Ticket To Adventure

Qualifying for a Red Card from the US Forest Service doesn't guarantee adventure, but it does enhance your chances for memorable experiences. I got my first Red Card in 1979, hoping to earn a little extra money and some fire fighting experience in the West. At the time, I was working in Eastern Kentucky, and had lots of practice fighting fire in Appalachian hardwood forests.

Earning one of these thirty years ago required doing the Step Test, which was pretty easy for anyone used to climbing hills regularly. You had to step up and down, on and off of a one foot high step for five minutes, and have your pulse monitored to check your fitness. After I passed, I packed a duffel bag, and waited for a call. In August we were flown out of Lexington, KY to Butte, MT to work on the Barker Creek fire, near the town of Anaconda. Our crew spent four days mopping up fire line, riding in deuce-and-a-half trucks, sleeping on the ground at night, and loving nearly every minute of it.

Here I am with friend Ken Powers working near timber line in subalpine fir forest.

The vistas were a bit longer, and the mountains were a bit taller than we were used to in Kentucky.

Our ride is sitting on the Continental Divide. It felt good to start out at the top of the hill.

Our crew managed very well in the high altitudes. The air was thin, but we all knew how to pace ourselves from working in the Appalachians.

When we came off of the Barker Creek fire, we were sent to Missoula, where we spent five days on the Grant Creek fire. We had more excitement than we wanted on that one, with long hikes, hot firelines, and big Douglas-firs crashing down around us. It was a memorable trip.

More training is required today by the Forest Service for fire fighters, and I have been getting a Red Card again since 2005. My employer let some of us go on a fire assignment in 2006, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime fire assignment. Minnesota had most of their personnel committed on big fires that summer, and our crew from Illinois was sent in to stop little ones from

becoming big ones. Since we weren't on a big fire, we stayed in real lodging, not tents, and had a shower every night.

We had to do 100% mop up on the fires we were assigned, and we got some experience using water, and dropping trees.

Minnesota has lots of water, and you are never too far from it, so fire-fighting involves moving water more than digging line.

We were sent to this smoker late one day. Part of the crew set up a pump in a beaver pond and carried hose uphill while we made our falling plan. As soon as we had some water on this white pine, we dropped it, chunked it into movable pieces, hosed it down, stacked the pieces around the stump and hosed it more.

One of our brave crew members mugged for the camera the next morning when we checked it to make sure it was cold. Dropping trees with a crew watching is good practice. You have to plan every cut on every tree before you crank up, because burning snags don't let you stop and think about your next move. It was exhilarating.

Speaking of exhilaration, I just passed the Pack Test to get a Red Card again this year. You have to carry forty-five pounds three miles in forty-five minutes or less, and I surprised myself by improving my time. I don't know if the boss will let anyone go this year, but it felt good to qualify.