Dirt work: an education in the woods
A lively and lyrical account of one woman’s unlikely apprenticeship on a national park trail crew—and what she discovers about nature, gender, and the value of hard work
Christine Byl first encountered the national parks the way most of us do: on vacation. But after she graduated from college, broke and ready for a new challenge, she joined a Glacier National Park trail crew as a seasonal “traildog” maintaining mountain trails for the millions of visitors Glacier draws every year. Byl first thought of the job as a paycheck, a summer diversion, a welcome break from “the real world” before going on to graduate school. She came to find out that work in the woods on a trail crew was more demanding, more rewarding—more real—than she ever imagined.
During her first season, Byl embraces the backbreaking difficulty of the work, learning how to clear trees, move boulders, and build stairs in the backcountry. Her first mentors are the colorful characters with whom she works—the packers, sawyers, and traildogs from all walks of life—along with the tools in her hands: axe, shovel, chainsaw, rock bar. As she invests herself deeply in new work, the mountains, rivers, animals, and weather become teachers as well. While Byl expected that her tenure at the parks would be temporary, she ends up turning this summer gig into a decades-long job, moving from Montana to Alaska, breaking expectations—including her own—that she would follow a “professional” career path.
Returning season after season, she eventually leads her own crews, mentoring other trail dogs along the way. In Dirt Work, Byl probes common assumptions about the division between mental and physical labor, “women’s work” and “men’s work,” white collars and blue collars. The supposedly simple work of digging holes, dropping trees, and blasting snowdrifts in fact offers her an education of the hands and the head, as well as membership in an utterly unique subculture. Dirt Work is a contemplative but unsentimental look at the pleasures of labor, the challenges of apprenticeship, and the way a place becomes a home.
Byl, Christine
Byl, Christine, -- 1973-
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Design and construction
Foresters
Foresters -- United States -- Biography
Nature
Nature trails
Nature trails -- Alaska -- Design and construction
Nature trails -- Montana -- Design and construction
Nonfiction
Officials and employees
Park facilities
Park facilities -- Alaska -- Design and construction
Park facilities -- Montana -- Design and construction
Sociology
United States. -- National Park Service -- Officials and employees -- Biography
9780807001004
9780807001011
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | a6cde8c3-6913-0ade-4f6d-3db1ea113ebd |
---|---|
Grouping Title | dirt work an education in the woods |
Grouping Author | christine byl |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-19 02:10:42AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-19 02:22:27AM |
Solr Fields
A lively and lyrical account of one woman’s unlikely apprenticeship on a national park trail crew—and what she discovers about nature, gender, and the value of hard work
Christine Byl first encountered the national parks the way most of us do: on vacation. But after she graduated from college, broke and ready for a new challenge, she joined a Glacier National Park trail crew as a seasonal “traildog” maintaining mountain trails for the millions of visitors Glacier draws every year. Byl first thought of the job as a paycheck, a summer diversion, a welcome break from “the real world” before going on to graduate school. She came to find out that work in the woods on a trail crew was more demanding, more rewarding—more real—than she ever imagined.
During her first season, Byl embraces the backbreaking difficulty of the work, learning how to clear trees, move boulders, and build stairs in the backcountry. Her first mentors are the colorful characters with whom she works—the packers, sawyers, and traildogs from all walks of life—along with the tools in her hands: axe, shovel, chainsaw, rock bar. As she invests herself deeply in new work, the mountains, rivers, animals, and weather become teachers as well. While Byl expected that her tenure at the parks would be temporary, she ends up turning this summer gig into a decades-long job, moving from Montana to Alaska, breaking expectations—including her own—that she would follow a “professional” career path.
Returning season after season, she eventually leads her own crews, mentoring other trail dogs along the way. In Dirt Work, Byl probes common assumptions about the division between mental and physical labor, “women’s work” and “men’s work,” white collars and blue collars. The supposedly simple work of digging holes, dropping trees, and blasting snowdrifts in fact offers her an education of the hands and the head, as well as membership in an utterly unique subculture. Dirt Work is a contemplative but unsentimental look at the pleasures of labor, the challenges of apprenticeship, and the way a place becomes a home.
eBook
eBook
9780807001011
9780807033272
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Foresters -- United States -- Biography
Nature trails -- Alaska -- Design and construction
Nature trails -- Montana -- Design and construction
Park facilities -- Alaska -- Design and construction
Park facilities -- Montana -- Design and construction
United States. -- National Park Service -- Officials and employees -- Biography
Dirt work : an education in the woods / Christine Byl
Byl, Christine
Design and construction
Foresters
Nature
Nature trails
Nonfiction
Officials and employees
Park facilities
Sociology
Solr Details Tables
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ils:.b22109894 | .i67551944 | North Natomas | 363.680979 B993 2013 | 1 | false | false | On Shelf | nntag | |||||
overdrive:a2152832-566d-4f36-927f-168caf41bf31 | -2 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | OverDrive | Available Online |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b22109894 | Book | Books | English | Beacon Press | [2013], ©2013 | xxiii, 231 pages ; 24 cm | ||
overdrive:a2152832-566d-4f36-927f-168caf41bf31 | eBook | eBook | English | Beacon Press | 2013 |
scoping_details_catalog
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