! In the quiet hours of the bootcamp grind, I found myself: Esteban's Bootcamp Experience

B.E.L. Post # 276

I started my morning waking up to a very crisp, cool morning here at basecamp. There’s something I really enjoy about those quiet, chilly mornings—it makes it easy to slow down for a moment and appreciate where I am and what I’m doing out here. I took my little dog on a long walk and enjoyed some time together before getting started with the day.

Afterwards, I got up on top of the berm shed and continued spreading out the mulch piles that were left behind from yesterday. It was nice to finally get that finished and see everything coming together a little more.

Once that was done, I took some time for myself to do a little reading and journaling. I’ve really come to appreciate having those quiet moments during my days here. There’s always something to work on, but taking a little time to reflect helps me appreciate just how much I’ve learned and experienced since coming to Wheaton Labs.

Then I headed over to the shop, sharpened a chainsaw, and brought it up to the Love Shack area. I continued processing the dead-standing tree that was felled yesterday by delimbing it and getting it ready for the next stage.

Afterwards, I processed another wooden crate of woody bits and brought it inside the Fisher Price House, leaving it on top of the RMH. That brings the total to 11 crates of woody bits processed so far.  It’s kind of satisfying seeing those little piles of material slowly turn into something useful instead of just being waste.

Once I finished up, I hung out with my little dog for a while and walked around basecamp looking for other things that needed to be done. I also started making some mental notes for the upcoming boot week and thinking about what I can help with and what I can teach the new boots.

It was another simple but productive day. Lately, I’ve been finding myself appreciating these ordinary days more—the walks, the quiet mornings, the physical work, learning new things, and even just wandering around basecamp looking for the next thing to do. Looking back, it’s pretty amazing how much can change through a collection of ordinary days like these.