Treeplanting #16: A Day OFF in the Life on a Brinkman Crew

Jenna, myself, Melinda, and William jumping into Elk Lakes, BC. All recurring characters on this blog but I don't feel like searching for the posts. Photo stolen from Jenna's Instagram

So our work weeks are 4 days long: three days on and one day off. While our work days are certainly worth blogging about, planting trees and the random shit that comes up along the way, I figure the days off are worth a post of their own. When not too hungover from the night off to make the trek from your tent to the mess tent, the day off is maybe 50% worth writing about.

The photo up at the top was one day where William, Jenna, Melinda, and I drove up to Elk Lakes. We grabbed supplies at a convenience store in Elkford, piled into William's truck, and made our way up through two hours of logging roads before arriving at the trail to this lake. Once arriving, we had to jump into the freezing cold glacial lake, of course.

Often, people will go mountain biking or be hiking on their day off. However, a lot of days are also spent just wandering around town (usually Fernie). Recently, I've had a lot of school stuff to work on during the day off so have spent a fair amount of time at cafes in Fernie. So here's a more typical day for me.

Tula can still be found guarding her spot in the mornings on days off. Even if nobody's leaving, she will not be left behind.

Since the Fernie laundromat has been out of business for the past two years, people have two options for washing their laundry. One: spend their day off in Sparwood, an industrial coal-worshipping town in which you can get wifi at either the grocery store or the one hotel restaurant. They do have two thrift stores though, which is a plus. Two: stroll confidently into a "certain" hotel in Fernie pretending to be a guest so you can use their laundry machines. If you arrive early enough, you can even indulge in their complimentary continental breakfast. Then afterward you can spend the whole day in Fernie!! This is the much preferable option, but one must be careful not to do it too often or the hotel may catch on and kick us out.

Big Bang Bagels in Fernie - best bagels in town! Infinitea doesn't open until noon, so this is often the best place to go until then. I never truly appreciated the beauty of a homemade bagel until discovering this place. Free wifi, obviously. Downside: a poor choice for hangover food (alas, poor Damian).

After finishing up laundry for the next shift, we are free to wander around the lovely mountain town of Fernie! Granted, it is rather touristy, but not in the way that many other "tourist places" are. There are small, independent shops everywhere with a very specific feel to them. The whole town also seems to be coated in a faint smell of evergreen trees.

Decided to include this store because it's almost so Fernie that it's not even that Fernie anymore but more of a caricature. Granted, there are many lovely and extremely useful products in this store. Nevertheless, you get the vibe. This is Fernie.

Needing several hours to blog, email, work on the PD course I'm taking this term, and work on various forms and readings for the QUNO summer school and CPT delegation this summer, I generally find a nice couch to curl up in somewhere and pull out my laptop. Usually, this is Infinitea.

I spend most of my time in town at Infinitea.  An incredible selection of teas, couches and pillows all over the place, super relaxed attitude, free wifi - what more is needed? Their 7-layer dip with pita bread is almost even worth the price they charge ;)

One of the most exciting aspects of the day is going to the washroom. Not only do you get to remember how to use an actual toilet in a tiny white room you also can't help but look into the mirror on the wall. Seeing yourself for the first time in weeks and remembering you have a face can be rather intriguing.

Returning to camp could be anywhere between early afternoon (on a good day) and evening (probably because the damn laundry wouldn't dry). While the day off in society among all the civilized humanoids can be appealing, most people would be lying if they said they weren't relieved to get back into camp. Back where anyone can do and be whatever the hell they want and nobody gives a flying fuck. Even if it means the anxiety of another grueling day's work tomorrow morning, it's far more relaxing to throw your dirty feet onto the already-dirty camp couches than sit politely on the nice couches at Infinitea. 

Around 6 or so, Nina rolls up to the mess tent with the upcoming shift's load of groceries. Everyone who happens to be around at the time lines up to help with grocery boxes. Nina climbs into the back of the Fist and hands out boxes one by one, indicating whether the box is intended for the kitchen, pantry, or the mess tent.

As it reaches 6:30 or 7, people begin entering the mess tent on a quest for food, be it last shift's leftovers or fresh fruit Nina's bought for the upcoming shift. Some people think ahead and pack up full containers of leftovers on Day 3. Most people are not so smart though and just fill up on cereal on the day off.

By 9, camp is quiet again. Time for another shift.

PS - don't forget about the Palestine delegation in which I am participating in August 2017! Around $200 has been raised so far - lots more to go! To donate, go to http://cpt.org/donate and follow the steps to donate. Toward the end of the process, there will be a box that says "donation inspired by". Be sure to enter my name in this section to ensure that the donation goes to this delegation.