Washington Trails Association has Another Exciting Season Planned!
This Saturday, June 2nd, is National Trails Day! WTA will be working on the West Boundary Trail. Last year, WTA crews worked on this trail by removing downed logs, repairing tread and other maintenance needs. This Saturday, they will work on restoring the trail back to good hiking conditions. While spaces are full for this work party, be sure to check the volunteer blog for updates and pictures from a day celebrating our trails!
Upcoming events with WTA include extensive work on the Comet Falls Trail! You will find WTA opportunities to work on the Comet Falls Trail throughout the month of June: every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between June 8th and June 24th! Come for one or come for them all, stay for the weekend and utilize the Longmire Volunteer Campground! On this trail, the crew will conduct regular maintenance and repair any damage done to the trail over the winter months. What a great opportunity to work on a trail that many claim holds the most beautiful waterfall in the park!
You can sign up for these work parties on the WTA website. Follow this link to view the different work party dates and assignments in more detail. Information on the work parties is only available three to four weeks before each trip, but there is a project every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the summer! You can check for updates on future WTA projects using our volunteer calendar linked at the top of our blog page or by visiting WTA's website using the link above.
We hope you can make it out to help maintain our beautiful Mount Rainier trails!
Meadow Rover Details and Upcoming Training Sessions
Greetings Meadow Rovers! We are writing to let you know of dates and updates that may be of interest. Also, at the bottom of this note is a list of resources and contacts useful to Meadow Rovers.
– Curt Jacquot, Park Ranger-Interpretation, Bill Marsh, West Side Meadow Rover Coordinator
Spring is here and summer is approaching! With it, comes thoughts of wildflowers waiting to be preserved by helpful humans like us!
Returning this summer are our experienced and knowledgeable volunteer meadow rover coordinators. Both Bill Marsh and Gayle Eads will be back for a second season! Bill will be the west side rovers and Gayle will be working with east side rovers at Sunrise. Curt Jacquot will be the meadow rover supervisor on the west side of the park. Filling in for Christine Czazasty on the east side will be former seasonal interpreter Todd Smith. Todd is now a permanent employee with the park service. He is currently a supervisory ranger at Chamizal National Memorial in Texas. He will be working on what the government calls a “detail.” That means he is on loan from his position in Texas while we formally announce/fill the position vacated by Christine Czazasty. Christine has been here briefly in May for a transition period before she returns to her new Chief of Interpretation position at Chaco Canyon National Historic Site. Congratulations to Todd and Christine!
Be sure and try to attend one of our Meadow Rover Trainings this month!
June 23: New Meadow Rover Training at the Longmire Community Building: 10 AM to 3 PM. RSVP to: Mora_Meadow_Rovers@nps.gov.
June 24: Experienced Meadow Rover Training at the Longmire Community Building: 10 AM to 3 PM. RSVP to Mora_Meadow_Rovers@nps.gov. We are planning some new things for this training!
Those interested in roving this spring that have not yet been trained can schedule an individual training and orientation session. The individual must be willing to commit to eight hours of roving per month (June-July-August-September) in order to schedule an individual training/orientation. Contact mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov if you wish to schedule an individual training with our coordinator Bill Marsh. The session will last 3-4 hours.
Be sure to take a look at the Mount Rainier Volunteer Blog post from the month of May with more details about this years Meadow Rover updates including a new awards program and updates about the Winter-Spring Roving season!
Mount Rainier National Park Associates June Work Party!
The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates trails work party will be on Saturday, June 16th. That's a little over two weeks away. Specific project location details are still being determined, but we will inform you of the details of the project and where we will meet as soon as we get that information! Whatever the project, we will meet at about 8:30 AM and be ready to move out by 9:00 AM!
When you enter Mount Rainier National Park, remember to tell the attendant at the gate that you will be working on a volunteer project with MRNPA, as volunteers enter the park for free. Be prepared for a hike to the work site. As always, bring your lunch and plenty of fluids to drink, work gloves and safety glasses, and a full set of rain gear.
You may contact MRNPA through their website (www.mrnpa.org) to let them know you’d like to participate.
There are safety equipment requirements for all MRNPA trail work volunteers. (These rules apply to all trail workers.) Anyone using an aggressive tool - like a Pulaski, ax, shovel, etc. - or anyone working near them - is required to wear a hard hat and safety glasses . People working with or near less aggressive tools are not required (but will be encouraged) to wear a hard hat. If you own a hard hat that you can wear, please bring it. If you do not have a hard hat, MRNPA has hard hats that we loan for the day.
Wearing safety glasses is encouraged at all times. Not all safety glasses are comfortable for everyone and some will not fit over eye glasses. Because of cleanliness issues, some people don't like wearing safety glasses that have been worn by other people. For these reasons, and probably many others, please purchase (acquire, find, dig-up, whatever) a pair of personal safety glasses that you will wear. The local hardware store is a good place to start shopping. A serviceable pair or safety glasses will cost about $10. And be advised that shatterproof eye glasses do not meet the requirement for safety glasses. Safety glasses all have side protection which eyeglasses do not.
It’s warming up and the park is popping! This is a great chance to get out here in the early summer to lend a helping hand to Mount Rainier!
CITO the Mountain 2012
On June 9th, members of the local geocaching community will again be working in the Longmire campground, erecting NEW wall tents and removing debris from sites and the road. This is the sixth year this group has organized a "CITO" cleanup ("Cache in, trash out") in the Park. Our own Kevin Bacher (K2D2 in the caching world) spearheads the operation.
You do not need to be a geocacher to join the party. Anyone who wishes to be part of the efforts should arrive at the Longmire Community Building at 9 AM for a short briefing. We may even be done by lunchtime, with plenty of time to socialize afterwards. "Many hands make light work!"
More details can be found on the cache page at Geocaching.com:
Urgent Need for Campground host!
In an exceptional set of circumstances, we find ourselves without Campground Hosts for both Cougar Rock and Ohanapecosh. It is a minimum of 32 hours per week. Hosts are needed through Columbus Day, but partial seasons are fine. We are open to the possibility of local people working shifts of a few days a week until the position can be filled. Benefits of being one of our Campground hosts include a campsite with hookups for power, water, and sewage, waiver of park entrance fees, reimbursement of some expenses, and coverage for tort liability and on-the-job injury through the VIP program. If you feel you could fill this position, PLEASE contact Kevin Bacher at your earliest convenience at (360) 569-6567 or fill out an application at http://www.volunteer.gov/gov/results.cfm?ID=7096.
We are still looking for our new Maintenance response team!
After 27 years of service in a variety of positions, Clyde and Lois Ambacher retired, leaving vacant their positions on the Maintenance Response Team. Cumulatively, the couple had logged 15,436 hours since they started volunteering in 1985. Those are some mighty big shoes to step into, but they need filling. Mount Rainier National Park is looking to "recruit new Ambachers" to this valued position!
As part of the Maintenance Response Team, volunteers will provide support for the Maintenance Division at Longmire. Duties will include general maintenance such as litter pickup, weeding and watering, and "handyman" repair work. The assignments may also include service as backup to staff members in the Wilderness Information Center and at the Museum. If you are interested in applying, please fill out an application at http://www.volunteer.gov/gov/results.cfm?ID=12393. This is a great opportunity to experience Rainier in many different ways and serve the park you love!
Interpretation Training June 5 -8!
If you are an active or incoming volunteer, you still have time to attend the remaining Interpretive Training sessions which have been offered from May 29 through June 9. Topics have included a basic introduction into interpretation and the division's goals and objectives, and next week will cover topics including geology, natural history, and climate change among others! A full course schedule may be found at 2012 Summer Interpretive Training Schedule - Summer of Traditions (.pdf file). Please note that you must be a current volunteer or be committed to an assignment (e.g., new Meadow Rover, Curation Assistant, etc.) in order to attend. Please RSVP to Kevin Bacher soon, as space is limited! This is a great chance to learn about all the beautiful aspects of our park!
Sessions on June 8 and 9 are limited to staff only. Persons wishing to attend the Geology session on Wednesday June 6 should note that it is a field trip and they must bring their own vehicle. It is sure to be a treat, don’t forget to bring a lunch and snacks! Hope to see you there!
Follow Us!
Remember that Mount Rainier Volunteers now have numerous ways to keep updated on events and projects. We are now on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, and Blogspot! All of these links are available from our blog, rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com! We have our webcams at Paradise and Longmire on the park website www.nps.gov/mora.
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