Work Skills!

I am sore all over, have blisters on my toes, my feet are drying out after being soggy for hours, I’m quite dirty and stinky, I had dead mosquitoes all over my face, I am constantly ravenous, and I am so exhausted in the evenings that I want to go to sleep at 6:30. Is this hell? No! I’m writing this from Day 3 of works skills trainings and it is AWESOME!

But seriously-- I have learned so so much in that past few days. Our group of 20 Conservation Stewards is divided into four groups and we rotate through four different stations throughout the week, ending at our first station. My group’s order: Rock Work, Tread and Drainage, Native Timber, New Trail Construction. Here we are working hard on the job of bog bridge reconstruction (Native Timber station).

I have learned approximately a kajillion new terms over the past few days, and I shall now list them. 

How many do you know?? This blog post will be interactive.

Terms:

Kerf

Sill

Stringer

Fulcrum

Slough (n)

Hinge (in reference to a trail)

Backslope

Outslope

Downslope

Reinforced Grade Dip

Critical Edge

Crush

Mineral Soil

Organic Soil

Duff

Armory

Gargoyle (Garg)

Corridor

Borrow Pit

Re-veg

TMP (Trail Management Plan)

Tread

Feathering

Notch cut

Rock shopping

Decking

Retaining Wall

Water Bar

Check Steps

Bite

Re-bite

Holding

Bench cut

Some tools we used:

Timber Staple

Cat’s paw

Klinometer

Chainsaw

Chisel 

Single Jack

Double Jack

Sledge

Mallet

Hammer

Nails

Rock bar

Pick mattock

Pulaski

Mcleod

Timber carries

Peavey

Bow saw

Hand saw

Grub hoe

Rouge hoe

Cutter mattock

Drag slings
Chalk line

Carpentry training starts next week, and I will learn so many more things. One last week of training all together and then we will spend the next four months spread out in small groups throughout New Hampshire! It's exciting that the season is starting, for real. Stay tuned for more updates form my next hitch: shelter building at White Lake State Park!