《The Foxkin Guide to Wilderness Survival(And Not Losing Your Job)》 Trail Work The sound of metal slicing through wood fills the air as me and Travis slide our crosscut saw through the wood of the tree. Sweat slides down my neck as I pull the blade through, earning a satisfying swish sound as wood shavings shoot from the wood. Travis pulls and I let my arms guide the saw as it slides towards him. Back and forth we go as we slowly cut through the tree. He gives me a nod and we slow down and come to a stop. Standing up, Travis stretches. His massive build towering above me as his muscles flex. I follow suit and shake my arms out. A quick glance reveals that the others have made good progress on clearing out the smaller stuff on the trail itself. We¡¯ve been out here in the wilderness for nearly two weeks now and we¡¯ve almost finished this trail. Just got about two more miles to go then we can call it good. Looking forward, I suppress a groan at just how much more there is to cut. We can barely go a hundred feet without having to buck a log or fell a snag. Not to mention the massive overgrowth of brush and rocks. Can barely tell where the trail was. ¡°Why did management decide to restore this ancient trail?¡± I ask Travis as he sizes up the next cut on the tree. ¡°Apparently they expect an influx of visitors and wanted another trail open so less people run into each other.¡± Travis makes a mark on the tree and gives me a nod. We lift the massive saw up and set it at an angle on the stripped wood. ¡°My pull,¡± I saw and wait for his nod to start. Slowly I pull the saw and once he is fully extended, I stop and let him pull at a slightly faster pace. Soon we¡¯re blazing through the wood and about ten minutes later, we stop. ¡°Oi! You two,¡± Alex, our crew boss calls. ¡°Progress on that snag?¡± ¡°Ready for the back-cut, sir!¡± Travis answers as we remove the saw and reposition it on the other side of the tree. ¡°Should have her down in under an hour.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Alex comments, his grizzled voice carrying the hundred feet or so of distance between us. ¡°We¡¯re almost done over here and need that tree felled soon so we can start work on that area. I¡¯d jump ahead, but we can barely move through this stuff.¡± I push a loose brown strand of hair out of my eyes as Alex walks away. ¡°Seems we better hurry,¡± I tell Travis and he grins. ¡°You sure you can keep up?¡± He asks. ¡°Is that a challenge?¡± I smirk back at him. ¡°My pull,¡± he says and I give him a nod. He yanks the blade and I stumble slightly before recovering. Grinning, I pull as fast as I can and he grunts slightly at the speed before pulling the saw back through the wood. Shavings fly several feet as we each try to outpace the other. Travis laughs as we stop. He picks up a wedge and hammers it into the cut using the back of his axe. The wedge opens the cut slightly and we¡¯re able to resume cutting without worrying about pinching the blade. ¡°Tired yet?¡± I taunt as he grabs his handle. ¡°Not a bit,¡± he answers despite the sweat pouring down his face. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Nowhere close,¡± I lie. My arms feel like jelly and it takes everything I have not to shake. How does this guy do this? We blaze through another good chunk before he gives me the signal to remove my handle so he can finish alone. I take my handle and use my escape path to back away as he finishes the cut alone. ¡°TIMBERRR!¡± Travis shouts as a loud creaking fills the air. Soon the snag falls and I let out a laugh. ¡°Good job you two,¡± Alex calls as he leads the others over. Their pulaskis slung over their shoulders. ¡°Drink some water while we get ahead a good distance then knock out whatever else you find. We still got a day and a half left of good solid work before we''re done, so don¡¯t rest too long, but don¡¯t push yourselves too hard either.¡± I nod and retrieve the waters from mine and Travis¡¯s packs lying nearby. I hand him his after he finishes inspecting his ¡®baby¡¯ and resheating it. He¡¯d never allow anything to happen to his beloved saws and takes immense care of them. Especially the ancient crosscuts. ¡°Looking ahead,¡± Travis remarks, looking towards where the others are working. ¡°We got maybe two logs that will need the saw, the rest can be removed with an axe or loppers.¡± I down the rest of my water canteen while listening to him. We swing our bags on and Travis carries the crosscut over his shoulder as we catch up with the others. I join Dani in clearing out the brush. Travis grabs his axe and clears out the larger stuff. The crosscut saw is placed on a rock outcropping so it doesn¡¯t slip into the dirt while its not in use. The sun crawls overhead as we push back the wilderness ever so slightly. Me, Dani, and Miguel take turns helping Travis with the crosscut. I alternate between tools to clear out the heavier brush. The others focus on using their pulaskis to repair the trail itself. It is long, gruelling work and I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way. This is what I live for. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for today everyone,¡± Alex shouts as the sun dips below the mountain peaks above the trees. ¡°Grab your tools and let¡¯s head back to camp.¡± I look at Miguel and notice him drop his shoulders. The newbie is trying his hardest, but we can all tell he is struggling to keep up. I can only hope the hard work helps him get some meat on his muscles, he¡¯d be pretty cute if that happens. Dani notices me staring at Miguel and sends me a smirk as she clips her hip strap in place. Rolling my eyes, I turn away. I tie my tools to the side of my bag, slinging the whole thing over my shoulder. Eva slips in behind me as I follow Alex and Travis. Glancing over at the short woman, she raises an eyebrow and I nod. She grins as I turn my attention back to the front and chuckle at the silent conversation. Only Eva could pull off that silent, moody type¡­ not that she has a choice. Eva was born mute and keeps the details to herself. ¡°Hey Sol,¡± Dani asks as she catches up to us. ¡°You ready for my awesome cooking?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I recall Dan¡¯s last attempt at making anything over a fire and try to hide a grimace. She may be an excellent cook with a stove, but all of that knowledge seems to go out the door the moment we step outside. ¡°Hey!¡± Dani protests. ¡°I¡¯ve been practising back at the station. I can now consistently make fish stew without burning the bottom of the pan too badly.¡± I raise my eyebrow at that remark. ¡°But we got no fish,¡± Miguel says, joining the conversation. ¡°Only jerky and some canned stuff packed in on the mules.¡± I chuckle slightly at his awkward attempt to correct Dani, knowing full well we¡¯re both about to get an earful. ¡°You two are the worst,¡± Dani laments. ¡°You eat all of my snacks and complain when I slightly burn some venison¡ª¡° ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call crumbling to dust as ¡®slightly burnt¡¯¡± Travis calls from in front of Miguel, his buzzed blonde hair easily identified seeing as it towers above everyone else. Dani scoops up a stray rock as we walk and hurls it softly over Miguel and at Travis. ¡°Hey!¡± Travis exclaims as Dani continues to pelt him with small rocks. ¡°Ow, ow, ow. Stop. Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to insult your cooking even if it deserves it!¡± I share a look with Eva who is grinning very slightly at the commotion. Especially after Dani picks up the pace and begins pelting him faster. Travis tries to get away and hide behind Alex, but the older guy just stares at him. ¡°This is your mess Travis,¡± Alex deadpans. ¡°Don¡¯t involve me.¡± With that said, Alex steps to the side and continues walking. Tactically ignoring the massacre behind him. ¡°Boss!¡± Travis shouts, defeated as Dani hurls a handful of small pebbles against his flannel jacket. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Maybe we should stop before someone gets hurt?¡± Miguel pleads. ¡°Rock throwing can really hurt him, ya know?¡± Dani gives him a massive grin before dropping the rocks. ¡°You¡¯re right Miguel,¡± Dani says wickedly. ¡°Rocks could hurt him, but you know what won¡¯t?¡± I flinch as she hurls a clump of dirt right at Miguel¡¯s face. He really should have taken a page out of the boss¡¯s notebook and stayed out of this squabble. ¡°H- Hey!¡± Miguel shouts as he wipes away the dirt. ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± Dani giggles and hurls another clump at him. Travis sighs in relief as her wrath chages targets. ¡°Because it won¡¯t hurt.¡± Dani cheerfully states as we round another bend in the trail. She continues to pelt him, and occasionally Travis, as we make our way back to the campsite. Me and Eva strike up a silent conversation to pass the time, our hands flying around as we communicate with sign language. As the last light of the day leaves us, we stumble into the camp. Travis gently sets his saw down while Dani and Miguel get a small fire going. Alex flips on his headlamp and leaves briefly to grab our food bag. I head over and help Travis with cleaning our tools as everyone bustles around. We¡¯re all tired, but Alex will have our heads if we don¡¯t take care of our equipment and ourselves. ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready!¡± Dani shouts and a collective groan escapes everyone¡¯s mouth. We finish with the tools and head over to where Dani is already serving a strange, slightly burnt soup to the others. I grab a bowl and sit down next to Miguel who is poking a strange chunk of something in his soup. ¡°You ever get used to her cooking?¡± Miguel asks me, earning a whack from Dani¡¯s ladle. ¡°No, not really,¡± I answer, catching Dani¡¯s ladle with my spoon. ¡°But she is getting better.¡± I look around the campfire and notice Alex is staring into the flames, his soup hardly touched. Normally the old man has already downed all of his soup and is harping on about his coffee. ¡°You okay, boss?¡± I ask. He jumps slightly before looking up at me. All other conversation goes silent at his unusual behaviour. He looks around before sighing softly. ¡°Just¡­ thinking about what is going to happen when we return.¡± He reveals. I frown, recalling the budget cuts. ¡°You think we¡¯re going to get shafted?¡± I prod him. ¡°Is it really that bad?¡± He tries to give me a reassuring smile, but it doesn¡¯t quite reach his eyes. ¡°No, I know we¡¯re fine¡­¡± he mutters softly. The silence hangs in the air as we wait for him to continue. ¡°Darryl was on the chopping block before we left,¡± he reveals. A cold pit settles in my stomach. Dani mutters a curse under her breath. Miguel, usually so upbeat, clenches his jaw. ¡°Why him?¡± Eva signs. ¡°Well, they¡¯re removing half of all federal employees using a random number generator. Really fucking stupid if you ask me, but I¡¯m not in charge.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking right?¡± Miguel asks. ¡°That has so many risks involved.¡± Alex shakes his head and we all fall into silence, wondering just how many of our friends will be left at the Westwood Ranger Station. A small breeze stirs the flames, bring with it the scent of wet dirt and pine needles, yet it hardly improves the mood. The fire starts to die down and crickets start chirping in the night air as one by one, we all breakdown for the night. Eventually it is just me and Alex staring at the campfire in silence. ¡°You certain we¡¯re okay?¡± I ask him and he gives me a small nod. ¡°I asked them to radio us if any of you got cut and I haven¡¯t heard anything yet so we should be fine.¡± Sighing, I pat the old man on the back and grab a bucket of water Dani had collected earlier. ¡°You should turn in for the night,¡± I say while dousing the fire. ¡°We got a long day tomorrow and we can¡¯t be having our boss sleep deprived.¡± He nods and helps me hang the food bag up in a tree a good distance from the camp and confirm that the fire is properly out. Thankfully Dani had cleaned the dishes earlier so we didn¡¯t have to worry about that. Yawning, I bid Alex a goodnight as I slip into the tent I¡¯m sharing with Eva. I quickly strip off my work clothes and slip down into my sleeping bag. ¡°Goodnight,¡± I whisper softly as I roll over, knowing Eva won¡¯t respond.