Saturday morning, I woke up feeling tense about the Sawyer training I agreed to go to. I had no idea what to expect? Would they be nice to me? Would there be any other women there? I felt scared of the chainsaw. I have never touched one before, but I felt very aware of just how quickly things could go wrong.
I called the OTT Executive Director, Matt Ruddy.
“I’ll be honest, Matt. I’m a little intimidated. What is it going to be like?”
“No need to feel that way. TKO wants people to learn how to use chainsaws. Everyone there is a tree hugger. You are going to be fine,” Matt cheerily replied.
“Will there be any ladies there?”
“At my last training, there were three awesome women there. And one of the teachers was a very badass lady who was amazing!”
He advised me to bring long underwear, a buff to wear under the helmet, layers to keep warm, my caffeine of choice and some snacks. The first day would be in the classroom, the second day out in the field.