MRNPA Work Party, May 18

Per John Titland, May 18th's MRNPA work party will be on the Mine Trail. This trail begins approximately 1.25 miles from the entrance on the Carbon River Hike and Bike Trail. Now that the Carbon River Road is closed to vehicle traffic, this trail is more easily accessible to visitors and could use some improvement to handle the higher foot traffic. The Mine Trail is a .26 mile trail leading to an old mine once owned by Washington Mining and Milling Co. These days the mine is closed off, but the history remains. Trail work will include maintenance to sections of a 49-foot swamp bridge and widening and smoothing the trail tread.

MRNPA volunteers will meet at the Carbon River Entrance to Mount Rainier NP at about 8:30 AM.  Be ready to move out by 9:00. Park inside the gate, and please don't block the parking spaces available to the public.  Be prepared for a hike the 1.25 miles to the work site.  Bring your lunch and plenty of fluids to drink, work gloves and safety glasses and a full set of rain gear. During May, it is common to have rain or wet snow falling at Mount Rainier, so bring warm clothing too.

There are safety equipment requirements for all MRNPA trail work volunteers. Anyone using an aggressive tool (Pulaski, ax, shovel, etc.) or anyone working near someone using them is required to wear a hard hat and safety glasses. People working with or near a less aggressive tools are not required to wear a hard hat, but are encouraged to do so. Please bring your own hard hat if you have one. If you do not have a hard hat, MRNPA and the NPS have hard hats you may use 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 others, please provide yourself with a pair of personal safety glasses for your own use.  A serviceable pair or safety glasses will cost about $10, and are available at hardware stores and other sources. Be advised that shatterproof eye glasses do not meet the requirement for safety glasses. Safety glasses all have side protection which eyeglasses do not.

If you plan to attend and have not yet contacted John Titland, please drop him a note at volunteer@mrnpa.org to indicate that you are coming and tell him how many volunteers you are bringing with you.