You are Stronger this Rain

I remember back my first summer away from home, it was a literal drought. I prayed desperately for rain, and when it finally fell I rejoiced! Now it rains consistently every single day, and I feel depressed.

Storm in the distance

Storm clouds behind my boxes of trees

New rubber boots for all this rain

This is definitly the wettest summer of my life. Any moment I see the sun feels like a miracle! The average temperature each day is seven degrees Celsius, I can see my breath almost every morning when I emerge from my tent. Even when there is a patch of sunshine while planting, its unpredictable because a few minutes later it can suddenly start hailing, or down pouring. This is Alberta 2019; Sounds like Ontario just stole our heat.

Hail outside my tent

Rainbow over camp

Camp fire is a source of warmth

Crew chilling on one of those rare sunny moments

We are coming closer to the end of our season, and the crew has been getting smaller. I'm planning on sticking it out to the end, which will probably be sometime early August. The rain is bringing me down a little bit, but as our camp cooks like to remind us at the end of the day, with a promise of hot soup and tea....

I Look Homeless, but I'm Rich!

Our last camp was in a mud pit. Essentially, a horse paddock in the spring, minus the manure. It also rained consistently since forever, so everything anyone owns is pretty much soaked, muddy, or destroyed.

Our last days of planting were pretty chaotic! We did helicopter work, but it was foggy the first day, so we started work late. The second day tree boxes were in the wrong locations. The third day there were issues with the helicopter again and our crew bosses had to quad the trees into the block, which equaled a lot of sitting around waiting for trees.

One of our blocks before it started raining forever.

What we do when we wait for trees

On camp move day, I decided to go on planting mission to plant the remaining trees from the contract to make up the money I lost on the chaotic days. I did make up the money, but I was so covered in dirt afterwards. We didn't have enough time to drive to the new camp, so we stayed in a nearby town for the night. I had not packed clean clothes so I looked absolutely disgusting, but I was super hungry. I waltzed into subway covered in mud looking very unflattering, then bought a tonne of food! "I look homeless," I laughed with my friends, " But I'm rich!"

We are at a new camp now which is not so muddy. The new contract has harder specifications on how to plant trees, so its been a bit of a learning curve. However, I'm sure once I get these new specs down, I will be able to plant just as much, if not more then the last camp!

New tent set up with hammock

Welcome to Tent City!

Welcome to tent city!

You'll love your stay! Dig a moat around your tent or it might float away!

My beautiful new tent!

As much as tree planting centers around the obvious, planting trees, probably the most memorable parts of the experience will be at tent city.

At around 5:20am tired souls creep out of their tents, trying to imagine what our fantastic cooks have made them for breakfast!

The mess tent lit up at night

During the day tent city is a ghost town, but at around 6pm we all come dashing back into the mess tent to stuff ourselves again. Chatter about the day happens, one re-connects with friends, chess is played, or cards. Some dash to the hot showers, others figure why bother!

Playing chess in the shower trailer as it was the warmest spot on that rainy day

Crew dogs!

We have too much fun unloading garbage at the end of the day!

Nights off are loads of fun! Drinking, dancing, crafting, chilling at the bonfire, or watching movies! When one is tree planting, its really important to have some fun!

Tree planting is unique as it is individual work, but you are also very much a part of the team! I am so thankful for my crew and all the people who make up tent city!

Tree Planting Vacation

One month of tree planting down and we finished our first contract!

I haven't calculated how many trees I planted altogether yet, but so far I have been averaging about 2000 trees per day which has been great!

Our next set of trees are summer trees so we had a five day break which we spent in Jasper Alberta!

The rockies are so beautiful! I was born in Western Canada surounded by the mountains. Being back in them again brought back memories I had forgotten! It was a rather surreal experience going back in the past like that.

As for tree planting, it is definitly hard, and sometimes very borring work. I've started to lose track of days and have began to care less about what I look like or things that happen. Life now is just rolling with the punches. Its great in a way, as I really begin to live in the moment!

One month down, two more to go! Super pumped for the upcoming adventures!

Alberta Winds

2am, half sleeping with my tent flaps bashing against my head. I had been silently praying that my tent would hold up for the night...

Then snap, the tent collapsed on me as not one, but three of the four poles all snapped.

I resorted to pulling my mat out and sleeping outside, where I actually got more sleep as the rubble of my tent and my friend's remaining tent protected me from the 50km winds.

That morning, our mess tent was destroyed as well as a few other tents that were flattened. Thankfully a crew member of mine set up a refugee tent where four of us are currently sleeping.

Due to the winds, we haven't been able to plant trees. In a way, its nice to have a little break, but I came out here to make money, and not planting means not making money. I know it can't be helped, since safety is key, but its still rather disappointing.

We have been having fun though! We have been staying in the town of Edson in a motel. We went swimming at the pool which had a hot tub as well! It was exactly what I needed! We also went bowling then hung out at a bar where I danced my heart out for awhile. I then came back to the hotel and fully enjoyed the comforts of a warm room and a bed!

Once these crazy winds settle down we should have three more days of planting, then we move off to another camp. Never a dull moment tree planting!

Trees....and more Trees!

Cold mornings, hot afternoons, cold nights! Overheating, freezing, repeat!

Take a step, dig a hole, plant a tree, close hole, repeat!

Get scratched, laugh, learn to accept pain, treasure good moments, repeat!

Work hard, feel satisfied, eat lots, bond with crew members, be positive, enjoy the view, and the result of all of this so far has made me a very satisfied individual! I am so happy I decided to go tree planting!

Its been a great experience so far tree planting in Alberta! I am a week and a half in and on day four of planting I planted 1085 trees!!! Looking forward to increasing that number! I am on an amazing crew and have a stellar crew boss! I feel incredibly blessed! Will keep you all updated on the adventure!

Back to Nomading

My eight months of school are over! I remember at the beginning of the year wondering if I could last staying in one place for so long! Haha, I actually really enjoyed my eight months of being static, and I learned so much in that span of time! 

However, I am on the move again! I'm heading off to Northern Alberta for three months to tree plant with Summit Reforestation! I've never done it before, but am super excited about the adventure! Tree planting is really rough, so I've been told. You plant six days a week from early morning to late afternoon. Its back breaking, you are out in the elements, and the terrain is rough. However, there is a lot of money to be made as you get paid per tree you plant! They have also increased the price they pay you per tree, which they haven't done in a while. I am hoping to make enough that I can pay off school, since I don't like being in debt. I also hope to be able to support my three children in Uganda a little more, and focus on jiu jitsu a lot more when I return! 

Speaking of which!

Yah, my blue belt was a total surprise, but I am so excited for the learning opportunities it will bring! I realised while in school that jiu jitsu really is my greatest passion right now. I had to really push myself to prioritise school over it! I will probably continue working at Absolute Equestrian when I return from tree planting and then train jiu jitsu in the evenings. There might be some room for travelling as well though! The cool thing about tree planting is the harder you work, the more you make! I like that concept! 

Mom is also taking off for a tree planting camp as an assistant chef in B.C. We are working for the same company just in different locations

Emma and I testing out camping gear

I'll be pretty remote, and camping the whole time I'm there. However, on days off I will try to write short blog posts and fill them with awesome pics! Rock on everyone!