On today’s episode of CCC: Hard Corps, I talk (starting at 1:30) about debriefing from an alum’s perspective thirty years after debriefing for my own Backcountry season, and the ghosts that I still find at Camp Mather.  We also hear from Dallion Gayner, of the 2018 Kings Canyon crew. (Starting at 19:30) I also start a new segment (at 32:00) for CCC: Hard Corps, in which I tell you about items I think will be of interest to you. In this episode, I tell you about Cascade Hiker Podcast. Host Rudy Giecek’s goal is to inspire you to get on the trail. Sounds like a familiar goal to Corpsmembers, huh? Check out Rudy’s podcast. The focus of Cascade Hiker Podcast tends to be the Pacific Northwest, because that’s where Rudy is, but his topics and guests on the show are usually of interest to anybody who loves the outdoors. For a story focused a little closer to home for folks in California, check out his interview with Bobbi Walters, about hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail. I know Corpsmembers have been involved in construction and maintenance of that trail! (And a shout out to Mark Hanson, and the Corpsmembers and staff of Tahoe center.) Other recent Cascade Hiker podcasts have been with Tough Girl podcaster Sarah Williams, and on Ticks and Lyme Solution with Dr. Darin Engels. 

CCC: Hard Corps

An Alum’s View of Backcountry Debriefing, and Dallion Gayner (Kings, 2018)

Today on CCC: Hard Corps, we get to see a little more of the vision that I have for the blog and podcast. I intend to explore all aspects of the CCC program, throughout its 40+ year history. I want to cover every center and every program that I can find Corpsmembers from. Today's focus will be on the Tehama Fire Center. I spoke with three former Corpsmembers who had been assigned to Tehama about what their time there was like. I also received helpful input from other former Corpsmembers at a couple of CCC alumni Facebook pages, CCC Alumni and California Conservation Corps former Corpsmembers . You can find extended show notes, including a transcript of the Tehama Fire Center story along with photos at the CCC: Hard Corps blog. Also included in today's podcast are interviews with two Backcountry corpsmembers at last year's debriefing at Camp Mather, California. Today we will be hearing from Christian Martinez, from the Trinity crew.  Christian was a CCC Crewleader at Pomona Center before the Backcountry, and completed his second year with the Cs while in the Backcountry. Before the C's, Christian had worked for the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps . Sam Fish, from Yosemite 2. Sam came to the Backcountry through AmeriCorps. He had been an Animated Illustration major at San Jose State University, and tried something different with the Backcountry. This is how we can get your story told on CCC: Hard Corps. Just talk to me! Because every Corpsmember has a story that deserves to be told. You can email me at george@ccchardcorps.com , You can call me at (530)410-4683, Or you can send me a Facebook message through CCC: Hard Corps . Meanwhile...on with the show!

Tehama Fire Center, and Two Backcountry Interviews

Today’s podcast has three interviews from the 2018 Backcountry Trails Program debriefing. They were recorded on location in September, 2018 at Camp Mather, just outside of Yosemite National Park. The Corpsmembers interviewed are: George Godfrey: Inyo crew. Interview starts at the 4:00-minute mark. George managed a Humboldt County bagel shop before she joined the Backcountry program through AmeriCorps. George’s crew got involved in some serious mountain trail work in Inyo National Forest. Listen to George describe the fall protection...like ropes...the crew needed to use to safely work on some of their switchbacks. Adam Garcia: Klamath/Stanislaus crew. Interview starts at the 11:00-minute mark. Adam came to the Backcountry Program after working trails for the Conservation Corps New Mexico. The Backcountry was a little different experience, and Adam tells us the hazards that the lack of indoor plumbing can bring.  Eric Rasmussen: Shasta-Trinity crew. Interview starts at the 18:25-minute mark. A CCC Corpsmember at the Fortuna Center before the Backcountry, Eric got to see some high mountain lakes and climb Thompson Peak and Caesar Cap Peak--the two highest peaks in the Trinity Alps. (Note: the link goes to somebody else’s story of Thompson Peak and Caesar Cap, but it includes some great photos of things that Eric would have seen on that trip.)   Between-the-interview topics in this podcast are: Safety: importance of safety to the CCC program; “If it’s predictable, it’s preventable;” job hazard analysis The multitude of service corps opportunities around the United States. These are just a few: Montana Conservation Corps, Wyoming Conservation Corps, Texas Conservation Corps, New Hampshire Conservation Corps, The Trail Corps This episode also has a teaser for an upcoming episode on the Tehama Fire Center. If you were in the CCC and stationed at Tehama Fire Center...Corpsmember or staff...and you would like to share your stories, you can let me know by… Email:  george@ccchardcorps.com Phone: (530)410-4683 Be sure to leave a message with your name, and your relationship to the CCC.  *Note the new email address! I've upgraded! Of course, we would love to hear stories from everybody who has been in the CCC. Contact me!   Be sure to checkout our Facebook page for current CCC news. You can also contact me there.   The intro and outro music is ‘Boogie, Pt. 1’, used with the gracious permission of the recording artists, The Tall Pines.  

Backcountry Debriefing: George Godfrey, Adam Garcia, and Eric Rasmussen

More interviews from the 2018 Backcountry Debriefing held at Camp Mather near Yosemite National Park. We hear from Isaiah Van Dyke (Kings Canyon), Maggie Jones (Trinity), Cherokee Smith (Yosemite 2), Julio Limon (Inyo), and from CCC/Backcountry alum Jacob Grower, who has been working on trail crews for Yosemite National Park. Before joining a Backcountry crew last year, Cherokee Smith had been a member of the Golden Eagles Hotshots. Find out more about them here. We also have an update on Bob Cox, who I spoke about a few episodes ago. If you are a former Corpsmember and would like to share your CCC story, contact me: By e-mail at: grinningdwarf@gmail.com Through our Facebook page at: CCC: Hard Corps Or through text or voice mail at: (530)410-4683 I am pretty rural and cell reception is not great, so if you call, make sure you leave a voice mail with your name, and some basic information about when you were in the Cs and where, and I will get back to you.

2018 Backcountry Debriefing Part 5

Howdy! Welcome to CCC: Hard Corps, the best place on the Internet to find stories of the California Conservation Corps. I am your host, George Parker. I am a former Backcountry Corpsmember, Del Norte crewleader, and Delta C1. In this episode, we continue with interviews from the 2018 Backcountry Trails debriefing, held last September at Camp Mather, California. This week, we will hear from Jessica Hermes (Inyo crew), James Lander (Kings Canyon), Nicci Decker (Yosemite 2), Simon Dykstra (Trinity), Jessica Speich (Yosemite 1), and Andres Rodriguez (Klamath/Stanislaus).   If you are a former Corpsmember and would like to share your CCC story, contact me: By e-mail at: grinningdwarf@gmail.com Through our Facebook page at: CCC: Hard Corps Or through text or voice mail at: (530)410-4683 I am pretty rural and cell reception is not great, so if you call, make sure you leave a voice mail with your name, and some basic information about when you were in the Cs and where, and I will get back to you.

2018 Debriefing Part 4

Welcome to more Corpsmember interviews from the 2018 Backcountry debriefing. We also hear from Backcountry Trails Program Director Karlson Hubbard on some of the philosophy that goes into the Backcountry Trails program. It's a balance of community involvement and hard work. Find out more about what CM Oren Nardi, who is interviewed in this episode, has been doing since Backcountry. Click here. If you are a former Corpsmember and would like to share your CCC story, contact me: By e-mail at: grinningdwarf@gmail.com Through our Facebook page at: CCC: Hard Corps Or through text or voice mail at: (530)410-4683 I am pretty rural and cell reception is not great, so if you call, make sure you leave a voice mail with your name, and some basic information about when you were in the Cs and where, and I will get back to you.  

2018 Backcountry Debriefing Part 3 and 2019 Orientation

Part Two of the 2018 Backcountry Trails debriefing. We hear from Dayne Shelor (Yosemite 2), Robert Slack (Trinity), Alissa Smith (Kings Canyon), and Anne Highley-Smith (Backcountry Alumni and current BC Program Assistant). We lean a little bit about rock work, and some trails design philosophy regarding meadows. If you were a Corpsmember in the CCC, and you would like your story to be told, contact me at grinningdwarf@gmail.com , or call me at (530)410-4683 and leave me a voice mail. In your voicemail, leave your name, when you were in the Cs, and what centers you were at or special programs you were in. If you like what you hear from these Corpsmembers and want to hear more stories from the CCC, you can make sure don't miss an episode by clicking the 'subscribe' button.   Thanks, Geo.

2018 Backcountry Debriefing Part 2

We start posting our 2018 Backcountry Trail crew interviews, recorded at Camp Mather outside of Yosemite National Park.   If you are a former Corpsmember and would like to share your trails stories from the Cs, contact me at either: grinningdwarf@gmail.com Or on Facebook at CCC: Hard Corps Or at our Wordpress blog at CCC: Hard Corps Or leave a voicemail at 530-410-4683

2018 Backcountry Debriefing Part 1

In Episode #8, we hear about:   Two CCC crews dispatched to Florida to help with hurricane recovery. Click on these links to see further video on: Fortuna Crew San Pedro Crew   We also hear about the new Delta Center, the flood fighting center in Stockton, CA. Click on this link to see the CCC photo gallery on Facebook: New Delta Center   Click on this link to find the full version of our show music by The Tall Pines, available as a single: Boogie Pt. 1    

Hurricane Relief, Flood Fighting Center, and Backcountry Debriefing Preview

In Episode 07 of CCC: Hard Corps, I talk about upcoming stories, and tell you about one of my CCC mentors, Bob Cox. Bob's influence is one of the reasons why the CCC: Hard Corps blog/podcast even exists. I also make a call for former Corpsmembers to contribute stories from their time in the CCC. If you are a former Corpsmember or staff with the California Conservation Corps and would like to share your story on CCC: Hard Corps, contact me at grinningdwarf@hotmail.com or on our CCC: Hard Corps Facebook page. You can post a message there. Remember...every Corpsmember has a story worth sharing.

07: Upcoming Stories, and Bob Cox

On today's podcast, I will talk about the mission and vision I had for starting CCC: Hard Corps. I also realized that I have been asking Corpsmembers for their stories, but I hadn't yet shared my story with you. Part Two of this podcast in my Corpsmember Profile. If you are a former Corpsmember or staff with the California Conservation Corps and would like to share your story on CCC: Hard Corps, contact me at grinningdwarf@hotmail.com or on our CCC: Hard Corps Facebook page. You can post a message there. Remember...every Corpsmember has a story worth sharing.

06: CCC: Hard Corps Mission and Geo's Story

This week's podcast features our interviews with several members of the 2017 Klamath Backcountry Trail crew. Recorded at the Backcountry Debriefing at Camp Mather, outside of Yosemite National Park. For more stories of members in the California Conservation Corps, go to CCC: Hard Corps. You can also find us on Facebook. To stay abreast of what the CCC is currently doing, check out the Official CCC Facbook page. You can also show your support for the CCC by following the CCC Foundation, either by subscribing to updates from their website, or by following them on Facebook. If you are a former member of the California Conservation Corps and would like to share your story, contact us at grinningdwarf@gmail.com . We would love to hear from former staff as well as Corpsmembers. You can contribute to keeping our stories alive. We believe that every Corpsmember has a story worth telling.

05: 2017 Klamath Backcountry Interviews

This week's podcast features our interviews with several members of the 2017 Kings Canyon Backcountry Trail crew. Recorded at the Backcountry Debriefing at Camp Mather, outside of Yosemite National Park. For more stories of members in the California Conservation Corps, go to CCC: Hard Corps. You can also find us on Facebook. To stay abreast of what the CCC is currently doing, check out the Official CCC Facbook page. You can also show your support for the CCC by following the CCC Foundation, either by subscribing to updates from their website, or by following them on Facebook. If you are a former member of the California Conservation Corps and would like to share your story, contact us at grinningdwarf@gmail.com . We would love to hear from former staff as well as Corpsmembers. You can contribute to keeping our stories alive. We believe that every Corpsmember has a story worth telling.

04: 2017 Kings Canyon Backcountry Interviews

Interviews with members of the 2017 Desolation Wilderness crew of the California Conservation Corps.

03: 2017 Desolation Wilderness Crew Interviews

Today's podcast contains 5 interviews with members of the 2017 Yosemite 1 and Yosemite 2 CCC Backcountry trail crews. Recorded at Camp Mather, September 25, 2017.

2017 Yosemite 1 and Yosemite 2 Interviews

Every Corpsmember has a story worth telling. CCC: Hard Corps' mission is to allow current and former members of the California Conservation Corps an opportunity to tell their stories.

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CCC: Hard Corps

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