Stubborn as a Mule

The mules all loaded up for the hike out

The past two weeks have been.... interesting. Last week was our first stint using horses and mules. It was a long and tiring hike, but the view was unbelievable!

Dan riding "Red" the horse and leading "Gomer" and "Rachel"

Camp: Desmond, Dan, and My Tents & the Mules!

The hikes have been long, about 6-10 miles in, camp, electroshock (usually about another 4-6 miles), then hike back out. The work is tiring, and when one teammate isn't fully "into it" it gets very frustrating. Needless to say, I am excited to start a new job!

Big Ol' Bull Trout

We finally caught our first big bull trout! A 20 incher! We also caught a bunch of our target size (150 mm). We look for the small Young of the Years to determine if the stream we are sampling has a spawning population. If we find the bigger fish it doesn't necessarily mean they can survive in the stream they could have just migrated in and are just hanging out eatin some delicious macroinvertebrates.

Mom and I before Zippin!

Mom came for her birthday weekend, it was so good to see her! We went for a hike, we summited Couch summit (7000 ft), sat in some hot springs, shopped (of course), and Zip Lined!

I officially accepted my position in Oregon this week! Andrew and I also found a place to live! I move in  on August 15th, and Andrew moves in as soon as he is done Looning!

So.... Pacific City, Oregon here I come! Yahoo!

A Hard Week Pays Off

Dan and My Nasty Feet After the Hike

This week was a tough one...we hiked 28 miles in two days. The hiking was gorgeous, yet HOT! We were placing thermographs (data loggers that store 2 months of temperature data from the streams we place them in) in 3 streams that are in a recent burn area. A lightning storm a year or two back completely altered the forest system so the thermographs are a means to monitor the change the streams are undergoing in response to the fire. As of right now we still have one stream to tackle, but after 28 miles, 6 popped blisters, one cranky attitude, and one pulled hip flexor, we decided to take a day or two before hiking our final 8 miles.

After we were tired and exhausted, I returned to cell phone service and had a voicemail waiting for me... it was from the job in Oregon I was hoping for! I was so excited! I called back, and BAM! I have a job for the fall!! I am part of the Coastal Chinook Salmon Research and Monitoring Project! I start August 16th, just 4 days after my internship ends here in Idaho, yikes! I will be stationed out of Pacific City, Oregon until mid December. The project's main goal is to gather population estimates of Chinook salmon via Mark/Recapture. I will be kayaking/pontooning down the rivers looking for salmon, then using a weir to capture them, mark them, then release them.

I am so excited! More to come later I am sure!

Montana Fourth of July!

Kim, Jon, and I in front of the Madison River

This Fourth was awesome! A "fly fishing" trip in Big Sky, Montana! I stress the fly fishing, because we really didn't fish all that much or catch all that much! My friend from college, Kim and her friend from work, Jon drove out to Fairfield to pick me up. We then ventured out towards Big Sky to visit my good friend from home, Nick. We fished the mighty Madison... and I caught... a tree! I did learn a lot though, and have caught the fly fishing bug! This weekend, my coworker Dan and I might fish a few rivers here in the Sawtooth's. Hope everyone had a fun Fourth!

Much Love!