Friday, June 13, 2008

Want a sneak preview of Sunrise?

We just got a call from Dale Harvard in our maintenance division. He's looking for help getting the facilities shoveled out at Sunrise, in preparation for a late opening due to the snow. We just opened administrative access today, and our rangers are working feverishly to get utilities de-winterized and turned on in preparation for opening to the public on July 3rd. There's an amazing amount of snow still on the ground this year. We have heavy equipment on the job, of course, but gaining access to the bathrooms, the pathway into the visitor center, and the fire hydrants, and exposing the historic rock walls without knocking them apart with our snow machines, requires hand shoveling to do right.

Last year, a class from Evergreen State College helped us dig out (photo above by Mount Rainier Recovery Corps member Rachel Fair). This year, we'd like to open it to anyone interested in helping. This is your opportunity to get up to the highest point in the park accessible by road a full two weeks earlier than anyone else. If the weather next weekend is as beautiful as it is today, it'll be spectacular. I'll do everything in my power to ensure that's the case. (Lest anyone misunderstand, it's not within my power! But as one of our volunteers likes to say, "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear." Right!)

Go to our listing on Eventbrite for all the details and to sign up:

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