Field Program

I get back from hitch. Nine days without service or a shower, but I have more grit than I’ve had in my entire life.

I tell my friends and family stories about how I punctured my bear spray with my handsaw and it sprayed all over my pants, there was a momma grizzly and two cubs around the trail we were working on, we found tons of big cat poop around our camp, we get relentlessly eaten alive by mosquitoes all day, we hike with heavy packs and tools in 90°F weather and the pouring rain, and how we wake up at 3:30 am to get our 10 hour days over with faster. My friends and family are left speechless. They question if I’m okay and why in the world I would choose to do this. I reassure them that I know it sounds wild, but I truly wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.

The insects, animals, and weather are unpredictable and unavoidable. It is simply a part of this job for your butt to get bitten by mosquitoes and your boots to be squishy from the rain. This job is not comfortable, and every hitch, I’m reminded how comfortable “normal” life is. Yet, I come back from every hitch feeling empowered, proud, and ready for more. There’s something addictive about going through something so treacherous and still coming out of the other end feeling good. The amount of grit I have developed from just 4 hitches is unbelievable. I have never felt so mentally strong, from pushing myself to hike faster to sleeping in my tent with the thought of bears roaming around me. My problems don’t seem as big whenever I’m out on hitch. It is truly survival mode, and I can’t get enough of it.

So I might be a little strange for loving this kind of life. But I encourage anyone who is even thinking about joining a corps to go for it. You get stronger mentally and physically, and you create lifelong connections and friendships. You develop skills you will carry with you forever, you get to explore the most beautiful trails, and you do important work.