Last week we wrapped up our very first hitch with the Montana Conservation Corps, and wow — what a start. For 9 days we lived and worked with some awesome people out in Weippe, Idaho.

We were split into two teams: Team 10 was me, Nathan, Taylor, and our crew lead Andrew. Team 9 was Brittany as crew lead with Luke, Tressa, and Jack. Even with two teams, we were one big crew the whole time.

We all piled into the trucks for the drive to Idaho for our first day of work. Pretty chill day, lots of getting-to-know-you talk and laughing at random stuff we saw on the road. When we rolled into Weippe we set up ‘Tent City’ at Deyo Reservoir. There’s something about putting up tents together that breaks the ice fast.

Tuesday kicked off our first day with the National Park Service. We monitored camas in the fields. We learned the importance of camas — it’s a traditional food source for many Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, especially the Nez Perce. The bulbs are edible and have been harvested for thousands of years. It’s also ecologically important and culturally significant, used in ceremonies and as a trade item. The NPS staff we worked with were incredibly kind. We had great conversations and I left with way more respect for camas and the history behind it.

The next few days we switched to counting hawkweed, using GPS to mark locations in the fields. Honestly, those were some of the most fun days we had with each other. Whole crew together, walking transects, asking each other random questions, and cracking up at the answers.

Halfway through we had to relocate Tent City. New spot, new views. We crossed a log bridge to get there and set up camp right by a creek. Falling asleep to that water was unbeatable.

Our last two days were all about hands-on work — pulling weeds and doing fencing. On Sunday we took out barbed wire and built a gate for the National Park Service on their new property. Standing back and looking at that finished gate, we all felt pretty accomplished.

The final night of camp was just laughs and stories. We talked about all the work we put in the last week, the beautiful creek we’d be leaving behind and how fast 9 days went. Driving home this Monday felt different than the drive out — we started as strangers and came back as a crew.

First hitch down. Already looking forward to the next one.