The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of "leadership techniques", van and trailer driving, camping, racking bikes, learning new computer programs, and ultimately finding out where the 18 of us will be spending our summers. To keep this brief, I'll just give you the highlights.
Arrived at Salt Lake City airport last Tuesday to see 11 other people standing on the curb, large duffles and backpacks in tow. I knew right away I was with my kind of people, smiling, laughing, and looking generally excited. There were a lot of "I remember you (from the hiring event a month or more earlier)"'s and "congratulations" and then we made the 25-minute trek to our "leader houses" in Salt Lake's Cottonwood Heights region. This is a neighborhood that sits directly between Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons.
The next morning we woke up in the 7am range and headed to the "warehouse", since SLC is the United States' hub for Backroads logistics, equipment, and leader training. Here we were given a tour and introduced to the classroom we would be doing many-a-session in. I immediately fell asleep when I saw the classroom, obviously. We met some of the leaders that would be training us over the next two weeks, and began in on splitting into three groups, for organizational purposes. We were each assigned a mentor that we will continue to work with as we go out in the field as well.
The next week was full of classes, driving school, bike mechanics, leadership scenarios, and reading, reading, reading. There are more documents to this company than there are in Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company, I'm sure!
Week two began with a "mock trip" out into the mountains where we learned about the logistics behind van support, meal preparation, and public speaking. It was a beautiful park with a chilly reservoir and tall, green and brown mountains surrounding us. Our bike rides were magnificent, and the camaraderie was superb. The food was ridiculously complex and tasty. How many times have you gone camping and had the privilege of eating tomato bisque, spicy sausage soup, sundried tomato and basil dip, and fresh brownies made in a dutch oven (if you google "dutch oven", it's not THAT kind!)
Upon returning to the Warehouse on Wednesday, we had a few classes as we were driven crazy with anticipation of our summer assignments. Finally, at 4:30 (which became 4:45 before the torture was done being drawn out), we got our little slips of paper with our schedule on it. We had four people that will be heading to Europe, six that will be spending their time in Yellowstone and the Tetons, another couple that are off to the Canyons (Grand, Bryce, and Zion National Park), two to Glacier National Park, one to Maine, one to the San Juan Islands, and I'm the only one going to Yosemite and California Wine Country. These locations hold steady until September when many people could be changing, or wrapping up for the season. I have put in full availability for September and that is Backroads' busiest months so I will certainly be working somewhere!
My trips include a hiking tour and three biking family "premiere inn" trips in Yosemite, and two regular "premiere inn" trips in wine country. Not to mention a training trip, familiarization van drive, and a support van assignment for a Yosemite biking tour. The assignment isn't exactly what I had in mind, considering my general attitude toward wine (don't drink the stuff), and the fact that it wasn't even on my radar, but after some talking to my mentor, and my other leader friends, I realize I earned a really great gig!
Leaving for Seattle on Sunday, spending the week gathering gear and packing more accurately, and then off to Berkeley, CA, where my home base will be, on the 17th of June.
Moving forward, my plan as of now is to work through September, take October to officiate football in Seattle, and then sign up for some winter tours with Backroads. I'm not guaranteed winter work, as only 50% of the people that want it get it, but I'm going to make myself VERY available (which basically includes Christmas and New Years).
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