9 days until departure!

To those of you that are not familiar with my summer plans but have somehow stumbled upon this blog, I will briefly explain to you what I will be doing. Or what I think I will be doing since I have not yet started. 

After submitting an application for a "stream ecology internship" to the National Park Service, I was selected for the position along with four other students. The position will include 10 hour days of gathering data from streams in the Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon, lots of hiking to get to said streams, and living in a small cabin in a remote area of the forest. For many of you, this probably sounds like a nightmare, but to me this is ideal. 

Here are some facts about Mt. Hood: 

- Elevation of 11,245 feet

- It is the tallest mountain in Oregon

- 4th highest in the Cascade Mountain range

- Indian name: Wy'East; Dormant volcano

- The US Olympic ski team practices here

- Average snowfall is 500-600" per year (at the peak, I will be working in relatively warm weather.) 

- Oregon is the top state in Christmas tree sales

Well, things have been pretty busy in my life lately trying to get fully prepared for my trip. Daniel and I have already been on several excursions to get the gear I will need so I'm not completely miserable while I am there. This includes every fiber of clothing consisting of some type of quick-drying fabric, and cotton is the devil.

 I have about 4-5 outfits for the entire summer, and I think living simply will be rejuvenating. I am scheduled to leave on the 12th, although training for the interns doesn't start until the 15th, so I will get to spend my entire 3 free days of summer in Portland with Josh. Wee! 

Some of my goals for my last week here include: 

- breaking in my hiking boots as to prevent blisters

- get my cameras in working condition (I want to bring the AE-1, a 30-year old film camera)

- move all of my stuff out of my campus house to my parent's basement

- survive exams

- see all of my family and friends at least once more before I leave (I return September 21st)

- more to be added to this list later. 

Feel free to comment and/or email me your thoughts and/or questions, I'd love to here from you!

f31i2n@gmail.com