DAVE TAYLOR. ROB a Forests forever: not likely he place is deserted, logging impossible on the rotting snow. The land is flat, facili- tating the use of a feller bun- cher. This is just fine with the logging company, since these machines dramati- cally reduce the number of jobs while dramatically increasing profits. It’s the use of such machines and the in- creasing technological sophistication that has led to record windfalls for the indus- trial giants who virtually monopolize B,C, forests. Mare wood has been cut in the ‘ last ten years than in the entire history of the province before that time, and yet the number of men working in the bush has decreased. “They’re into the Sustut now too.’’ Mark. “That new mine?’ ‘Logging too. The timber is being taken out on the old abandoned B.C. Rail spur, then trucked to Prince George and Ques- nel from there.” A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine any incursions into the Sustut, a river valley even.moré ‘noitherly and remote than the Babine; the valley of the river Robert Fennelly dubbed Steel- says head Paradise in his book of the same name, The good timber in B.C. is running oul, proving that maximum sustained yield is a myth, as many of us have . suspected for so long All but two of the fish have been caught. Mark decides ten hours of searching is enough. We retrace our flight path over the Babine and the Harold Price. I look down at clear cuts, swamps and - roadways and wonder why slower, mare ° ecosensilive selective logging methods haven’t been tried, since much of the flat land seems ideal for it. In this way, many of the small streams, the capillaries of the circulation systems of these valleys — so easily overlooked, and so vital — might have been spared. A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine any incursions into the Sustut, a river valley even more northerly and remote than the Babine. The checker board of the Bulkley spreads before us. Over the crackle of the headphones we hear the jet pilot talking to ithe men in the tower about wind shear. And, like that we are back, unloaded aid shopping to the drone of meaningless Muzak under the fluorescent lights of _ Safeway. “Yours is an interesting joh,’’ I observe. Mark picks up a bundle of chicken sit- ting on styrofoam, and examines it . through the pane of cellophane. , “Uhm, yeah. But, you wonder in the ‘ end if all those spawning streams we have . identified will be spared in the end. You've seen what’s happened in the ‘past.”? He drops the chicken in the basket. “T try hard not to think about it. I don’t want to get despondent.”’ We ride home, to Mark’s home behind Lake Kathlyn, under the Hudson’s Bay Glacier, Muddy Waters sings through the tape deck. I wonder what my grandfather would have said if some one had told him , that, forty years after he’d passed on, his ’ grandkids would travel from busy cities to the wildest wildernesses to catch steel- head from aircraft and return, all in a day, He wouldn't have believed it, just as he wouldn’t have believed that the seemingly infinite forests of this province could be, and would be, exhausted. THREE SPORTS, one race. The triathlon, despite its reputa- tion, is not just a sport for fanatics, Racers don’t always cross the fin- ish line battered and bruised. Many hearty souls really enjoy pushing their bodies and minds to new limits, and the exaltation that com- es with achieving a personal best. For several Terrace women, tri- _; atblons and’ the ‘training involved, have: "Bllowed ‘them to reach. new physical and imental heights, “They're just so much fun, and you fecl so good afterwards,”’ says Carrie Rolfsen. Rolfsen, 24, recent- ly competed in her first triathlon in Prince Rupert. She finished second in her age group. ‘When I crossed the finish line I was smiling ear to ear.’’ she says. Rolfsen raced in the short course in Rupert, She says she just wanted to see ifshe could do it, She did. ‘Now I want to do a long one,” she says. Rolfsen teaches acrobics at Effec- tive Fitness, She only started train- ing for the race two months before, and she recruited Tanis Sutherland, who owns the studio, to train with her. “T work mostly with weights,’’ says Sutherland, “And it was tough to give them up to do more car- diovascular work, although [ think the strength really helped me.” Twenty five-year-old Sutherland placed sixth in her category at the Rupert Triathlon. “Tt was an amazing experience,” she says, ‘‘None of the girls in our group had raced before, and every- ofie was really supportive and enthusiastic.”’ Both women admit that taining for ali three events docs take up quite a bit of their time, but they say that anyone cant do it with just a littie work. ‘We're not in the kind of shape as Cheryl or Wendy,” says Rolfsen. ‘“We compete at our own levels.”’ CHERYL STEELE at the Penticton ironman, #992. The Terrace Standard, Wednesaay, July 24, 1996 - BS 638-7283 WENDY SHYMANSKI at the Penticton Ironman, 1995, The Cheryl that Rolfsen refers to is her co-worker Cheryl Stecle, one of the organizers of the Rupert Tri- athlon. Steele recently took first place in the women’s division at the Tyhee Lake Triathlon in Smithers. The weekend before thal, she placed third in the Quesnel Tri- athlon. “It’s about being healthy and in shape,” the 32-year-old says. ‘‘But it’s a sport that helps make you feel good about yourself too. It always feels like an accomplishment no matter how you did,’’ Steele says that the sport is a great social activity as well, point- ing out that she always meets new people at races and often trains fis .CARRIE ROLFSEN working out on the stationary bike, with friends and co-workers. “We've got lots of friends who we wouldn’t have met if we didn’t race.’’ she says. That ‘we’ includes Cheryl’s boyfriend and training partner, Bernd: Guderjahn. Guderjahn placed second, behind Ray Warner in the Tyhee Lake Triathion. “It’s fun to train with him,’’ says Stecle. ‘‘And there’s a real sense of community in the sport. I just wish it would get more encouragement locally.” Steele has twice competed in the grucling Penticton. Tronman tri- ailion. That race includes a 2.4 mile open-water swim, followed by a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to complete the nearly 150 mile course. Although Steele hasn’t had time. to train for the August 25th Jron- man this year, another local woman, Wendy Shymanski, is Taring to go. This will be Shymanski’s second Ironman. Last year, her time was 14 hours and 14 minutes. This year, her goal is to do it in less than 12. ‘The race is really geared towards personal goals,’* Shymanski says. ‘if you focus on winning, you'll end up dis- appointed,” The 36-year-old is training quite hard this month in preparation for the big race. On Tuesdays she bikes 126 miles, then goes straight into a 10 mile run. “Tin trying not to poop myself out too much,’’ she says, “‘Bul you have to gel your body used to it,”’ Shymanski points out that her body will likely burn close to 8000 extra calories on race day. “You've got to be careful to train like you yace,’’ she says. ‘‘Eat healthy and eat lots, prepare your- self. That way you don’t get hurt and you don’t bit the wall, you can keep going.” Shymanski hit the wall at her first Ironman at about mile 14 in the run. She had to walk the rest of the way, “But that was OK because I got to talk to lots of people along the way,”’ she says. ‘‘And [ love to talk.”” Despite the hard work involved, Shymanski insists that anyone can do it. “You just have to set realistic goals and build yourself up,’’ she SAYS. Shymanski especially wants to encourage women to give it a try. She points out that last year, of the 1600 athletes at the Ironman, Icss than 200 were women. “1 hope more women get in- volved,’’ she says. ‘Everyone has been so supportive with me, includ- ing the truckers on Highway 16,"’ she says. ‘'They always keep well clear of me when I’m biking and they sort of kecp me company. It can get lonely out there,”’ For these women, triathlons are more than a way to get in shape. I’s a way to make friends, gain confidence and focus their minds. ‘You're working your mind and body together,” Shymanski says. “'You become more in touch with yourself, It’s really very relaxing,”