Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Hello Everyone


Some Short Haul Pics



And Some Fire Pics From Florida




I guess it was about time that I started a blog since all of my cool fam is doing it and it is always fun to see what everyone is doing and how they are all growing and changing. It has been an interesting summer so far. I went down to Florida in the Everglades to fight fire for a few weeks and saw some pretty interesting creatures: lots of gators, 12' python, turtles, frogs, lizards, many many different birds, crazy spiders and lots of other cool stuff that can be rather poisonous, including my first bout with poisonwood, which made my arm not too happy for a few days. I have been lucky to go on some amazing hikes here in Yellowstone, including our advanced PT test hike, which starts at the North Entrance and goes up to Mammoth and then continues up to Bunsen Peak, an overall very uphill, 13 mile hike that has to be done under four hours. I enjoyed the trek and was able to do it in 3 1/2 hours. We have also been doing some short haul training, where we dangle from a rope about 100' below our helicopter and get taken out to certain points on the mountain and have to unhook, rehook and fly around (quite the way to see the park) and get prepared to do rescues in tight nooks in the park.