25 Oct Day to Day in the Huron-Manistee National Forest

Hello again! My name is Asael Rodriguez and I’m the Resource Assistant for the recreation department in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. Although my typical day varies, I will attempt to give a quick rundown of what I have been up to these past few months.

We are currently working a Thursday to Monday schedule, but we are expected to move to the traditional Monday to Friday after labor day.

My day usually begins at around 7:00AM.

After showering and eating breakfast, I depart to work around 7:40AM and arrive at around 8:00AM.   

Once everyone has arrived, we are briefed on our expectations for the day and make preparations accordingly. We then depart to our guard station to collect supplies and other equipment at 8:30AM.

After morning preparations are done, we head out to our sites. I’m responsible for 8 sites along the Manistee River. It takes me around three hours to go through all 8 sites. Every site gets their trash picked up, restrooms cleaned, and fee envelopes replaced. At every site we try to interact with people and show them that we are present and maintaining the sites for their use and enjoyment. Therefore, from 9:00AM to 12:30PM I go through every site in our district.

12:30PM is generally around the time where I take lunch, but it varies from day to day.

After my thirty minute lunch, I usually do two things; I head out to the wilderness and hike the trails while interacting with the passing people or I head back to the river sites that had the most usage. From 1:00PM to 3:00PM I try to accomplish as much as I possibly can.

3:00PM is my go-to time for meetings with organizations within our district or with my supervisors.

My day then ends at 4:30PM and I head home.

With the upcoming seasons, I expect my day-to-day to change drastically. As of right now, I have been trailer and kayak certified.