been so focused on the quality of the jump spot, hazards, and the specifics of what flight alleys would be available that I hadn’t made note of which direction we were travelling and the relation to the larger landmarks like the river. We got our briefing but I said to the spotter “I may need to see the jump spot again”! He said we were on a long final and pointed out the door. I looked out and did my best to orient myself, and thought I had it in sight. So, I nodded that I was ready to him. The slap came and I was out the door. I felt like I had a good exit with no twists. After opening, I saw my JP and we called to each other. I then started looking desperately for the spot. It took me a bit and I had actually started flying towards an open area further up slope but then spotted it (the streamers were right on the edge of it!) and realized that I was well on target for it, above it and lined up along the farthest edge of it. So, I turned and set up for final, holding almost full brakes and came in for a nice, gentle down slope roll. We landed about 30 yards apart, right by the streamers. In retrospect, my flight pattern and handling were good and I felt pretty good about my thought process as I dealt with the initial disorientation and felt good that I had verbalized my need to the spotter. This had been the first time I’d been actively engaged in choosing the jump spot-I made a mental note however, to always take in the big picture as well. Lesson learned.

Getting the briefing!

In the door!

We jumped the back side of the main ridge, and planned to hike up to the top of the peak and then down the other side to the fire along a spur ridge. I tried to radio the ship as soon as I was on the ground but my batteries were low (classic) so my JP contacted them. I swapped out batteries and contacted dispatch. The ship had dropped out our cargo on the edge of an open avalanche chute near the fire and was dropping the rest of the load on two smokes across the drainage from us. Their fires looked bigger and so we’d gotten the cross-cut saw while they got the chain saws.

Coming from the top, we were conscious of the potential for the fire to burn up towards us, especially since we couldn’t see the fire from down in the thick forest. We had seen the fire from the air, however and knew that it wasn’t putting out much smoke and hadn’t grown rapidly in the time we’d been looking at it. It was still fairly early in the morning and thus still cool with little wind on it. We knew that the jump ship was still up and had eyes on it as well. We hiked down to the fire, arriving at 1000 hours.

After doing a quick lap around it I called in a size-up and coordinates to dispatch. I called it about a tenth of an acre, creeping and smoldering in the duff and litter, and reported that the two of us could handle it. There was some good heat in several logs that were on the ground. Two (one possibly the strike tree?) had fallen up slope after burning and created fingers. Dispatch acknowledged our size-up and told us to take no action while they determined if the fire would be “allowed to burn for resource benefit”. This was very interesting to me since during our bushwhack down to the fire we’d both thought out loud that the area needed to burn to clear out some of the brush and dead-and-down. We immediately began thinking about how we might manage the fire instead of keeping it as small as possible.

National fire management policy allows for a wide range of responses to a given fire. Given weather conditions, fuels, availability of firefighting resources and values at risk, strategies and tactics when approaching a fire can fall along a spectrum. A fire in wilderness, for example, burning within the range of behavior that might have been seen historically in a fire-adapted ecosystem, and threatening no infrastructure, may simply be monitored. A fire that is burning actively on the edge of a subdivision, with hot and dry weather in the forecast, may need to be suppressed quickly and kept as small as possible especially if there are other fires burning in the area and firefighting resources are stretched thin. In many cases, the response may fall somewhere in the middle. A fire may be held or suppressed along the wilderness boundary, using natural boundaries such as a trail or lake, or even constructed handline, while being allowed to burn or herded up into the wilderness. Fire managers must weigh the benefits to the ecosystem of allowing fire to play its natural role against risk or impacts to other values. For example, a fire early on in the season burning with low to moderate fire behavior may be cleaning up forest duff and litter, thinning the trees and may actually lead to a healthier forest and habitat. But not putting out a fire means that it will be larger and thus harder to control later on when fuels dry out and burn more actively with less benefit. Economics play into the equation as well. In many of our National Forests, timber or grazing values must be included as values at risk. In many cases, putting out a fire quickly is cheaper than putting it out later when it is much larger, and the impacts to natural and cultural values at risk will be much greater as well. But putting out a fire, with all the cutting of snags, digging of handline, and stirring of the soil during mop-up, can cause more damage than the fire itself. Managing a fire by allowing it to grow can be a commitment to long-term management and means calculating, mitigating and accepting risk. What happens when a fire that is burning in wilderness escapes later because of a shift in the weather and burns into a subdivision. As you can imagine, accepting that responsibility is not something that is taken lightly, especially if you, as a line officer (Fire Management Officer, Park Superintendent, District Ranger etc.) have several fires burning at once, and cannot be on the ground to see the fire and surrounding fuels, or places (including trails, roads or natural barriers such as lakes or rock slides) where the fire can be held.

We began coming up with a plan. Given the fire behavior we were observing, the forecast (dropping temperatures, wetting rain within the next day or so), and potential holding options (the open avalanche chute to the south, the top of the ridge to the west, a trail to the north) we felt that we could hold the fire along these boundaries with a little careful ignition and minimal handline- although it probably wouldn’t make it there before the rain came. Then dispatch called back with orders to suppress the fire.

Here we were in that classic, age-old position of being the ground troops, seeing what we thought needed to happen and wishing “they” (the higher-up on the food chain) could see what we were seeing. “Someday when I’m in charge…” But there was no way for us to communicate all of our plans and what we were seeing to whomever was in charge, and we had no idea what other factors they were considering (they certainly had several other fires burning, some of which, as we heard on the radio, were already being managed for resource benefit). For example, I know that in Yosemite, we often put out lightning-caused fires in the wilderness because of concerns about impacts to air-quality.

“They” also had no idea who we were and what our qualifications to make those assessments or carry out the plan were. The smokejumpers are traditionally a suppression-oriented outfit, created specifically to get to and put out fires fast. As our understanding of fire ecology has grown, however, the jumpers are responding to that shifting objective by increasing their breadth of qualifications. I know that the rest of the load across the drainage offered to manage their fire for multiple objectives (including resource benefit) and mentioned to dispatch that one of them had Fire Effects Monitor (FEMO) qualifications. I’ve mentioned before that many of the jumpers I’ve met have prescribed burning or ignitions qualifications and travel back east on either end of the western fire season to help out with prescribed burning. But if I was being asked to trust a couple of folks I’d never met, without getting to see the fire, I’d probably be inclined to take the conservative strategy as well.

So, we said we’d use Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics and put the fire out. We got straight to work. We used our Pulaskis to pull in the most actively burning sections and then used the cross-cut saw to buck a round and the butt end out of one of the logs that had fallen uphill. There was a short section of it that was still burning and threatening to ignite the surrounding fuels outside the main fire. We used a small handsaw to cut back the brush so that we could get in and stop the fire underneath. We cold trailed much of the perimeter and pulled un-burned and cold-to-the-touch fuel outside the perimeter line which we scratched as needed. There were five small spot fires outside the main fire which we quickly lined. We dug cup trenches at the bottom of the fire to catch rolling material. We had halted the spread of the fire with very little effort but now turned to the dirty and more intensive work of mopping up-seeking and putting out every hotspot, stirring the cool soil into the hot ash. We found, to our great relief, that there was good, cold, damp soil not too far below the surface, and when rubbed into burning logs or mixed with the hot ash we could almost hear it hiss as it robbed the fire of its heat and oxygen.

Once we had secured the fire we hiked back up and over the ridge to retrieve our packout bags with our parachutes and jump gear. We found several elk trails which made the going much easier than it had been the first time over but it was still a pull to get up that hill. After resting for a short while we continued mopping up until it was time to set up camp. We got camp set up, checked on the fire once more and then sat down to cook dinner.

I awoke early the next morning to the sound of elk bugling nearby. We were on an elk highway, surrounded by elk beds and droppings, and they weren’t that far away as I could almost hear them breathing at the end of each call. After a few minutes of listening, I got up and got the fire going and boiled water. After breakfast we checked on the fire. There were several interior hotspots the CNA Crew (as my JP called it-stands for “Cool Night Air”) hadn’t gotten. They were under the large logs which were still hot and around roots which were harder to dig under. So, we stirred those. One of the spot fires was trying to creep a little as well.

We had talked briefly the day before to the district duty officer who had asked us to look for that second smoke reported on the ridge. Our jumpers on the fire across the drainage called and reported seeing the second smoke intermittently but below us so we began hiking down through the brush to look for it. They described the location relative to us and when there was a helicopter in the area, asked him to look for it. They verbally guided him into the area and we could see where he was hovering which helped. We split up to grid for it and my JP found it by smelling the smoke! It was a little fire, about the size of a large pickup truck, under the strike tree which bore the classic peeled bark scar where the lightning had spiraled around as it made its way down to the ground. The tree itself was unburned except for a couple of feet at the bottom where the surrounding litter burning had charred it. It wasn’t putting up much smoke at all, smoldering in the duff and litter. The bulk of the smoke had probably been when the fire reached and burned out an old broken off snag near the top.

We quickly called in a size up of the fire (got to name it), and then got to work lining it. Two fires for the price of one! Not too shabby for a rookie smokejumper looking for Incident Commander Type 5 assignments! I made sure I was taking notes and filling out the requisite paperwork, calling in and reporting to dispatch, and even though the complexity level of both of our fires was low, making sure I was thinking through things like do we have enough food, what tools might we need, do we have an escape plan, what tactics might we employ, etc.

It didn’t take long to line and again, there was lots of good, cold soil to help with mop-up. It took the better part of the afternoon but we got that little fire all wrapped up-meaning turning over and running our hands through every inch of the burned area looking for hotspots, just as it started to rain. We called it contained and hiked back up to our camp, getting soaked from wet brush even though my JP had found a elk trail that we were able to follow most of the way back up to camp.
We got a fire going, dried out a bit, made sure our camp was tightened up in light of the rain and then checked on our fire. Still a few hot spots that needed to be stirred. There were parts of the fire where the rain was reaching but quite a bit was sheltered by the canopy. We stirred the fire until it got dark and then headed back to camp where we cooked dinner huddled under a tarp in a sheltering thicket. We tried the freeze-dried potatoes au gratin, which we decided was less than good because it required cooking for a while. We were definitely into “pour hot water and let stand”. The SPAM sliced, layered with salsa and cooked in the can was good.

It’s nice to get to know the seasoned jumpers like this around the campfire. While I’ve always envisioned the jumpers primarily jumping “two-manners”, apparently it’s more and more rare- and I’ve had two this year. I’ve been very fortunate. We talked about fire ecology, resource issues, travelling, jumping fires, books and movies, jumping fires, our past lives, future plans and jumping fires. Not surprisingly, the time flew. Again, I’ve been impressed with the diversity of backgrounds, talents, and interests of the jumpers I’ve met this summer including a former Navy SEAL, a Peace Corps graduate, an artist, and a former teacher. I can’t think of one common category I could put jumpers into. Certainly not “Type A”, although the intensity that it takes to achieve the fitness and mental acumen necessary to do the job might be mistaken for that.

I forget where but I have read that within every group you can find the characters (or some combination) of Gilligan’s Island. For example, a leader, a fun-loving clown, a knowledgeable professor, and each member of the group may fill a different role given a different situation. In rookie training they emphasized that we would each find something that we weren’t as strong in and something that we would lead in and that we would need to depend on each other to get through anything. But each of us brought something unique and valuable. Out of that realization comes humility and again, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend time with people who have given their time and expertise while also showing an incredible interest in both their jobs and the ramifications of their jobs, and the surrounding world. We talked about why we had put these fires out, what would have happened if we hadn’t, what impacts we’d had. We talked about where the future of the smokejumping program lay, and how smokejumpers, certainly a great suppression resource, could contribute to the management of fires, and maximize the benefits of fire on the landscape.

I woke early the next morning (Sunday) to find my tarp sagging with standing water over my feet, requiring careful maneuvering to lift it up and cascade it off. It had stopped raining and overall we’d stayed dry though. I got the fire going- not because I’m a rookie and my JP expected me to, but because I’m a rookie and I expected myself to, and got coffee started. Good “cowboy” coffee, with the grounds dumped into boiling water, brought to a simmer again and then with the grounds settled by a splash of cold water. Not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, I learned to drink coffee (after my son was born) at work where my boss likes it strong, silty and chewable. If you try to pour milk in, the milk instantly curdles and sticks to the inside of the carton or jug- because it’s scared. I think I ate granola and we cooked and ate a can of SPAM, sliced and seasoned with salsa. The freeze-dried eggs are for mornings like this. They’re a bit weird in texture but are full of fat.

We’d been listening in on the other fires and their plans. We figured we’d have both our fires wrapped up today and we had planned on packing out all our gear, with the objective to be as self sufficient and low maintenance as possible for the local district. We would try to demob at the same time as the other fire so that we could travel back to Missoula together and hopefully save some time and gas. One of the other fires was planning on demobing and since they had had to order up some blivets (large bags of water) and backpack pumps for mop-up, they were requesting a helicopter backhaul. We asked if we could piggyback on the same mission to get our jump gear down, which the district was amenable to and so we planned on doing that mission and then hiking down to meet them at the same time for a late afternoon, evening ride back to Missoula.

We spent the morning stirring the last remaining hotspots on our fire, and then giving the whole thing a good cold trailing. It had rained most of the night and so there was cold, wet soil to mix in but there were also a few hotspots left! That took a while. I GPSed the perimeter at just over two-tenths of an acre and took some photos. We had to stop for a bit to clean up our camp and drag our packout bags out to the edge of the avalanche chute where we were hoping to load them up into a sling. The helicopter showed up mid-morning to deliver the sling and we guided him in over the radio until he saw the streamers from our jump that we had laid out for him. We told him that anywhere in the avalanche chute that he felt comfortable putting the net down would work-we’d move our gear there and pack it up. He came in and said he was a little concerned about how low the ceiling was since he had such a long line on. But he found a little window or hole in the fog-like clouds, slid in and set that net down right there- two feet from our bags! That pilot was really good! We also appreciated his friendly manner and willingness to help out- he was the same pilot that had made a couple of overflights helping us look for the second fire, and the way he acknowledged the information we relayed about distances, directions, wind speed on the ground etc. even though he probably didn’t need it!

He went back to wait while the two fires packaged up the slings with our back haul. It took us only a few minutes to get ours ready. Again, we were able to see the river from the avalanche chute and it looked like only about an hour or two walk down, but with wet, slippery ground and not knowing how much bush whacking we might have to do, we were glad to be able to piggyback on the other helicopter mission and get our heavy packout bags and camp gear down. He came back a few minutes later and dropped the hook right next to the net. I grabbed it, hooked it up and he lifted off. We were pretty committed to hiking out now since he took our sleeping bags and extra food out. We COULD spend the night- I’d kept my tarp and enough food for a day or so, but it wouldn’t be fun.

We finished up cold-trailing the fire, including feeling every inch of the charred logs, making sure all warmth was simply residual. We then ate a quick bite, rehabbed our campsite, and hiked down to the second fire, to do another cold trail through the whole thing. We were pleased to find that there were no hotspots left and we continued hiking down the ridge. The elk trail we were following continued all the way down to the river although I was still soaked from the brush (see photo).

The sun was breaking through occasionally and it was actually a nice walk. We stopped for a snack and a photo before getting to the bottom. We walked on the edge of a large flat meadow along the river, on which several horses were corralled. The wildflowers were blooming- it almost felt like spring, and the horses came over to see if we had carrots or apples before going back to gallop down the meadow. It was a gorgeous day, made even better by the thought of a job well done and the promise of a hot dinner and a shower. We found two jumpers in trucks by the stable and bridge, with our gear already loaded up. We drove across the river where we waited for a short bit for the jumpers from the other fire to show up. We then drove the three hours back to Missoula, stopping for dinner- I had pot roast and since they didn’t have milk shakes, settled for huckleberry icecream.

The next morning (Monday) I finished up the paperwork and made sure it was faxed to the district, took care of our timesheets and then got my gear rehabbed and ready to go!

August 12th, 2010

2010-09-08T23:10:00.004-06:00

This morning we loaded up in the DC-3 for a practice jump into a new spot called Keegan’s Gulch. I was sitting towards the back of the plane (we load in reverse order so that the first jumpers load last) and so got to listen in on one of the spotter’s headsets. It’s informative to be able to listen in on the conversation between the pilots and the spotters as they size up a fire, choose a jump spot and determine the wind. I think I’ve only talked a little about what the spotter does.

The spotter is usually an experienced jumper who acts as our link with the pilots. The spotter will size up the fire, decide how many jumpers are needed, choose a jump spot, throw streamers to determine wind direction and strength, and then call for and throw the jumpers. There may be an assistant spotter to help and the first jumpers will probably be there talking through the spot selection process as well. The jumpers will waddle forward when called, hook up, and listen to the spotter’s briefing. “Did you see the spot? Did you see the streamers? Hazards in the spot include (rocks, fences, tall trees, snags, logs or stumps on the ground etc.). We’re flying a standard pattern into the wind! There’s about 150 yards of drift, winds on the ground look to be about 3-5 upslope. Any questions?” After we shake our heads, the spotter will look behind us to make sure our static lines are clear and will say “you’re clear, and you’re clear! Get in the door!” In the smaller planes we might actually get the briefing while in the door. Then, “Turning final, 1500 feet, get ready!”, followed quickly by a slap to the shoulder or calf. After the required jumpers are on the ground and have established radio communications with the spotter, the spotter will pull the cargo boxes to the door and kick them out in coordination with the pilot.

At any rate, as I was listening in on this particular morning, the pilots noted a minor mechanical issue immediately after takeoff. It was fascinating to listen to the calm, methodical, professional manner in which they worked their way through the system, trouble shooting, before they finally decided to abort the practice jump. Later, we asked if we still could have jumped and they said yes, we probably wouldn’t have even noticed a difference. But they are very cautious and avoid any unusual situations. At no time were we in any danger but it was a reminder of the complex system that we are a small part of, and the many safeguards that go into making this system work. As the base manager put it, "smokejumpers aren't risk-takers, they're risk mitigators". I’m actually more confident in the system having heard the calm, collected way they dealt with the malfunction. We had practiced bailouts in rookie training but I reviewed the process in my head as we headed back to base. It was the first time I’d landed in “the Doug”!

We stayed suited up and most of us transferred to the Sherpa. We flew out to the jump spot and jumped my 23rd jump! The spot was small, located just below the top of a ridge. There were steep slopes on one side, tall trees and the spot itself was sloped as well. I got a little up air and was pretty pleased with my handling. I was coming in right on top of the panel, pulling full brakes against the uphill wind. I did do a last turn which was a bit much and wound up turning me more than I wanted across the slope but still managed to pull out a soft landing and good roll, coming in just off the panel by about 5-10 yards. It was a sporty little spot!

Monday, August 23th, 2010

2010-09-04T23:04:00.007-06:00

Sorry, it’s been a while. My wife and son flew into Seattle to visit my sister and brother-in-law on Saturday. Sure enough, as soon as I made plans, Big Ernie smiled on me and the weather started to get hot and dry. But, they all drove over Tuesday and I took some time off to go show them around the area and camp in Glacier National Park. Wednesday they all came over for a tour of the base. I was greatly appreciative of the folks here at the jumper base that talked to my little guy and listened to him tell them about getting his hair cut and how he got a Lego police helicopter as a reward for being brave in the chair. The guys over at helitack were kind enough to give him a tour of the ship and let him sit in it. He also got to sit in the Sherpa! He did a great job on the tour of the base although I think he was more interested in the forklift than anything else. Thursday we headed to Glacier National Park and camped two nights in perfect weather!

I knew that we could get busy and my wife and I had talked about how if we did, I’d need to come back. It’s hard to try to plan these things, especially if I have no idea when we might go out and sure enough there was a message from operations. The base was close to being jumped out. We drove back, arriving at 1300 on Sunday. I grabbed my gear and walked into the ready room to find the last available jumpers suiting up to reinforce a load we had put out in the morning. I was told to suit up and so experienced a rushed (ok, panicked) suit up that had me running around trying to make sure I had all my stuff. I finally got ready and with everyone already on the plane, waddled as fast as I could across the tarmac and got a second buddy check (just to make sure and to catch my breath) as we taxied. I settled down (admonished by a veteran to “bring that heart rate down”) and enjoyed the flight out to the fire.
The fire had been a small smoke when it was jumped in the morning by six jumpers. Shortly after the jumpers got on the ground the fire picked up and by the time we got there, was an impressive sight to see. It was burning actively, putting up a huge column and flame lengths at the head of the fire were probably in excess of 100 feet (see photos by L. Fleming). Very impressive fire behavior to watch!

I saw several cargo chutes in trees around the earlier jump spot and one lone main down slope in a tree. We circled several times throwing streamers at least two potential jump spots but finally gave up because of inconsistent and strong winds for what were marginal jump spots. I was feeling very ill by that point and as I sat down while they dropped the requested cargo, I pulled my plastic bag out and stuffed in down the front of my shirt just in case. I was disappointed not to jump but at the same time relieved. Fortunately my stomach settled down on a smooth flight back to Missoula and I didn’t actually throw up. I was pretty sweaty and ashen though. Several others shared my misery. Although I didn’t get to jump, I did get to go out for dinner and spend another night with my family.

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

2010-09-04T23:02:00.000-06:00

Along with the park’s Fire GIS (Geographic Information System) Specialist, I co-coordinate the Resource Advisor (READ) Program at Yosemite. The READ acts as the liaison or bridge between fire managers and resource managers, especially during incidents when an Incident Commander needs to have one point of contact to sort through and prioritize resource concerns and mitigations. For example, during an incident, a READ may gather information about owl habitat, cultural resources (like archeological sites), wilderness, timber values, rare and endangered plant species, invasive plants, and hydrology, determine what potential impacts or benefits the fire (directly or indirectly), or the management of the fire (operationally) may have on each resource concern. A READ may talk to a wildlife biologist and obtain an opinion that at this point in the season the fledglings can escape the nests and survive on their own and so we probably don’t need to put firefighters at risk or cause impacts associated with trying to protect individual nest trees. There may be documented archeological sites that should be avoided when putting in handline, and areas of high potential for archeological sites that we may want to have an archeologist survey after handline has been put in. Resource managers may want to advocate for allowing fire to play its natural role in an ecosystem in designated wilderness areas or if the fire is going to be suppressed to protect other resources, the READ may protect wilderness values by advocating the use of non-mechanical tools such as cross-cut saws instead of chainsaws. The READ will gather and prioritize all of these resource concerns and present mitigation measures or alternates to the Incident Commander (IC) or Incident Command Team (ICT).

Rather than trying to be an expert at all of these resource concerns, a READ program means that we can share the labor and that there is a large group of resource managers who are knowledgeable about the potential impacts or benefits of fire on their resource specialty and can quickly provide suggestions to the READ assigned to a given incident.
I took a READ training in 2002 and since then have been working with the regional and national-level instructors to develop and present the READ training both at Yosemite and around the country. I’d like to think that we have a pretty comprehensive training that has benefitted from good constructive feedback from participants.

The presentation has focused on the needs of resource managers but we’ve always had some fire managers who have attended. I’ve always been impressed with the interest and knowledge that fire managers bring to the course. The vast majority of firefighters get into the job because of the adventure, excitement, challenge, and the opportunity to do the right thing and protect our forests and grasslands. As science has demonstrated that there are benefits of fire in certain ecosystems, what that right thing to do in order to protect that ecosystem, has become more challenging to determine. I think that the number of firefighters that have expressed interest in and attended the READ course is indicative of their dedication to determining and doing that “right” thing. Over the last several years, we’ve heard firefighters express the desire for a READ course targeted at their needs. As more READ show up on the fireline, firefighters can benefit by a background understanding of general resource concerns, and what their expectations of READs should be. For example, if a firefighter understands that context-that relationship that an artifact has with its surroundings is where an archeologist gets the majority of information, he or she will be better able to understand why handline or dozer line can be detrimental to an archeological site and may be able to suggest an alternative that avoids the site. A firefighter who understands what types of materials may be present in an archeological site may recognize a site encountered during line construction and may be able to avoid further disturbance and report that site to the archeologist. Knowing what role a READ can play, either on the fireline or working with the Planning section of an ICT can also help fire managers ask pertinent questions and keep READs safe.

With that feedback, we’ve been developing a fire manager-specific presentation, which I presented as a pilot to 14 smokejumpers today. I was impressed with the turnout given that we just sent a boost to British Columbia and have a group out on a BLM saw (fuels reduction) project. A few jumpers shared stories about encountering READs on fires, and not knowing what role the READ should play or what “authority” the READ carried. I hope that with a clearer understanding of the READs role, fire managers can develop more accurate expectations of the READ and improve communications between the two groups. I told them that one of the objectives of the READ presentation was to make READs more aware of their responsibility to learn more about fire and become more professional when dealing with fire managers. We’ve heard stories of READs showing up without the proper protective equipment and without an understanding of how they fit into the Incident Command System.

One smokejumper opined that jumpers would make good READs for the autonomy, experience and street credibility that they bring. I agree. Given interest, training and good pre-planned and staged information from the home unit, there is no reason why firefighters can’t be good READs. The presentation includes background information about specific resources, including legislation and policy that drives why we are concerned about these resources, and then perhaps the moral or academic reasons why that legislation might exist. With this understanding, I think fire managers can also articulate to others the need to avoid or mitigate impacts, or take advantage of the benefits that fire may bring. We have seen a large body of fire-related research emerge over the last decade and provide a large digital library of references to them. While we hope that all READs will use those references, in the same way that I wouldn’t expect a wildlife biologist to make decisions about archeological sites, I think that with this training, fire managers will have the same tools to recognize the emerging resource issues and contact the appropriate specialist. And with a programmatic approach, I hope that whatever unit they are on has pre-planned and pre-staged the information so that they can contact the appropriate specialist. For example, I feel confident that a wildlife biologist or a botanist READ could look at our READ maps that we have for the park and recognize the need to call me, the archeologist.

Overall I feel like I got good feedback from the group. One strategy that we use with our READ training is to contact participants a year after the course to find out if they were able to act as READs, how they used the information that was presented and what improvements they could suggest looking back. I expect some good feedback from this group a year from now which will certainly improve the course. I hope also that I’ve provided a good example of a resource manager who is reaching out to learn more about the strategies and tactics employed by firefighters, in order to suggest better alternatives or mitigations, or at least understand that some of the mitigations that resource managers request mean extra work for firefighters on the ground.

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

2010-09-03T09:02:00.000-06:00

My Top Ten Favorite Phrases from Smokejumping
10. “Coffee flip. Ramp. NOW!” (the “winner” gets to buy iced coffee drinks for all the “losers”)

9. “Bring a GPS- it’s awkward to have to eat your buddies”

8. “Jump for show, pound for dough.” (the jump is just a delivery system for firefighters)

7. “It’s just zippers and Velcro people!” (no, I don’t know why it’s taking so long to get dressed)

6. “Tight!!!!!!” (how our exits need to be- usually followed by “More vigor!!!!”)

5. “Three rows!” (our favorite PT arrangement to dread- killer calisthenics to follow)

4. “How long?!” (both a question and a statement at the same time)

3. “Stupid hurts” (huh? Ow!)

2. “Available!” (my answer when my name is called at morning roll call)

1. “Turning final-1500’, Get Ready!”

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

2010-08-08T12:01:00.002-06:00

I woke up early this morning. One of my rookie duties is to get up and make a fire so that we could get coffee and hot water going. Since this was my first fire with more than one other person, I wasn’t sure if I should go ahead and make a campfire if we were going to head straight up to the fire. I was, so I did and we ate a quick breakfast while getting our plan for the day worked out. A saw team from the district was coming in early to cut open a trail so that a 20-person crew could hike in to join us. They also began cutting a trail up to the fire. The district crew took the left flank and we continued working on the right.

This was exactly one of the experiences I wanted to get. I enjoyed the physical challenge of cutting line and especially in vegetation and fuels-like bear grass- that I haven’t encountered before. I repeatedly dinged my Pulaski blade on rocks while trying to get at roots and hacked over and over again at the stubborn bear grass with its thick wad of roots.

It would seem that everything about the smokejumper experience is somehow more extreme. In the late afternoon we watched storm clouds roll in and I was fortunate enough to take shelter with several other jumpers under a tarp that one had set up. For an hour we watched as a hard rain turned to an unbelievable hail storm which lasted about half an hour and dumped pea to marble-sized hail which almost solidly covered the ground and filled our handline with about an inch of ice. I found myself shivering, huddled under the tarp while hail bounced off my back and rolled down the hill around us. I wish I’d had my camera. Several of the other jumpers and the crew were less fortunate and huddled under trees. Once it finally stopped we built a warming fire to make coffee and try to dry out. I was glad that we’d left a person back at the jumpspot/camp to organize our gear- he was able to keep most of our stuff dry. We got wet again on the hike back but fortunately the trail that the saw team opened up kept us from having to crash through wet brush. It continued to rain lightly all evening though and by the time I crawled into my bag, I was still wet and got it damp from the inside.

The storm definitely dampened down the fire. This fire however reminded me of a fire I’d been on in Alaska. The loose, rocky soil consisted of a matrix of incompletely decomposed organic matter which held fire and allowed it to travel, sheltered underground between the rocks. The fire behavior, primarily creeping with growth by spotting, meant that even after the rain, there were large pockets of incompletely consumed- but now pre-treated and ready to burn fuel. Over the next several days, we would find small underground heat sources like stump holes, that would allow fire to move back up as the fuels dried out. The morning after the storm there was still hail in the cup trenches of our handline though and the soil was damp enough to work very well when rubbed into hot logs or mixed in with hot ash to cool and extinguish the fire.

Wednesday we continued mopping up and snagging the fire. I walked the fireline twice to GPS it. In the afternoon we got a “stay or go” opportunity. The district was sending up 8 more crew members and we could send 8 jumpers off. The IC went down the list over the radio and we responded with “stay” or “go”. It took a bit to figure out what I wanted to do- if the option came to me. There were 16 of us out there and so if everyone near the top of the list decided to stay or go, the people on the bottom wouldn’t have a choice. If you “go”, you return to base at the bottom of the list and would miss out on overtime – but you might jump again sooner than if you “stay”. I’ve heard that a jumper saying is “the best deal is the one you’re on”. I opted to stay. You never know what Big Ernie is going to send you but this seemed like a pretty good deal to me.

Thursday we used a helicopter to sling our packs and food up to a new camp on the top of the ridge above the fire. The fire is lined and mopped up and the danger of it running up towards us is minimized. The hike to and from will be greatly reduced- it’s taking its toll on all of our feet and knees. And the scenery is incredible. The ridge top where we set up drops off steeply on both sides and there is a view of the Cabinet Mountains off in the distance. We sit around the campfire and talk about wolves and bears. They have grizzly bears here and we hear something moving in the drainage below. My new camp spot is not as flat as the one I’d found down by the jump spot. I’m trying to have less impact on the land and so don’t want to excavate it out with my tool to make it flatter. I wind up having a pretty uncomfortable night which isn’t helped by the large black ants that crawl across my face and into my bag. It wasn’t a steady stream of them but just enough. I always enjoy camping out in the backcountry because the reduced light pollution allows you to really see the stars and this is no exception. I take advantage of being awake anyway to enjoy the stars. The first evening up on the ridge there is enough smoke still coming off the fire to turn the moon a bright red.

Saturday there was a threat of very severe storms moving through the area so we were all pulled off the fire. It’s pretty well mopped up and the district crew will be taking over. They’ll come back up once the storms pass. Saturday morning we woke to dark and ominous skies and a light rain which inspired us to pack up quickly and get all our stuff in sling loads for the helicopter. We did one last grid through the green around the fire and then hiked down through our jump spot to the road where the trucks were waiting to take us back to the district office. After a debriefing and gathering all our gear- including our jump gear which came out with the first group to demob but which they left for us in case we got to “jump dirty” or immediately after coming down off the hill, we loaded up and rode back to Missoula. We stopped briefly for burgers and… milkshakes. I’m looking forward to calling home and a long hot shower. And going back on the list!

Monday, July 26th, 2010

2010-08-08T11:59:00.001-06:00

I was pretty sore this morning. My knees hurt and my calves were tight. For PT I did an easy stretching session. My first assignment was to develop a list of the items in the bins in the loft by alphabetical order so that we can find stuff either by bin number or by description. I finished that just before lunch. There was a nibble and we were told to stand by for lunch. Soon afterwards the siren went off.

We suited up and headed out to the DC-3 for a thirty or forty minute flight to the Kootnai National Forest. It was a somewhat bumpy ride and I began to feel a bit queasy. We arrived at the fire which was certainly bigger and burning more actively than my first-there was a lot more smoke and I could see open flames during the low pass. They decided to jump the whole load and we circled to look for a jump spot. About the only option was an open switchback in a dirt road which stuck out into the junction of three valleys, below and north of the fire by about a mile. The spot was fairly small-on either side of the switchback the road disappeared into alder, and there was a large brush and regen patch adjacent to the spot. As we circled and threw streamers, I began to feel more queasy and uneasy about the spot. I couldn’t see much out of the windows but during several of our banking turns the trees and valley walls looked awfully close. We’d just spent four weeks being told not to land on a road and here we were looking straight at one- and a small opening on one to boot. I did my best to come up with a coherent plan with my JP and then watched the first stick jump.

It became immediately apparent that they weren’t going to make it into the spot. They both landed short of the spot in the regen patch but apparently were ok. It was our turn and I have to admit I was glad. I could feel that cold sweat breaking out and it was a relief to look out the door at the horizon and feel the cold wind on my face. There came the slap and I was out the door with what felt like a good exit. I checked my canopy, and looked around for my JP. I couldn’t find him a t first because he was already dropping below me. I remember being so surprised that he was falling faster than me that it caused me to actually looked at his canopy to make sure it was ok. It was, but I had encountered up-air and he was clearly in down-air and he was going to land before me. I flew towards the spot but was getting some wind shifts that were unexpected. After flying to my setup spot and then holding brakes to drop down, I was lined up on the road to come in for a down-slope landing but felt myself moving too fast and so made a last minute change to turn outside and then turn back in to come in from the side. Sure enough the late turns had me in too low.

The road dropped off steeply on the side I was coming in on and fortunately there were small alders, about 10-inch DBH so I pulled myself in tight, yelling to myself “tight, tight!” for a tree landing. It was remarkably gentle and I found myself bobbing gently up and down, swaying slightly as the top of the tree bent. The parachute was fairly well hung up although it did settle a bit which reminded me that I wanted to get down pretty quick. I was about 5 yards away from the road and just a bit above the surface of the road so with the slope I was about 10-15 feet up. For a moment I had to think about my let-down procedure but as soon as I started to check for suspension lines around my neck the training kicked in and it all came back- so much so that I stopped when it got time to do my four-point check (rope tied to risers, rope through rings and flowing properly, rope under leg and through carabiner, check for suspension lines around neck), just to review in my head everything that I was doing. I lowered to the ground, gathered my gear and scrambled up to the road, which was a challenge in the jumpsuit. Another jumper had treed up about 20 feet away and he came up to the road as well. We were going to leave our chutes in the trees until later so we unsuited, packed our gear away and got ready to receive cargo. I got to watch the last sticks coming in and they too were having issues with the winds. A couple of them came in really fast into the spot.

I felt a lot better once I was on the ground (pretty relieved to have survived my first tree landing- in retrospect it was softer than landing on the road!) but talking to the other jumpers as we gathered up, many of them had puked before they could get out of the plane and in one case, as they were leaving the plane. Later I heard that the spotters were feeling sick as well. The cargo was spread out so we spent some time gathering that up, pulled out our tools and headed up towards the fire, leaving a couple of people to retrieve the chutes and stash the gear. Dispatch wanted a helispot opened up and the trees we were hung up in were small enough that they were just going to cut the trees down.

So much for the delivery- now it was time to start work! I looked around at the 15 jumpers I was on this fire with and was pretty impressed with the experience and diversity we had out there. There was an owner and designer of a pack company, a law school student, a former Fire Management Officer, and a former Hotshot superintendent. Smart, driven and lots of great fireline experience.

I was assigned to take weather every hour and then we started up the hill towards the fire. My legs were blown from yesterday’s run so I was a bit slow and appreciated having to stop mid-way to sling weather. The temperatures were in the mid 70s and the relative humidity was in the 50% range which was much higher than I was used to in the Sierra Nevada.

The fire was creeping with isolated torching and getting up into the snags which then threw embers which caused spot fires. We cut line for several hours, starting at the bottom of the fire. There was a wet drainage on the left flank which was holding for the most part and several Single Engine Air Tankers were dropping retardant on the right flank until we could get there. We made it most of the way along the bottom before it got dark. There were lots of snags coming down and it was hard enough to avoid them in the daylight so we pulled off the line and made our way back to camp. That was a long, tortuous bushwhack. I ate a cold MRE and slid into my sleeping bag which I laid on top of my tarp. I figured if it rained I’d burrito up inside the tarp but was too tired to do anything else about it. At some point in the night I woke up with my hamstring cramping up but managed to will it into submission.

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

2010-08-08T11:57:00.004-06:00

There is the Rattlesnake Recreation Area on the north side of Missoula and I’ve been wanting to explore that out so after a good breakfast and some e-mail checking, I headed out there with the intent of doing a short trail run- to keep the intensity up! I wound up getting a later start than intended and wound up running in the heat of the day. I stopped and asked a group camping how far up the main trail I was and they said 8 miles so that wound up being about a 14-mile run with the rest walked. ON the way back I heard something moving in the brush off the trail and when I looked I sear I saw a moose about 10 yards away! Near the end I was so hot I walked into the creek and stuck my head under the water. I was pretty sore and dehydrated so after I drank the warm water I had left in the car, I stopped by the store on the way home and bought a chocolate milk. Walking towards the checkout lane I saw the 7-Up so had to have one of those. And then I saw the raspberry lemonade and had to buy one of those too…. I pounded the chocolate milk in the parking lot. About halfway back to the barracks, I broke down and drank the 7-Up. Then I really felt bad-I think the milk curdled in my stomach. Yuck. I drank about two quarts of water when I got back and took a nice long shower before heading to my friend’s for dinner. I made my corn chowder, picked up a baguette and they made a large salad out of their garden. For dessert Mike and I went to the local ice cream shop for coconut ice cream milkshakes. Awesome. When I got back to the barracks I was pretty beat but worked on this blog until operations called to see if I could work tomorrow. You bet!

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

2010-08-08T11:57:00.001-06:00

After roll-call this morning four of us presented another first aid refresher to a trails project group from the National Smokejumper’s Association. Again, a really neat group!

Being on the first load, we kept our phones on, waiting for the call but the only call we got was a reminder to stop on the way back and replenish the ice cream supply. I think operations knew we were waiting for the call and wanted to keep us on our toes.

When we got back to the base the 26 that had jumped the fire on Wednesday had returned so I got to give some high fives to my rookie bros who finally got their first fire jump! Now we can all wear the real smokejumper t-shirts! We were told early on that we didn’t have to keep wearing our rookie shirts but I’m actually kind of proud of it- I feel like I worked hard for it! I have been alternating those with the shirt that we made for our rookie class. It has all our names on it and some symbolism like three lines- our favorite-to-dread PT arrangement, and a bear paw inside of our wings reminiscent of the “bear crawls” we did for PT.
Since I didn’t get to PT this morning, and I’ve got the weekend to rest, I decided to work out hard. There’s been a lull in my workout routine and I’m feeling the need for a jump-start-especially with all the ice cream and coffee drinks... I started out with a three-mile run with windsprints, did three sets of chin-ups, a short jump rope set and then went into the workout room for three sets of weighted burpees, three sets of weighted jumping jacks, three sets of dips and three sets of kettlebell swings. Welcome back to National Intensity Year!

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

2010-08-08T11:56:00.000-06:00

I kept waiting for the siren today. I did a very short PT in the morning so that I’d be around and fresh. No siren. I worked most of the day for load master, storing some old parachutes (some that dated back to 1944!) in a box-pallet inside a shipping container. These will be used later for para-cargo. I also did a lot of rearranging in the storage shed, sweeping, and emptying of garbage cans. We pulled apart and recycled several 5-gallon cubies that had been dropped and damaged during practice runs. There always seems to be something to do- which is good when you’re waiting for a fire.

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

2010-08-08T11:55:00.003-06:00

The weather has been getting better (from a smokejumper’s perspective), becoming warmer and drier, and there are a series of storms lining up that will bring dry lightning. The fuels are becoming more receptive.

We started out with two practice jumps right after roll call. A spot opened up on the second load out of the DC-3 so I got to go. It was a jump from 3000’ –more air time! The spot was large and relatively flat, and I managed to get a really soft landing about 10 yards from the panel that I was aiming at so I felt pretty good about the whole thing. (These photos are from another practice jump)

While we were reviewing the jump the siren went off and we jumped an entire load out of the DC-3 on a fire that we could see from the airport, in the mountains just to the southwest. Shortly after lunch the siren went off again and we sent the second load out of the Sherpa to reinforce the first load. And just like that, I’m back up on the first load!

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

2010-08-08T11:54:00.000-06:00

This morning I got up early and went for a 7-mile run up Sentinel Mountain with my friend who lives here in Missoula. We went up the “Kim Williams” trail which apparently is also known as the “Smokejumper Trail”. It was a stout, steep run but I felt pretty good.

After roll-call I packed a cargo chute and then we got to observe and learn how to pack a main. After lunch I did another “junior jumper” tour and then tried to practice pack a main. Of course I goofed it up. I’m glad I don’t have to pack my chutes for real. It’s also a good thing I ran as hard as I did in the morning. There was another coffee flip and then later cake for one of the jumper’s birthdays.

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

2010-08-03T21:59:00.006-06:00

Tuesday I showed up to work and got lots of congratulations and high fives for my first fire jump! I’m still pretty excited about it! One of the reasons I came on the detail is to get experience and complete some of the taskbooks I have open. Taskbooks are how we track a trainee’s progress as they complete practical demonstrations of tasks necessary to achieve a qualification. For example, one that I’ve been working on is the Incident Commander Type V (ICT5)I finished up the paperwork that comes with a fire. The ICT5 is responsible for the least complex fires, and this fire fit very nicely into that category. I got to be a IC trainee for this one, which even though it just the two of us, was good experience. I had to provide a size-up of the fire, assess hazards, develop a plan, implement the plan and then communicate all of that with dispatch. I also had to think about our gear and supplies- which because of the cargo boxes dropped to us with food and water, was very easy. I had to decide when I was comfortable calling the fire out and then develop and arrange a plan for our extraction. Although all these things were relatively easy on this fire, it was good to work through the process. Sunday when we got back I had faxed over a simple report on the fire to the forest on which the fire occurred. And of course there were forms to fill out so we could charge our time to the fire account, and an evaluation that my jump partner (and qualified ICT5) had to fill out for me.

Wednesday we got a practice jump out of the DC-3 which was also incredibly cool. I’ve always wanted to ride in one, and to get to jump out of one was awesome!

We all sit on the left side, and because of the nose-up attitude and landing gear configuration, it’s hard not to slide down on top of each other. There is that moment when the tail wheel comes up off the runway and we level out before lifting off that is distinct from modern airliners that I’m accustomed to and makes me think of old movies. The windows are smaller than in the Sherpa and the wing seems huge, making it harder to see the jump spot. The door, however seems huge! I couldn’t help but notice that the tail wing seems awfully big and close when standing in the door. We practiced a three-person stick for this jump which adds one more variable to consider when jumping. Our jump went well and it was pretty impressive to see the DC-3 bearing down on us as it came in low to drop a practice cubie.

We had a brief meeting where we got to meet the new deputy director for the region and had the opportunity to ask him questions. I was interested to hear the questions focus on the future of smokejumping and the role of the program.

One of the tasks we had to complete for Rookie Training was to work together to develop a “vision statement” for our rookie class. Although hampered by the fact that we were too tired most nights to sit around and debate this, it did stimulate some good discussion on at least one occasion. We started out debating the breadth and scope of the vision statement. Whereas some of the group were under the impression that the vision statement was just for us for the class, some felt that the statement was intended to be broader and to follow us throughout our careers. At one point early in training we were told that we were selected to be here in part because of our leadership potential. I fully expect some of my rookie bros to rise into management positions and asked what role they saw themselves-and jumpers in general playing in shaping the future of fire management.

Here in this discussion were jumpers asking if they could and should provide feedback to line officers about strategies other than direct attack and confinement for managing fires. The questions demonstrated that at least some jumpers are actively thinking about the role that smokejumpers play in today’s fire management, and what skills need to be developed, or what role they need to play to ensure the ongoing success and relevance of the program.

Thursday I got to help out with one of the “junior jumper” tours-a group of kids that spend the half a day getting introduced to fire behavior, doing some push-ups, seeing the base, climbing into one of the planes and getting to try on a couple of kid’s suits that the jumpers made. What a neat program- one that I hope my son gets to do one of these days. Lots of great questions!

One of our jobs as rookies is to help out with unexpected or large tours that show up at the visitor center. We were all pretty surprised at the number of tours that come through. We’ve hardly ever had to help out though, because the young ladies that run the visitor center do such a great job! If you come through Missoula, definitely stop by to see the visitor center and take a tour. If you’re lucky the siren will go off while you’re there….

Finally, today I facilitated a first-aid refresher for a trails project group from the National Smokejumper’s Association. The NSA has been doing trail maintenance and work projects for several years all around the country. Many of them had rookied here in Missoula- some prior to me being born. One of my rookie bros has been updating the large board at the base which has names of jumpers with their numbers of jumps. There were several names that I had seen that had hundreds of fire jumps. The dentist I see- a former jumper out of Winthrop, provided me with several copies of the quarterly magazine and I was able to put faces to some of the names I’d read about. Of course there was lots of story-telling that went on. What a really neat group and an honor to meet them!

Just a note- I've added the photo of my very first jump back on June 8th.

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

2010-07-15T22:39:00.002-06:00

Have I talked about “Big Ernie”? Murray Taylor, in his book “Jumping Fire” describes Big Ernie as “The smokejumper’s god. A deity, with a rather twisted sense of humor, justice, and fair play. Determines good and bad deals for jumpers.” I got to meet Big Ernie on Saturday.

The registration for the Missoula Marathon closed at 6:00 pm on Saturday, for the race on Sunday. I thought, “I’m in the best shape of my life- I should go run it on my day off since not much is going on here and I’ll have Monday to rest”. So, Saturday I waited until 4:00 just to make sure I wasn’t going to miss a jump or assignment, before I drove down there, handed my card over at 4:30 and paid my $85 registration. I drove back to the base and 15 minutes after walking through the door we go the word that there might be a jumper request. Sure enough, Big Ernie couldn’t pass up the opportunity and at 5:30 we suited up and flew to a smoke report. I was second on the list and two of us jumped a lightening strike that had hit a small juniper tree resulting in creeping and smoldering in the duff and litter underneath.

The jump spot was an open slope on top of a ridge. I was overly careful not to land on the lee side of the ridge- where there was more timber and compression of the air can cause sudden drops, and so landed shy of the sloping saddle on the ridge in favor of the steeper slope of the ridge. It was steeper on the ground than it looked from the air and I rolled several times but overall it wasn’t a hard landing! After packing up my gear and hiking up to the ridge I met up with my JP and (after a high-five) we collected the gear and hiked up to our little fire.

I think the storm had come with some rain because the matted duff on the uphill side was pretty damp and the smoldering fire was going out as it reached the edge of the rain shadow cast by the tree. The tree was actually several stems and the fire had burned some of the dead branches and had charred the bark of the living. We cut off the lower branches so we could access it, cold trailed part of the perimeter and stirred the rest. Cold trailing involves taking off your glove and using your hand to root around looking for hotspots. Stirring or mixing in the damp and cool soil into the hot areas robs the fire of oxygen and heat. We camped out on the saddle below the fire and after cold trailing the whole fire several times the following morning, we called the fire out. We broke camp and hiked down to the road, which took about an hour.

I’ve added a photo of our packout. The packout bag has all my jump gear (suit, helmet, flight gloves, reserve chute, main chute, ankle braces), my personal gear bag (the orange one that attaches to our front below the reserve and holds our fire shelter, cup and spoon, extra socks, a fleece, hat, toothbrush, flagging, strapping tape, hot sauce, snacks, headlamp, work gloves, radio, extra batteries, water, hand saw, ). On top of my jump gear I stuffed in a sleeping bag, two cargo chutes and associated webbing (the cargo boxes are the flat boxes strapped to the side of the bag- on a larger fire we'd probably burn all the cardboard), and a bag of food (the cargo boxes come with enough for two people for three days- an average fire. We tried to eat the heavy canned stuff and left the freeze-dried). My thermarest is on top of the bag, the large square cardboard cube is an empty "cubie" which has a plastic bladder that holds 5-gallons of drinking water. The orange pelican case has the satellite phone (we had good radio communication but dispatch asked that they drop it to us). There are also several empty 1-gallon plastic cubes that came with the food. And a bag of trash tied to the outside. They offered up a helicopter sling load to haul our gear out but since we could see the river from the fire- the road ran right next to it, we declined the sling load and just packed it out. I’m down to about 153 pounds in my running clothes and yesterday we weighed ourselves fully suited up – our “exit” weight and I came in at 243 pounds. So my nomex, boots, jump gear and PG bag weigh about 90 pounds. Add all that extra stuff and I think our packout bags were at least 110 pounds- probably more like 120. Thank goodness it was a short packout and we had a game trail to follow for about half of it.

We were picked up on the road by another jumper and got back to the base in the late afternoon. Was I sorry I missed the marathon? Absolutely not. I tempted Big Ernie and he came through with my first fire jump- and it was a good deal. I’m glad it was a mellow fire with a relatively easy packout. So far, we’ve had the first and only fire jump out of Missoula this season. Also, with a nod from Big Ernie, we jumped this fire two days shy of 70 years from the very first Forest Service fire jump, by Rufus Robinson and Earl Cooley on the Marten Creek Fire on the Nez Perce National Forest, on July 12th, 1940.

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

2010-07-08T21:58:00.005-06:00

The possible boost to Alaska didn’t pan out- it sounds like they got rain and so many of their jumpers are back and available. So, I’m still here but certainly am not lacking for things to do. I love that every day it seems we’re working on something different and are learning something new.

For example, on Tuesday morning after roll call we worked on several tasks around the loft. In the afternoon we helped clean out, configure and load the Sherpa for a delivery of horse food and supplies to a remote station.
Thursday I started out with a long run up into the hills above the base, re-tracing the route we’d run one of those first mornings here in Missoula. It felt great. We got in another practice jump which felt like a good one for me. There was a BBQ for lunch and then we had a base meeting. Friday we learned how to pack cargo chutes and sew bar tacks with the bar tack machine.

My first week as a smokejumper went pretty fast! I'm actually kind of glad I didn't get sent up to Alaska this first week-I learned a lot and am looking forward to next week. The PT has been more fun if a bit lonely. We’ve been joking about pulling in one of the trainers to yell at us a bit and run us through a routine- but only joking. I feel like I’ve been successful in keeping up the intensity and have even squeezed in a few evening workouts. I’m definitely using a lot of the new exercises I’ve learned in rookie training along with my old routines.

I’ve met a lot of smokejumpers coming and going and everyone has been welcoming and enthusiastic. They've been great about answering my hundreds of questions and drawing us in on their projects. I’m feeling at home and more confident with each day. Even without fires in the area there is a lot going on here and I can only imagine how busy this place must feel with fire season in full swing.

Monday, June 28th, 2010

2010-07-08T21:53:00.002-06:00

Remember that first day of school feeling? Even though we've been in rookie training here, it is like starting a new job. Some apprehension but mostly just excitement!

We hosted a rookie party for our instructors and any smokejumpers, former smokejumpers or any associated, interested folks on Saturday evening. I thought it was a lot of fun and I got to meet some family of some of my bros. We watched a video slideshow of some photos from rookie training, which I hadn’t seen. There was some talk of perhaps boosting (sending extra jumpers) up to Alaska. Since I won the flip and was placed higher on the list, I might be on the load to go! I spent Sunday getting ready just in case, washing my jump suit drying things out, and re-packing. I’ll need a head net, (good) coffee to put in my pack, more sunscreen and Spam recipes. I need to fix the zipper on my bivy sack. Do I want the really powerful bug spray? How heavy is my PG bag? Can I get a lighter cup? How much weight can I save if I cut most of the handle off my toothbrush? There are little tricks that we’re learning like putting our tarps in our jackets so they fit in the small of our backs.

Now that I’m sure I’m going to be here for the summer and since I’d been living out of my truck for the past several weeks, I’ve moved more stuff into the barracks and have bought a few things (hangers, small boxes) to organize my life here. I’ve got a couple of drawings from my son to hang up. It turned out to be a busy weekend.

This morning we arrived early for our first roll call. We will be responsible for making the coffee and, much to the amusement of the rest of the smokejumpers, failed to follow the 2-step instructions posted on the machine which resulted in hot water on the counter and finally, into the carafe. The second try was much better and actually resulted in coffee. Later on we’ll be responsible for making ice cream which is going to be a lot more complex. I’m a bit concerned but feel confident that we’ll get it figured out.

After roll call we headed out for PT. It actually felt strange to not do it as a group but felt good to pace myself and explore what my new capabilities are. Almost decadent. I went for about a 3-mile run at an easy pace, ran through the obstacle course- although the trampoline, pads and net had been taken down, and then did several sets of pull-ups and dips. It’s going to take discipline to keep up the intensity and maintain what I’ve achieved.

We spent most of the morning with introductions and getting oriented to the Missoula Base process. We got different pack-out bags, traded in gear for repair or replacement, got our cubbies in the Ready Room where we store all our gear and got assigned to functional areas. I’m assigned to Loadmasters but we’ll all be expected to pitch in wherever necessary, in Operations, the Loft or with Training.

After lunch we got in a practice jump, interspersed with veteran jumpers. I was second out the door and felt really good about my flight. For the first time I got a lot of up air so not only did my JP and I have good horizontal separation, but we had very good vertical separation as well. Plus, it was a lot of fun to stay up there a bit longer! I’m impressed with the quality of the practice jumps. Apparently it’s not just in rookie training that we review our exits, flights and landings. We all gathered afterwards to review and were critiqued by the ground crew who filmed us and took notes. They asked what our plan was, what the spotter briefing was, and whether we encountered any unexpected winds. We then all look at whether what we did made sense and what we could have done better.

Friday, June 25th, 2010

2010-07-01T20:40:00.001-06:00

We arrived at the trailhead at about 7:20, ten minutes early for our pick-up. After loading up our gear, we drove back to the Grangeville Air Center, hung our chutes and reconfigured our gear for another jump. We got a quick look at an aerial photo of the spot- a small, flat, wet spot amongst a sea of trees. By 9:30 or so the first load with rookies intermixed with instructors and veteran jumpers (and me) suited up and got aboard. We jumped the small spot successfully, all of us getting in to a wet landing (number 16!). This was a real confidence booster and as it turns out a fun jump. We then drove back to the base where we hung our chutes, sorted gear and then had a little graduation ceremony. We presented our vision statement and received pins and certificates. Afterwards, we got caught in an unexpected downpour and then got our photo taken in front of the Twin Otter.

It’s a bit surreal to have completed the training (National Intensity Month). Those of us from Missoula met outside and “flipped” a quarter to see who was going to be inserted higher on the list back at Missoula. I won. Rather than put all the rookies on the list at the bottom, they incorporate us in amongst the veterans. I’m pretty high up on the list so might get to jump my first fire soon! There’s definitely a part of me that is asking “Really? Are you sure? Don’t you have to tell me the secret first?” I’m pretty excited and wonder who my jump partner is. Several folks have taken on organizing the “rookie party”, and designing our rookie t-shirts.

We cleaned up our housing, packed all the gear back into vehicles for the appropriate base and then I started the drive back to Missoula. I stopped for a huckleberry milkshake along the way. The weather was intermittently raining and the clouds were low in places like a Chinese painting, exposing the green forests and mountains along the river. There were some stunning rainbows and near the Idaho-Montana border I saw a moose and calf alongside the road. It was a gorgeous evening and I was filled with a tired satisfaction and excitement. I did it. There is a touch of sadness as well. When I called my parents before leaving Grangeville I found out that my Grandmother in Japan had passed away. I had visited earlier this spring after she broke her hip and said goodbye. I’m not sure she had known I was there and she’d been deteriorating so we’d actually been expecting her passing for a while. My parents had waited to tell me until I had finished which I appreciated. I thought about her, my family and how I came to be here quite a bit on the way back.

I also thought about how odd it was going to be as we each leave for our respective bases. I’m going to miss all of my rookie bros and hope that I get to jump a fire with them this summer. Even though I am looking forward to meeting, working with and learning a lot from the veteran jumpers, it will be hard not to have my rookie bros next to me the next time I load up on the plane. I thought about how intense my reaction was during the simulated medical scenario -before I knew that it was just a scenario. Be safe bros. I’ll be looking for you out there.

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

2010-07-01T20:38:00.001-06:00

Today was the last PT of the training so we got to come up with our own. We started with a short run and then did a circuit of weight training, featuring high reps with low weights.

We had one jump, into a sloping but relatively open jumpspot (jump 15!) where a bonfire was burning. After we were all on the ground they dropped cargo for us and told us to put the fire out, spend the night and meet at the trailhead at 0730 in the morning for our ride back. I landed down-slope for a good landing but my chute went over my head and settled on a bush which took a while to extract and in doing so I covered myself with pollen, setting off my allergies.

Part of our assignment was to protect an archeological site- a collapsed historic cabin just downslope from the bonfire. Several of us went down to check it out and do a quick risk assessment on it but given the fuel moistures it was very unlikely that the fire would reach the site- especially since the fire was controlled and mopped up by the time we returned to the jumpspot. But it was nice to know that they put that in there for me.

We gathered up the gear, scouted out the trail and then moved our gear about halfway down the trail to a flatter area near a jumpspot that we’d jumped earlier. We set up camp and watched a huge thunder storm pass just by us while we ate as much of the canned (heavy) food as possible. This was a lot of fun- a chance to sit around the campfire with my rookie bros, laughing about our aches and pains, our top ten favorite quotes from the training, and just sharing stories. Several of the guys had carried huge, awkward loads and we laughed about watching these misshapen bags tip over on the slope and roll a short distance away, watching one guy topple over as he tried to get up, a saw sticking out to the side and throwing off his balance. I ‘m not sure how heavy my pack was but with a cargo chute and a bag of food, including some canned, it was pretty stout. I used two pulaskis as walking sticks. I wish I could have more nights like this with them. We then settled in for the night, each of us under our tarp, sleeping on whatever padding we could find. I had several bugs in my sleeping bag in the morning and had a fitful night trying to get comfortable around the bumps. It was, however, most like a real fire jump and it felt good.

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

2010-07-01T20:37:00.000-06:00

We jumped into a sloping jumpspot (number 14!) which I felt pretty good about but should have come in a little higher up the slope so that I could turn downslope a little bit more. After we were all on the ground they had the ship drop cargo into the trees for us to retrieve. We had been told to jump with our PT clothes in our PG bags and so after most of the cargo had been retrieved those of us not climbing changed into our PT gear and then started a slow run back to the base. Fourteen miles later we ran back into the parking lot of the Grangeville Air Center, tired but proud. Now, I’ve run a marathon (back in 2003) and two half-marathons (most recently this May) but generally it’s been first thing in the morning, after lots of stretching, a carefully planned breakfast of a bagel, chocolate milk, a banana and maybe a yogurt. Not after a jump and hauling cargo boxes and gear around for most of the day and gobbling a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich down almost as an afterthought. Amazingly, I actually felt pretty good for the run. This was more my pace and it’s clear that the weeks of training have paid off. “National Intensity Month” indeed.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

2010-07-01T20:35:00.000-06:00

I must not have heard correctly. Apparently it is “National Intensity Week”. Or, I suspect, “National Intensity Month”. We did a hard PT this morning with a short run, over 500 lunges and 700 squats while holding our JPs. There were also box jumps, jumping jacks, mountain climbers- all to music.

We got two jumps in- numbers 12 and 13! On the second jump we had a surprise medical scenario. One of the bros was told to land and to lay still. I think we recognized that something wasn’t right quickly and began medical aid but definitely were hung up by the fact that he had the jump suit on. We should have moved to cut it off sooner (which would have revealed that it was just scenario since once we moved to start cutting they told us not to damage the equipment) but got him packaged up and evacuated. It was very scary to think about one of our own actually getting injured and the practice was good.

Monday, June 21, 2010

2010-07-01T20:28:00.000-06:00

Coincidentally, today is “National Intensity Day”. Or so we were informed. It must be a new initiative because I’ve never heard of it. We did our minimum PT test again and I was pleased to see that my time for the 1.5-mile run improved by 20 seconds. I’m several pounds lighter and I definitely feel stronger than that first day. We then did our maximums and I improved in number of repetitions slightly there as well.
The weather precluded any jumping so we then did our Fire Refresher. This is the annual required curriculum that includes a practice fire shelter deployment. It’s an opportunity to review incidents and accidents from the previous years, learn about new developments in policy or strategy and start thinking about fire again. We’ve covered several of these topics over the last five weeks but it was a good reminder yet again that once the jump is over, we’ve got to fight fire. I realized that I need to review my fire behavior and weather, and need to learn more about the forests and grasslands I’ll be jumping into.

Sunday, June 20th, 2010-Father’s Day

2010-06-20T20:51:00.001-06:00

One of our rookie bros left Friday to be with his wife as they had their first. I haven’t heard but am hoping that all is well and that I can congratulate him on being a new daddy! He’ll have to make up a few jumps but I’m glad that the trainers worked it out with him. I know that several of the instructors have small children at home that they’ve been kept away from. Now that I have one of my own I know how much that is to ask and so I’d like to express my appreciation to them and their families. Thanks everyone!

The closest I came to walking away from this was several weeks ago when my little guy said on the phone, “daddy, you come home now?” In the dark moments I worry that he’ll forget me. What milestones will I miss? I hope that someday he understands why I wanted to come do this and understands why I went away for four months. I hope that he’ll be proud of me. I am lucky to have such a great wife who supports me in this and is being such a great mother to our son. I know that because of her, he’ll be ok. On this Father’s day, I need to thank her.

I need to thank my dad too. He and my mom have been following this adventure and although I know they’ve been worried, have been encouraging me. Thank you dad for quietly helping me find my way, even now. You’re a great dad and role model.

Friday, June 18th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:50:00.001-06:00

We got in a several jumps despite the weather, which has been overcast and rainy. Jump number 7 was at the airport after we diverted from our intended spot which was too windy or cloudy. I felt good about my flying, set-up and landing on that one. Jump number 8 on Tuesday was also good. I am feeling more confident in my ability to fly the parachute but am still wrestling a bit with conceptualizing the plan and set-up, and also with last minute adjustments to my set-up.
Wednesday the weather kept us from doing any flying so we did the arduous-duty pack test in the morning for PT. Remember the pack test? Forty five pounds over three miles in forty five minutes which, after the 110 pound pack test, felt very easy. I really am fitter than when we started out. I’ve lost a couple more pounds (despite eating more) and I was able to do a full pyramid up to eight of chin-ups. Some of the PT still leaves me sputtering on my back but I’m feeling stronger for a lot of it. After our PT we did our first aid and injured jumper training. I hope we never have to use it.
Jump number 9 on Thursday went well although I looked at the streamer and made a micro-adjustment low that I shouldn’t have. I did come in quartered to the wind and had a good roll though.
Today, Friday, we got in two jumps. Jump number 10 was into a tight spot surrounded by trees. I got over the spot just as I had planned despite having a half twist, pulled some tight turns to stay over it and then turned and came right down just about 15 yards from the spot- this one was my best so far! Jump number 11 was over a sloping but large, brush-covered spot. I flew well, as according to my plan, got set up but didn’t look at the streamer to see that the winds had shifted and so I turned back up into the hill to try to run across the slope. I was across the slope but if I’d realized the wind was coming uphill and just kept going as I was, I would have had a perfect set-up and landing. As it was, I turned across the slope and brushed a tree. A “bonehead” move and not how I wanted to end the week. My notebook says “DO NOT TURN INTO THE SLOPE!” We’re all working on our own issues, trying to get this dialed in. I’ve been getting more vigor out of my exits but need to really nail down the setups. Eleven jumps.

Monday, June 14th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:48:00.001-06:00

We’re back in Grangeville, ID, jumping out of the Twin Otter. This is a “small-door exit”, with a step mounted just below the door. The jumper puts his or her left foot out on the step and crouches back on the right heel. Jump number 6! There were about 200 yards of drift on our streamers which means about six mile an hour winds. This was the first jump where I came out with twists in my risers. There was only one or two and so I turned out of them pretty quick but it did slow down my flight pattern. I didn’t make the alley I was shooting for and so set up and landed. I had a good set up and landing, just not as close to the spot as I hoped. I felt better about this one.
I remember during my first season in fire realizing that as I drove or walked around I had started to look at the environment less in terms of vegetation and more in terms of “fuels”. I’ve caught myself as I drove to Grangeville looking around in terms of jump spots, asking myself what would it be like to land there?

Friday, June 11th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:47:00.002-06:00

Wow, it’s hard to believe that we’re on jump number five already. Because of weather, we switched spots from one that was very small back to the one that we used for jump number 4. I did ok but hung out over the timber a bit too long while I tried to dump altitude. I should try to stay above the jump spot rather than stuff I wouldn’t want to land in. My set-up was a bit high. Overall, I felt better about this one. As part of our plan with our JP, we need to have talked about which alley we‘re going to use to come in and which landmark or where we intend on setting up.
On one level it seems straight forward- get to the jump spot, don’t run into your JP and get down safely. Ten years ago jumpers were given seven training jumps before they went on the list. With five jumps now under my belt, I can’t imagine how inadequate I would feel after only seven jumps. Maybe the learning curve will be that steep on the next two but I’m certainly appreciative that we get fifteen training jumps.

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:47:00.001-06:00

Today we got in our 3rd and 4th jumps! The 3rd jump was our first as a two-person stick. The trainer’s are gradually adding complexity and responsibility. We have to develop a plan with our JP in the plane, check on their position upon opening, communicate with him or her all the way down, vocalize “turning final” and then check on them on the ground.
My exit went very well, and I felt like I drove the parachute well and I communicated with my JP but then during my set-up I turned the wrong way and drove uphill with the wind. The result was that I accelerated into the hill and couldn’t roll. That was a hard landing and was definitely a “bonehead” move.
The 4th jump was at a spot that was slightly smaller and had more trees around it. It started with a weaker exit. I flew a decent pattern and had a good set-up but second-guessed myself and turned at the last minute towards my JP. Also a “bonehead” move. I’m starting to get worried about my ability to conceptualize and process this information at short notice. I’m pretty disappointed in myself and am wondering if I’m thinking too much. This is serious stuff and I don’t want to get hurt or hurt someone else.
We’re learning how to hang up our parachutes, inspect them and get them ready for repair or re-packing. We also inspect the pack trays and deployment bags for wear or damage.

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:45:00.000-06:00

Jump number two! There is a video camera mounted on the side of the plane which captures our exits so we can review them later. I didn’t have my feet completely together yesterday. As I mentioned, I anticipated my landing and my feet came slightly apart so those points are what I needed to clean up on today’s jump. We went back to the same spot, slightly uphill. Still a lot of fun but while yesterday’s jump was to get the fear and anticipation out of the way, today’s is to start to get a feel for the manipulations and wind.
I needed more vigor getting out the door- the video showed that I bumped the back of the parachute on the side of the door going out. I tested out the steering but got a bit too far out from the wind line. I have to remember to call out “turning final” as I make my set-up prior to landing. I released my toggles too soon prior to landing and anticipated again. There is a lot to work on.

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:42:00.001-06:00

Yesterday afternoon we were told to meet for a second PT at 1800 since we wouldn’t be doing PT in the morning. We were all somewhat apprehensive. We met out on the lawn, did a short run down to the end of the drive and stretched out like we always do. Then, we were offered a choice between two workout regimens, neither of which I’d ever heard of. We hesitatingly chose and were told to grab our JPs (remember them- the large log rounds that we carry everywhere?) and follow the two instructors into the dormitory. We did lunges while holding the JPs to our chests, all the way down the lower hallway, up the stairs to the second floor where we were met by two of last year’s rookies- with pizza and drinks. It was our pre-first-jump night party. They gave us all kinds of insights into what our first jump would feel like, what our camp duties would be- like how to properly prepare and present Spam, the importance of ice cream-making while we are at the base, and other critical information that we will need to know. It was a great relief- having expected a stout PT workout, and was exciting to think that we were actually going to jump!

Our first jump! Even though we’d been preparing for it for over a week, it seemed unreal. It was unbelievably exciting to think about- this is one of the reasons I’d come here, but at the same time I wondered if I was really ready. Would I freeze in the door? What if I didn’t do the things we’d trained to do? What if I screamed the whole way down? (OK, that one I really wasn’t too worried about.) Could we run through that malfunction drill one more time? As we sat in the plane (the Shorts Sherpa) and flew to the jump spot, a large, open grassy flat near the top of the hills above the airport, I found myself comforted and assured by my rookie bros presence and excitement. I was in the middle of the group. It was surprisingly just like the mock-ups. We buckled in, secured our gear, put our helmet and gloves on - all those things we’d practiced and it was reassuringly familiar. Enough so that there was some knuckle pounding and shared grins. I thought about how much faith we were putting in our instructor’s ability to judge our readiness, the 70 years of training that went into the sophisticated system we were relying on, and our own abilities. Then we were over the jump spot and there were our instructors on the ground, the panels they had laid out, the streamers they were holding and the streamers our spotter threw from the door to gauge the winds. There were almost no winds so our exit point was almost over the spot.

I was surprised by the blast of the wind as I came out of the door. The repetitions of the exit training worked because I managed to get into some semblance of a cannonball. I almost forgot to count but found myself doing it, albeit a little quick. As they said we probably would, I spent several seconds staring up at my canopy, thinking to myself, “well, look at that- it really did open”! Even though they had told us how quiet it would be, I was surprised at how peaceful and easy it was to hang there. I remember gingerly pulling at the toggles, feeling the canopy respond, and making a few turns, trying to get oriented. I indulged in a quick look around at the scenery- which was pretty spectacular and then started thinking about the ground. It wasn’t coming up fast but it was definitely approaching. All of the separate units started to come together and each phase led to the next. Oh right, I need to land. I have to admit I didn’t want the flight to end but again, the ground was there, and getting nearer. I managed a reasonable roll although my feet came apart and I anticipated the ground. I remembered to yell “Kinoshita OK!” but spent some time just looking around and savoring the rush before starting to unclip the parachute and get my gear off. Where was I in relation to the panel? Where were my rookie bros? Everyone made it down safe and elated. I didn’t have to use either the malfunction training or the let-down procedure. Several of the instructors were there, for high fives and one got a photo which I hope to post soon. I think I’m sporting a really silly grin.

In that two-minute flight, it all became worth it. It may just be a delivery system for getting firefighters to a fire but it was amazingly fun (in case anyone in upper management is reading this, it was a lot of hard work and I suffered greatly but am willing to bear this burden in support of the larger agency mission-please keep me). Did I mention that it was a lot of fun? I have to admit to some giggling. The system worked and our training worked (although it also became clear how complex bringing this all together is going to be). Our first jump!

This afternoon we had a guest lecturer, a former Missoula smokejumper and now an associate professor at the University of Montana, come in and talk to us about “performance psychology”. He talked about “mental toughness”, confidence, our coherence as a rookie class, and fear management. It was a very enlightening presentation and several things struck me. I realized how much I’d been dreading the morning PT because it was an unknown, and that the dread was actually sapping some of my energy. I don’t like to fail and the PT often left me feeling like I was failing. Especially now with a bit more rest I’m starting to feel like I can at least succeed in parts of the PT and that it isn’t a test, it’s about getting stronger. This is probably a hold-over from the first week in which I felt like every PT session was a test. If I can resist the fear, I can continue to train and become stronger. I will never be able to keep up with all of my rookie class but there are certain parts that I can keep up with or succeed at and the stronger I am the safer and more productive I’ll be.

Listening to some of the veteran smokejumpers it occurs to me that they (we, if I make it) embrace the unknown and actually derive enjoyment, excitement or satisfaction out of their ability to fly to a never-before-seen jump spot and fire, size it up and land successfully. I have always thought of myself as someone who embraces adventure, finding excitement in the unknown. I remember the thrill of my first National Park Service job, a seasonal position with Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park out of Skagway, Alaska (if you get the chance, visit the park and go hike the Chilkoot Trail- it’s absolutely fantastic). That was a big unknown and although I was nervous getting off the plane there, I was excited about the prospect of being in a new environment, and of being physically and intellectually challenged. The great people I met there and all the diverse things I got to do was what made me want to continue working for the National Park Service. So where did that excitement and embrace of the unknown go? Have I lost it? I don’t think so- I look back on this blog as I got ready for the detail and I think I sense it there.

The professor reminded me of the power of visualization. I’ve used visualization before and need to here as well for things like my exits, parachute manipulation and landings. Being able to visualize my success will help me build my confidence. All of these things are part of the psychological factors in the triad of factors (environmental and physical factors as well) that come together to determine an optimal performance zone. The psychological factors I can build up and control. I needed an attitude adjustment and the timing of his talk- following a successful first jump, was ideal.

Friday, June 4th, 2010

2010-06-20T20:37:00.001-06:00

Now all the emphasis is on jumping (and PT). The firefighting experience and skills we came to the program with and tested that first week. The instructors have reminded us that the jumping is just a delivery system. Once on the ground we are firefighters. Right now though, with all the emphasis we’re putting on jumping, it’s odd to think that the jumping part is probably less than two minutes of our time on a fire.
Each day the “units” progress with a little more added to them. In “Landings” we progressed from doing the rolls on flat ground to doing them off a low ramp onto woodchips and then off a higher ramp (about a three-foot drop). We practiced forward rolls to both sides, backward rolls to both sides and rolls downhill to both sides. I’m doing ok at keeping my feet together, arms in and getting a good roll but have still managed to smack my head a couple of times. Moving around in all that gear is like trying to do a roll in one of those padded sumo suits that I tried on in a bar once back in the ‘90s. We’ve started using a simulator, nicknamed the “slam-u-lator”. It’s a single tower like a ski chair lift tower with a wheel on either side of the top. On each side a cable loops over the wheel and runs at about a 45 degree angle down to a small shack which contains a motor and anchor. From the cable hangs a steel circle to which parachute risers (the buckle that attaches to the harness and the webbing that leads up to the parachute cord suspension lines) are attached. A jumper is connected to the risers and then lifted up to the top. The motor is then reversed and the jumper comes down at approximately the speed and angle of an actually jump, and must execute a good PLF upon hitting the wood chips on the ground. It’s quite the amusement park ride but is effective at inspiring a good roll.
In “Exits”, we’ve added the exit tower. Climbing up the multiple flights of stairs in full jump gear is interesting. We’re then inside a mock-up of an airplane. We are connected to risers that are in turn hung from a cable outside a door. Our spotters give us a short briefing, we are told to “get in the door”, “get ready” and then slapped to exit. We must exit the door with vigor, snap into position and then ride down the slanting cable to the ground approximately 100 yards away, doing our count. My first exit from the tower rattled my teeth a bit but it’s given me a sense of the rush of the movement we will probably experience. Later in the week the instructors added “malfunctions” to our risers and if we looked up at the end of our count and saw a red streamer we needed to start our total malfunction procedure, calling out “malfunction, malfunction”, looking to our reserve handle, pulling it and getting our head and hands out of the way. A yellow streamer meant a partial malfunction after which we had to announce the malfunction, determine our rate of descent and then verbalize what we were doing to correct it and decide whether we needed to pull the reserve or not.
We’ve added a “Parachute Manipulation” unit as well, where we’ve been learning how to drive a parachute. Pull on the left toggle and you turn left, pull on the right toggle and you turn right. Pull down on both and you brake (actually lose drive). Now consider that the forward drive of a FS-14 (the parachute we use) is about 9-miles an hour. Given 100 yards of drift on the streamer, which translates into about a 3-mile an hour wind, when you are running with the wind your airspeed should be about 12 miles an hour and when you turn into the wind you should be able to penetrate the wind at about 6-miles an hour. Then maintain good horizontal separation from your jump partner (mid-air collisions are definitely frowned upon-there was one section devoted to avoiding each other), set up 200 feet from the ground to turn into the wind for landing, make sure you’ve got an alley-way to the jump spot, land down-slope, avoid hazards in the jump spot like trees, logs, stumps, rocks, fences, holes and any number of other things. Plan all this while glancing out the window as you fly over, watching the streamers float down towards the jump spot which might be 40 yards by 40 yards big on a slope surrounded by trees. Execute your plan in a minute and half adjusting to changing conditions on the ground. I’m not sure if I described the design of our jump suits which includes full-length leg zippers that can come off at the bottom of the legs so that they can access your leg quickly in case of a broken femur. It’s become clear to me that the jumping part is where the physical demands of the job first meet the cerebral demands. There is a lot to think about in a short time and it’s going to take a lot of practice. The potential consequences of error are huge.

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

2010-06-20T20:32:00.001-06:00

We began “units” today after a 0600 PT session- a solid run up the hills above the airport. The “units” are one to two-hour stations where we are beginning to learn the building blocks of parachuting. In “Landings” we learned the basics of a good “Parachute Landing Fall” or PLF, in “Exits” we practice the “hit-it drill”-how to launch out of the airplane door in the correct body position and count “jump-thousand, two-thousand, three-thousand, four-thousand, look –thousand after which we check our canopy, check the location of our jump partner, and then check the location of the jump spot. The “Mock-ups” unit is where we practice loading the airplane, and tantalizingly, excitingly, exiting the aircraft. In “Let-downs” we are practicing escaping the inevitable landing in a tree. The idea of crashing down through a tree sounds scary but that’s one of the reasons we wear the heavy suit and why we train for it. If it looks like I’m going to tree-up, I want to be a tight package going into the tree, aiming about 16 to 20 feet below the top, and just to the side of the trunk to try to cap the top of the tree with my canopy and get hung up securely. It’s worse to hang up in a tree poorly and then crash to the ground without your canopy open. I’m sure you’re all asking yourselves what I asked- if my aim was that good, wouldn’t I have stayed out of the tree? Never mind.
At the end of last week we learned how to properly don our jump suits and harnesses, and practiced doing it correctly in less than three minutes. At each station we don the jump suit and harness and are motivated to do it correctly and quickly by the promise of push-ups for each failure. The reason for this is clear- we are being ordered to a fire and must be able to don our gear quickly so that we can get there fast. Once on the ground, we must be able to get out of our gear quickly to help our jump partner if need be, receive our gear or cargo, and fight the fire. Doing it correctly is more personal-we depend on the gear as a critical part of a sophisticated system that keeps us safe and so must be very familiar with the function and use. Each piece plays an important role in the overall system.
I remember the practice suit-ups last week as a sort of respite from the PT, although there were certainly push-ups and other calisthenics when we failed to get under three minutes or didn’t do it correctly. I certainly was motivated to do it right and fast. It was however, intriguing and exciting to be doing something that was related to jumping- it confirmed that we weren’t being sent home quite yet.
We also were introduced to the landing roll and the “hit-it” drill which I’d read and heard about. On the spotter’s command to “get in the door”, left foot forward, knees slightly bent, back straight, eyes to the horizon, left hand protecting our reserve, right hand holding onto the side rail just inside the door. The spotter’s next command will probably be “get ready” after which both hands go low to the sides of the door and our bodies coil to propel us out the door. The next command is a slap to the shoulder after which we launch straight forward into a tight cannonball, hands on either side of our reserve, heels up to our rears, chin tucked down. We must maintain that position until after our count and we’ve established that we have a good canopy. We do the drill over and over, locking it into our muscle memory.
I see why there is so much emphasis put on being physically prepared. The jumpsuit, harness, helmet, main and reserve parachutes, personal gear bag (PG bag) all add up to a lot of extra weight- at least 50 pounds, to be carrying around. Walking becomes more of a waddle, and climbing stairs- even just a few into the airplane is a physical challenge. We are fortunate that is cool and overcast because I’m already dripping with sweat in these cool temperatures and can’t imagine doing all this training in hotter weather.

May 31st, 2010

2010-06-20T20:17:00.001-06:00

I spent the weekend here in Missoula just taking it easy and recovering. Saturday morning I went to a local coffee shop and just sat there for a while nursing my coffee, thinking about the past week and enjoying feeling sore and tired. Last week was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I caught up with some friends that live here and ate out several of times. I grocery shopped, cleaned and sorted my gear, oiled my boots and took several showers just because I could. I’ve been watching all the bruises change colors and begin to fade. The light stretching I’ve been doing has helped tremendously and I even went for a very short, easy run. Today I got a massage which was painful but felt wonderful. I’m so glad today is a holiday because I’m not sure I’m ready. One more good night’s sleep…

May 28th, 2010

2010-06-14T06:43:00.003-06:00

Friday, May 28th 2010
Well, the best I can say is that I survived. This post is late but it’s actually better that I’ve had some time to process what happened last week while we camped in the woods. I started out writing a play-by-play of all the things we did, but I realized that I could spend a bunch of time doing that and would never truly capture the fatigue, frustration, cold, discomfort, bonding and excitement that we, as rookie candidates, shared last week.

Even if I could write well enough to truly convey those things I’m not sure that if you’ve never experienced it, you could understand the process that we went through as a group. Even as I look back on my earlier blog entries they sound naïve. I should have trained twice or three times as hard but I’m still not sure that would have been enough. The overnight fireline cut, the early morning runs, the sets of calisthenics in rapid succession all were all challenging in themselves but not extraordinary. Passing 5-gallon “cubies” of water back and forth while we ran, “bear crawls” for ten or twenty yards or even carrying logs would have been physically challenging alone but because of the cumulative effects, I have never been as physically challenged as I was that week. It was frustrating to fall behind or not keep up, to not be able to move any more. There were dark moments where I both feared and hoped that one of the instructors would finally come over and give me the “hey, this just isn’t working out” speech. There were several times that I asked myself “do I really want to do this all summer long”? There were moments of rage at myself for being weak and not having prepared better. There were moments of anger towards the instructors for exposing my weakness. But there were also a few moments where I was pushed, and found a little something more to give.

All these things taken together and experienced as a group appeared to simply push us physically but as I look back I realize that the real emphasis was bringing us together as a group, learning our own physical limits but more importantly, learning what others bring to the table and how to lean on them when our own abilities failed us. The most embarrassing part of this is that our instructors told us that from day one and looking back, certainly weren’t hiding it. It was just too easy for me to get wrapped up in the physical challenges.
On the first day, we were given a short list of five expectations, which I still carry in a plastic bag in my shirt pocket. These begin with “Respect” towards the trainers, each other and the smokejumper program. Then there is “Honesty”. We need to be honest with the trainers if we’re sick or hurt. We must be honest with ourselves if we’re hurt or sick and, we must ask ourselves if this is really where we want to be and what we want to be doing. There is “Work Ethic” meaning that we are expected to give 100% of ourselves to the instructors and to each other. We must “Clearly Understand Instructions” and if we don’t, we must ask. Finally, there is “Humility”. We should be proud of what we accomplish but, in hindsight I think part of the process is recognizing our own limits, what we need to do to improve ourselves and recognizing that everyone brings something to the job, and we are more effective as a team.

These expectations reflect the effort and sacrifice that the trainers put into a sophisticated training that presents 70 years of smokejumper history and development. I am beginning to understand the tight camaraderie that smokejumpers have. They have all shared this process of physical challenge, and have a shared respect for the work ethic or drive, that must be present in order to do this job. That camaraderie was encouraged in us. We were quizzed on each other’s names and backgrounds. We were to move as a team and when one faltered, were expected to go back for him. We learned to encourage and drive each other. We gradually came to realize that our own work ethic wasn’t really about us as individuals, but that when we are out there on a fire, we have only ourselves to rely on and any work that I don’t do will be something that one of my “bros” will have to.

There were other moments in the first week of excitement and fun. Learning to climb trees with spurs and a flip-line to retrieve cargo hung up in trees, learning cross-cut saw techniques were both useful and fun. Putting on a “talent show” one evening was both entertaining and provided a glimpse into my fellow rookies lives. Yes, we did the 85 pound pack-out and that was one of the hardest three miles I’ve ever done, even harder than the 110 pound pack-out in the rain. The cumulative effect of the physical work left me weak and sore, and more tired than I’ve ever been. Simple jumping jacks have never been so exhausting. It left me emotionally bare. I have a huge amount of respect for our trainers and all smokejumpers that have passed this “test” and maintain this level of physical fitness year after year after year. Even more, than just their physical fitness though, I respect their drive and intensity, their intelligence and their humility.

Earlier in the blog I talked about being on the fireline with jumpers and I recognize now the humility with which they answered the questions about the 110 pound pack-outs, and the questions about how to become a jumper, quietly encouraging other firefighters, like me to look into and pursue it. Being able to reflect on the past week has allowed me to appreciate what they have given me- the chance to look into myself and see if I have what it takes to push myself beyond my comfort level, to a higher standard.

And I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for my fellow rookies who came back for me, who ached and suffered along side of me, who pushed me, who carried weight for me, and who worked alongside me to figure out how to navigate this new adventure. I cried in frustration, humility and weakness but have managed to survive.

Jun the Jumper’s May Journal Entries - Last Minute Prep and Heading to Missoula!

2010-06-01T14:01:00.003-06:00

Saturday, May 1, 2010

My week of more-intensive lifting with machine-centered cardio went well. Friday was a rest day and I flew back to Chicago. My brother picked me up and we dashed down to Champaign-Urbana to pick up our packets for the Illinois Half-Marathon. It’s my brother’s first half marathon and my second. We spent the night at my folks’ place and then got up early this morning to head into town. I ate a bagel and a banana, and drank a chocolate milk for breakfast. Oh, and a cup of coffee. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel for the race so hadn’t planned on going all out. I intended to run a slow first mile to see how my body would respond but it was so packed at the start that I really didn’t have much of a choice. It was a 10-minute mile but I couldn’t have run it any faster- or slower for that matter. My body felt good- almost like I was being pulled along so I took off after the second mile. I wound up with a pretty respectable time and a sizeable blister on my heel. Afterwards, I felt like I recovered fairly quickly (except for the blister). We met some friends at my favorite barbeque joint and I celebrated with a 1/3 slab of ribs and a lemon shake-up!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Back in Yosemite! I did a lot of stretching while in Illinois and did manage to drop and buck up a tree for my parents and split a little firewood which was good exercise. I also did about 20 minutes on the elliptical machine at the hotel before I flew out. It was great to run a half marathon with my brother and I realized how much I enjoy being this fit and I would like to maintain it after the detail. My brother and I talked about making this an annual event which would be fun. Today I ran 10 miles starting with the hill.

Friday, May 7, 2010
I did the pack test today. This is the physical requirement for arduous-duty wildland firefighters - carry 45 pounds for 3 miles in less than 45 minutes. It is a challenge but it’s really not that hard for someone who spends time outside hiking or is in decent shape and it’s the ritual that we all have to do, every year. I’ve done it every year for the last ten years. This year though, I did it with 90 pounds to get an idea of how my training has paid off. The 85-pound pack out that I’ll have to do in less than a month is over rolling terrain. The 110-pound pack out will be over relatively flat terrain. This was my chance to get an idea of where I am and what flavor of suffering I can anticipate. Several questions were rolling around the night before. Will it work against me by intimidating me? Will I have the mental toughness to stay with it even though I know that for this test I can shed the extra weight and still pass?

So how did it go? I did it in 40 minutes, and recovered well enough to go for a three-mile run afterwards. I’m feeling pretty good about my training and my ability to do this. Not cocky. I know that the intent of the training is to catch us at our weakest to do the pack-outs. There is the rolling terrain. And 20 more pounds is a substantial increase at that level. But it is within grasp. I think I can, I think I can....

Thursday, May 13, 2010
My exercise routine is starting to taper. I want to be fresh and rested when I arrive. Monday I ran the hill for three miles. Tuesday I lifted and did 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Wednesday I ran the flat 7 miles. Each day I’m also doing some stretching and my usual sit-up and push-up routine.

The week has also been very busy from a work perspective. I’m cramming to get everything, like the budget, to-do lists, references and gear, ready for the person who is coming in to backfill behind me.

Monday May 17, 2010
Today we had what we call the “Fire Family get-together” or orientation. It’s the one time of the season when the entire Yosemite fire management organization gets together in one room. It’s great to see familiar faces that were away all winter and talk about the skiing we did or how each other’s kids are growing. I usually give a short talk on what cultural resources are, what resources firefighters are likely to encounter in the field and why those resources are important. This year I intended on giving a very brief talk about the results of the work we did after the Big Meadow fire of last year but because of some of the computer issues I’ve been dealing with, only an earlier version of my presentation got copied over. I did spend a couple of minutes talking informally about the detail, to give them some idea of why I want to do this, why I think it will benefit my job, and how this came about. I summarized some of the rationale that I wrote up as I was applying for the detail and the funding to cover my salary and travel. As you have read some of my past entries, some of you may be wondering “why” as well. I wonder sometimes too….

As I talked about earlier, it’s always been a dream of mine and I’ve certainly been infected by the romanticized image of the smokejumper. But as the Regional Fire Archeologist and I talked about it (it seems so long ago) we realized that there really are great reasons why this makes sense. Although I’ve enjoyed strong support from fire managers here at Yosemite, been afforded many training opportunities, and have been exposed to a lot of fire here, I’d like to see different fire behavior in different fuel types, and see how fire is managed in different agencies. For example, I have been a Type V Incident Commander (IC) trainee (ICT5 is the most basic of ICs for the lowest-complexity fires, and Type I is the most complex) for at least three years now. I’ve completed many of the task book requirements but still need to be an IC on a couple of small fires to get signed off. Unfortunately, here in the park when we get busy with lots of small fires, I tend to get busy with my day job as well. Also, I have my career well-established and don’t really need the certification to continue. There are lots of up-and-coming firefighters who do need the experience and training to build their careers and I certainly don’t want to take those opportunities away from them. This jumper detail will be a great opportunity for me to build my own qualifications, hopefully to IC Type IV, and focus on firefighting tactics and strategies. Increased experience and qualifications will give me more freedom to safely move about on the fireline without being a hindrance or burden. It’s interesting to note that within the Incident Command System, an IC or Division Supervisor- really whomever you fall under, is personally liable for your safety and depending on the situation and their comfort level can limit your access to the fireline. If you have to be escorted around the fireline, you are drawing away someone from firefighting.

I suspect that the smokejumpers are very efficient at what they do since they have limited logistical support once they’re out on a fire and in many cases have to carry out what they bring in with them. I’m looking forward to learning their strategies and tactics as that they employ based on their assessment of how much needs to be done to control a fire. Questions they probably ask are similar to questions I might ask as a READ, such as “how wide does that line need to be to hold, given the fire behavior?” They may also be more apt to use natural barriers to reduce the amount of work their people have to do, given their limited number.

I’ve always been impressed with the level of knowledge about and appreciation for the resource demonstrated by firefighters. The few smokejumpers I’ve had the chance to really talk with have also displayed a sharp understanding of fire management policy and the implications it has for resource management. They’ve been very interested in exploring their role in the larger picture. Many of these people are going to wind up in higher management positions as their careers continue and I’d like to build a relationship with them now. While I fully expect that I’ll be learning all season long, I hope that the information exchange can also be two-way and that some of the folks I work with will walk away with a better understanding of why we (as resource managers) care about certain things. Finally, I’ve always talked about the need for a bridge to reach out to both sides and I’d like to be that resource manager reaching out to fire managers, developing a better understanding of what our common goals are.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
I arrived here in Missoula after a long drive up. I drove long yesterday and spent the night along the way. Last week was tough both mentally and physically as I tried to get everything done before I left. I managed to catch a cold from my son and had one day where I felt pretty bad, but it’s moved into my chest with a lingering cough. I’ve been doing some sit-ups and pushups and other exercises but nothing that really pushed my limits. I did run the weed trimmer for several hours this past weekend- does that count?

I arrived about 10 am today and found the Smokejumper Center. One of the other rookies had arrived at the same time I had. We were checked into the barracks, got our parking passes and then were taken down to the basement where we were issued our training gear. We were issued jump suits, helmets and harnesses for training although we’ll be issued real jump gear later. We received ankle braces and hardhats. A lot of the gear we were issued was the same as what you would find in any wildland firefighter’s cache including a “PG” or personal gear bag (sometimes called “line gear” or “IA” for initial attack” bag, that attaches to the harness on our front, a fire shelter tucked into the bottom pouch for quick, emergency access, a headlamp, flight gloves as well as work gloves. It was a reminder that although the delivery system is different, the primary job is that of a highly-trained wildland firefighter.

After we got our gear all sorted out, we had a short meeting in which the base manager, training officer and Northern Rockies Geographic Area Coordinating Center manager welcomed us and laid out expectations. I was not surprised to hear the reminder that our behavior off work hours can reflect on not just the jumpers but our home unit and wildland firefighters in general. There are lots of stories about jumpers who work hard and party hard. I think many groups that have that romantic, dangerous aura develop that reputation, no matter how un-warranted it is. I’ve actually been very impressed at the discipline and seriousness that most of the jumpers I’ve encountered both on and off the fireline have demonstrated.

I have also been impressed with the very fit-looking people walking around here… I took a short run and did a short lifting session. Falling asleep in the barracks I listened to planes until late.

Moderator's Note: Jun has begun basic training and still has several weeks of training left. He will be blogging under his own name in the near future.

Jun the Jumper’s April Journal Entries - The Training Continues

2010-06-01T14:00:00.001-06:00

Saturday, April 3, 2010
We’re visiting friends in San Luis Obisbo so took the opportunity to run up one of the hills behind their house. It was about a three-mile trail run with a pretty steep finish which had me ready to hurl. Afterwards, I did a full set of my weighted jumping jacks, push-up to standings, sit-ups and curls. I felt pretty good. I can feel my body changing, becoming tighter so I did more stretching. I’ve also had to be very conscientious on this trip- I usually take advantage of the great restaurant opportunities down here.

Thursday, April 8, 2010
I’m cranking out the miles this week. Monday I ran 7 miles flat, Tuesday I ran 3 but up the hill behind the housing area, Wednesday I was back out for 7 miles and then Thursday I did three miles flat but ran the first 1.5 miles in under 12 minutes, which is one of the requirements.

Monday, April 12, 2010
This past week was my most intense to date but I hit a sort of plateau this weekend. It might also be my allergies acting up or I’m fighting off something. The weekends are typically my opportunity to do something different like helping friends thin the forest around and pile the slash for burning or helping our neighbors buck up a large oak that came down in their corral this winter. I’ve always enjoyed that kind of work and for training have been enjoying the full-body workout of running the chainsaw, dragging trees and slash, tossing rounds, and splitting firewood.

Today it was raining pretty heavily and I’m still feeling off so I lifted weights in the gym. I did several pyramids for upper body as rapidly as possible, including two sets of chin-ups. When I got home I did a routine of weighted jumping jacks, push-up lunges, curls, and sit-ups/crunches.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
I was in a supervisory training all day today so took the 3-mile hill run for lunch. Good stuff and I’m feeling back into it.

Saturday, April 17, 2010
Today I combined my two loops, the uphill three-mile course and the flat seven-mile course for a total of ten miles! I was pretty beat by the time I finished but had enough in me to stop by the gym and crank out a set of pull-ups and twisting squats. I did more stretching and sit-ups at home. I’m getting into the routine though and need to find new ways to work out and mix it up.
Sunday April 18, 2010
This morning a good friend and I took our sons up into the park to do a quick tour of the valley and then head up to Chinquapin, to play in the snow. His son is a bit older so was able to snowshoe but I put my son in the sled and skied, pulling him up the hill. Although it was a short trip with interludes for playing in the snow, sledding and a picnic lunch, I got a little workout and it felt good to do something different. Even in day-to-day activities I’m finding a workout. We sometimes go for a walk and my son, who is almost three and weighs about 30 pounds is more than happy to sit on my shoulders and call out “giddyup daddy! Giddyup!” It’s amazing how winded I can be by skipping for 100 yards with an extra 30 pounds. A few days before Halloween last year I came home from the office and picked him up and was skipping around the living room with him. Suddenly I heard a “pop” and down I went with a pulled calf muscle which led to a week on crutches. I think that was the injury that was bothering me earlier in the training. So I have definitely focused on stretching, trying to stretch at any opportunity, like standing in line at the grocery store.
Monday April 19, 2010
I did the annual Wildland Fire Refresher today. To be out on the fireline at the arduous-duty level, we have to take two required courses (sometimes called the “Basic 32” for the 32 hours it takes), get a physical and then take what’s called the “pack test”, which consists of carrying 45 pounds over three miles in under 45 minutes. We then get a “Red Card” (which is now white) and get entered into a national dispatch and qualification-tracking system. The Basic 32 consists of an introduction to fire behavior, fireline safety and wildland firefighting techniques. I first took a state certification course while working in Alaska but took the federal course upon arriving in Yosemite. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to spend a lot of time out on fires, both prescribed burns and wildfires. Often, if I’m done with my archeological or Resource Advisor (READ) duties, I’ll stay on a burn to help “hold”. On a couple of occasions they’ve folded me into the ignition team for a few passes. I’ve also taken some time out on wildfires to just sit and watch fire moving through different fuels. It’s been fascinating to sit and eat my lunch and try to figure out what the fire is going to do when it reaches certain points, how it’s going to move up a particular log or how high is it going to be able to climb up into a tree.

Thursday, April 22, 2010
I joined in the pick-up soccer game in El Portal this evening which was a good two-hours of sprinting, twisting and turning. I was surprised at how quickly I regained my breath and how well I felt during the game. It was a lot of fun too. I’m aware of becoming bored and not pushing myself as hard during my daily workouts.

Friday, April 23, 2010
I woke up this morning barely able to move. I think I’m sick with some cold or flu but the soccer put me over the edge. My whole body aches and I feel exhausted. Well, I’m certainly not 20 years old anymore. I’m taking the day off from exercise but doing a few stretches.

Saturday, April 24, 2010
I’ve been planning on doing the 10K Spring Run-off in El Portal as an intermediate objective and barometer of my training but after feeling sick yesterday told my wife that we’d have to play it by ear. It was going to be a family excursion for a typical El Portal event with lots of kids, friends, dogs, food and fun. I woke up feeling better this morning so we went for it, I told my wife I’d see how I felt when I got there. Of course once we got there I had to do it. After all, my new running shoes came in yesterday! I had a pretty good un-official time of 43:05 and my son ran his first race- the 1-mile fun run! He came running out to me as I neared the finish. At any rate, the race helped to loosen me up again and I was able to compare my time to 10ks I’ve done in the past.

Monday, April 26, 2010
Yesterday I flew to Tallahassee with the Regional Fire Archeologist to present the Resource Advisor (READ) training again and so it was essentially a rest day. I did do sit-ups and push-ups in the hotel. We have access to a local gym so I jogged about a mile down there and lifted pretty hard. My plan for the week is to hit the gym every day, doing different combinations of lifting and elliptical machine workouts. And of course there will be the sit-ups and push-ups and stretches in the hotel room. I’m going to have to watch what I eat though. We’ve met up with the National Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Coordinator and already hit a great Thai restaurant…

Jun the Jumper’s March Journal Entries - Prepping to Become a Rookie Smokejumper

2010-06-01T13:59:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
I got back to the office from a meeting and had a voice mail from the Missoula jumpers. I called back and left a message. She called at around 4:00 our time and offered me the detail position. I jumped up and down for a while, hugged my boss, ran down to dispatch to tell some friends who knew that I’d been applying and then went for a quick workout in the gym. I did an upper-body and arm workout in quick pyramids. That means I started by doing ten repetitions with a light weight, increased the weight and did eight repetitions, increased the weight and did six repetitions, and so on. This continued up to two repetitions with the heaviest weight after which I went back down the pyramid, increasing the repetitions while decreasing the weight.

Thursday, March 11, 2010
I started making phone calls and e-mails to set up the backfill detail. I ran 7 miles on flat ground- along my usual running course but longer than the 3 miles I usually do. I did some sit-ups and stretches at home. I’m still pretty amped up about the detail- I had prepared myself for the reality that I wouldn’t get accepted and had worked up a very gracious speech in my head that went something like “Hey, I really appreciate your consideration- I know the jumpers are a very intense, focused group and that the idea of someone like me trying to jump might not fit into the mission”. Fortunately, I didn’t have to use it. At the same time, it’s a reality now and I’ve got to get ready. There’s so much to do!

Friday, March 12, 2010
I’ve been doing sets of 50 jumping jacks while holding 8-lb weights since December so I did a set of those. I’ve also been doing sets of ten repetitions of a push-up and lunge combination which starts with a push-up with weights in my hands, followed by quickly pulling my feet up under me to a crouch, and finishing up by standing erect while pressing the weights up over my head. I’ve also been doing sets of 50 light-weight curls with a press of the weight up over my head after each fifth curl. I followed this routine with a variety of crunches and stretches. I ate too much left-over Chinese food for lunch so just ate a little bean and cheese quesadilla for dinner.

Thursday, March 25, 2010
We finished up the Resource Advisor (READ) course today which culminates two very busy weeks with the Society for California Archeology (SCA) meetings and then preparing for the READ training. The READ training is one I’ve been helping to develop and present for several years now. The READ serves as a single point of contact between fire management and resource management- I’ve described it for years using a bridge analogy. The READ is responsible for synthesizing and presenting concerns about resources such as wilderness, archeology, wildlife, rare and endangered plants, and invasive plants or animals among others. Fire managers may not have time during an incident to poll all of the required “ologists” (biologists, hydrologists, ecologists, archeologists, etc.) and so the READ can provide an important service to fire managers. In my position as fire archeologist at the park, I often fill the READ role as well but we’ve been trying to develop a strong program there with many participants, to share the workload and provide better information.

I’ve been squeezing in workouts where I can but have also been eating out a bit more- and have thus not been as strict on my diet as I should be. Since January I’ve been avoiding sugar in my coffee. As I mentioned, I’ve been watching what I eat. I’ve noticed a craving for protein however. I arrived in Riverside for the SCAs and had to have a steak for dinner. I got to the hotel late and so did a several sets of push-ups and sit-ups with stretches.

Not that I’ve been hiding it but I’ve been trying to keep the talk about the detail to a minimum until I actually got accepted. I had described walking around on the fireline with jumpers to be like walking around with Elvis- everybody wanted to stop and ask “do you really do the 110 pound pack-outs?”, “how do you become a jumper”? So now that the word is out, there is quite the buzz about it. I’ve been surprised and grateful for the expressions of support- and have found that my analogy of jumpers being like Elvis to be somewhat confirmed in terms of the celebrity and mystique. Everyone has been positive and excited for me though. One of our dispatchers sent over “Jumping Fire” by Murray Taylor- in which I found several stories about the rookie year of a jumper that I got to briefly meet and work for in 2008. Another one of our dispatchers called up and said that her boyfriend, a firefighter here had sent a print-out of the Smokejumper guide that he’d put together. Apparently he’s been interested in the jumpers too. I saw some friends sitting out on their deck one day while out on my run and they asked and were very excited for me. He was a jumper, is now a research scientist and is one of the inspirations for this detail. Our head of telecommunications, with whom I did the pack test with last year asked if I’d been accepted and was excited for me as well. The regional fire archeologist mentioned it at the SCA meetings and several participants and audience members came up afterwards to say “cool” and ask “why?”. The words of encouragement are really helpful and great but I have also come to the realization that there are going to be a lot of people watching. And reading along I hope.

I’ve been averaging 7 miles twice a week but next week I’m going to add in a 3-mile hill-climbing run in between. My calf had been giving me a sharp pain but seems to be holding up well with increased stretching. I also need to be doing more stretching and lifting.

Monday March 29, 2010
We had an all-division meeting today up at Badger Pass, the small ski resort in the park. I skinned up the hill and got one run down during lunch, and then skinned up and got in another run at the end of the day. Today was my wife’s birthday so we went out for dinner (I had fish tacos in case you were wondering…) but I did do 35 pushups and a set of sit-ups before bed.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Got a box in the mail today from Missoula- a large, no make that HUGE orange bag marked “MSO Rookie 35”, a DVD “Region 1 Smokejumper Rookie Training”, a booklet on training, and a “Lodging and Transportation Request Form”. I filled out the form and got it faxed in. We all watched the DVD in the evening, which led to my 3-year old putting his little dinosaur backpack on and jumping off the couch yelling “watch me- I smokejumper!”. I’m not so sure what I’m supposed to do with the bag but I suspect I’m to fill it up and carry it around. I ran 7 miles and then did my weighted jumping jacks, push-up floor lunges or whatever they’re called, curls and sit-ups today. In the training booklet there is a list of alternate training routine suggestions. One is a video by “Scott” and the booklet says that a rookie candidate should be able to “easily” follow “Scott’s arduous” workout. “Scott is a former Navy Seal who probably spent a week in a swamp eating raw snake. I’m an archeologist with a soft spot for Chinese food and baked goods. There’s a disconnect there…

Welcome to Jun the Jumper's Detail Blog

2010-05-27T11:55:00.001-06:00

Hello, hello…is this thing on?

Welcome to what some might consider my mid-life crisis. I’m a professional archeologist working for the National Park Service at Yosemite National Park and now I’m off to attempt to be a smokejumper for a season? One of the most common questions I’ve heard is “why”? And those who know me have asked some variation of “How does your wife feel about this?” Excellent questions.

I’ve always dreamed of being a smokejumper. My brother, who also harbored a smokejumping dream, and I must have seen jumpers on TV as kids. I grew up in the Midwest, however, and really didn’t know what questions to ask about how to get into wildland fire, let alone smokejumping. It’s hard to believe but there was a time when the internet was just getting connected and information wasn’t just a search engine away. I stumbled into archeology- taught by a great friend and mentor at the local community college and was hooked. I get to be outside, I get to look for old stuff and then I try to re-create the stories hidden in the stuff, figuring out what it means; taking a stone tool or a tin can and translating what role they played in someone’s life. So I actually finished school (some weren’t so sure I would) and headed off to graduate school and got a summer job with the National Park Service in Alaska. This first job with the NPS was a fantastic experience- working with a great group of people in an incredible natural and cultural place.

After finishing up my coursework, I applied for an archeology job here at Yosemite, which happened to be working with the fire management program. The Sierra Nevada is a fire-adapted ecosystem and has a long and rich archeological record as well. The fire program here is big and busy and has a long history of progressive fire management. I conduct inventory surveys, pre-burn assessments, implement avoidance, protection or mitigation measures and then document impacts to cultural resources in support of the fire management program. I also co-coordinate the Resource Advisor (READ) program here. While I took a wildland fire training in Alaska and even got to fight fire for a day there, it was here at Yosemite that I really became immersed in wildland fire management. I quickly realized that I needed to know more about how wildland fire is managed and what the potential direct, indirect and operational impacts are. The park has been very supportive of getting me involved, participating in a variety of roles and gaining more experience. I encourage everyone to check out more information on the fire ecology and my job at http://www.nps.gov/yose.

In 2008 I was working in the Operations tent on a large fire up in northern California and overheard one of the overhead say something about jumping. When I asked him if he had been a jumper, he explained that he was an NPS employee who had done a detail with Missoula, where the U.S. Forest Service has a smokejumper base. He gave me some contact information for the Missoula base and encouraged me to look into it. Later that summer I was on a fire up at Crater Lake and was paired up with jumpers from McCall, Idaho who also talked up the detail opportunities. When I got home I did actually talk to my wife about the idea and after some initial “concern”, she encouraged me to look into the idea.

I mentioned it to our regional fire archeologist and Burned Area Emergency Response coordinator, who was the first one to ask how my wife felt about this… We talked about what I’d get out of such an experience and we gradually realized that there were some real lessons to be learned and some great experience to be had from something like that. He suggested I write up a rationale and have his boss, our regional fire ecologist review it. I then talked to my boss during my performance plan meeting- who also asked if my wife knew about this idea. It’s been great that many people have asked me how my wife feels about the detail. It’s certainly going to be a burden on her and my three-year old son and I love that the people that I’m surrounded by at work are concerned about my overall well-being, including my home life.

So I wrote up a rough rationale in which I acknowledged that this had always been a dream of mine but that focused on and articulated legitimate reasons why this experience would help me contribute to the mission of the NPS. Gradually then, we began sharing the rationale with several folks I respect and trust, incorporating their feedback and addressing their questions. I talked to several others (who asked how my wife felt about this) who gradually moved the idea up to the national training specialist who (although rightfully skeptical) read the rational and proposal, and ultimately lent financial, moral and logisitical support to the detail. I also successfully applied for an Albright-Wirth Grant, funded by the National Parks Foundation to support employee development, to cover the travel.

So that’s how I got here. It feels odd to blog about my experience with this detail but one of the things I love about working for the National Park Service is the amount of sharing of information about the experiences and resources with people. I hope it’s at least entertaining and perhaps provides some food for thought. I certainly expect to learn a lot this summer and if readers learn something as well about wildland fire or the challenges of managing fire, that’ll be great. I’m not completely flying solo on this blog. While the experience is mine and I’m enthusiastic about sharing it, I’m also representing the National Park Service and want to do so in a professional and appropriate way. I certainly don’t want to hurt anyone, cause confusion or provide wrong information and so this blog is going to be reviewed by some of the folks that are supporting the detail. I’m ok with that. So, I would like to welcome you along on my smokejumping adventure.

I try to maintain a certain level of fitness because of the demanding nature of my job and I enjoy many outdoor activities such as rock climbing, telemark skiing and soccer. Since December, however, I’ve been training, gradually increasing the intensity and duration. Beginning in January I’ve been watching my diet and nutrition, cutting out most soda except on weekends, controlling my portions, and focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables and protein. One of my weaknesses is food. I love it. Especially when I’m consciously trying to control the types and amounts I eat. So, I should warn you up front that at times this may read like a menu.

Moderator's Note: Jun arrived in Missoula on May 19 and has kept a running journal since March 10. In order to catch readers up to May, we will be posting his March, April, and part of May as separate postings. When Jun is done with training, he will begin adding blog posts periodically as his smokejumping duties allow.