I was wondering what to add as a first topic to this brand new tag (hopefully, it will soon be full of other member's topics). My greatest curiousity at the moment, and my question for other Over 50 AE members is: what job did you find the most exciting, of the work you've done?

My most exciting job was summer work in boreal forest and lakes with geological mapping crews. I am not a geologist and was a "go-fer" for the geologist who was doing the mapping. We worked in small crews and lived in tent camps. Our work was to navigate the day's hike (which was from five to eight miles) with a compass. The adrenalin rush from physical challenges like walking a portage in the dark (the canoe had been left at the other end) was part of the appeal. There was also the surprises such as coming across the beauty of fireflys at the end of the walk in the dark. There are experiences I never would have had without this job which required that we walk a relatively straight compass line through all kinds of terrain for the geologist to produce a map of the area. We walked on floating muskeg (bog, swamp) and came across large ferns by creeks. I, also, will probably never again have the experience of being the only human being for miles around. This happened for a mere hour when a helicopter dropped me off on a lakeshore to wait for my partner. During the summers, we saw moose, bears, a wolf, mostly from a distance. 

Do I still take part in challenging outdoor activity? I live near a lake, where as children, my sister and I rowed a little boat my father built for us. Now, in winter I cross-country ski across the lake and still use a boat on it, in the summer. I hope to have an easy challenge sometime in the next two summers in a short, no rapids (maybe one portage) all women canoe trip. 

I hope other Over 50 AE members will tell us about their own most exciting job. My exciting job was mainly a physical challenge, but exciting jobs (including raising children) could also be socially, economically, politically, intellectually or creatively challenging.