The Compass Blog

For those of you that have ventured off into the world of seasonal jobs, you undoubtedly accumulated strong memories that even years later can be quickly recalled with a particular sight, smell, or sound.

My seasonal years were spent in the Tetons, and even over a decade later, every single time I smell snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus) on the trail, I’m immediately ushered back to my first season, my first stroll out to the Phelps Lake jumping rock, where I spent the night with brand new friends, jumping into the absurdly cold water, singing songs, howling at the moon, and generally being terrible campsite neighbors. You’re only 23 once, right? I like to think that grey-haired future me will be able to crack a smile when I’m out in the backcountry and can’t get any sleep because the 23 year olds in the next site are having too much fun. It makes me smile to think of it now, because a future where 23 year olds are still excited to head in to the backcountry is one that makes me hopeful.

It isn’t just the smells that elicit such vivid recall. Flipping through those old pictures, I can still feel how the air temperature dropped dramatically as a thunderstorm formed out of nothing on our hike out to Heart Lake, how the backs of my legs slightly deadened as I peered over a sheer drop-off near the top of Mount St. John, how my breath shortened and the smile spread across my face as I drove over Togwotee Pass after a long slog from the east coast and saw those magnificent mountains for the first time. We all have those images stored away like bookmarks tagged to our strongest memories.

The sounds take me back, too. We all have those songs that come up on our playlists and make us remember the tune that the EDR dishwasher would crank up and stomp on the floor every time it came on, the campfire song that everyone requested from the gal or guy with the guitar on the work night camping trips, the tune that the kitchen crew would blast early in the morning to get geared up for another onslaught of orders as an endless stream of family vacationers and foreign tourists came pouring through the doors. 

Here at CoolWorks, we do what we do because of those memories, because of what they mean to us, and because we want them to continue to be created and passed down for generations to come. And in the spirit of sharing, we want to hear about your favorite seasonal job memories!

Share Your Sights!

This February, we’ll be celebrating Jobs in Great Places all month! In the coming weeks, share a picture – or two or three – of your favorite seasonal job memories on Instagram, tag us (@coolworksjobs) and use the hashtag #coolworksjobs. Don’t forget to share what sticks with you about that moment, memory or experience in your caption. 

In February 2019, we’ll pick 28 of our favorites and share one each day on our Instagram feed. If your shot is selected, we’ll be sure to give you a proper shout out by tagging you with photo cred in the caption. 

Share Your Sounds!

We want to hear your favorite songs, too! We’ve created the CoolWorks Songs of the Seasons playlist on Spotify. Just find and Follow the playlist by following this link and clicking “Follow”, and then add your favorite memorable tunes by searching for them and selecting “Add to Playlist.” If you’re using the Spotify mobile or desktop apps, you can just copy and paste this code into the search bar: spotify:user:hbrme5fepd8okb3h1ahaq67mf:playlist:6a0UlDuNe7NbOCNyDoCbOO 

We’d love to build an anthology of all of your favorite songs from the seasons!

It’s Time to Start Planning Your Next Journey!

CoolWorks Shares

Thanks for reading, thanks for sharing, thanks for getting out there and exploring!