first step

My friends,

This is a long time coming. Eric Vane and I had a hell of a conversation in August and this is the eventual response to it.

Montana.

What does it mean to us? What does that 7 letter word mean to us? A lot. In many ways, maybe more than anything else. On that I believe we can all agree. That much is obvious. The next step, and really what Eric and I were trying to get at, is what the hell do we do with that knowledge.

First of all, that so many of us from the 2010 MCC season have stayed in touch and, even, developed our relationships is sensational. So cool. That we have also added so many people to our list of friends, of allies in this fight, is indicative. We all care so deeply about what we have done in MT, the friendships we have built there and the incredible way that feel in the Flathead. It took Eric verbalizing these thoughts in August to make me realize how true it really is.

When I came back to MT this summer, it was almost on a whim. I was getting restless in Rhode Island and nervous that my summer wasn’t going to be much fun. I soon grabbed the only ticket that I could find back into northwest MT. Those two months, june to august, were incredible. That I almost didn’t come back is now inconceivable. During my first week back in MT I was lucky enough to be able to show a friend around the Flathead who had never been there before. It was an epic reminder of what I had been missing. At the end of those two months, Eric and I had a long conversation about what MT means to us. It means direction. It means something to be excited about every morning. The more I see this country, it means the only sane place I know.

With all that said, what does it mean to you?! I am writing this because I am going to be back in MT early next year come rain or shine and I want all of you to be there too. I want to make something of this incredible energy that we all have. Look at the list of people this is being sent to. Every single one of these people is dedicated to MT in a deep way and is willing to work their asses off to make it work. What other group of 30-40 people do you know like that? (And really it is so many more that I am not FB friends with or that I forgot)

Let’s do something with this momentum. Let’s do something for the place that we care about.

I should say that this is hopefully the beginning of this discussion. Next summer there probably isn’t much more that we can do than barely make it back into MT with “paying” jobs. Still, that would be a major accomplishment.

I am more writing this so that we begin to look around at one another and realize that we are strong, that we are united by our love for MT, and that we are dedicated. For now, let’s just see what you are trying to do next summer. That’s a start. If anyone wants to get a little more future oriented, i.e. Eric and I were talking of buying land and doing something cool with it, let’s hear it. Here is the place to voice that.

I know that not all of you are MCC but I think that all of you are Americorps. Think about that. Pretty incredible. We are all on the same boat. Let us make something of that. Why not? To me, at least, it sounds like fun. Whether we recognize it or not, our love for MT and our affiliation with one another makes us a part of something. There is room for some energy in MT right now. Let’s take advantage of that.

much love,

Jedd

please pass this on to anyone that i regrettably forgot

Winter in Glacier

Winter has come to Glacier NP. I was there last week and it was cold and foggy as all get out above 5500 feet. Logan Pass, where we worked collecting seeds for a few days, got hit with a few inches of snow and ice and was crazy cold and foggy. It was absolutely gorgeous though and I sadly missed out on what would have been a few amazing pics of the slowly descending fall colors. Glacier sure is purty.

glacier for play

These pics are from glacier when pops came out to visit.

glacier for work

These pics are from a 9-day hitch I did in Glacier. We built several "turnpikes" on a couple of trails. One is pictured below. They are put into build a trail back up after erosion. There are also some pics of our campsite and one of some grizz, a sow and two yearling cubs, off in the distance.

Glacier with and without mama bear

Margaret Lake, Hungry Horse Reservoir, and others

Bond Lake

These pics are from the Bond Lake region, which is on the east side of the northern part of the Swan Valley. It was a backcountry hitch. So, we had to pack in all of our gear, food, and tools. It was an intense hike. What made this hitch cool though, was that a lot of the land we were working on had, until recently, been covered in snow. This meant that the wildflowers, which we had not seen in such numbers since june in the lower altitude areas, were blooming like crazy. These are just a few pics of the many flowers I saw. Also, some bees on some poop and an oddly dark picture of the lake we were camped on that was taken during the day.