insomnolence

sleepless. but now that the tree plant is over and done, i'm only without sleep by choice. in the first case, so as to not simmer myself within my fine, metallic skillet and companion clifford, i elected to heed the meteorologist's warnings of the upcoming heatwave in southern saskatchewan and alberta by continuing on driving through the night to my destination. and, with the aid of chocolate-covered espresso beans and sunflower seeds (not chocolate-covered), twenty-three and a half hours after departure, i arrived here in cowtown. in the second case, mark and i had ventured to the foot of our weekend pursuit, mt. joffre. joffre is a pleasant monster of ice and snow rising to 3450 m (11 316 ft) in kananaskis provincial park, just east of banff. to get an early start, we woke at 0250 h and were on our way before 0330 h. for whatever reason, perhaps because of the diminutive half-section of half-centimetre yellow foam padding i was sleeping on, or the roaring glacial waterfall thirty feet from our tent, or the anticipation of the morning adventure; regardless of the reason, i didn't sleep a wink. but i laid there anyways, willing recovery and new energy into my barely initiated leg muscles, already nearly expended from the day's intense approach. sure, intense because we made it that way, but really, is there any other way? the climb itself was also made to be exhausting, but it was very necessary that we maintain our position far in advance of the eleven member alpine club group following in our hard-won kick-steps up joffre's snow-encrusted face. so, depending on how you look at it, not only was it our first mountain of the season, it was also our first time leading an alpine club of canada trip. but i don't know if they'll see it that way.

so, two sleepless nights in one week; one by choice, the other from insomnia (though it wouldn't have been much of a sleep anyways). the first was immediately followed by a respectable five hour nap; the second, by an intense thirteen-hour climb and return hike to the parking lot. before the painkillers and alcohol, i wished all mountains would crumble into the heart of the sea. but, we're already now working on plans for tomorrow and for next weekend. this is going to be a good summer.

done

holy schmoly, has it really been a full month since the last time i've updated? wow. well, here's an update: the plant is over. i'm done. and as coops says: it's a dem fine day. a dem fine day indeed. me tired; more later.

settled

after a difficult first couple weeks, i feel that i have now settled into my responsibilities as a supervisor of a tree plant in the wilds of northern ontario. after the stressfull first round of planning has passed, during which a few below-the-belt blows were fielded, the plans have worked out quite well, and all the planters remain entirely oblivious to the seemingly intractable hardship that was just barely deflected. but now we're in the clear; the plans for the remainder of the contract are more or less easy, the planters are happy to be making a tonne of cash, and we're quite significantly ahead of schedule already.

i'd also like to let you know that i'm a bus driver. my sweet ride is known by the affectionate knickname, "ducky", after the humourous waddling of a chafed, though well-loved, supervisor from several years ago. she's a full-sized, white schoolbus, outfitted with a trucker radio for the requisite mileage call-ins while driving my planters in to the block on the haul roads. the truckers, of course, don't really understand you unless you speak in their colloquial northern tongue. and so, out of consideration for the safety of all those under my care, i make myself into a fellow resident of atikokan, replete with the slow, laconic drawl of the north and a hopefull, though gawdy enthusiasm, that my town, atikokan, will soon be the proud bearers of the title, hockeyville.

thanks again to brier and shawn for the barbequed moose steaks, wine, and all-day, all-night sauna sessions that have restored my body and mind for another week.

ugh.

things are going well up here in the north, but not without a large portion of stress. it doesn't really feel as though i've been able to settle into my role as supervisor yet, in terms of the expected bookwork and socializing and relatively relaxed mornings. nope. of course, out of the entire contract, it just so happens that the three most difficult blocks of land to be managed and planted need to be done so in the first two weeks. not ideal for anyone, really. anyways, with some serious negotiations (undoubtedly aided by my perpetually persuasive and intimidating demeanor) there have been some favourable arrangements made with the client. and so, after the first really nice day of planting, unmarred by stressfully looming plans, i returned to camp in the evening to discover that the generator, water pump at the lake, and water pump in the kitchen were all malfuntioning. perfect. love it. well, the water pump at the lake just needed a master's pull of the cord, and the generator required some tlc to clean the exhaust filter, but the kitchen water pump seems to have burned out. what you have to realize is that this is all very expected. dreaded, yes; but certainly not surprising. we've had problems with the generator each year, and each year it seems not to have been serviced completely. the kitchen water pump has blown before. the water pump at the lake cracked last year. and especially when you are the one in charge, especially of a tree plant, murphy's law will invariably stand true. and i hesitate to even tempt the ill spirits of the north by mentioning that things could be worse. yes, indeed they can.

but really, i only mean to describe some of the daily difficulties that i am faced with. there's much satisfaction when i can bring about acceptable outcomes, whether by plan or serendipity, luck or providence, and somehow everything works out. right now the generator is humming softly, the water tank is full, and a loaner pump will be on its way tomorrow to get us through to the weekend, during which i can retrieve a spare from the company shop.

of course, tomorrow will bring new difficulties of its own. for example, awaking at five to deliver treeslike mad all day into an extremely difficult access block. and of course, we're expecting rain and snow. but it will all work out, and, after another similar day on saturday, i get to spend the evening in the sauna at shawn and brier's in atikokan. did i mention that apparently atikokan is in the runnings to become hockeyville?

'nuff for now. have a good weekend.