WFR Training in Missoula

The past five days have been overwhelming in the absolutely best kind of way! My internship started early Monday morning with an introduction to the staff before all of the interns headed off for our eight-day and 72 hour-long Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Training course, which is taking place at the University of Montana. WFR is an intensive course that is a combination of lecture and hands-on, realistic scenarios. I am enjoying the course, although at times it feels stressful to deal with problems such as asthma, appendicitis, broken bones, breathing issues, and even unconscious patients. However, our teachers are reminding us that constantly practicing the process of responding to an emergency makes it muscle memory, so that when an actual emergency occurs, we will know how to deal with it.

Life is Missoula is wonderful. WFR is very time consuming, but we have still manage to have fun, too. Yesterday we all hiked up to the M that is on Mount Sentinel (the M is for the University of Montana). The sun was setting as we arrived, and we sat on the rocks, discussing trees and the upcoming summer. As we all chatted, the sun illuminated the distant mountains and shone onto the Clark Fork River, which runs right through Missoula. The city lights became softer, and the view took my breath away. It is truly amazing how close the mountains are to Missoula, and this proximity provides endless fitness and recreational opportunities to residents.

I am starting to try to learn more about western ecology. My dad is sending me Peattie's A Natural History of Western Trees! I included some quotes from Peattie's eastern version in previous blog posts. Anyways, I'm really excited to start learning about this area of the country. I'm looking forward to wilderness orientation and training, which will occur in June. 

Today was our day off from WFR, but we had intern training all day. We went over our summer schedules in great detail, which got all of us even more excited about what we're going to be doing! In about a week, I'll be moving out to the ranger station, where I won't have internet. My blog posts will probably be few and far between, but I'll try to post photos every now and then when I encounter the internet. Until then, I will be exploring the wilderness, and I hope all of you will take the time to experience nature, whether it is by taking a walk through a city park, enjoying your backyard, or taking a hike/bike ride/kayak/canoe/swim! 

North Dakota

Well, folks, we have officially conquered North Dakota. Today we made our way from Fargo across the state to Medora. We spent the entire afternoon enjoying Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which had quite interesting geologic formations and awesome wildlife to boot. Judging from the day's flat drive through wide open fields, I was a bit dubious of what the national park would be like, but it was a completely different landscape and extremely worthwhile to explore. I also tried elk for the first time today, which was actually very good!

At times, North Dakota felt very long and flat...mostly because it IS very long and flat. But there are definitely some gems within it, such as Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The entrance to TRNP in Medora, ND

Roosevelt and Muir: conservation vs. preservation

A bison mud pie with a foot for scale.

Flowering sage (the sage leaves smelled good too). 

Bison!

Bison!

Scoria (the reddish material)

Up close and personal detail

It's starting to look like the wild west!

Prairie dogs in TRNP

Wild horses in TRNP

More wild horses. We think the horse on the far right was pregnant.

Just hanging out after a long day.

The Upper Peninsula

On our way to Montana we went through the U.P., which was, as always, a treat. We stopped at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge and saw loons, geese, ring-necked ducks, osprey, trumpeter swans, white-crowned sparrows, and yellow warblers. The employees and volunteers there were so friendly and genuinely interested in our trip, and told us about the wolf packs that inhabit the area around Seney, which fascinated me. We were among the first visitors of the year, since it was the first day it was open. We stayed in the town of Ironwood, Michigan, which borders Wisconsin.

Link to Seney NWR (A truly wonderful place to visit if you love nature!): http://www.fws.gov/refuge/seney/

Five goslings with parents!

Seney NWR: A beautiful area and a birder's paradise

"If we change the world, let it bear the mark of our intelligence."

What a beautiful view!

A loon! Not only a beautiful bird, but with its haunting call, it's also my favorite sound.

A snapshot of Lake Superior in motion...all sky and water here!

The quintessential symbol of "da U.P., eh?"

Montana awaits!

The time has come! Tomorrow I'm headed out to Montana for my summer wilderness ranger internship. I'm very excited about the opportunities that I've had and continue to have...I am so thankful for the people I meet and the places I go!

I think this quote sums up how I feel:

“I want to taste and glory in each day, and never be afraid to experience pain; and never shut myself up in a numb core of nonfeeling, or stop questioning and criticizing life and take the easy way out. To learn and think: to think and live; to live and learn: this always, with new insight, new understanding, and new love.” -Sylvia Plath



Here's a link to an excellent video about the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation! It makes me so excited!
http://vimeo.com/53759643

Keep on living, learning, loving, and laughing, my friends!

Hemlocks

This time of year it's important to stop and observe the unfurling of the leaves, but it's equally important to give much-deserved attention to the conifers of the landscape.
Here is a passage from Peattie's Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America:

"But not in newsprint and cheap wrapping paper does Hemlock serve us best, but rather rooted in its tranquil, age-old stations. Approaching such a noble tree, you think it dark, almost black, because the needles on the upper side are indeed a lustrous deep blue-green. Yet when you lunch on the rock that is almost sure to be found at its feet, or settle your back into the buttresses of the bole and look up under the boughs, their shade seems silvery, since the under side of each needle is whitened by two lines. Soon even talk of the tree itself is silenced by it, and you fall to listening. When the wind lifts up the Hemlock's voice, it is no roaring like the Pine, no keening like the spruce's. The Hemlock whistles softly to itself. It raises its long, limber boughs and lets them drop again with a sigh, not sorrowful, but letting fall tranquility upon us."

I've never read such beautiful writing!

Night Hiking at Mount Philo

Yesterday I went night hiking at Mount Philo. Not only were the stars absolutely incredible, but we also were lucky enough to hear a barred owl hooting "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?"

Crazy night hikers!