spraying

Large swathes of land adjacent to the Elwha River are exposed as the reservoirs are lowered. Some native grasses and trees are doing their thing, but there are also some invaders taking more than their share of resources. Reed canary grass seems to be leading the charge, so we apply herbicide.

The spray zone.

Glyphosate, courtesy of Monsanto.

Don't spill.

Three gallons ready to go.

PPE: sunblock, solar shades, nitrile gloves and long sleeves.

Wading through cottonwood.

Sam, givin' some.

JZ, style points on the raincoat.

Bending the reed canary grass away from the trees.

Elwha Dam canyon and natural regenerates.

Reed canary grass skeleton.

Natural willow tree regeneration.

spike

Eight days on, six days off. Camping at the Sol Duc trailhead, eating well. Carrying tools up trail, cutting windfall, building features. Everything you own is damp, nothing dries. A bit of sun, and it's over. We call it spike.

Morning on the Sol Duc River while hiking to work.

Trevor, sizing up his cut.

Smallest tool for the job.

Kerf.

Clearing trail. Before and after.

Exiting the trail after a long, drizzly day.

Kicking back at camp. My hovel.

The wood stash.

Bear bins. Breakfast for dinner.

Building puncheon aka boardwalk.

Splitting construction material from yellow cedar.

Deckboards.

Big nails.

JZ, master craftsman.

Finished product.

F. N.   9.14.13   C.C.C.   F.C. Wagner.

abandoned

Word on the street is that the Olympic National Park acquires property it has grown to encompass. They pay property owners installments of cash until the owners pass away. After a period of time the park demolishes all structures on the property. Until that time...

campground cleaning

We've been cleaning campgrounds for a few months. Not glorious, but it must be done. Nobody wants to pitch a tent on soggy leaves. Warm towels and mints are on the way.

Raking tends to be the name of the game.

Grime time.

Setting up the pressure washer.

Rake the ground, rake the tables, rake the roofes, rake everything.

When the fog lifts you remember where you are. Mossy big leafs, all about it.

Orient yourself with your surroundings.

Some anti-slip installation.

Sometimes it sucks to blow, mostly it doesn't.

Just in time for lunch.

Sometimes we drive far distance to rake leaves, it takes a lot of gas to fire ten cylinders.

They hook up the grub for the multi-day trips.

Old sitka spruce and big leaf maple, lording their land up the Quinault.

It's important to maintain a work/life balance. Kalaloch provides.

Big cedar.