Day in the Life--Wednesday

Today was nice. Real work to do, and only D. and J. and me in basecamp again. If it had just been the 3 of us all summer, I think the dynamics would have been very different.

7:43: Time to get up. I'm not doing breakfast today, so I get an additional 80 minutes of sleep, which makes a big difference. Someone's in the bathroom, which gives me a few minutes to gather my wits. Breakfast is scrambled eggs...and cake. This is a strange habit here that does nothing for my health. Especially since the cake has fresh strawberries on it. I help clean up a bit, then sneak back to the Homestead to look up the number for the Korean Consulate in San Francisco. If I don't get this done today, it won't happen until next week.

9:00: Meeting time. I wanted the Cortez run this morning, but J. gets that. I'm assigned the RMA store hit and BCP raid, plus packing for the SSQ resupply tomorrow. Plus lunch and dinner.

9:15: I try to call the Korean Consulate. They do in fact open at 9:00 Pacific, so I get a recorded message. The first minute is solely in Korean, and so quiet it takes me almost that long to tell. I almost hang up, but they finally switch to English.

9:20: Tidying the house bathrooms and sweeping.

9:30: Check on the ducky I patched yesterday. The patch is stuck fast, but the edge seems too prominent. I call in Seth for a second opinion. He picks at it, pumps up the ducky and sprays the patch. No bubbles. I get to roll & tie it up and lug it back to the storage area and put away all the tools. JR is gathering PFDs and begs me to switch my dinner shift for his night crew. I hate night crew, but I've also been in the position of wanting to do something in the evening. I tell him if he gets back from his airport run in time, we'll talk.

9:50: All the rain jackets and stuff sacks that got washed yesterday were taken off the line by a program leader concerned about the wind. They're all piled in the River Room. Some are still wet. I need to sort them, hang up the wet ones, and put the others in their rightful places in the store.

10:10 I try the Consulate again. I can barely hear the woman, but I do get a list of what I need to send--it's mercifully short and full of stuff I already have.

10:30: I go up to the office to print/copy the documents I need to get my Korean visa.

10:50: I start to make a sign for the paper recycling can because I'm sick of picking trash out of it. I get as far as selecting the materials and writing "Paper" before I hear RMA gathering at the store.

10:55: Store hit! RMA is going backpacking, so we need to outfit the kids with rental equipment and merchandise. I love working with the kids; I hate fitting backpacks. Mostly because I really don't know what I'm doing. I give them ones that look ok and go around their waist at the right place; other than that, the leaders will have to make necessary adjustments. Funny questions about gaiters and pack covers make me realize that the kids don't always know what I'm handing them. After the kids have what they need, we restock the mugs and sunscreens, but at this point in the season, the sunglasses are gone and the Clif Bars are picked over.

12:20: Lunch. Tomato soup. General consensus is that this is the least favorite lunch on the menu. And we have it a lot. I figure this will make it easier to lighten up on the food. Some cornbread (the season's best today), salad with avocado, strawberry shortcake, and that'll be it. I've just taken seconds on the cornbread when Diane shows me some melts she made with leftover veggie burgers, quesadillas, and tomato slices. So much for light lunch.

1:3o: Backcountry Pantry. RMA is packing their mountain rations. J. & I are supervising. I give the explanatory talk to the kids. How to read the quantity charts. Don't cross-contaminate the food. Don't graze. Measure carefully. After last time, I realize I need to explain how to read the scales, too. These kids listen much better than the last group. I circulate & answer questions, find items. We need Nalgenes from the kitchen. I walk down there to get them and the rains come. I have to wait several minutes before I'm willing to go back. Some quantities of couscous and curry lentil soup are missing...I go to inquire about this...mass confusion...finally one of the leaders shows up and sorts it out. The group is helpful and earnest, but the BCP still looks like there was a food fight. Fortunately, the leaders are orchestrating cleanup.

3:00: Time to pack for the SSQ resupply tomorrow. D. has been doing this while I was in the BCP. Duffels are packed, and he's gathered all the service tools, for which I'm glad 'cause I hate doing that. We get the tools strapped to the trailer and set about gathering the other stuff. This group is going to subdivide at the reservation, which creates a bunch of confusion over food needs...basically they need 3 of each kitchen item. There's food in the kitchen freezers, the BCP fridge, and in dry boxes they already packed. They need propane. They need 5 ammo boxes. They need cash from the storage locker. They DON'T need a groover.

4:10: Seth notices a couple of coolers that came back from SWJ yesterday that still have some stuff in them. We interrupt packing to wash the Nalgenes, take the ice jugs back to the kitchen, and hose out the coolers.

4:20: Cart coolers down to the kitchen to pack freezer items. The freezer seems to be struggling and so we struggle to find ice jugs that are frozen. Then we struggle to find the food...Mrs. Owner has rearranged the chest freezers since this group packed, and their supply box is at the very bottom of the ice jug freezer--we almost miss it. We unload all the jugs, and then have to unpack the box item by item because it's frozen to the bottom of the chest. Dolly it all back up the hill to the trailer, then go to get the dry boxes from the BCP. D. & I haul one--my arms are longer by the time it's loaded. We go back to get the other one. I can't lift it. The guys can hardly lift it. It takes 3 of them to get it on the trailer. No idea how we'll get it back off.

5:00 I'm supposed to be on dinner. It's pizza, and Diane has it well in hand, so I spend the time collecting the food I'll need for SSQ's road dinner and breakfast. It's all been made, but I need to assemble it and gather condiments. I also need to make sure I haven't forgotten anything, and that I have a grocery list of things we're supposed to have and don't. Panim's resupply earlier this week was a disaster, with 2 food boxes left behind...I'm determined that this won't happen on my watch.

5:45: It's early for dinner, but we're ready, so we ring the bell. Diane has made 2 special pizzas for the staff, and we all gather around the oven greedily. AP has gone home, which means the atmosphere is much more peaceful, and staff can resume eating in the Adirondack chairs outside.
The middle schoolers debate the existence of God inside, while we tease and quote movies outdoors.

6:45: I'm not on night crew, and cleanup is well in hand, so I can go back to the Homestead early. I need to pack and get organized for my backpacking trip this weekend. I feel like being outside, but this needs to happen now.

8:35: I go to the River Room to get a stuff sack and some stakes and cord, then up to my tent early. Wonder of wonders, I actually erect a tarp over my tent to protect it from the sun, something I should have done a month ago and have been meaning to do on a daily basis. I use 2 stakes and 2 trees, and tie all the knots in figure 8s because that's the only secure knot I know. I'll have to pound the stakes in more with a mallet, but this job is actually done!

9:07: I'm in my tent. I hear Sylvie the cat meowing and consider going down to her, but don't. It's an early night. Doesn't happen often.