MRNPA: Two Work Parties In July

From John Titland:

The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates volunteer work party will be Saturday, July 16th.  This will be the annual Mount Rainier National Park Associates Exotic Plant Removal work party, which we refer to as the "deveg".  We will be working at the site of the new Carbon River Ranger Station, and the Marsh Property, both located a few miles west of the Carbon River Entrance of the park on the Carbon River Road.  The ranger station occupies a building that was formerly identified as the Carbon River Ranch.  The area is still referred to as the Thompson property.  The property extends all the way from the road down to the Carbon River.

To participate in the Exotic Plant Removal work party there is no need to know about native plants.  The NPS crew members we will work with will teach you which plants to remove, and they will be able to identify for you all the native plants in the area.  There will be no heavy tools (like shovels and pulaskis) to carry and use.  Safety helmets are not required.

Things you should bring are work gloves, a small digging tool like a hand trowel, or your favorite weed removing tool, your lunch, plenty of fluids to drink, and a full set of rain gear.  A warm jacket would be good to include. 

We will meet between 8:30 and 9:00 AM in front of the ranger station.  Be ready to go to work by about 9:00 AM and expect to finish about 3:00 PM. If  you plan to attend this work party, please reply to this email indicating that you are coming and give me the number of volunteers you expect to accompany you.  I need an estimate of the number of volunteers who will attend.

A second MRNPA volunteer work party in July

In the advanced stages of planning is a potential MRNPA volunteer trails work party on Saturday, July 30th at Lake Tipsoo at Chinook Pass.  The project would be to remove and replace one of the foot bridges on the path around the lake.  Howard Selmer, the seasonal ranger at Lake Tipsoo, tells me that it would be a good day to wear rubber boots or an old pair if tennis shoes because wading in the water will likely be involved.  Sounds like a fun project!   And the work site is only a few paces from the parking lot .  But that has a down side too.  Saturdays in July can be  pandemonium at Lake Tipsoo.  We may need as many volunteers to assist Howard in crowd control as we need volunteers to work on the bridge.

Part of the uncertainty of this project is - on such short notice can we assemble a big enough MRNPA crew to do the whole job in one day?

 If you are interested in participating in this project and really do think you can attend on July 30th, please reply to this email to tell me you can come and if you can bring additional volunteers with you.  This really is a case where I need to know now how many MRNPA volunteers will be coming.

Cayuse Pass Opens Today, More Access to East Side of Park

From a press release issued from the Washington State Department of Transportation on Tuesday, April 26, 2016:

UPDATE: The pass opened to traffic around 3:15pm Thursday, April 28.  Crews were able to complete roadway damage repairs early and the highway reopened ahead of the scheduled noon Friday opening.

Despite roadway damage and debris, Washington State Department of Transportation crews have reopened State Route 123.  WSDOT and the National Park Service have been working to reopen the pass since the beginning of March.  Crews have cleared all of the snow off of State Route 410 between Crystal Mountain Boulevard and State Route 123 near Stevens Canyon Road.  However, roadway damage repairs are still needed this week prior to reopening, along with additional debris clearing work in the weeks ahead.

The great spring weather made snow removal a quick process this year, but the havoc left behind from winter windstorms is making clearing a challenge.  More than 40 trees came down over the roadway.

WSDOT Photo

Starting noon Friday, the Stevens Canyon Entrance to the Park will also reopen up to the Grove of the Patriarchs trailhead, where public restrooms will be available.  The rest of Stevens Canyon Road is projected to open in late May.  White Rive Road and Sunrise Road via the White River Entrance remains closed.

Crews from the east side of the mountains are making progress in clearing Chinook Pass as well.  They hope to have it open by Memorial Day.