After forever

It's been about a billion years since I have posted here... Is blogging even still a thing?! I don't know!

Regardless I have this vague notion of updating here again... So I will start with this....

This happened 3 weeks ago... Here we go on figuring out the still weird but amazing life of a crazy, still reluctant to grow up, wandering soul who may have gotten married but has no intention of settling down.... God bless this man, may he never run out of patience for my ridiculousness... 

The Caretaker Life... (Written on July 4... Oops!)

Green Mountain Club Caretaker- Round 2!

This time... Stratton Pond Caretaker, southern VT

I think summer in southern Vermont at a lower elevation pond is supposed to be warmer... As I sit on my platform in the rain, wearing my down coat on the 4th of July I think... Maybe no? 

So... The start of this year's field season found me still without a teaching job but with the offer to return to the GMC as a southern caretaker. What's the difference between this year in the south and last year in the north? Last year I was the northern most caretaker at a subalpine pond on the Long Trail... On a windy ridge near Mt Mansfield. I was also at one of the lowest overnight use sights. This year I am the southernmost shelter caretaker on the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail as it makes its way through Vermont. I am at a pond again, but much lower in elevation... Although not warmer so far! It is also the highest use overnight site on the trail... So many hikers!!

Other differnces? Last year I maintained 3 shelters with 1 composting privy and 2 molderers. (Composters get scooped, molderers get stirred in case you wondered!) last year I also maintained about 12.5 miles of the Long Trail and side trails. This year I maintain 4 shelters, 2 campsites, 3 composting systems and 2 molderers, and about 10 miles of trails.

So there you have it. :)

But here is the true difference.... That just may define my whole season... Last year I had LTE cell service in my tent. I could talk, text, and check the Internets whenever I was in the mood. I was never out of touch... This year I get barely one bar of 3G SOMETIMES and no Internets! No emails, phone calls, or FB unless I walk the mile to the other side of the pond.

That's the hardest part of Caretaking I think this year. I've scooped 2 of my 3 privies (one of them multiple times), walked lots of miles, already cleared some major trail obstacles... But I can't talk to my favorite people outside this little piece of heaven by the pond. 

I do love my job! I love being here... In the stillness of a wilderness pond... Meeting AT and LT thru hikers and their weekend counterparts. This is a good place... But it's lonely too. Maybe I'll learn to embrace that... I'll keep ya posted when I have service!!

The sunsets are pretty nice too!!

Leaving the mountains...

I have epically failed at my blogging plans... Aghhhh! So often I thought about blogging... Only to forget or have a dead battery or no cell signal. 

But... The time has nearly come for me to leave the mountains... Sigh.  In just a couple days I'll head back to the city... Leaving behind this lovely view of the majestic Mt Mansfield from my little home above Sterling Pond...

Ahhhh. The pond has been a magical place.  Although it hasn't been easy, my time in the mountains has been such a blessing... I am so very glad I have been here, thankful for the guy who makes it possible, and overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creations in this wild place.

There has been some snow (three times my last week at the pond!), the mud is EVERYWHERE, and everything I own smells AWFUL... But the mountains remain my home... Although I am ready to be warm, comfy, and clean again, I will miss this place.

I am blessed.

Oh! And in other news... The Long Trail is being relocated in the Bolton Valley, to climb Stimson Mountain on its way up Mansfield. Today I spent the day with other field staff high on the ridge, cutting trail...

Good times.

Naked hikers, moose, and icicles

Got your attention there I am sure! Haha. 

Well, blogging hasn't happened quite as often as I planned... Turns out my phone battery dies quickly in the cold weather and my solar charger requires SUN to charge, which is in short supply these short fall days! Hahaha

Anyhoo, last Wednesday as I was packing in to the pond (carrying in my week's supply of food and tools, because I leave most of my stuff at the tent when I go on my days off), I was stopped by multiple people wanting to know if I had seen the "naked hiker". First, no, I didn't see him... And second, I wouldn't be too surprised if I did! For some reason people like to hike naked. I don't get it either. My pack in trail is the Sterling Pond Trail, a 1.4 mile trail that gains nearly 950 feet in elevation. It's easier than most people's pack in so I'm not complaining... But it is also a REALLY popular day hike to come up to the pond... So I was a bit surprised to hear someone would hike naked on that trail... But hike your own hike as they say!! (And apparently he hiked multiple trails because I am STILL hearing stories about him! Hahaha

It's been pretty cold lately on my mountain. I am between three peaks (Madonna, Sterling, and Spruce) at my site and the wind just loves to be funneled through and whip across the pond. All that cold air makes stirring the privy much easier (yay!) but also makes for some COLD nights. Luckily Patrick let me use his 0degree sleeping bag and bought me new wool mittens, and I got a pair of down booties... So even though there were BIG icicles on my tent platform the other morning I am staying nice and warm at night!

And finally... It's moose rutting season. Yup, all those big bull moose are out looking for a mate... And one of them has decided to start looking behind my privy! So although others have seen him I have only heard him and seen his massive footprints! I have still decided to claim him as my personal Sterling Pond pet... I think I'll call him Steve!

Life in the mountains is still peaceful and happy... Not too many weeks left til we pack out my site for the winter... Hard to believe it is going so quickly.  The cold air is blowing, the leaves are AMAZING, and the people are crazy as ever... Hey, it's Vermont! Hahaha

Mountains, ponds, and alpine zones...

Today I am sitting in the bright sunshine atop Mt. Mansfield... The top of Vermont if you will... Surrounded by masses of noisy 6th graders... Delightful. 

Yet Patrick bought me a wonderful solar charger and I have great cell service so while the masses run wild on my summit I thought I'd do a little blog. 

First... Defining some things...

Who I work for: the Green Mountain Club- who mostly maintains the Long Trail but also works on conservation and education in the Vermont Mountains. I also technically work for Americorps. Yay.

What I do: Caretake! When I am on Mt Mansfield I sit on the summit and help people make wise decisions about what trails to hike and where to walk. I also hang out at the visitor center and tell people where the bathrooms are! When I am at Sterling Pond I do trail maintenance, educate people about the pond, collect camping fees and maintain the privy/outhouse (which means I compost the poop!)

How long will I be here? At least til mid October...or when I finish my 400 hour commitment to Americorps!

Why: why not?! I love the mountains, I love Vermont in the fall, and why would I pass up an opportunity to get paid to live in the mountains?!

I'm super excited to see what the fall brings. I'm amazingly blessed that I have people who make it possible for me to love this weirdly wonderful dream (thanks P- you're the best!). And I'm crazy happy the 6th graders are headed down the mountain! 

I'm gonna go make sure they took all their trash.. (They didn't)... I'll keep ya posted!

Wandering...

It's been a LONG time since I blogged. I haven't been doing anything blog worthy I suppose... But I have...

I had a great summer full of friends, family, trips, jobs that appeared right when I needed them, challenging separations, long walks over big mountains, short walks up the hollows of Southern Ohio. Life is crazy.

Now it is almost fall... Kiddies are headed back to school and I found myself without a teaching position. I admit I was pretty upset at first, and I still struggle to not be hugely disappointed in myself, but then... Then I got this crazy opportunity... Which has brought me back to the blog... And which I'll probably blog much about in the coming weeks and months...

I took a job with the Green Mountain Club and Americorps... A crazy caretaker job where they pay me to sit atop Mt. Mansfield and tell people how great hiking is... And to hang out at Sterling Pond and encourage people to care for our mountain lakes. 

Sure it means weird interactions, ridiculous situations, and sleeping in cabins with mice and stinky fellow caretakers... But life is nothing if not an amazing adventure. I am so very blessed.

I'll tell you more about this crazy ride I'm on soon... If the mice don't get me first!

Three years goes so fast...

Tornados are building in the south again.

Like they did this night three years ago.

 

The air is cool and spring is finally here.

Three years ago it felt the same.

 

Tonight I go to sleep in a comfy bed, with no chance of rain leaking

from my tent roof.

So different from three years ago.

 

Tomorrow I will wake up, take a shower, and head to work.

Three years ago I would have hiked 8 miles in the mud

to another spot up the trail.

 

Life is odd and unpredictable.

Three years ago I learned that in a much needed and surprising way.

 

Its hard to fathom that three year ago today I started my 2000 mile

Journey up the East Coast...

Three years ago today I met 4 unlikely companions who changed everything about the beginning of the journey for me...

The whole thing really....

 

More importantly... three years ago today I started a journey that brought me here...

To this moment,

Laying in my comfy bed in Massachusetts, far from Georgia, and Ohio...

And that predictable life I left behind.

 

I am grateful every day for the last three years...

For the people who were there before, that I met along the way, that walk with me still.

I am grateful for a whole bunch of jobs that have come my way when I needed them most,

Support that has surprised me, Questions that have challenged me,

And opportunities that have become amazing memories.

 

I am thankful that in the midst of my crazy...

God always ALWAYS provides.

God is always ALWAYS faithful.

I am so very blessed.

 

And I am thankful too for that night, three years ago, when this crazy girl wandered up to Hawk Mountain Shelter, there was someone there that became one of my very best friends... on the trail, and in life.  Even though neither of us had planned to be there that night (he had hoped to start earlier, I had planned to stop at the first shelter but got there too early) we were.... because God knows what's best for silly little me.... even when it takes me a REALLY long time to figure it out.

 

So, I am thankful for three years... thankful for journeys and friends and challenges and friendship.

And I am thankful that three years ago today I met someone who has challenged me, encouraged me, and helped me grow.  Even though I know I make him crazy some days I don't know what I'd do without him in my life.

 

I am blessed!