Memoir of a Female Traildog
Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods, by Christine Byl
Review by Jennifer Lu’Becke
Do you know the difference between an axe and a pulaski? Better yet, do you know how to use them? In Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods, author Christine Byl shares the world and tools of a “traildog”—a seasonal worker maintains and builds wilderness trails. Byl begins her dirt adventure with soft hands, fresh out of college working in Montana’s Glacier National Park. She quickly learns the tools of her trade and falls in love with physical labor and the wild. “Want a clue about a person’s work?” she asks. “Look at her boots.” After seven years, Byl trades her leather logging boots in for a pair of Xtratufs (rubber boots) and works a summer in the Alaskan seaside town of Cordova. She finally settles in at Denali National Park—unhappily wearing a park issued uniform.
While Byl does not romanticize nature or her work, she skillfully uses poetic language, daring the reader to feel the grit, grim, and sore muscles of working ten hour shifts digging, chopping, clearing, and creating trails. Early on, Byl struggles with working in a non-traditional job, but learns she “loves working as hard as I can for a time, and then being cut loose…free from the burden of being completely defined by a job.” On her off time, she skis mountains, explores, and prepares for her next stretch in the woods. Byl’s memoir is full of colorful characters who share practical jokes and comradery, and become a part of her life. Through the book, Byl grows from a girl barely able to hold an axe, to a skilled traildog who leads her own crew.
Dirt Work is highly recommended for readers who love the outdoors, and especially those who have hiked in a national park or forest, and benefited from the hard work of trail crews.
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Jennifer Lu’Becke lives in Poulsbo, Washington, where she works at the local public library. She is passionate about hiking, cycling, and paddling. Her life-long mission has been to combine her love of books with her love for outdoor adventures—mission accomplished!
Jennifer is a key member of the Women’s Adventure book club. Join her and over 400 women from around the world as we read and discuss an adventure book each month here.
