July 14, 2018

           Today we woke up and packed up. There wasn’t much to do today we were just in the road for most of the time. It was a 7 hour trip to Spokane though it felt like more. Most of the time we I was sleeping. We stop at several rest stops to stretch and use the restroom. We also stopped in Tri-cities to do our laundry. The highlight of the day was learning that Pedro can rap. We, the Fab Five (our group name: Rudy, Omar, Maria, Pedro and me) have two verses so far.

July 12, 2018

              Today I went with the group that cleans up the trail near Lava Lake. Before we started we met Jessie Larson. She is a Trails Technician, she is a badass. I really admire the work she does, plus she also snowboards. She handed us our gear to put on plus she let us pick out our own tool. I picked a handsaw which I named The Shinobi Saw. Junior also picked a handsaw which he named Rusty, while Rudy picked a McCloud but he did not named it. While we were getting the rest of our gear we started saying that Junior and I were the stealth guys and that Rudy was our Heavy and that we were ready for the zombie apocalypse. Rudy would be in front while Junior and I sneak from behind. It was a fun conversation. As we started the trail we were started trimming several trees and also cut some off. The trail was not as long as we thought. It said it was three miles but it felt shorter. I was having fun just cutting trees down and tossing them out of the trail. It made feel strong and very energetic, I was having a blast. During our service work with the trail I got a chance to bond with Junior more and just get to know him a bit more as a person. He is a pretty cool guy him and I aren’t so far alike, we share similar backgrounds. I also got to know Jessie a bit more as well, I learned that she used to be a firefighter. I thought that was pretty neat, I told her about my experience with trimming trees since I don’t it before at more job. About half ways down the trail Jessica showed us a path that leads down the Deschutes River, we were able to get a closer look thanks to her. It was a really amazing view, the river look very blue plus also getting a really great view of Mount Bachelor far in the horizon. As lunch grew closer we stopped and ate right Little Lava Lake. Rudy, Junior and I got to take ready good pics by it. After Lunch we headed back, on the way back Jessie was interested where I work so I explained it to her. I told how I get moved a lot, but manly I work with the apple trees.

July 11, 2018

Today was alright, I struggled staying awake during whole tour since I went to sleep late. We went to the Redmond Air Center. I  felt so cool because we were a entering restrictive area, in my mind it felt like I was trespassing, but we weren't since we were giving permission to be there. Where their main task is to provide medium level of fire training. During our time at the Pacific Northwest Training Center we got to meet a few people such as Annie Wittenburg, Aaron Olmos and, Mike Gomez. I noticed a lot of people worked for mike before in the past. He really likes to talk a lot, he took the stage from the other. Thought that was pretty funny. I learned different type of fire squads such as Type 1 also known as the Hotshot crew  with more experience in the field and, Type 2 IA which is a bit similar to Type 1. After we got to know about them we headed to see and learn about the smoke jumpers. Which was definitively my favorite part of the whole tour. I think it is both insane and awesome on how they go put out the fires. There we met two fit smoke jumpers Sam Johnson and Doug. They showed us the equipment they had on the before a jump, after a jump and during camp grounds. The backpack they have with them when camping out is insanely heavy weighing more than 140's pounds, I feel bad for their backs. We also got to see where they repair their parachutes. One part I was really impressed was how at times is only two people going to put out the fire. I really like how they are able to change into their gear under 3 minutes. After we went out to see the planes where they jump out. Going inside the plane felt really awesome in mind almost like my own vision of me being a jumper myself. As lunch hit, i got the change to ask Sam on how I can become a jumper. He recommended me to take at least 4 years being a firefighter and then going into becoming a jumper. Sam also gave me workout tips and routine, mainly focusing in stamina. The rest of the tour was really neat like getting to go inside the tankers plane. I was able to learned on how the plane is operated. This was Tour was one of my favorite tour since I wanted to maybe become a Smoke Jumper, and seeing it in person was more than i could as for.

July 10, 2018

Today we went to Lyle Falls Fish way and Research Facility. We met a few guest speakers, John Washines, Shawn Bechtol, and Jared Bartholomew. It was a pretty cool experience, I got to see how the fish were studied such as Salmon, Steel-head and others. We got a chance to see inside the Fish Lift building with has a hole about 40 feet deep. Where they raise the water levels and send the fish to a tagging center. Where the first neutralize the fish to calm it down, in other to study the fish further.  The visit was really interesting, got to see the process of how fish are caught and studied. However since I never been finishing nor know that much about fish it was as appealing towards as it was to others. After we went on the road, I took a nap. We arrived at a rest stop and ate our lunches. We got ready to go on a hiking trail to see “She who Watches”. The trail to see her was short. As i was in the front I was looking out for rattlesnakes since there was a warning sign for them. Though I did not see any, I was secretly hoping to see one. After we went on the road again and arrived at the airport, to pick up David (Jessica’s Cousin). He gave me some Jelly Beans. He’s a cool guy to talk to, we talked about my sketches, and how he went to Place in Cali were they make jellybeans. My favorite part of the day was getting to play soccer with Pedro, Johnathan and Caleb. We made a 2v2 team where it was Johnathan and I versus Pedro and Caleb. The rules were simple first to 7 goals wins. We were tied 3 to 3 when all of a sudden we hear a growl in the wood. We felt uneasy since we were not sure if we heard what we heard. So we continued playing scoring the fourth goal when we heard the growl again. This time we definitely stopped playing, and headed back to camp.

July 9, 2018

         I was woken up by Jessica saying something that I do not remember, I just got up. I thought today was the last day in this area so I started packing and deflated my mattress but then Omar and, Rudy told me it was not. So yeah, I was wishing I didn’t do that. We ate breakfast, made our lunches. The ride there was very boring and lonnnnng since I am very impatient. I was laughing a bit before we took the long but I was glad we made it there though, that’s what counts. The place we arrived in was called White Salmon Field Office our speaker was Jeanette Burkhardt. She was cool, she let us use the restroom. Her title is a water shed planner. I got too really learn on what she does such as how she added different native flowers at the Condit restoration area. Got to learned different names of the flowers as well. Also got to see the dam site where it was removed it was pretty dope. Rudy help take some really cool images. Later on we met Chief Johnny Jackson (Jumbo), a tribal fishermen. We all respectfully introduced each other to him. He talk about how he lost a lot of land. How the white people came in and started building without their permission - the highway, railroad, and other were building (houses) up the highway. It was pretty depressing on how he explained the whole history on what happened. During our stay at White Salmon In-Lieu site after the chief’s talk, we got to explore the area such as the dock. It was very very windy by the way. Rudy and I noticed a bird that fell in the water, Rudy was able to get it and bring it to Pedro since he really does well with the wildlife. We learned that it was a youngling that fell from its nest.

July 8, 2018

              I woke up pretty early, it was 5am in the morning, I went back to sleep and woke up at 6am. I got up, brush my teeth, changed and got ready for the hike, I waited for the other. As we started the hike I was following Jacob, he was taking up to the trail that leads almost straight up to the top. When we got to the trial we was like “Okay now the fast demons can go ahead,” that was my cue to start. I got to say I love hiking I do it a lot. I pretty much just went for it, I bolted my way up. At moment I stopped and waited for the others, when I got impatient I continued my way up, and stopped again. When I made it to the top I felt so proud of myself because I made it first, and also got an awesome view of Pahto. The way down was even more fun, also seeing the rest struggle getting down I had a bit of a laugh. The day went pretty well I had fun. We got to shower so that felt very good. We got to meet Dough, he a pretty cool guy. Got to let more about the area we are in. we noticed how some trees are dying well a lot to be honest. My favorite part was the river, I love skipping rocks. I remember when Jacob went to get us to set up our tent but I challenged him to a contest of skipping rocks and sad news I did lost. I skipped like 10 I believed while he did 4 or 5. It was funny because he said he was going to beat us but didn’t. Another thing that I loved is when Pedro shows us how to trap little creatures like mice and chipmunks.

July 7, 2018

              Today felt like we stalled for a while, we waited a bit to get everything ready. I got my own tent and sleeping bag. We got a lecture about climate and how it is changing and as well as how it is affecting our fish (salmon specifically), from Jonalee Sequeohs. As we were getting ready to go we split into groups of four.  I was with Rudy, Omar and Maria, and our driver being Jacob. Jacob is a pretty cool guy, he has fascinating stories and always has something new to say. He also has a lot of knowledge of the areas we go to. Before arrival we stop to get gas and also got a stick from a willow tree, even though I didn’t use mine. When we arrive to Potato hill we unpacked and set up our tents. That was my first time setting up a tent, it was not as hard as I thought it’s pretty easy. There wasn’t any mosquitos at first but then all sudden so many showed up pretty aggressive as well, we used so must repellent and still are. The funny part is to see Rudy cover in mosquito bites, but he seems not to care. Now Omar in the hand was very cover with mosquitoes not mosquito bites, he had like about 20 on his back or more, it was insane. As the night grows closer, we set up to eat. I was assigned group 3 the pick-up crew in a way. Johnathan and I went to get water for the dishes. It was a struggle finding a water source, though we walk past a stream and didn’t notice till later on. We knew the buckets were going to be heavy so we had an idea of putting it on a big thick stick and carry it all together so it’s less over a struggle. As we were filling up the buckets, we were getting attacked by mosquitoes from every direction, for me it was mostly on my face. In the end we succeeded on bring the water buckets to the camp area. We finally ate, the spaghetti was pretty good, felt like it needed a little more salt though. We ate as a big group, got to know each other’s names, though I only remember a few still learning some. I also sat by the fireplace it felt pretty nice. I’m a fan of camping, I also learned that Mt. Adams is also called Pahto, pretty cool. 

That's my friend Rudy, he's one of the funniest guys I know.