Hello
everyone! As the days of my internship draw to a close I wanted to relay the
last bit of information about the work we have been doing. Let me just first
start off by thanking everyone who made this summer possible for me and the
other two Coos County interns. The information and skills we learned this
summer will last a life time and have greatly shaped the way I live and think.
The AMC and Forest Service were absolutely wonderful to work with and for
throughout the summer and have given me the skills I need to progress in the
area of trail maintenance and outdoor recreation. Everyone at Camp Dodge was
great in regards to making me feel welcome and working with me in the woods.
My final full work week was spent as
a co-leader on the Pine Link trail on Mt. Madison alongside one of our Teen
Spike crew leaders Emily. Emily and I led a group of seven teens in a week jam
packed with rock work. There was an interesting progression in terms of the
work as the week went on. We began by setting rocks to use as step stones and
prepared a rock water bar, but then a sweeping rain storm stopped us in our
tracks and made us reconsider the work to be done. This was my first hurdle as
a leader and with Emily’s help we decided to create new drainages to give
relief to this overly swampy area. My group of volunteers was kind and
respectful and I believe we will most likely see most of them either back in a
trail volunteer crew or perhaps even as interns or employees of the AMC.
This
final week in the woods was a fitting close to a summer where I learned so
much. Compared to the beginning of the summer where I would have felt anxious
about leading a crew, I felt calm and prepared to accept the responsibility of
being a co-leader. This internship has prepared me to enter both a working and
social context with improved leadership skills and also an ability to improvise
and adapt to any situation that might come my way. Thank you again to everyone at the AMC and
Forest Service for everything!
For the last time this is Keegan one of the
AMC’s Coos County Interns signing off.
