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Page TllEHERALDWfdntaily Summer adventure in BC well worth the problems By GABBY J The Herald On August 11 the Herald published a story on two Georgetown teenagers Mark Duke and Scott Peterson who travelled to British Columbia to take jobs as tree planters Their story was not one of sue cess the having been describ ed as disappointing at best although the two were glad they had tht chance to drive across Canada However two other Georgetown teenagers Greg Fisher and Chris Thompson who also headed to B C this summer to take on the same challenges felt that their story needed to be told as well Theirs is also one of hardship and tribulations but both felt their summer spent as tree planters was a great success Greg and Chris arrived in Prince George British Columbia in the middle of July by tram The two Bad found out before they left that the tree planting season begin until July 20 but that there might be work in the form of bur ing the excess bush although there were no guarantees The two headed west anyway and although they never got the job as burning the company that hired them Seneca Silviculture Limited supplied them with a vehicle the company paid for gas a ton of food which they t expected to pay for and a place to stay at a cabin The cabin the same which houses Mark Duke and Scott Peter son had no electricity no running water nor a phone but according to Greg did have a barbecue pro pane stove and a wood burning stove As the sun did not set until 10 30 at night not having any elec tncal lights posed no problem We got more than we were pro mised Greg said We thought when they told us there t any immediate work that we have to pay pay pay They gave us a cabin canoe vehicle gas money and food It was like a I When the two finally did start their jobs as tree planters at Fort St James the vacation came to an abrupt halt with the hard work The work site was anything from dirt hills to sue foot tall grass In fact both consider it to be pro bably one of the worst jobs they 11 ever have Everyone quit at some point or another Greg said Even I did For half a day I was all packed and ready to leave But I stayed Chris actually left the camp having quit one night with several other treeplanters who decided to head home He returned the next morning The job was very demanding They awoke at a m to a prepared breakfast After making their own lunch from the food provided they were then bused to the worksite where they then loaded up with saplings For the next eight hours or more with breaks and lunch decided by the individual planter the planting would go on Usually the work day ended in mid afternoon because it would get too hot to plant Nobody at Seneca forced you to do anything Chris said They were all really nice They welcom you in Everybody at Seneca would help you Greg said If you wanted to work with the veterans for a day to see how they did it you could The surprising thing about their expenence was some of the areas in which they had to plant One area in particular at Fort St John had been logged in planted and prepped which means the area had been burned and cleared with new trees planted in 1986 Most of these trees died that same year The company had the planters replant the trees this sum mer without first having the area sprayed with herbicide to destroy the tall grass and weeds Greg speculates that this is because the company had a quota to meet even though the trees they planted will probably die Beautiful scenery and forms of wildlife according to both Greg and Chris were found at the various locations In which camps were set up There were a couple of social functions arranged by the local residents However Greg notes that there is quite a difference in opinion of treeplanters in Ontario than there Out here if you tell them you went tree planting in B C they re all like Good job But to ihem the residents of B C you are the lowest form of life You re lucky if they 11 even talk to you The two of them believe this is because companies in British Col umbia are really hurting for tree planters Almost anyone will get hired According to Greg even some illegal aliens have joined the crews Time off from work was usually spent dancing and continuing to party in a planters motel room into the wee hours of the morning The result was they usually headed back to camp more tired than when they left following the tree planters motto of work hard and playing hard The two found that they made between a day when they got good at it Greg is still in debt from the trip although Chris made a small profit The two feel that it takes time to become good at tree planting at least three Passive Reducing Exclusive Ladies Salon Rear Entrance Georgetown OPEN MonSat 96 Fridays 99 fabulous PreSeason COAT SALE SAVE 20 OFF A superb selection of this season s newest coats and jackets from today s leaders Choose leathers suedes or lush wools with leather trim faux furs all weather fashions too in styles that range from casual to 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close to you In the bush there was no room for falsehood and anything that was said or done came straight from the heart It was the most physically and mentally demanding job I ve ever had Greg said If I don t have a job next spring 1 11 go back to tree planting It the most individual trying job a person can have The personal satisfaction I got out of it was incredible OUR NEW INTERNATIONAL MENU AND OUR NEW CHEF EMANUEL Who creates a variety of delicious appetizers and entrees from around the world Come Delighf Your Tastebuds Today