It was time to move on so we traveled north to Sacramento, where we stayed the night at campus, and then continued on to Redding the next day. When we got there, we were welcomed by oak savannah, spots to set up our tents, and a small trailer. This was our first project camping so it was nice to still have a trailer where we could cook and be protected from the elements. For work, we did so many different things, but it mostly consisted of trail maintenance and chainsawing. For trail work, we made water bars and drains to get water off the trail. We also increased the width of trail, cut back encroaching brush, filled in ruts, and maintained a flat surface. For chainsaw work, we removed fallen trees from trails, removed lower branches of trees, made OHV barriers and cleared poison oak from an indigenous burial site. In our time in Redding we got to meet a lot of BLM employees who gave us advice on perusing a job in natural resources and the federal government. I also got to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park and Mt. Shasta, and Humboldt State University (Eureka).
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We then travelled east, went through Bakersfield, and arrived at small town called Cane Brake. At our housing, we were surrounded by the Sierra Mountains. For work, we did chainsawing. An important part of this project was your saw partner. For me that was Cedar. At first we felled, bucked and limbed dead trees at Walker’s Pass, which is part of the Pacific Crest Trail. After 2 weeks there, a snowstorm with high winds forced us to not work outside. We spent this week doing computer work for a scientific research nonprofit. We also built some signs for BLM. The storm died down by that weekend so we continued our chainsawing but at Keysville recreation area and campground. On one of our last days of work, Jesse and I drove through ice and snow to get to Riverside (suburb of LA) to get camping gear for our next project. Overall, this was definitely one of my favorite projects and had a big influence on me majoring in Forestry. After a few day transition in Sacramento, my team and I drove South and then West to Piedras Blancas Light Station, which is about an hour North of San Luis Obispo (SLO). It was incredible. We were right on the water on a peninsula surrounded by a Northern Elephant Seal colony. Most of our work consisted of brushing and then resurfacing a 1.5-mile trail. On Thursdays, the team would drive down to SLO and go to a farmers market. The first weekend, I decided to buy 2 surfboards and found a free wetsuit to take advantage of being near the coast. The next 3 weeks I would go surfing after work at least 3 times a week. And since I bought an extra board, I taught some of my coworkers how to surf! I also got to visit Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo. To finish off this project my mom and brother visited for the weekend, where we mostly hung out on the beach. After three months of hard work, I was ready for an easy-going break. Well, let me tell you it was far from. To start my flight from Sacramento to Aspen, CO was canceled. Thankfully I was rebooked for the next day and after two hours of delays and a short flight, I reunited with my family in Colorado. We went skiing and snowboarding for two days, and then it was time to travel home to Nashville. Well, that didn’t happen. Our flight got canceled due to winter storms and a staff shortage. So I got to snowboard an extra day and then on Christmas Day we drove four hours to Denver and waited in the airport the whole day. We eventually found a flight the next day to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where my mom has family. I got to see my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. The next day we flew to Nashville. Finally we were home. I got to see my two dogs and then next morning we had a Simpson Christmas. It was great. Over the next few days I got to see my best mate, Elias Maynor, and also got to connect with Sam Carpenter and William Owens from High School. And it was fun to hear all their experiences of their years so far. The only bad thing is that all the bags we checked on in Denver were stuck in Memphis. That included my bag that had a lot of my clothing that I needed for AmeriCorps, but I made it work. Before I knew it, it was time to fly back to Sacramento and continue my service term.
After finishing our San Francisco trip, we returned to the Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP). We had a week of more chainsawing and brush removal, followed by the start of the Men’s World Cup. Then I, unfortunately, tested positive for Covid-19 and was out for the count until around Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day I had to stay true to family tradition, so I made Clam Casserole, a dish that my Mom always makes. Our last week of working at the CRP was nice. We did trail work next to the American River and then were met with two very rainy days. It was now time to move on to the Bishop Field Office, East of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. So we packed and many hours of driving later we arrived at our housing in a small town called Independence. Because we were only here for two weeks, they had us doing a variety of work. It included: building horse corrals, camp maintenance, vertical mulching, road work, putting up camp information signs, planting native brush species, fence building, gardening, disposing of deserted fire hose, and removing plant cages from prior restoration work. We also had the opportunity to volunteer at Manzanar Historical Site. We mainly did all this work in the Alabama Hills, known for being the setting in movies like Iron Man, John Wayne films, and Gladiator. During these two weeks, we did a lot of fun stuff. We went to hot springs, went rock climbing, watched the world cup, had a Christmas party, and even got to go to a fruit cake festival. But it was now time to move on. Our winter break was around the corner, so we excitedly drove to Lake Tahoe, before we continued on to Sacramento. Before we could leave, we had a three-day transition. Which I thoroughly enjoyed, connecting with a few people from other teams. Well, it has been over a month. After arriving from Edinburgh, I spent a few days with cousins in Florida and then flew home to Nashville. It was so nice to see my family when I arrived. I spent the next 2 weeks hiking, compost building and birthday celebrating. I was especially glad to see my brother (Davis) and my sister (Marshal), being able to spend some quality time with them on my return. Before I knew it, I was packing for AmeriCorps and flew to Sacramento. AmeriCorps is a federally funded program where people 18 to 26, serve America. AmeriCorps focuses on conservation, communities in need, and minority support. I got assigned to the Pacific Region and the applied and got into Bureau of Land Management (BLM). After 3 weeks of training, we finally left for our first project on the Cosumnes River Preserve. Then for 2 weeks we completed Leave No Trace (LNT), Wilderness CPR (WFA), and Chainsaw training. After all that work we decided to take this weekend and go have fun in San Francisco. Yesterday went to Chinatown, Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park, and Little Italy. Today I am planning to go surfing and then go clubbing tonight. So excited! If any of you who find this are in California, I would love to meet up. Much Love, Jamieson Lewis Simpson |