Complete story at The News Tribune, September 28, 2007:
“If we didn’t have the volunteer assistance, a lot of miles of trail most likely would not have been open or would be opening now,” said Carl Fabiani, the park’s trail supervisor. “If you count all the youth corps and volunteer support we had, it was at least half the work we got done.”
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 28, 2007:
The Mount Rainier recovery estimate was $36 million, but volunteerism and fiscal management likely will bring costs down, possibly allowing funding to shift to other hard-hit national parks like Olympic or North Cascades, said Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
National Public Lands Day is just four days away. More than 120 people have signed up so far, and there's still room for more! Congressman Norm Dicks may join us at Longmire to kick off the day, and other representatives are considering doing so as well. It'll be a great way to end this Season of the Volunteer, adding several hundred more hours to a total, now past 67,000, that has already shattered all previous records. Meanwhile, volunteers and park rangers continue to work hard on trails, campgrounds, and restoration projects, knowing that winter's snows may be less than a month away in some places.
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." - Anne Bradstreet, Meditations Divine and Moral (1655)
From The Olympian, September 25, 2007:
The sounds of traffic melt away just as the sounds of the creek burble up the trail. The creek pours through narrow slots in giant, bedrock boulders when it first comes into view. At that moment, you stop thinking about the hike back up to the car — and start thinking about what wonders are ahead. On this day, the biggest wonder was a crew of five Student Conservation Association workers.
From the Washington Trails Association, September 25, 2007:
Fall is a great time to volunteer on trails. Okay, so it's not completely sunny out, but think how much cooler you'll be as you heft those grub hoes and Pulaskis while you're helping fix our trails.
From The News Tribune, September 25, 2007:
People will have one last chance for the season to do flood recovery work at Mount Rainier National Park on Sept. 29, which is National Public Lands Day.
From John Walsh, Paradise Meadow Rover:
New snow on the mountain - certainly a harbinger of winter. Quite beautiful to see. When arriving at Paradise, clouds parted enough providing spectacular views of the mountain. Trees appeared to be "frocked" -- it was quite beautiful. Snow actually on the ground and slush on the trails as you approached Pebble Creek. Trails above Pebble were interesting, new snow covered normal routes so a little dicey up there. Coming down was rewarded with some cool things; actually sat and watched a pika from about 2 feet away, had not had that opportunity before as they usually are pretty elusive; also watched a falcon hunting the meadow. He apparently had very little concern I was there and swooped fairly low over me. The best was as I was standing above the Golden Gate trail, I heard this very pronounced "swoosh ... swoosh ... swoosh" and turned east just in time to be face to face with a very large bird of prey flying directly at me about 10 feet off the ground. He shot like a fighter plane right over my head and dove down the hill with the switch backs. Very cool ...
"It's a good workout, and you don't have to pay gym prices," [Derek] Mulvey said as he walked off to a boulder field a few hundred feet away for more rocks. "And I want to make sure that there are trails to hike on Mount Rainier."
Read more of this article by Chester Allen on The Olympian’s website!
The summer is quickly coming to an end, but storm recovery work remains in high gear.
Read more on the Northwest Parks and Public Lands Storm Recovery Coalition's blog!
Registration for National Public Lands Day is up to around 80 people--not bad for still being 10 days out! There's lots of room for more, so remember to sign up here, either for a work project, or for the evening barbecue and celebration, or both.
Now that I have returned to the material comforts of my home, I find myself craving all those things that I left on the omnipotent Mt. Rainier. Yes, the walk to go #2 in the actual toilets was way too long, my enormous fear of bees kept me on my toes, and cleaning the sump screen was positively disgusting, yet I have an indescribable desire in my stomach to be sitting in Longmire watching Mt. Rainier go in and out of the clouds. My temporary remedy? Be outside as much as possible, but the urban "outdoors" of my deck, tainted with city lights can’t hold a candle to the sense of tranquility that I felt while just soaking in Mt. Rainier.
When: Saturday, September 29, 2007
Service projects 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
End of Season Celebration and Dinner 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Meet for the End of Season Celebration at Columbia Crest Elementary School (9 miles west of Mount Rainier National Park's Nisqually Entrance; three miles west of Ashford on SR 706). Check-in for service projects will be at Longmire, 6 miles east of the Nisqually Entrance. Further details will be provided with your online registration.
Who: Friends of the Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative -- Volunteers, sponsors, staff, media, and anyone who contributed in any way to the recovery effort are all invited to attend!
What: A variety of service projects will cap off a very successful first season for the Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative. Teams of volunteers will work on trail repair, campground restoration, habitat rehab, and other projects throughout the park. In the evening, we will host an informal dinner and celebration, with hamburgers, hot dogs, presentations, and lots of pictures from the summer's work. Come for the service project, or just for the dinner, or sign up for both!
How: To confirm your attendance, sign up at SCA's online events calendar. Click on the calendar link at September 29. You may register for a service project, to attend the dinner, or both. If you do not have Internet access, please call Jill Baum at 360-569-2211 ext. 3414.
Why: Following the devastating floods of last November, hundreds of individuals volunteered to help clean up campgrounds and rebuild trails all over the park. Much work remains, but a lot was accomplished, too. More than half of Mount Rainier's trail repairs this summer were completed by volunteers! Behind the scenes, concerned citizens who weren't able to volunteer in the park wrote letters and contributed financially to the recovery program. These efforts have literally rebuilt our park. On National Public Lands Day, we will come together to celebrate these many acts of stewardship, and to thank those who have given their time and effort so we may all enjoy this special place.
The End-of-Season Celebration is hosted by the Northwest Storm Recovery Coalition, including Mount Rainier National Park, the Student Conservation Association, the Washington Trails Association, Washington's National Park Fund, the National Parks Conservation Association, and The Mountaineers. Sponsors so far include REI, Starbucks, HSBC Bank, Mount Rainier Guest Services, International Mountain Guides, Ranger Doug's Enterprises, and Columbia Crest School.
If you have questions about this event or about Mount Rainier's volunteer program, please contact Kevin Bacher, Volunteer Program Manager, at 360-569-2211 ext. 3385; or Jill Baum, Project Director for the Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative, at 360-569-2211 ext. 3414.
Mount Rainier National Park will begin repairs to the flood-damaged Stevens Canyon Road in the southeast corner of the park beginning Sept. 20. The road, which connects Paradise with the Grove of the Patriarchs and Ohanapecosh Campground, will be closed during repairs from Sept. 20 through Oct. 26. Plan accordingly.
Climbing high on a trail at dizzying heights, four hooves move steadily on a narrow path across a steep wall of shale rock. At the top of the ridge, the horses and mules are reined to a stop, and the scenery explodes. On one side, Mount Rainier appears like the top of a giant ice-cream cone. To the east, cliffs of craggy rock plunge into a bowl of green meadows and trees.... This moment, the feeling of being completely removed from everything, is what defines the Backcountry Horsemen. A national service club with some of its most active chapters in Southeast King County, the Backcountry Horsemen maintain hundreds of miles of local trails and work to protect open space.
Read more about the Backcountry Horsemen, a local group that has contributed more than 2,000 hours of service in Mount Rainier National Park, in this article by Lauren Vane on the website of the Seattle Times.
Representatives the park, students from Waseda University in Tokyo and the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association dedicated a new "bio toilet" at Cougar Rock Campground a week ago.
Read more, including a report on winter hours at Mount Rainier National Park, in a reportby Jeffrey P. Mayor on the News Tribune Website.
Students from the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association (J-VIPA) pose in traditional dress with park superintendent Dave Uberuaga.
