I got my boxes!!

05_26_08

This week we did vigorous two day training for bear management. We were taught everything from how a bear mates to what to do if a bear thinks that you are food; fight back by the way if the bear starts eating you. (Although from what the bear techs said, that doesn’t happen very often.) Bear mauling usually happen if you come around a corner, see a bear, and yell, “SURPRISE!!” Just kidding, but honestly bears don’t like to be surprised or have you in their personal space… they’re no fun. Ha. Bear management training was really interesting though. I knew that bears were complex, but so complex that we had to talk about them for two days straight, that’s just crazy.

Funny though, because just the day before as the interpretive rangers were getting training for the cultural walk, a sow and three cubs went running past us while we were in the building that contains the reconstructed archaeological site. It was incredible. I usually call all the bear followers around here “bear stalkers”, but at that moment I could see how someone would want to be a bear stalker. Generally though I like to not stalk the bears; let them do their own thing.

We were giving bear mace training as well, but I’ll be honest, I don’t believe in the stuff. I’m not sure a little bit of pepper would deter a bear if it really wanted you, and the likelihood of spraying yourself instead of the bear is way too great for my liking. I don’t want to be a tasty treat for the bear thank you very much.

Speaking of tasty treats though, I do like getting tasty treats in the mail!! It’s amazing how happy people get when Alan, our pilot, comes in with lots of boxes! The other day when I received food from Amanda and my mom I was so ecstatic that I thought I was going to cry. Hehe… I wasn’t really going to cry tears of joy, but I was really really happy! Oh my gosh are Betty Crocker Fudge Truffles good!! For a person that doesn’t really like sweets, Amanda did an amazing job picking some out!

Over the weekend we all meant to do something fun and exciting, but once again the weather dictated everything we did, including going out on a boat to the Bay of Island. It’s supposed to be beautiful there. I can’t wait to see it at some point.

It’s ridiculous how the wind can blow out all the clouds and make Brooks Camp and its surrounding area beautiful, but make it miserable to go anywhere in a boat or a plane… or out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes for that matter, where the ash is blowing around everywhere.

A group of us did get out of camp on day trips though. We hiked to Mortuary Cove on Saturday and to the Three Forks Overlook on Sunday. Mortuary Cove is known by that name, because no matter how hard the east winds are blowing, that cove is very calm. It was nice not to have the wind cooling everything down. It even looked and felt as if in the middle of summer I may want to go swimming there. The Three Forks Overlook overlooks the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, so we had to take the NPS Excursion out to kilometer 32 and then hike the rest of the way to the overlook. It was a good hike and the view was completely worth it! I already have the idea that this summer at some point I want to go to Novarupta (the site of the 1912 volcanic eruption that the park was formed to protect). I think it would be just incredible to hike over the ash that is 200 feet deep in some areas and see what has and hasn’t recovered after 96 years. It’s an incredible sight to see, even from the overlook!
The most excited news as of late though, is… get ready for it… I RECEIVED MY MISSING BOXES! Yay! Now my hair doesn’t smell like Pert and I have chips to eat! I got a bunch of other things as well, but I’ll be honest, I was pretty excited about the chips. My roommate also got a few things including sausage… mmm so good! It’s like Christmas!

Tomorrow we meet the concession people (Katmai Land) and have an all Brooks Camp employees’ meeting. It’s quite exciting really. We’ve been meeting people here and there, but it’ll be good to meet everyone. I’m not too happy with the Katmai Land people at the moment though. They woke me up at 9am this morning cutting down Spruce Bark Beetle killed trees. It’s probably my only three day weekend this summer and I didn’t sleep well. I was grumpy this morning. Oh well, the day turned out alright after all.

Just like I might say on the radio… it’s time to go. 625 clear. :-)