What to Expect For Living Conditions
A tree planting season starts for most people in late April or early May. May is all about cold mornings, freezing rain, and lots of enthusiasm. By mid-June, however, things are heating up, light misty rains are welcome, and after thirty days of planting, most people are starting to talk about time off. Most planting camps work for three or four days, then take one day off, in a cycle called "3&1's" or "4&1's." You will also undoubtedly have four or five days off per month due either to unexpected downtime (vehicle hassles, frozen trees, fog days while using helicopters, snowstorms), or planned downtime between contracts or when moving camp. When this happens, don't complain - take advantage of the downtime to get some rest. At other times during the busy parts of the season, you'll wish you had more free time. The trick is to take advantage of planting when it's available. By the middle of June, most people (even if they don't want to) would be well advised to take a week off to recover before summer work. At some companies, it may be traditional to have a forced week or so off around this time of year due to the gap between spring and summer contracts.
There are three basic types of accommodation. The first (and by far the most common) is the bush camp. You live in your own tent, and your planting company provides a mess tent, showers, and meals. Your employer will also provide transportation into town once per shift (on the designated day off) so you can do laundry and buy supplies. Most planters prefer the comfort of logging camps or hotels, but a well-run bush camp in a nice location is still a great way to spend a few months. Bush camps are always more social than motels. Of course, when working in Alberta, it is fairly common for your camp to turn into a horrible mud pit.
You may occasionally find yourself working in a logging camp. You'll stay in logging trailers, which come complete with one bed per room, hot showers and running water, laundry facilities, a heated mess hall, and television and/or internet access. The advantages are comfort, but sometimes at the expense of higher camp costs (although BC has regulated camp costs, so this usually isn't an issue). Logging camp work is not common these days.
Finally, you may be working out of motel accommodations, or staying in guest cabins in wilderness resorts. Usually, you buy and cook your own food, or sometimes eat in a nearby restaurant, depending on what arrangements the contractor has been able to work out. Depending on the size of the room, your roommates, and their habits and cooking skills, this can either be a great or a horrible experience.
You are usually charged camp costs, which are generally $25-30 per day (GST extra) in bush camps, $25-80/day in logging camps, and $15-25/day in hotels (with no food provided). Camp costs include meals, the use of facilities (such as showers or the occasional TV), and transportation to the work site and to town. In BC, legislation prohibits the employer from charging more than $25 per day (plus GST) for camp costs. No such legislation exists in Alberta, so camp costs are generally slightly higher in Alberta. Visit replant.ca/campcosts if you want to understand the camp cost system in much greater detail.
What you eat depends mostly on your cook. Most planting companies now offer vegetarian and vegan food, but vegans should beware unless there are a lot of you. A cook making dinner for fifty or sixty people may not have the energy to devote to a top-of-the-line vegan dish for only two or three people. No matter what, you should expect to be given lots of food. If you don't, there is a serious problem with the cook or the company, and you should let your foreman or supervisor know immediately. If you have allergies to anything, tell the cook before the season starts. If the food lacks variety, or you think of a specific meal that you think would be appreciated by the crew, ask the cook (or assistant) about it. Usually there are very valid reasons why an experienced cook will stay away from certain dishes, but occasionally it is just a lack of knowing that there would be interest. If you have specific suggestions for more variety, talk to the cooks directly rather than just complaining to other planters on the block.
The Daily Routine
You will wake up between 5am and 6am, get dressed, and stumble into the mess tent. A huge breakfast awaits you, which you will have difficulty forcing down. Breakfast is a critical meal!! Although some planters will want to skip this meal, the energy you get from a strong breakfast will be critical in ensuring a productive day. After you've finished eating, you make your lunch from materials provided by the cook: sandwiches, granola, cookies, fruit, juice, vegetables, trail mix, and candy or block treats. Smart planters get up early to get the best selection for their lunches. After breakfast, you'll get into your assigned vehicle (usually a crew cab or a van) and head off to the block. On site, you will grab your planting bags, load up with trees, grab your shovel, and head out to your piece of land. After nine or ten hours of hard work, you'll return to camp, where you can wash up and eat a huge meal.
After dinner, it's all up to you. Guitars appear, smokes are lit, letters get written, and there's lots of conversation. The smart planters will be in bed asleep well before nine o'clock, to get a good rest for a productive day starting the next morning.
On the "night off" (which is the night before the day off), some people will go to bed fairly early, and others will stay up to socialize. Social activities can vary, and are usually dependent on the weather and on how tired people are from the shift. Perhaps people will gather around a fire, with cases of beer and guitars. If it's raining, you might see several groups of people playing board games in the mess tent. On other nights, when everyone has more energy, people in camp will organize a dance party in the mess tent, or a talent show or game show. You'll probably look back on your nights off as some of best nights of your life. Just don't get too drunk and pass out in the bushes, only to wake up and find a bear trying to drag you off by your pantlegs. I've seen this happen.
The next morning, on the official day off, some people will catch rides to town. The trucks will probably leave camp around 8am. Laundry should be your first priority once you get to town. Get that started early, so people aren't waiting around for you later in the afternoon when the crew truck is scheduled to head back to camp. During the day, your foreman might have pick up fuel or fill propane tanks, or maybe empty the garbage trailer, so don't expect that he or she will want to chauffeur you around town all day for errands. It is supposed to be a day off for him/her too. Sometimes people will go into town on the night off, so they can take advantage of a motel room and the local pubs. Years ago, the stereotypical planter's routine was to drink as much as possible as quickly as possible and make a fool of himself or herself, including vomiting, getting kicked out of bars, getting beaten up by local red-necks, or getting arrested. However, with the increased professionalism coming into planting over the past decade, this is not so much the norm anymore. It is much less common now for planters to go to town on nights off than it was a decade ago. This probably relates to the significantly shorter shifts (it was common at many companies to work 5&1's or 6&1's in the early 2000's). Nowadays, many planters realize that they only work about fifty to sixty days each year (unless you're a professional on the Coast). A planter needs to go hard when work is available, and get as much rest as possible on days off. Some people like to stay in camp and sleep most of the day on the day off, to avoid a long annoying drive into a distant town.
The Actual Planting
I have heard that tree planting was rated by Manpower Canada (now known as HRDC) as the toughest job, both mentally and physically, that anyone can do in Canada. You will plant in all kinds of weather, from rain and snow to thirty-five degree heat. The work itself involves strapping on planting bags full of trees, which weigh from twenty to forty pounds, grabbing a shovel, and criss-crossing every square metre of your land, planting seedlings about two and a half metres apart from each other. Planting techniques vary from site to site. In most of BC, sites are not prepared for planting, so the planter has to climb over slash, stumps, and other obstacles, and screef (clear away) debris from the mineral soil with a shovel before planting the tree. Some BC planting, and a lot of Alberta planting, is done on site-prepped land, where machines attempt to clear debris away from the soil. This makes planting easier, but of course, also means a lower tree price for the planter. The planter is responsible for covering his/her assigned piece of land, planting trees at a correct density and according to specific quality standards, and to use proper techniques for handling seedlings. You will plant as quickly or as slowly as you want, and when you are out of trees, you'll head back to the cache to get more, and maybe even grab some water or a quick snack. You'll see your foreman and quality checkers a couple of times per day, and if you plant improperly, you will have to "replant" or fix your trees, which is a frustrating waste of your time and money (especially considering that you should have planted them correctly in the first place). Planters must achieve a minimum specified quality (we'll go into this later) or the company doesn't get paid for the work.
Prices and earnings vary significantly depending on what part of the country you're working in. Although price determines how much you'll earn, your earnings are a more important metric. Price alone is irrelevant unless you take into context the difficulty of the land that you're working in. In general, prices are "better" and earnings are higher in western Canada than anywhere else in the country. Also, the length of the season is usually longer in BC and Alberta than in Ontario or on the east coast. People from central Canada and Atlantic Canada may think it's not worth their while to travel to BC for work. This is an incorrect assumption. The earnings in BC are so much higher than in Ontario that you'll easily cover your travel expenses and put a lot more money in the bank. Also, the industry is much more professional and safety-oriented on the west coast.
Mornings are usually cold. Once you're at the block, you'll have to get out of a warm vehicle, and bag up with wet trees that you'll pack into a heavy, damp set of planting bags. Soon (maybe) the sun will come out, the temperature heats up, and the bugs come out. You can, if you wish, use DEET-based repellents to combat mosquitoes, black flies, horseflies, gnats, and "no-see-ums". You'll get very hungry, so hopefully you packed a large lunch. You'll be thirsty, so hopefully you brought 6-8 litres of water. Towards the end of the day, you'll be tired and maybe bored. If the planting goes well, you'll be happy. If you have to replant, or your land is bad, you'll become frustrated or unhappy. A certain amount of bad land is inevitable. The foreman will hopefully try to spread the good and bad land out evenly, or at least, if someone gets obvious preferred treatment for a day or so, there will be an obvious reason for it, and the advantage will shift to other members of the crew a day or so later. Rain or cold may affect you, but remember, there's always beauty everywhere, from the views of mountains to flowers to animals to the cute planter in the next piece of land who's taken off his or her shirt. At the end of the day, everyone puts their equipment away under tarps, and you grab your personal day-bag and head back to the trucks. Everybody stinks of sweat, the truck is generally filthy, and people are happy. Sounds like Utopia, eh? And even if you've had a bad day, at least it's over. You give your foreman your numbers for the day, and probably fall asleep in the truck on the way back to camp. Once you've started to drive home, put planting out of your head. If you can try not to think about it again until you arrive back on the block the next morning, you'll enjoy your summer more.
Planting feels like different things to different people. I personally find that it feels like "meditation without thinking," which doesn't really make any sense. Once I've bagged up and planted the first ten trees in the ground, it usually feels like I'm bagging out about two minutes later. When I'm done my bag-up, I have no idea what I've thought about for the past hour or so, but then again, I don't remember my dreams either. Some people find planting to be an exciting, competitive kind of racing activity, while others find it frustrating, boring, or physically exhausting.
Successful planting involves a number of things. I define a successful planter as a high income planter who enjoys his/her job (as much as it is possible to enjoy planting), and plants adequate quality trees while making minimal demands on the foreman and planters around him/her. I like to think that planters should be able to gross $350 or more per day for a hard-working veteran, or $200 to $250 per day for a first-year planter, averaged over the course of a complete season. Some people may look at $350/day as being a lot of money, perhaps more than someone should deserve for this kind of work. If you think that, please try doing the work yourself for a full season. And think about the math: most planters only get to work about fifty to sixty days per season, depending on how many contracts your company secures. Fifty-five days at $350/day is only $19,250 for your "annual" income. Sure, you can try to get other work in the fall and winter, but even so, tree planting by itself is a tough way to earn enough money to live on for a full year (although it can be a great summer job for a few years if you're a university student). Another problem to consider is that on top of your earnings, you have to factor in expenses such as camp costs, equipment, sturdy clothing, motels on days off, bug spray, and other work-related amenities. Realistically, a contractor needs to bid a job so that the very best experienced planters (ie. those who are highly motivated and who have about three or more full seasons of experience) can gross about $400 per day before expenses, to ensure a reasonable level of retention in future years. And for the foresters who have to pay this kind of money to get the job done, it is important to remember that if the planters don't make good money, the planting company will have a high percentage of inexperienced workers the following year, and the quality of work done for the forester declines significantly with inexperienced workers. Maybe the phrase, "You get what you pay for" isn't entirely applicable, but in some ways there is an element of truth to it. For a planter though, remember that you get paid for the amount of work you do. Don't expect that you should earn this kind of money automatically, just for showing up. It's a two-way street. You have to work your ass off, always, no matter how harsh the conditions are, and you'll trade this potentially high daily income for a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
Happiness is important. Spending ten hours by yourself in barely tolerable physical conditions is a bad way to deal with relationship hassles, depression, existential questions, grief, etc. Unhappiness also slows you down, because it detracts from your focus. All I can say about this is, "become happy". You have no choice. And if you can't make yourself happy, learn to enjoy misery. Some people do very well as tree planters, because they thrive on other peoples' misery. When people around them are miserable, they cheer up. It's a crazy world.
A second consideration is focus/motivation. The successful planter usually does not plant with a "chatty" friend. He or she works alone, and pays close attention to the work. If they are working with a partner, it is one with whom they are familiar and get along with, and the pair work together to cover the land as efficiently as possible. To be successful, this will probably include some verbal communication. One summer I worked for months with a planter named Rob Skanes. He was good at the toughest stuff, while I was good at faster land, so whenever we hit a new piece, he would head for the green areas and I would head for the good stuff, and we would split our tallies equally at the end of the day. It worked out great for both of us - we both worked hard, shared responsibilities, and didn't complain about "unfair advantages." We were happy to receive equal tallies because we worked as a team.
A third concern is physical health. You have to consume huge amounts of food and water, get lots of sleep, and wear enough clothing. Being tired, miserable, sore, hungry, or thirsty, are all really good ways to slow yourself down. In the short run, it is easy to skimp on sleep and food, but stress is cumulative: you will get burned out more quickly if you don't take care of yourself.
Who Should Go Planting?
Physical fitness is important. Excellence in aerobic ability and excellence in brute muscular strength are not entirely necessary, however, endurance is key. Tree planting sucks energy out of you. You have to be able to develop the ability to keep working steadily. You cannot train for planting easily, unless you spend three weeks before the beginning of your season, hiking for two hours per day with a twenty pound backpack.
The only truly successful planters are those who want to make money. You should not go planting solely for the experience, to see the world, or to meet people. Those are just incidental side benefits. You should especially NOT go planting to save the environment, or to be with a boyfriend/girlfriend. Most experienced foremen will NOT hire avid environmentalists or couples. The odds just don't favor those candidates for success.
The ability to learn is another key asset. Be open-minded and analytical. Tree planting, contrary to what some people believe, is NOT a mindless job. In fact, it is one of the most intellectually demanding jobs there is, which is why veteran planters do better than rookies. It takes time to learn. Even if you read, memorize and think about every bit of information you find in books and on the internet, there will still be things that you have to learn as a rookie which 'cannot' be taught - ie. what types of vegetation usually grow on dirt (as opposed to rock), how to know where to place your shovel to find dirt, etc. Not only do you have to watch yourself, but you have to watch others and learn, and ask your foreman for advice. If you have a good foreman, he/she will also be a good planter, and truly good foremen know that time invested in the training of planters is rewarded in the long run. My Step By Step tree planting textbook is almost 500 pages long, in fairly small print. Would you have ever guessed that there is that much information to consider about planting trees? A good planter never stops learning.
Anybody can eventually become a good planter, with concentration and determination. Some take longer than others, but all it takes is drive, focus, and the ability to learn from yourself and others. You will not be successful unless you constantly and actively try to improve your planting skills.
Who Should NOT Go Planting?
Anybody with a history of back, arm, knee, ankle, or neck problems should not go planting. Planting puts enormous physical stress on the body and WILL aggravate old injuries, often making them even harder to deal with (especially knee injuries). Veteran planters who spend years working in fast ground will slowly wear out their bodies, destroying tendons and ligaments. You may think to yourself that your prior knee injury from several years ago will not cause you any problems, but your body MUST be 100% healthy to do the job well. I have seen many potential employees who brush off prior injuries because the injury hadn't caused them problems for years, but when they started planting, the injury acted up again within days, causing them to have to quit their job. All that does is cost you a lot of money and frustration as you find yourself having to quit your new summer job, and it causes frustration for the person who hired you and started to invest a lot of time in training you. If you aren't confident in your body's ability to handle the physical demands, don't try tree planting. You don't have to be incredibly strong: I've seen 105 pound people who can excel at planting, but that's a due to a combination of adequate fitness and an excellent mental attitude. However, your body needs to be ready for the challenge that you're going to go through.
Anybody dealing with mental health issues or emotional stress should not go planting. If you have relationship hassles, depression, some kind of an existential crisis, if you're in mourning, etc., the bush is the worst possible place to deal with your problems.
If you're addicted to being online and you spend all your time on social media, you probably shouldn't go planting. You're going to need to learn to put the phone down. That may be less difficult than you expect, since you may not have any cell service on your blocks or in camp. It's surprisingly refreshing not to have internet, once you get used to it.
Anyone recovering from a long-term illness should not go planting. The physical stress of planting will often break down your immune system and bring back the illness. Toward the end of a two-month stint of planting, even the healthiest folk can get sick easily.
If you're color-blind, you're going to have an extremely hard time following planted trees in summer overgrowth, and you will probably be far less successful than other planters around you. Think twice, because being color-blind will definitely negatively affect your quality, density, and earnings. Apparently, about 5% of North American males and 0.5% of North American females are red/green colorblind.
Did I emphasize strongly enough that you absolutely should NOT plant trees if you have weak knees?
People with allergies to trees and/or who have hay fever may find themselves to be fairly miserable at times. This should be pretty obvious, but some people fail to acknowledge this when applying for a job. However, this type of problem isn't necessarily a deal-breaker. If you don't mind spending a lot of money on non-drowsy antihistamines, you can survive as a planter.
If you are allergic to bee, wasp, or hornet stings, you need to think carefully about what will happen when you are stung, hundreds of miles from the closest hospital. Getting stung by one of these insects is pretty much inevitable if you plant in July or August. If you can control your anaphalactic reaction through the use of an "epi-pen," then carrying a few epi-pens might be sufficient to mitigate this risk. But what if you're working in an area where the fastest that you can get to a hospital is five or six hours? And what if you get stung several times in the neck after opening a ground nest? If getting a sting is something which your body reacts very badly to, and even an epi-pen is not an adequate solution, you absolutely need to consider a different line of work. It's often common to caught in slash after inadvertently knocking into or opening a nest, and getting stung dozens of times. This can be a weekly occurance toward the end of the summer. There have been a number of very severe anaphalactic shock cases in the industry in the past couple of years, and the chance of a fatality is not something to be ignored.
If you can't see well without glasses, you need to think carefully about what you're getting yourself into. You can wear glasses on the block, but this can be extremely frustrating when it rains, and your glasses will definitely get badly scratched during the season. Some people wear contacts, but if you do this, wear disposables because you'll lose them occasionally. You will often be planting in extremely dry and dusty conditions which aggravate your eyes, so you'll probably need to carry saline solution. Also, if your contacts come out, remember that you're working in dirt and mud all day, and it isn't generally advisable to stick dirty fingers into your eyes to adjust your contacts. Again, having less than 20:20 vision won't prevent you from being able to plant, but it will decrease your efficiency and production (and earnings) to varying degrees.
Fat people should not plant trees. I'm not kidding. I know that this isn't a politically correct statement, but it needs to be said. How many pictures of extremely heavyset people do you see on this website? Practically none, and there's a reason for it. Having said that, you can certainly be moderately heavyset and well-built, and as long as you have a healthy physique, you can still do pretty well at planting. I've employed several successful planters over the years who have weighed in the 200-220 pound range. The trick is to have the physique and health and motiviation to go with it. Successful planters eventually realize that efficiency and technique are very important factors in their success. If you weigh significantly more than the average Joe on the Street, you should ask yourself this question: "Will I be comfortable with working steadily in adverse temperature conditions, walking over heavy slash up and down the side of steep mountains, bending down to put a tree in the ground several thousand times, for 8-10 hours per day?" If you can honestly answer yes to this question, your weight will not be a consideration. But again, put it this way: I (Scooter) weigh 175 pounds, and although I'm in excellent physical condition, carrying 40 pounds of trees around the block is extremely tiring. What if you weigh significantly more than I do? Remember that you'll have to carry your extra body weight PLUS the 40 pounds of trees. If you're a heavy-set person and you really want to plant, try an experiment first. Find a good heavy-duty backpack, and put forty pounds of textbooks in it. Then find a steep hill. Walk up and down the hill for three hours straight, without stopping. Now decide if you'd like to do that for nine hours every day, all summer, including on days when it's over thirty degrees Celsius.
The important thing to think about when answering these kind of hard questions is that if you lie to an interviewer or on an application, the person whom you're hurting the most is yourself. Whether you like it or not, tree planting is production based, and any characteristics or attributes which have the ability to negatively affect your production will also reduce your earnings, and make you hate the job even more. Trying to hide past injuries in order to get a job may just lead to heartache for yourself, and also increase the chance of long-term injuries to your body which can affect you for years in the future. Also, if you fail to disclose a prior injury during the interview process, in most cases that can make you ineligible for Workers' Compensation benefits, so an injury resulting from this kind of scenario can be especially hard to deal with in the future.
Planting Gear - Options and Suggestions
A planter must have the necessary equipment and appropriate work clothes. The boots should have a steel "shank" in the sole to give protection against bruising of the bottom of your foot. Many planters wear caulks (pronounced corks) in tougher ground, order to achieve a better grip on slippery logs and to enhance screefing capabilities.
Rain gear is very important since planters work in both good and bad weather. A rain jacket and rain pants are both necessary. Investing a little extra in rain gear will pay off in the long run - it can be frustrating to miss a day of work (and lose $250+) due to sickness or cold because you didn't bring proper rain gear.
To carry seedlings, the planter wears a set of planting bags. The number of bags varies (usually three). Essentially, the bags serve as a storage area for the seedlings, so the planter can carry and plant a large number of trees before going to refill at the seedling cache.
"Insert" bags are used in the planting bags to protect the seedlings from heating up or drying out. They are made out of reflective material and must be closed at the top when full of trees, with the exception of your feeder bags or drawbags (the ones currently in use). I have occasionally seen times where a planter has gotten a warning for not having a drawstring closed on an insert full of trees. This seems pretty ridiculous when you realize that having the drawbag closed does absolutely nothing for the seedlings. The requirement to have closed inserts is basically a carry-over from thirty years ago, when planting bare-root stock was far more common, and shouldn't be applicable today. However, we're in the business to please the customers, so if the forestry or company officials want the inserts closed, it is best to close your inserts and don't even pay attention to the trite reasons they give. They pay us, so do what they say. If you're a legitimate ambi planter, you should be allowed to keep your drawbags open on both sides.
Cache tarps are made from reflective material and are used to cover individual boxes of trees at the caches on the block. Boxes must be covered as specified at the pre-work conference. Rocks or logs can be used to keep the tarp from blowing off the box. A box of trees exposed to sunlight may result in a penalty to you or your crew. There will be different methods for tarping based upon whether the boxes of trees are "spring" trees or "summer" trees. Spring trees (over-wintered) usually need to be completely covered and tucked in on all sides. Summer trees (hot-lifted) usually need to have an A-Frame cache with air flow. The tarp needs to keep sunlight off all parts of all boxes, and the boxes themselves must be opened, watered, and have all trees standing up within the boxes.
Ribbon or flagging tape is used by planters to mark boundaries and to flag trees as you're planting. Planting bags usually have a small pouch on the side that is specifically designed for carrying a roll of flagger.
A plot cord is an essential piece of planting equipment. Planters are usually not allowed to plant without one. The only way a planter can maintain proper spacing over time is by regularly checking samples of their planting density using the plot cord. This cord is 3.99 metres long and is usually made of clothesline.
You'll need a shovel in order to open holes for the trees. Your shovel should not be too long or too short. If your shovel is not comfortable, it will hinder your production. There are two different types. The "D" handle is the most preferred handle used by planters in BC/Alberta. The straight handle (a staff shovel) should be used by planters feeling tightness in the wrist caused by repetition (commonly known as tendonitis). A staff shovel can be used in rocky ground to cope with the shock of striking a rock when making a tree hole. However, despite the physiological advantages of using a staff, very few people use them in BC. The D-Handle is almost a universal standard.
Now that you have a brief overview of some of the equipment that is required, let's go into a bit more detail. It would be easy to write an entire book about the pros and cons of different equipment that is available. A tree planter has to work in all possible conditions. Accordingly, you will have to bring gear to the block with you that will help you to deal with the three major problems: TEMPERATURE, WEATHER, and BUGS.
Boots
Boots can generally be divided into two types: rubber and leather (or waterproof and not waterproof). To increase your comfort level with all boots, you should use insoles (wash them regularly), wear two or more pairs of socks, and buy boots big enough so that two pairs of socks and insoles fit well. Boots should not be too tight or too loose.
Leather work boots, once broken in, are generally quite comfortable. They will last a long time if you clean them regularly and put shoe-wax on them. If you buy leather boots, you should break them in before you go planting by wearing them around for a few days. If you don't, you'll be sorry. You'll get blisters, and maybe have a few non-productive days). Leather boots usually won't keep your feet dry in the rain (although you can wear a baggie or bread bag between layers of socks on each foot). If you can get them cheap, army surplus cadet boots (with steel toe and sole) work well. Otherwise, buy CSA approved steel toe and steel shank work boots (the steel shank gives you a really sturdy sole). On many contracts, you will not be allowed to work unless you have the steel toe and shank in your footwear.
Leather hiking boots are just about the most comfortable footwear known to man. Once broken in, they become very comfortable. However, the tree planter will be doing some screefing with his/her feet, which will ruin good hiking boots very quickly. Most modern forms of hiking boot, such as GoreTex or day hikers, are useless. GoreTex loses its water resistance when it gets dirty. Fancy designs with multiple panels of leather, plastic components, etc. will wear out very quickly. I would strongly advise against buying cheap hiking boots because they wear out too fast (unless you want a pair for just lounging around camp and town).
Rubber boots can be good because they keep your feet dry, which is critical! There are several kinds of rubber boots available. Chainsaw boots are orange, with chainsaw matting over the shin. These boots are commonly called "caulks," although this term technically refers to the spikes on the bottom of the boot, not to the type of boot itself. These boots have steel toes and shanks, and are fairly heavy.
Lace-ups are a boot of choice for many BC planters. They are comfortable, easy to put on/take off, and available with or without caulks (pronounced "corks"). The best kind seem to be the Viking brand. You get what you pay for - these boots may not last a full spring and summer season. Don't forget to buy extra laces.
Viberg boots are expensive ($300 and up), but well worth it: you get leather/rubber mix, superb quality, comfort, and durability. These are among the best work boots available. Plastic boots are also available, with a number of brand names such as Koflach, Kastingers, or Scarpas. These are similar to cut-off ski boots, and are light, warm, and fairly waterproof if worn with gaiters. The hefty price ($250-$500 or more) scares away many people, as it should. I would not recommend these for first-year planters, although some high-end planters may be better off with them, depending on their personal preference. You can also have a pair resoled to take caulks, which makes them a great boot.
About caulks: "corks," as they are pronounced, are little metal spikes which are found on the bottom of some boots. They are very useful if you are doing a lot of screefing with your feet (low priced land), or if you are on steep, wet ground with a lot of slash, to prevent you from slipping on logs. I would most strongly recommend boots with caulks to every planter who is planting tougher ground in BC. Bring some extra caulks (about forty cents each) and a caulk-wrench to the bush with you. Also, make sure you have a pair of hiking boots for town use, because you'll get yelled at if you try wearing caulked boots into most stores. However, if you are planting mostly treated ground, or easy raw ground, caulked boots are far less important. Boots with caulks installed on them are also heavier, which can be a consideration. Why waste energy wearing a heavy pair of boots if the conditions that you're planting in are appropriate for a lighter pair?
Socks are also very important. Buy a dozen pairs of light polypropylene work socks, and a dozen pairs of wool/nylon blend thick work socks. The light ones obviously go on first, with the wool on the outside. This setup keeps you from getting blisters, and these types of socks keep your feet semi-dry when you sweat, and are warm when wet. Cotton socks are useless because they stay wet, and are cold when wet. When buying wool socks, try for an 80% wool and 20% nylon mix, which will last longer. Bama socks, or other types of polyethylene liners, are also excellent. You don't want tight boots, but if your boots are too loose, you'll find that you wear holes in your socks quite quickly.
Planting pants need to do two things: keep sun and branches off your legs, and keep the bugs out. A light, baggy pair of cotton pants (or cotton long johns worn with an old pair of shorts over top) works well in dry weather. Your pants will get destroyed in two months, so don't buy expensive army surplus pants. Go to the Salvation Army and get several pairs of the tackiest secondhand five-dollar pants you can find. For hot and bug-free days, a ragged pair of thigh-length shorts is nice. Some planters wear shorts almost constantly. This can lead to discomfort due to snow and bugs, and multiple lacerations from the slash (which, when bleeding, attract the bugs even more). Regardless, I've often been very comfortable in seasons when I just wore shorts all season, although I used a lot of insect repellants.
As far as shirts are concerned, bring a couple of ratty black T-shirts and a baggy black turtleneck. The T-shirts keep you cool, while a turtleneck (or any long-sleeved baggy work shirt) is good for keeping the bugs away. A heavy jacket is also useful for cold mornings at the end of April and first half of May.
If you remember nothing else after reading this page, remember that polypro and wool are good, and cotton clothing only useful on hot dry days.
The Sunhat
The hat is an essential item. Without a sunhat, you are much more susceptible to getting a sunburn or sunstroke, and becoming tired and miserable. On rainy days, it doubles in function by keeping some of the water out of your eyes (a ball cap is indispensable on rainy days if you wear glasses. While I'm on the topic, let me talk about contacts. I wore both contacts and glasses (not simultaneously) for over ten years while planting, until I had laser eye surgery. I would advise that you probably shouldn't wear contacts on the block, for first aid and health reasons, although many people do. Back to the sunhat. The best thing to use is a broad-brimmed cotton or canvas sunhat that is dark colored, which will keep the rain and sun out of your eyes and ears. Baseball caps are also useful, although they don't protect the back of your neck. Keeping the sun out of your eyes reduces eyestrain and makes you less tired at the day's end. This is important because planting with sunglasses doesn't work (you can't see well into the holes that you are making).
Rain Gear
Bear in mind that when you plant you cannot afford to sit in a warm truck just because it is raining. In fact, your foreman may threaten to lock the doors of the trucks, to keep you on the block and working. You have to continue to work, while trying to keep dry and warm. If you can't stay dry, you still need to stay warm. Cotton based clothing is cold when it gets wet, so don't wear it in the rain. I will now try to describe one good rain gear system.
Start with a pair of full-length polypro tights - the durable, heavy duty kind, not the softer Lycra version. Wear them with a pair of cutoff "courtesy shorts" over top to minimize chaffing from your planting bags, and to provide pockets. Heavy-duty tights are thicker than regular polypro underwear and resist tearing by branches and snags. They keep the black flies out. You can also use spandex or polypro underwear, but these will rip more easily. This system works on days of mist or light rains. You can wear these on dry, cool days as well. For wet days, you can go with a pair of normal long underwear, and a pair of standard rainpants (Canadian Tire has some nice black pairs) over the top. If you use these rainpants, which cost about $45, be prepared to bring a few pairs, since they will get destroyed after several weeks of regular use.
Wear a thin shirt made of non-cotton material such as polypro. A wool sweater over top is great, and the polypro underneath reduces the itching. Like the tights, this is warm when wet and quick-drying. You can use long underwear tops, cycling shirts, or outdoor shirts sold at Mountain Equipment or climbing stores, although I'd always recommend scouring thrift shops first. Wool is always wonderful material for your clothing, because of the way that it holds heat when it gets wet, but it still breathes.
For harder rains, have a reinforced rubber rain jacket and pants. The pants can have suspenders, or even better, a properly-fitting elastic waistband. The jacket should be tough, reinforced rubber. Other good heavy rain gear is PVC. If you buy rain gear, make sure it's reinforced. Straight plastic or rubber will shred within minutes of you getting out on the block. Good rain gear can cost well over $100, but might last a couple seasons and will keep you dry and warm.
Should I buy Gore-Tex type rain gear? Gore-Tex is the outdoor person's miracle substance. However, its efficiency when planting is limited, because planting tends to make you dirty, and dirty GoreTex does not work effectively. GoreTex is also vulnerable to tearing by snags, etc. If you are planting in the Interior, or anywhere where there's infrequent rain, you might be able to use it. If you've graduated to planting true coastal work, look around you and see what the other planters recommend.
Miscellaneous
A water bottle is indispensable. You will need to drink as much as twelve litres of water (or more) on hot days. Although it is possible to buy fairly inexpensive insulated coolers (about $20-25) which hold a gallon of water and keep it moderately cool, planters could also consider bringing a couple of empty 3.78 litre cranberry juice jugs. These are the ultimate choice for strength and affordability, and if you buy the right brand, they have a nice carrying handle. Another good approach is to use empty four-litre milk jugs, which are fairly strong. In addition, there is usually a constant supply of them from the kitchen throughout the season. Whatever you decide, remember that planters should ALWAYS be aware of how much water they bring to the block. Although your foreman will try to get you more water if you run out during the day, it is often impossible for him or her to magically come up with more fresh, clean water when on the block. And if the rest of the crew is depending on the presence of the foreman to bring trees and ensure that planting proceeds smoothly, he/she often cannot afford a long trip to camp to get more. ALWAYS bring more water than you think you can drink in a day.
A pack is also essential for carrying all of your little treasures: duct-tape, boxtops, lunch, Tylenol, a knife, sunscreen, extra flagging tape, a thermos, etc. And a tip for using a thermos: pre-heat it by leaving a bit of hot water in it for five minutes. Dump this out and then add your coffee/tea/whatever. This can make a huge difference.
Planting Bags: You can buy these at IRL in Prince George, or from one of the online suppliers on our links page. BushPro manufactures the industry standard. Make sure that the belt is tightened around your waist, since it carries most of the weight. BushPro now sells an add-on thicker waistbelt for their bags which I would recommend highly if you're quite thin. If you buy used bags, which I usually don't recommend, make sure they aren't ripped or frayed, and make sure the buckles close and the belt and straps adjust. New bags are about $100, used bags are usually $50 or thereabouts. Avoid stiff-bottomed (tray-bottom) bags. Bags should have plastic clip-together buckles (pretty much standard nowadays), not metal weave-through. Make sure that the part that will rub against your thighs does not have seams or protruding material that will irritate your skin and ruin pants.
Your Shovel
Conventional medical logic dictates that rookies should not buy a D-handle. However, despite the fact that a staff is theoretically easier on your wrist, EVERYBODY uses D-Handle shovels. The standard D-Handle planting shovel has a tempered-steel blade (made by either BushPro or WorkWizer) that is about a foot long and between four and six inches wide. Shovels cost about $50-70 new. Some planters will buy a second shovel to have available as a backup, just in case. The cost of having an extra shovel far outweighs the despair of missing a day of earnings because you don't have a backup. Don't count on your foreman to have an extra shovel for you. In 2017, BushPro introduced a new D-Handle shovel with a wooden shaft, rather than the old metal type, and this type of shovel has stood up very well to date.
As mentioned above, there is a recurring debate as to which kind of shovel (Staff vs. D-Handle) is better. On the face of it, a D-handle is better. It feels more natural than a staff. The handle gives you leverage for twisting, and its length is more comfortable than the length of the staff. It feels like a "normal" shovel. In stores that sell planting gear, there are always far more D-handles to choose from than staves, leading many planters to think that the D is the way to go. However, the D can theoretically lead to physical problems, such as tendonitis and bursitis. Tendonitis (and bursitis, which is related) affect people who use certain muscle groups in repetitive ways. People who type, use adding machines or power tools, and tree planters are the largest affected groups. The tendon is the tissue that joins a muscle to a bone. The tendon is wrapped in a sheath of protective tissue. When a muscle gout is over-used in a repetitive way, the tendon can inflame the sheath by rubbing against it. This causes the sheath to swell, which results in the creaking sound and feel of tendonitis, swelling, pain, stiffness, and sometimes immobility of the affected part. This means that the planter who is severely affected can be out of work for days or weeks. Tendonitis often leads to scarring, and may require extensive physiotherapy to get you back up to speed. Some types of tendonitis of the knee, elbow, and shoulder can never fully recover. Bookmark replant.ca/tendonitis to learn more about preventing tendo.
If you lay your palm flat against the outside of your thigh, your entire arm is in what is known as the "anatomically neutral" position. This means that there is no stress or extension on any ligaments, muscle groups, or tendons in your arm. Now, if you turn your hand so that its palm lies flat on the front of your thigh, you are holding your hand OUT of the anatomically neutral position. This means that your tendons and muscles are extended.
Muscles and tendons are like any other material: they have a limited (though, in the long term variable) capacity to absorb and/or transmit stress. When you hold your hand out of anatomical position, you decrease the "slack" or excess absorptive capacity in your arm. This means that when you plant with a D-handled shovel, you are in effect overloading the tendons and muscles in your arm, because you are transmitting kinetic energy through your arm (from slamming the shovel into the ground) and through muscles and tendons that are already extended. Imagine something like a climbing rope, rubber band, or bike tire. When these materials are not stretched out, or only partially stretched, they have a large capacity to absorb shock. However, when they are stretched taut, the same amount of force can tear or puncture them. Your muscles work in a roughly similar way. A staff shovel helps by making you use your arm in an anatomically neutral position because of the way that you hold the staff, not like a handle which is at a ninety-degree angle to neutral position. This means that you will transmit stress through your muscles and tendons which are not in an extended position. A staff also (most importantly) allows your hand to slide along the shaft when the shovel hits hard ground (especially rocks), whereas a D-handle transmits that energy directly into your arm, which hurts and causes damage over time.
The debate between a Staff shovel vs. a D-Handle is a very contentious one. I've never gotten tendonitis from using a D-handle. Many other planters have the same experience. I personally expect to use a D-handle for the rest of my life, but then again, I've planted for a lot of seasons and I'm fairly set in my ways. Almost every planter I've met in Western Canada prefers a D-Handle.
Planting shovels come pre-made in standard configurations, however, some planters modify their shovels by having a metal shop or hardware store change the shape of the blade. You can shorten a blade, change its shape, and saw off one of the kickers. Rookies need not bother with this, until they have some experience and know how blade changes can benefit them. Be careful not to shorten your blade too much. I've occasionally had planters pulled off the block by checkers because their blades didn't meet minimum length requirements (established because most checkers figure that a shorter blade leads to j-roots, a theory which does have some merit). However, there has definitely been a clear trend in the last few years towards shorter shafts on the shovels, so they weigh less. Some people find that being bent over all the time, with a shorter shovel, gives them greater efficiency. Just don't cut it too short right away - take the time to use it for a bit, and just shorten it a few inches at a time until you find a length that you like.
Dealing with Bugs
The best way to deal with bugs is with clothing. Long sleeved shirts and long pants are the first line of defense. You can augment your wardrobe with a healthy dose of an insect repellant. DEET is an important ingredient in almost all bug repellents. I love it, although I question scientific studies that say it is completely harmless to humans. Most spray type repellents only contain 15-30% DEET, whereas the little containers of liquid that you rub on your skin are generally 75% to 95% DEET. Muskol and Deep Woods in liquid form are 95% DEET, and the most effective repellents. I swear by DEET, and have used it in mass quantities for years, but DEET can cause a rash for some people. DEET has also been known to melt plastic and parts of your planting equipment. Some people say that Skin So Soft and Citronella are effective, but that theory is mostly incorrect when dealing with significant numbers of bugs.
The biggest problem with bugs is mental. Bugs can be just incredible if it is your first time up north. You can look up and see so many bugs directly above you that they look thicker than stars in the sky when you're out on the ocean at night. At the worst time of the year, you can look at a planter standing still on a landing and count literally hundreds of mosquitoes on their back, especially if they are wearing dark clothing. Some people are bothered more by the incessant buzzing than by the actual bites. Every person deals with them differently, though most just use lots of DEET, long clothing, and try to ignore the noise. Incidentally, I've had feedback from quite a few planters who started their careers in Ontario before moving out west, who have suggested that the bugs in Ontario are "about one billion times worse" than in BC.
Bee, wasp, and hornet stings are painful and may cause an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions can be fatal in some cases. Be aware of potential nesting sites. Watch for swarms of insects and obvious nests. Some nests are built underground, so you'll never see them until you accidentally open one with your shovel. Seek immediate treatment for all stings if you have a history of adverse reactions. Ensure that an epi pen and antihistamines are available on site, or carry them while planting if you know that you are allergic to stings. Inform your employer and the first aid attendant of known allergies. Some people may have dozens of stings over a period of years without running into any problems, then all of a sudden get stung one day and experience significant swelling, unlike previous incidents. Maybe it's because they got stung by a different species, with a different toxin?
Bites from black flies and mosquitoes can cause irritation. Multiple bites may cause swelling, particularly around the eyes and lips. You'll occasionally inhale and swallow flies and mosquitoes. Get used to it. Use insect repellent. Keep shirts tightly buttoned. Close pant legs by tucking them into your socks, or by sealing them with tape. In extreme cases, use a mask to prevent inhalation of insects if they are present in swarms. Seek first aid for excessive swelling.
Deer flies and horse flies give painful bites that can cause swelling. Once again, use insect repellent and keep shirts tightly buttoned. Seek first aid for excessive swelling. Some of these flies don't seem to be bothered by DEET, and are active during sunny, high-heat periods when other smaller flies give it a rest. House flies facilitate the transfer of disease, particularly food borne diseases. Follow camp sanitation guidelines.
Ticks can become embedded in the skin, transferring disease or infection. Check yourself daily for ticks if you're in an area where they are prevalent (especially check in the folds of the skin, hair lines, the back of the neck, and the belt line). Seek first aid if you find a tick. Do not attempt to remove ticks by pulling or prying, as their heads will break off under your skin.
Bringing a Vehicle
The main reason to bring a vehicle is to have somewhere other than a tent to sleep in (a van or station wagon). An old van or SUV with a stereo, bug screens on the windows, some carpet, swivel front seats, and a big bed can make for comfortable evenings, especially if you are sharing living accommodations. It's also a lot drier than a tent, and it gives you incredible freedom. On days off, if you rely on the crew truck, you tend to spend the day sitting around in the laundromat parking lot: waiting, waiting, and waiting. I have yet to meet a foreman who can efficiently organize fifteen planters on a day off. A vehicle allows you to go fishing, hiking, or just hide and sleep somewhere. Also, if you have to leave a contract early because, the crew vehicles are sometimes not available immediately, as tree-running for the rest of the working crew has priority. Finally, during the spring break, having a vehicle can mean the difference between a boring week in a campground (albeit fairly cheap), or a week of having a great time traveling (which can be expensive).
Costs of bringing a vehicle are significant. Gas will add up, depending on how much you drive. This is probably one of the biggest deterrants to bringing your own vehicle. Plan on putting about 3,000 km/month on it if you use it on nights off, etc. You'll also have to face the possibility of it breaking down, in which case you'll either have to abandon it and deal with all the stuff you've accumulated, or fix it (which can cost a lot of money). The costs of running a vehicle while planting are astronomical. I would strongly suggest that only veteran highballers consider using one. The expenses just aren't worth it unless you are making at least $25,000+ per season.
If you are definitely bringing a vehicle, get a membership in some sort of automobile association. The key thing to look at is their towing plans. Chances are high that you will need it at some point. Some plans do not allow towing from dirt roads, so you'll have to get your wreck out to the highway. Other plans are only good for short distances (ie. 50kms or less), while some good plans may be good for several hundred kilometres. Also, know your vehicle mechanically. If you drive a VW, have your tools and your manual and be prepared to use them. If you don't know how to change a tire and your fuel/air/oil filters by yourself, there is no way you should bring a vehicle into the bush. In fact, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you own a vehicle, learn to take care of basic maintenance.
Preventative maintenance pays off. Check your belts, tires, fluids (oil and coolant), lights, and shocks before you go. Buy jumper cables so someone can boost you after you leave the ignition or radio on too long. Have TWO spare tires, or even three if possible. Have a thick, long tow rope. Have an electric tire pump and splice some extra wire into the cord so it can reach several meters away from your cigarette lighter. The single most important thing you can do for your vehicle is to change the oil regularly, that is, every six or seven thousand kilometres. If you are travelling long distances on dusty gravel roads, change your air filter frequently.
Bringing a Pet
A lot of people like to bring pets, usually dogs. Being a dog owner and dog lover (don't confuse this with "dog-fucker"), this is a topic of particular concern to me. I never brought my city dog out planting, and never would. Planting can be very hard on a dog, due to heat, mosquitoes, exhaustion, and more heat. Dogs frequently get killed in the bush, whether from shock, animal encounters, and most frequently, being run over by vehicles in camp. The financial and time commitments for taking care of your pet are also enormous. You will lose significant amounts of planting time (only a little each day, but it adds up), ensuring that the dog does not cook on hot days, and making sure it always has a source of relatively clean water. WCB does not allow unrestrained dogs to ride in the cab of the vehicle with the planters, and the back of the crew truck is usually a dangerous place for an animal (or full of trees and gear), so you must bring a carrier. I would strongly, strongly advise planters NEVER to bring a dog. Many foremen will not let you bring the dog to the block, and many supervisors will not permit them in camp because of the mess they make when they go to the bathroom everywhere. Other planters get annoyed by their barking. Play it safe - ask your foreman or supervisor before you plan on bringing a pet to the workplace. Many companies have banned dogs completely, and other companies only allow checkers (who usually work alone) to bring a dog.
Additional Information
The Step By Step tree planting training book (available on Amazon) goes into all of the above information into much more detail than I've shared on this web page. It's a very worthwhile investment for a first-time planter, and there is information about free digital downloads of the book at that link. And if you're looking for a tree planting job, that book has an entire chapter devoted to helping you achieve that goal, along with current contact information for every major tree planting company in Canada. In the meantime, if you want to get a better understanding of camp life in a tree planting camp, check out this video, which is one of twenty YouTube videos that are associated with the book: