"5 Principles of Project Comaprison" Charlie Grove, Northern Rockies CM

Throughout the season I’ve come to notice certain trends when comparing project experiences with crew members from other crews. From these conversations I have devised a list of five principles to help guide my fellow MCC’ers in their own project comparisons.

5 Principles of Project Comparison:

1. Location - No matter where you went the other crew went somewhere cooler. There are many amazing places to go in Montana and I’m sure you’ve all been to some of them. Our crew has been lucky enough to spend time in Glacier National Park, Kootenai National Forest, and even Priest Lake in Idaho. And yet, there’s still that crew that spent a month in Antarctica… Well, not really, but by the way they describe wherever they really were you’d think they’d been somewhere as extraordinary as Antarctica.

2. Work Performed - You might think that 15 miles of trail you cleared, brushed, and re-treaded in 4 days was quite an accomplishment. That is, until you talk to your fellow crew member who just got done building the Great Wall of China and stopped by Egypt on the way back to finish off another Pyramid. We’ve all seen the numbers and it’s clear that MCC does an amazing amount of work over a 5 month season. Can you imagine how amazing the numbers would be if we just added up everything we’re told by other crew members?

3. Wildlife Viewing - No matter what wildlife you saw, they saw something better. Here’s a rough breakdown of what you saw vs. what the other crew will say they saw:

Your Crew, Squirrel
Their Crew, Deer

Your Crew, Deer
Their Cre, Elk

Your Crew, Elk
Their Crew, Moose

Your Crew, Moose
Their Crew, Black Bear

Your Crew, Black Bear
Their Crew, Grizzly Bear

Your Crew, Grizzly Bear
Their Crew, Sasquatch

As for my crew, we’ve seen 18 grizzly bears and a unicorn… Beat that!

4. Weather - No matter what your weather was like, their weather was more extreme. There was a hitch in early June where our crew was fortunate enough to spend a day working in rain/sleet/snow. There was no way anyone could top that. That is, of course, unless you count the crew that got 6 inches of snow that day and had to build an emergency fire at lunch to warm up and the other crew who had to spend the night in a hotel, paid for by the sponsor (see Principle #5), due to heavy snow. Thus, no matter what weather you endure some other crew had it worse.

5. Sponsor Hookup – Your sponsor could give you food, tools, or even have your equipment helicoptered in, but in the end it doesn’t matter because the other crew’s sponsor took them rafting or had them flown out of the backcountry in a plane that just happened to be there. Your sponsor may have been great; more than you could ever ask for, but in the end… you still had to walk out didn’t you?

"welcome Home" Jose V. Najera, Central Divide CL

It is said that, “Home is where or what you make it,” true but home is just a physical structure that would be cold and empty without the people who live in it. To me home is just an idea now, I’ve traveled for so long to remember where that physical place called “Home” is anymore. I think of home as the people who make me feel at home, people who share a common ground, an ideal and a dream. Everyone represents a place, a space, a time and maybe even a memory of home. To all of us who make up MCC that’s I call home. We are home to those who share a common ground and to those who don’t, we are here for the sole purpose of serving our community and finding where the last pieces of our puzzle called “Life,” fall into place. So, let’s put down the pieces of the puzzle in our hands and stop being preoccupied as to where they go and look at the pieces laying on the table. We must figure out where all the other pieces fall into place first, they play an even bigger role in the puzzle than that pieces in our hands. These pieces could very well be our leaders, our crew members, the places we’ve worked at or just simply the idea of being here. Some will figure this out sooner that others, and some have already discovered the warmth of our home but it will come to all of us when the time is right. Though, I can’t say exactly why you are here, I know that we share similar if not the same ideals.

Although, I may not know all of MCC crew leaders and crew members and all that make up this experience, I can honestly say; “Welcome home,” if you are no longer physically a part of MCC, “we miss you.”

Finally, I wish to say that you may come back at anytime we will all be here at “Home,” just come on in.