Weblog: First day brushing
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I thought we were going to get started early, so I got up at 5 for breakfast. It turns out that we weren't going to meet until 11, so I slept for about an extra hour, then met with Ian and learned how to use the brush saw and got my brushing equiptment (the stuff I missed in the earlier meeting). I spent a while adjusting the equiptment and figuring out what I'm going to wear for the day in the time before the meeting. I decided on my MEC midweight long underwear shirt and pants, and some MEC Rad Pants overtop.
The early morning was really cold. In the late morning there were a couple of showers, but overall the weather for the day was perfect. The odd bit of sun, the odd breeze, and the odd shower. Hardly any bugs today.
The managers were out checking out the block this morning, and they didn't get back until about 11:30. Once they arrived, we loaded up the pickups and went to the block, which was only a ten minute drive away. Once there, we first had a meeting to go over Slocan's Environment Management System (EMS), which basically is a bunch of their rules for being an environmentally friendly company (and get ISO 14000 (?) certification). When Tom said the certification states that the company does its work without harming the environment, I had to suppress a snicker. What do you call cutting down trees and spraying herbicide all over the place? Then we briefly watched some experienced brushers in action.
It took a while to get geared up and figure everything out on the saw (I had only seen a demonstration before, not done it myself). Once that was done, we headed out onto the block. For the first ten minutes the work was really fun. For the next hour or so, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into, and how I could possibly last for a week doing this, let alone three months (or more). But after that I just got into the rhythm of it and before I knew it Ian (my forman) told us we were finished.
I ended up hetting herbicide all over myself, unfortunately. The herbicide cannisters get stored in our backpacks, and a line connects them to a hookup on the saw. The line is just barely long enough so I can unclip the saw from my harness and put it on the ground while my pack is on. One time when I started the saw, I yanked the herbicide line and the end broke off, and herbicide went spraying everywhere. I quickly put a kink in the line and got it under control, but not before there was herbicide in my hard hat (which had fallen off), all over my pants, and various other places. I did my best to get it all cleaned up using moss and water. I hope this chemical is as harmless to mammals as they say it is, because I probably injested a bit, and there was on a lot on my skin for a while. Once we got back to camp and I looked in a mirror, I was horrified to find that I had a lot of the stuff on my face and in my hair (it's bright blue, so very obvious).
The clothes I picked worked out really well, though next time I'll probably forgo the long underwear pants when it gets to mid-day. I'll probably go for basically the same thing tomorrow morning, though, and wear my fleece overtop for warmth. Unfortunately I only have one of each of the clothing items I wore today (other than underpants and socks, of course), which means lots of laundry (or lots of stench). I don't really want to wear the pants and sweaters I bought at Value Village for work, because I like them all so much and don't want to ruin them (I usually have so much trouble finding clothes that fit and I like, so now that my luck seems to have changed I don't want to waste it). I should have bought worse looking stuff.
I'm really glad I went for the expensive (~$100) big hydration pack, which I was waffling over back at UNBC. All the fuel and herbicide I have to carry fits in there perfectly. The other option for carrying the stuff is a "Jet Pack", which is a belt around the waist. I also got that, just incase the dyration pack didn't work out, but everyone who tried it today hated it and many bought the big hydration pack (which is a standard MEC model).
I'm also happy with the chainsaw boots. They were very comfortable, and the caulks gave me confidence to walk places I never would have without them. Just about everyone I talked to who didn't have them said they wished they did. That said, hardly any of the experienced guys use them. Walking out, I noticed that my feet hurt a fair bit, but it wasn't a problem while working. By the time I was finished dinner my feet felt fine.
My main complaint is that my shoulders ache. All the weight of the saw was on my shoulders because of the harness. I got some advice for fixing that from some of the experienced guys, so hopefully tomorrow it won't be such a problem. I always get headaches when I carry heavy loads that way, so that would be unpleasant. It also wasn't much fun having to wear the hardhat, earmuffs, safety glasses, and face shield all the time. The face shield went away quickly, but the rest of it stayed because it's too important and all showed its usefullness. The safety glasses we have are actually really cool. They're form fitting and have a yellow tint, which makes the whole world look really nice. Having to wear the harness, with a pack overtop, and always deal with the herbicide line is really annoying, too. Every time I have to stop to get something out of my pack, it's a long process.
I lot of the guys can start their saws while wearing them, but I haven't got the hang of it yet. At least I can start it with a minimum of fuss now, after having gotten quick at clipping and unclipping it and putting it on the ground and into a position where I can start it without getting snarled on the herbicide line. I'm sure all this awkwardness will go away after a while.
Today I think we were only brushing for about 3.5 hours. They say our days are ten hours long, but I'm not sure if that includes the lunch break. Tomorrow should be a full day, so we'll see how well I get through that one. It's tough work, that's for sure, but so far it's okay. I have resolved to finish the month here at Ospika Camp before I allow myself to think about quitting (though I did find myself thinking about thinking about quitting). I figure that by a month from now I'll either be used to the work, or really hate it.
It's now 9:15pm and time for bed. Unfortunately, our rooms do not lock (well, they do, but nobody has the keys), so I've hidden all my money and valuable documents. Seems kind of silly, but I don't trust everyone I'm working with yet. My computer and other electronics are left in the open, though.
Posted on Mon, 2 Jun 2020 at Ospika Camp, BC, CA (altitude 716m) (map/google earth)
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