EMT Class: Passed Our Practical!

by Beth Posted on May 17, 2012

On Saturday Forrest and I took the EMT practical exam. (Also known as the “psychomotor exam”.) We both passed!

Forrest and I in Florida (April 2010)

I was more than a little bit nervous after Forrest had already found out he’d passed all of his stations. I’m a wee bit (ha! A LOT) competitive and did not want to do worse than he did!

In the end, we both passed. I’m so proud of us both! We’ll be taking the written exam on the 29th of May. After that it’s just a matter of taking care of some administrative steps and we’ll be licensed EMTs in Idaho!

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When Will We Be Able To Drive In? A Contest

by Beth Posted on May 16, 2012

At the end of March I jokingly took bets on when we’d be able to drive into the cabin this year. As it turned out we were still two weeks away from the snow peak for the water year (it looks like it was April 8). I took a look at last years data and started to feel rather hopeful. (Unfortunately the snow water equivalent and snow depth aren’t on the same axis for you but you get the idea.)

Water Year 2011 through May 19th
Water Year 2012 through May 19th (projected)

As it turns out we’re still about a month ahead of last year. We were able to drive into the cabin last year three days after this graph went to zero. It took 3 weeks to get to o” from 15″ SWE (snow water equivalent). The cabin’s located at about 5,700′ and this station is located at 5,100′ so it’s not an exact proxy but it’s close.

I also looked at the chart for Mullan Pass (elevation 6,000′). As of today we have 35″ SWE and were able to drive in last year when it was down to 21″ SWE. It took about two weeks to melt from 35″ to 21″ last year.

First Day of Summer 2011

As far as those bets go? Trisha guessed we’d be able to drive in the week of May 28th, going to have to be more specific now!). That’s going to be darn close. (Caitlin, you were just being nice with April 27th. Guess again!)

With all the snow data, my guess is June 3rd. Anyone else care to hazard a guess?

I think we might need a prize for this…I’ll get thinking.

 

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Mother’s Day Hike

by Beth Posted on May 15, 2012

When I heard that Sunday was supposed to be pretty (as in 70 degrees up at 6,000′) I decided that it should clearly be spent at the cabin. Unfortunately Forrest had to work so it was just Sprocket and I off for adventure. We did use Forrest as a ride up to the substation at Burke though.

The melting beginnings.

We started up the road at about 7:00 and by the time I reached the slide (about a mile) I was quite warm. The snow was also showing signs of warming up and I was sinking too far into the slush for my taste so we paused for me to put on snowshoes. Sprocket took this opportunity to play in the creek and the mud. I was pleasantly surprised to find that once I cut off the road to head up the ridgeline (it’s not much shorter but it seems sooo much faster!) that there was only patchy snow in the trees and most of the way up the ridge was clear. (Until of course I hit the snow that was 3′ deep.) I was pleasantly surprised to see how much of the road was starting to melt out although there is a lot of melting to do before we can drive in.

I arrived at the cabin at about 8:20, promptly grabbed a Gatorade and a chair and headed outside. I basically sat there basking, reading, and napping until 12:30. I got a horrible sunburn. Not very responsible. The sunshine felt sooo wonderful though. Finally, I roused myself, made some lunch and cleaned up the food storage area. Sprocket was quite happy when I shouldered my pack and started heading uphill. Apparently the puppy got bored.

We arrived at the top of East Grouse Peak about a half hour later and then began our long descent into Mullan. I really dislike walking downhill without a trail. I guess I need different shoes since I hate it mostly because my feet feel like they’re constantly smashed against either the toe box or one side of the shoe. It’s pretty uncomfortable… I only had to walk on snow for a really short chunk at the top, most of the way down was clear. However, the “pretty woods” Forrest had promised me on top of the M hill was FULL of downed timber. It made for some unfun walking.

In the end though, it was a beautiful day outside. I can’t wait for more.

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Summer To Do Lists

by Beth Posted on May 14, 2012

Our summer to do list is full of way too many practical things right now. On the list:

Finish the van: In the next couple of weeks we need to make some decisions about the final setup of the van and Forrest can get welding on the framework for the bed and cabinets.

Side the cabin and finish insulating the inside: After we get the siding done the place will be officially weather tight. Finishing up the insulation in the walls and ceiling are also on the docket for summer.

Plan wedding: Most of the planning for the wedding is done. There’s some loose ends to tie up but we’re really getting there. I’m sort of liking having it too look forward to as an end of summer hurrah though.

But after my hike yesterday (more on that tomorrow), I have an itch to climb mountains. We haven’t done near as much of this as I’d like in the last couple of years (which partially my fault and partially the fault of the cabin/house for needing to be worked on). My Peakbagger.com list has only TWO summits for all of last year on it and one of those is East Grouse Peak which hardly counts.

I don’t know if all of these things will happen but here’s my fun list for summer (I’ll have to get Forrest’s later).

Climb Idaho’s high point Borah Peak (12,662 ft): Not only would Borah be my lifetime high point it’s another state highpoint! The trailhead is a six hour drive but there’s plenty to do on the way back to make it worth it so this seems like a viable weekend trip.

Climb some local peaks: There’s a ton of mountains to climb right around here. They’re not all massive but using the top 10 high points in the Couer D’Alene Mountains (our mountains are a subrange of the Bitterroot Mountains) isn’t a bad place to start. Then there’s the Cabinets which really aren’t that far away (especially once Cooper Pass melts out!)

Leavenworth-Grand Coulee Dam Trip: I haven’t been to touristy Leavenworth for ages. And neither Forrest or I have seen Grand Coulee Dam. It might also be a good opportunity to visit with my cousins at their cabin in Hunters on the way home. (Maybe they’ll have their boat at the lake which would fill our once yearly need for some time on the water too!)

I can think of a lot more things I’d like to do but summer always feels so short. Way too short. (I can’t even drive to my cabin yet, how can I be thinking about how short summer is?) We’ll do our best to cram as much adventure in as we can though.

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EMT Class: The End

by Beth Posted on May 10, 2012

Tomorrow is our last day of EMT class. We passed the final. I’ve been checked off on all my skills. Forrest only has medical assessment to be checked off tomorrow. This is the biggest relief ever. Especially when we start to see forecasts like this:

Looks like class is ending just in time so we can be outside in the afternoons now and not sitting in class. (This lovely weather should also do wonders for snow melting!)

I really enjoyed class for the most part. As we moved into the skill section, it really slowed down and sometimes that 3 hours can realllly drag when 20+ people are working through assessments with only two instructors. I learned a ton  though (yay! learning!) and in the end the driving was probably worth it. You should probably check with my handsome chauffeur on that account though.

Saturday is the practical examination through the State of Idaho and sometime next week we should be taking our National Registry examination. So close!

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