After the cooking job, I was offered a job with a forestry contractor who did both pre-harvest assessments and waste surveys. We did shifts in camps from as far south as Jervis Inlet and as far north as Owekano Lake, at the head of Rivers Inlet. Owekano Lake was an awesome place to work. One of the prettiest spots on the coast of BC.
To get to our job site, you had to first take a boat to the back end of the lake, where we would hop into our work truck. We were doing pre-harvest assessments in the next 5-year plan. One day, not long after we had started working here, we had parked at the end of the road and were hiking in to do a pre-harvest assessment. As we were moving through the forest, we came upon signs of a grizzly bear fight between two large boars. One could see that this fight had been at least a year ago. The condition of the ground showed it must have been an incredible battle between two equally sized bears. By looking over the area, you could tell that one of them had killed the other. He must have been seriously injured, as you could see where he had lain down and also died from his wounds. It must have been an epic battle. Bones were scattered about from scavengers feeding on the remains. Looking about, I saw that both skulls were still there, with the teeth intact. I pulled the four upper incisors to take home. Three of them were made into necklaces that my two sons and I now wear; the fourth was given to a friend who was of the bear clan. He was a good friend and, over the years, had presented me with many wonderful gifts of a spiritual nature. Now it was my time to have the ability to return something of wonder to him. After telling him the story of the fight between these two titans of the deep forest, he was overwhelmed. It was the hug that was given between two brothers.
Some of the many bears we saw were massive, but they fit the territory. This land was primal and pristine. We were working up along the Machmell River. The forests were almost prehistoric. Each tree was a mighty giant. Walking below these mammoth trees made one aware of just how small we are. One day during lunch, we stopped at the end of a road that almost reached a canyon. This canyon was on the Machmell River. If you have ever seen a King Kong movie, this looked like something you would see in the production. It was so deep that it looked almost bottomless. As we sat at the brink of this chasm, you could see it going around a corner from our position. At the corner of this yawning crack in the land, you could see a waterfall flowing over the lip; it was a big waterfall. It never reached the river below; it would turn into mist and float down the river, settling on the rock walls. This abyss was only around 100 metres across, and yet it was unfathomably deep.
Just up the road from here was the Pashleth Creek bridge crossing; this was the highest logging road bridge in the world. I understand that it was very difficult to construct. I got out and walked across. The first time I saw it, it was pretty awesome. I took a rock out onto the bridge and dropped it. There was a good amount of time before I saw it hit a pool below.
In 2005, the Machmell River logging operation was shut down and dismantled. Environmental laws had changed regarding where logging could take place. Everything had to be removed, I mean everything, and the camp area was to be cleaned up. The bridge, on the other hand, is still there, I hear. Pretty tough to reach, though, I suspect more animals cross this span than humans these days. It would be cool to see it again, maybe one day.
By the time fall came, the contracts started to have some space between them, and I told my boss that if he wanted to keep me on, there would need to be more work. I had not worked for more than a week when the forest service called, offering me my falling job back. I told my other boss that he had to replace me; he was not happy, but that is just how it is.
BC Forstry gave me a position as a danger tree faller, and they gave me a partner. We were working on rehab blocks and future slash burns. There were always some big snags that needed to come down. These snags were scary, mostly fir and rotten, huge chunks would break off and come crashing down. You had to be quick to avoid being killed and, at the same time, save your saw.
I was still dealing with not drinking, and it was a daily battle; it had been more than a year since I quit. We were working on a block in the summer, and it was hot. We would start work at 6 am and quit at noon, then stay another two hours on fire watch.
I had an awesome water jug that I would make Kool-Aid in and put in the freezer overnight to freeze. This was so good when the day heated up. For some reason, I had left my jug at home. It was the hottest day yet. We were going to be shut down after this day, so we were giving it. All I could think of was that jug of Kool-Aid. We finished the project and both headed to the truck. As my partner, Dan, arrived, he leaned over the truck box, exclaiming how much he needed a beer. I realized that even in such heat, I still only thought of that jug of Kool-Aid. It was a great feeling.