Photos
These pictures were taken in May and June of 2011, in our second camp of the season, near Whitecourt, Alberta.
Alex.
Unloading from the helicopter.
Alberta sunset at night.
Kyler & John.
Waiting for a pickup.
Ory.
John.
Another forest fire in the distance.
Andrew.
Haley.
Jeremy.
Carissa.
Chloe.
Susie, planting.
A black bear.
One of Zach's blocks.
Pascal, sitting on the ground.
Kyler.
Wilson, looking for a crokinole tournament.
Scooter, waiting in the rain.
Wilson.
Dan.
Scooter, hooking up a sling in a typical thunderstorm.
Laura.
Anna, Jeremy, and Liam.
An old hunter's cabin on one of our blocks.
Shauna.
Getting into the helicopter. The interesting thing about this photo is that it was taken on a clear day. When you look at the background, you can see how much smoke was in the air.
Scooter, waiting to hook up a sling.
A random dog on the back of a truck.
Shelley, waiting to load some planters into the helicopter.
Scooter's truck, P4.
Connor.
John-Eric.
Laura, bagging up.
Flying some trees in the evening.
Krahn, of Peppermill Records.
Another of Zach's blocks.
Dylan.
Dusty.
Kristin & Krahn. Great T-shirt.
A typical warning sign in the Windfall area.
A bear checking out one of the quads.
Anika.
Beth.
Nic.
Haley, Alex, and Beth.
Matt.
Rookie Mike. It's a bit confusing this year with four Mikes: rookie Mike, vet Mike, foreman Mike, and checker Mike.
One of our helicopters from Airborne. This one was a beast - it could pick up sixty boxes at a time. Our 206 can only carry 14-16 at a time.
Conor from Millar Western, hooking up three slings.
My truck. So much for yesterday's wash job.
Pilot Jim in the chopper.
Some empty sling nets on the ground at staging. You can never have too many nets.
Pilot Jim watching the crew get out of the chopper. Looks like the rotor wash is knocking their shorts down.
Charlotte, from Millar Western.
Trucks lined up at staging, ready to head home for supper when the crews fly out.
Andrew's crew, waiting for the chopper.
Some of Wilson's guys at the end of the day.
One of the wheels of Andrew's truck, after it got pulled out of a ditch.
Andrew, getting ready to head to the next block.
The helicopter couldn't fly this morning because the airport was fogged in, and it couldn't see to lift off. So the crew decided the 45 minute walk into the block was better than sitting around for two or three hours waiting for the chopper.
I know it says "FX4 Off Road," but I don't think the intention was for the truck to drive off the road. This one was actually my fault - the first truck that I got stuck in three years. Usually, I'm the one who pulls everybody else out. Unfortunately, I got another truck stuck a few days later.
Jeremy.
The beginning of the snow. June 3rd.
Jeremy & John-Eric, planting in some fog and rain.
Another load of garbage, ready to go to the dump. Even the back seat is full.
Joanne, at the end of one of the coldest and most miserable days of the summer.
June 4th - a bit of snow in camp. Unfortunately, it was over a foot deep when the crew arrived on their block.
Snow in the back of my pickup.
A kerosene heater, warming up the mess tent on the night off.
Is it the crew's morning stretches? Or is it some sort of satanic dance?
Jim Logan, looking at a corduroy bridge that one of the foremen laid down for a quad crossing over an emphemeral creek.
Conor, from Millar Western, proudly wearing an old Folklore ball cap from the 1980's.
Haley, posing and laughing. I was trying to get her to show me a Shocker.
Tearing down the mess tent at the end of the contract.
Sorting out the week's recycling.