Update

Well it's been forever since I've posted and even longer since I've sat down to do any real writing, so I figured I'd hop on here and share the latest and greatest. Fire season is officially over and we're into the winter season. I think this year I will create an awe-inspiring recruitment video for people wanting to work year round, full time. I've got some great pictures of a large bonfire created by extra brush and junk from around the station. I also have a short video of getting one of the engines stuck in the mud, and then un-stuck along with interviews from onlookers. I feel like people should be more informed on their decisions to either become or not to become a permanent year round employee.

Just yesterday I got lost in the woods. Seriously. Awhile back I read a book called Deep Survival (very good book)that differentiates between the characteristics and patterns of people who survive while lost in the woods and people who do not. Surprisingly, I had more traits of the people who do not survive in the woods. Many of you may be shocked to hear that... then again, some of you may not. A particular pattern of people who do not survive being lost in the woods (or out at sea, or whatever the trial may be) was that the person, upon realizing that he or she is lost, does not back track to a point where they knew where they were. This may have something to do with stubbornness and not wanting to "waste time" back tracking. I don't know, really, but it's complete and utter foolishness.

One of the guys and I were sent out into the wilderness of Oregon to check brush piles we had burned a couple days prior. It was no big deal because it had been raining for several days, we just needed to be sure they weren't going to "get away" (as if). Being such a low complexity task, a small area to be checked, and the fact that we were expecting more rain, I brought nothing but a jacket, a radio (the kind you talk on), a cell phone, my helmet (trees ya know) and the keys to the truck. No gear, no compass, no GPS, no map, no food, no water (it was very damp and cold out there... and there were several streams anyway). Very low danger in my opinion.

As I started out towards an unfamiliar area that was burned (I had burned piles on the other side of the mountain) I had a thought that I should GPS the location of the truck, as is customary when leaving our vehicles and heading out to a fire. Since I had left mine at the station, I quickly dismissed the thought and went on my way. I finally came across some freshly burned piles that were rather drenched. I finished my route and called over the radio to the other guy who was checking the other side. He said he was on his way toward me, so I started toward him. We would meet in the middle and head back to the truck and back to the station. Quick and simple.

Well not really. It wasn't long before I noticed I hadn't seen any piles. So I shouted to locate my coworker. When I didn't get a response, I asked him over the radio to "give me a hoot". I heard nothing. So I kept on going, thinking I'd hear him eventually. After not hearing him for awhile, I figured I had gone too far and started back the way I had come. But then I thought how mean of me it was to walk back the other way when he was supposed to be walking towards me. He'd end up having to walk further than me. So I turned around and went back the other way. After some time, I started to think that it was possible that I was lost. We weren't far from the truck so I decided to walk down the mountain, find the road, and just walk back to the truck and meet the guy there.

I heard something big rustling behind me. I turned to see the branches of a tree swaying rather wildly. I asked my coworker over the radio if that was him or a big animal in the bushes. He asked if I heard his shout. I definately did not, which meant it was definately an animal. I backed away into the other direction, making sure I wasn't followed. I made my way down the mountainside and came across a road. I followed the road to a stream. We had crossed a stream on our way out there... unfortunately, this stream was flowing the opposite direction. I figured it was either a different stream or it was after a bend in the stream. I turned around again to head back to where I thought the truck was. I called to my coworker and asked him over the radio to call back. He didn't hear me and I didn't hear him.

It was at that moment that I realized I was actually lost. Like, for real. I thought about that chapter in Deep Survival about back tracking to the point where I actually knew where I was. I looked at my watch. That would take forever. And if we took forever, my boss would find out that I had gotten lost and I'd be forever embarrassed. I walked on. I couldn't be far from the truck. I told my coworker that if he met me on the road, I might be able to hear him better. After walking some time, I came across a network of dirt roads that I had never seen before. Now I knew for sure I was lost. I got a small little inkling of dread, but knew I wasn't in any danger yet. But we were fast approaching the point where we'd have to let some one know that I was lost. I found another stream, this time going in the correct direction. I radioed to my coworker to go back to the truck and hit the sirens. Surely I would hear that. I waited in place until he got to the truck. I heard nothing. At this point it occurred to me that he could be messing with me and not really hitting the sirens, and possibly following me around to see if I would panic when I got lost. Since we were on a channel where others could potentially hear our conversation, I asked him to switch to our secret squirrel channel.

After switching, I asked if he was truly running the sirens. He was. He tried pointing me to landmarks, asking if I could see the smoke on the hillside. I could not. I asked if he had a map. Maybe I could describe the terrain features I was seeing and he could guide me in. I turned on my cell phone and saw I had reception. I considered calling my boss, but knew I'd never live it down. I decided to head north. It felt right. I came along a fence with a Forest Service boundary sign. That was a good omen. My coworker had been unable to find a map. So I checked out the Verizon Wireless navigator on my phone. I opened the file and uploaded it (for $2.99). It told me I was in Ashland, OR. I wasn't quite (or maybe I was?). I called my coworker and asked if he had a GPS. When I asked my phone about my location, it gave me my coordinates in latitude and longitude. If my coworker had a GPS, he could punch that in, and it would point him to exactly where I was. He did not have, and could not find, a GPS.

Walking towards another road, I tripped over some barbed wire on the ground and fell so hard it knocked my helmet off. Out loud I scolded myself, saying this was definately not a time to get hurt or go unconcious because neither of us knew where I was and I had the keys to the truck (actually a good thing- this way he couldn't leave me behind). After clearing a couple of ridges, I asked him to hit the siren again. This time I heard it. I was so thankful. I started walking toward it and found another road. After finding the road, I found where we had started burning days earlier. I was so happy to be found again!

On the way back to the station, we talked about it and laughed, as well as tisked ourselves for not bringing gear or compasses or GPS units. I was just glad I hadn't panicked and called my boss. We stopped at the gas station on the way home and I got a well deserved Blackberry Oreo milkshake. I told my coworker how I have this innate ability to get lost no matter the situation or where I am. City, woods, swimming pool: I've gotten lost in all of them. Thankfully this one was fairly uneventful and dispatch did not have to send out a search party for me. However, I'm glad to say, if they did, at least I had my GPS coordinates and they would have found me fairly quickly. But I would certainly never live it down.