Last week we got lots of experience in different types and ages of timber while cruising! We started off with the 15- to 20-year-old stands that we’ve been working on, then we got a little bit of big timber in Upper Mary’s as well as in Beaver Creek.
Upper Mary’s was absolutely beautiful and is one of my favorite cruises yet.
Beaver Creek has been fun because we’re learning how to cruise without using GPS. Instead, we were given maps, pre-set routes, and a compass. Using only our pace lengths and compasses, we each navigated our way around the stand 
successfully to each plot. I think it’s a great exercise to learn how to cruise this way, in case batteries die or equipment is lost, so that we will always know where we are in a forest and how to get in/out if necessary.
On Wednesday, we were all surprised to be called to a potential fire situation and kicked in gear to go deal with it.
It looks like this week we’ll be learning how to do herbicide application by hand with Travis. It should be fun!
– Nic Haye