Two weeks after my last radiation treatment, it was my second day working with the Crew, and I was doing tread work at Clark Camp at Fall Creek. At about ten, I had to stop temporarily to go down the hill to relay a message another had asked me to take to the Crew boss, who had just driven up. The boss looked at the message, then at me, and said, “I’m going out of town in three weeks. Can you cover the crew for 2 weeks? You know the trails that need to be worked.” Indeed, I did.
I hadn’t led a crew in months; I had just finished 45 photon radiation treatments of my prostate, and relugolix had removed all my testosterone. I was breathing harder than I liked going uphill, none of me was 100%, and yet the boss wanted me to lead two crews. I was thrilled and while nervous, I wanted to do it.
The first lead I had was Winberry divide trail, a three part path where the upper two parts needed a logout and the lower one needed two brushing crews. I had 10 crew members, one more than I had scheduled, but the last added was new, young, and from what I had seen, looked promising. Not only would I take him, I put him with the saw crews, because I saw his potential.
We did a good job; there were a few more logs than expected, which pleased the saw guys, the power brushing wasn’t too bad, either, except someone forgot to move a brusher’s pack forward with the rest of his gear, delaying that person’s lunch. But we got it straightened out, all of us finishing at the same time, even including the late lunch. Our group, nearest the vehicles, hiked out, while the saw groups, further up the trail, each trailhead reachable by dirt road, drove their vehicles back down to leave. I doubt anybody else noted how well the day worked out, but I sure did, because of planning, luck, and a little of both. I had the right people in the right place for the right amount of time.
The second trail required two separate days. The first day needed at least one brushing crew, although two would have been nice. I went up with Caroline, a first timer to the crew, showed her the shortcut by a trailer, avoiding the two dogs that lived there, leading to the high point of the South Willamette trail, (SWT), where I fired up the brusher and started cutting for 15 minutes before handing the machine over to her. She did great. I made one slight adjustment to how low she needed to cut, and 5 minutes later, told her she was cutting perfectly. The two of us got the job done quickly, and it was fun, too.
Two days later, we needed to brush the mile and a half section of the SWT west of where we had been. Previously, I hiked up to the west end to cache a brusher, so on the day we worked, I could hike up more quickly without carrying it and therefore begin sooner.
The trail also needed logging out, so work day, I sent the saw crew off to the Eula Ridge trailhead at the far eastern end to do their work, adding the same person I added at Winberry. There was a vehicle change to accommodate him, but the sawyer leader did me a favor and took him. When the new person becomes a good sawyer, I hope he remembers how he got some of his experience.
Our brushing group had 7, two pairs, each with a brusher, who would start at the east end, and I took the additional person, Camilla, with me at the west end. Camilla was new, had never used a brusher before, so I gave her a chance to work it, to learn how to start it herself, and she did fine. The two groups met about 0.6 mile from the east end. We did far more with one brusher, finishing much earlier than I expected.
As leader, I noticed who should work with whom, when to add another, and taking extra care with new people, so they felt like they were always within their comfort zone. It worked well. I watch the work being done, asking for changes when I think they are needed, but always at some point making sure if the work is good I tell the person that, for we all need good feedback if deserved, and it almost always is. I seldom had such feedback. Sometimes, I need to let go and let people do things with neither my advice nor help. There is a first time for everybody. Let them have it. Recently, I learned that reading someone’s body language and speaking with a soft voice gave them clear permission not to do some task that they thought they “should.”
The following day, I went south to the Umpqua National Forest, three men, two women. I wasn’t the leader or the sawyer, but wished I made some changes anyway. We took one chain saw instead of both. Chain saws can get stuck in a log. It is better to have an extra than it is to hike back for one, which I have now done twice in the Umpqua. Later, when we went to remove some nearby sills, large logs, I didn’t bring my pack. I knew better. Always take your pack. I needed my first aid kit; saws can slip, people can fall. I didn’t take a Pulaski, which would have worked well on the semi-rotten logs, making them smaller and easier to dispose of.
Had I been in charge, I would have also thanked this third guy who came, for he carried saws, helped moving logs, and had a spare hardhat in his vehicle for the sawyer. Thanks would have mattered a lot to him.
Boreal B[l]og 