During my junior year at Paul Smith’s College, I accepted a position with the US Forest Service as a wildland firefighter in Montana. At the time I took this position because of the financial incentives. But before I left for it, I attended Joe Orefice’s talk on perception, in Spring 2015. After hearing Joe’s advice I told myself that I would go into this with an open mind and take advantage of every opportunity I had to its fullest. Without attending this presentation I believe the outcome of my journey would have been completely different.
Once on the road, I had a 2700-mile journey from my hometown, Tupper Lake New York, to Lincoln, Montana. My plan was to stop at many monuments such as Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. The second day into my trip I made it to Erie, Pennsylvania, where my car broke down beyond repair. This was the first time during this trip that I experienced fear and uncertainty. I made the decision to abandon my car, and most of my gear, for Greyhound tickets to Montana.
While receiving a ride from a local automobile shop owner to the closest hotel in Erie, I was given some advice that will always stick with me. The older gentleman, in his late fifties, asked, “How much money do you have with you?” Not knowing how to answer this question I said, “A little.” The man then asked me “Exactly how much money do you have?” in a demanding voice. At this point I thought to myself that he was going to rob me and that maybe I had been too open-minded about trusting strangers for a free ride. But then he changed his tone and in a soft but yet firm voice, told me “This is what you’re going to do: Take your large bills and put them in one pocket, and then take your small bills and roll them up in your other pocket. If someone tries to rob you then give them the small bills that are rolled up, leaving yourself with some money to continue your trip.” After this conversation I really realized that I was not in small-town Tupper Lake anymore. I had to grasp that I would be staying in bus terminals in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, and Salt Lake City – and I would be very out of place.
During the first part of my bus ride I began thinking about how to find the right balance between perceiving people without judging them, and remaining safe without being vulnerable, would be. On my journey I found that it was extremely difficulty to create this balance because most of the people who I met were at the bottom of the lower class, begging for money or drugs. After running into a few people like this I changed how I was going to go about this trip and my end goal was to survive the now 3200-mile grand tour of the central United States. An event that brought faith to my trip was meeting a young boy traveling with his younger sister from Mexico to Denver, Colorado. These two young kids, ages 12 and 14, were traveling with nothing to their name, to relocate with their grandparents. In exchange for a few granola bars they translated stories about life back home. This very simple conversation made me realize how much harder other people’s lives were, compared to my own. Taking this opportunity to start a conversation led me to a new outlook of what bravery really is. Throughout the bus ride I would have many events like this, and they opened my sheltered mind to the outside world.
Once arriving at the ranger district in Montana, I completed two weeks of firefighter training and got thrown immediately into timber stand improvement (TSI). Within TSI we would use chainsaws to remove dead and dying trees to reduce fuel loads, preventing future fires. I quickly learned that the Western states did not practice with the Swedish felling technique (which is the one that is taught at Paul Smith’s College as the industrial standard.) It took a while to understand why they are using methods that have been shown to be unsafe, but in the end, by being open-minded, I was able to learn many useful techniques.
I was given the unique opportunity to fly into an initial attack fire with a small group of eight firefighters. We were flown and dropped off at the peak of the mountain, where the fire was burning below. Throughout the night we cut through the dense steep forest, and were able to reach the fire; we suppressed the fire in the morning by directing helicopter bucket drops onto the lightning-strike area. By the evening another lightning storm started. Relocating to the top of the mountain I was asked to call the coordinates of each lightning strike back to the district. I was picked up the next day by helicopter and made it back to District in time to pack my bags and head to the airport for my flight back home the next morning. The experience I got during this fire could not be recreated. If I would have played it safe by not going on this initial attack, because I feared missing my flight home, then I would have missed out on this opportunity.
Going into wildland firefighting I was very fearful of flying, and never thought I would be flying in helicopters to multiple fires. After my first fearful flight, I really started to enjoy flying. Throughout the season I loosened up with every flight and could start to take in the views. I had many life-changing experiences by stepping out of my comfort zone and taking advantage of new opportunities. I would highly recommend, to anyone, to take a chance and see what is out there. You may see some great things but most of all you will discover who you really are.
“If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes- then learn how to do it later” –Richard Branson
Above: A series of photos from my journey.
My name is Kirklyn Denis; depending on the professor you may know me as Denis, Kirk or Alfonse. I am a senior at Paul Smith’s College where I majored in Ecological Forest Management. Growing up as a “local” I have developed a love for the outdoors by hunting and fishing within the Adirondack Park. Most recently, I have started hiking and exploring the Adirondacks with a great group of friends from PSC. I plan to stay around the area for a while after graduation and obtain a job as an ecological consulting forester in timberland investment. I spend most of my free time on the boat slalom waterskiing and wakeboarding. I would like to welcome anyone to join along to enjoy a different aspect of a place that I get to call home.