Find Your Park! (Washington's National Park Fund)

Washington's National Park Fund is a key partner for our national parks in Washington state!

Find Your Park! (Michelle Obama)

What better way to Find Your Park than to join our team as a National Park Service volunteer?

Find Your Park! (Sally Jewell)

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell found her park at Mount Rainier. Have you?

OptOutside for Green Friday!

I got up extra early today to come up with a witty post, but instead I decided to #OptOutside and celebrate #GreenFriday. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving, and instead of getting in line for Black Friday deals, go celebrate YOUR National Parks today. Entrance fees for Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks have been waived, which may be the biggest deal of all. Get out there and #FindYourPark.



Rampart Ridge, November 24, 2015

 

REI Sumner's Volunteer Day

The Logistics Team from the REI Distribution Center in Sumner, WA dropped in for a day of service and trail work in Mount Rainier National Park recently.  Normally having a narrow view of Salmon Creek off in the distance through an office window, this was a welcome change of scenery for everyone.  The crew was eleven strong and ready to get their hands dirty the moment they arrived.  After a short and scenic “mile long hike” along the Wonderland Trail leading up to Summerland just inside the White River Entrance, the group was met by their trail crew lead, Jen, from the Washington Trails Association.  She gave an introduction to the tools the group would be using for the project of drainage trench clearing and then everyone spread out over the trail to begin. 

WTA's Jen Haas giving the rundown of today's project.

After a few hours of work, the crew found a breathtaking spot to rest for lunch, and almost immediately was back to work, showing how much they really wanted to complete this project.   Covering approximately a mile of trail, clearing and creating any needed drainage trenches, the group worked determinedly throughout the afternoon.   

Following their work, they burned up more of their energy by going out on a hike, led by none other than the world renowned Ranger Kevin.  At the end of the day, their green REI Co-Op t-shirts were filthy, sweaty, and covered in dust, but the group couldn’t have been any happier.

 

REI is a Premier Partner of the National Park Foundation’s Find Your Park campaign.  For more information about REI and their continued efforts to improve Mount Rainier and other National Parks around the country, visit http://www.rei.com/h/national-parks .  For more information about the partnership between the National Park Foundation and REI, please visit http://findyourpark.com/partners#rei .

A Heroic Tale of Conquering Aliens

Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled blog-scrolling to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Blog News Agency.  At twenty minutes before eight, central time, Professor Farrell of the Mount Jennings Observatory of Chicago, Illinois, reports observing several explosions of incandescent gas, occurring at regular intervals on the planet Mars.  The spectroscope indicated the gas to be hydrogen and moving towards the earth with enormous velocity.  Professor Pierson of the Observatory at Princeton confirms Farrell’s observation, and describes the phenomenon as “like a jet of blue flame shot from a gun.”

I don’t mean to alarm you, but Mount Rainier is under attack from alien invaders.  Massive groves of what scientists are calling Geranium robertianum, or “Stinky Bob” for short, could be found encroaching upon the Carbon River Ranger Station as recent as just last weekend.  Now, this may seem like something out of a certain book that has entered the public domain as it was written in the late 1800’s and may have been loosely quoted above, BUT this is real life.  Much of the newly acquired land around the Carbon River entrance was once used for agriculture, featuring plants that are not native to Mount Rainier’s lush forests.  Luckily help had arrived, right on time.

The Mount Rainier National Park Associates arrived in full battle gear, thick leather gloves on hand and plastic trash bags nearby, to ensure the alien invaders could not escape once more.  With the help of the Revegetation Crew’s extensive training on exotic and invasive species removal, the MRNPA were able to corral mountains of the invaders until no more could be seen. 

With special thanks to this crew, we can rest easy knowing the park is safe once more.

Are you interested in saving the planet from alien invaders?  How about helping to repopulate Mount Rainier with native species?  Maybe you just want to come out and volunteer?  Then check out the Mount Rainier National Park Associates’ website at www.mrnpa.org and sign up for one of their upcoming work projects.  No prior training in eradication of aliens is required. 

 

Wow, These Trails Look Beautiful!

There are many miles of trails surrounding the namesake volcano in the center of Mount Rainier National Park, and they constantly need some love.  BUT!  Don’t you fret, because the Washington Trails Association is out there every weekend this summer leading groups of volunteers on projects that keep those trails as stunning as can be!  There is always room on our trails for YOU to come out and help!

The Washington Trails Association is the largest nonprofit, state based organization in the United States, and is doing work right in our backyard.  With a core mission looking to preserve, enhance, and promote hiking opportunities in Washington State, the organization has a strong focus towards volunteerism.  Beginning in 1966 with a single magazine, WTA is now a large community of hikers, backpackers, and outdoor enthusiasts looking to maintain those beautiful trails and pathways to awe inspiring wilderness for generations to come. 

                Acting not only as a voice for hikers, the Washington Trails Association also heavily relies on volunteers to continue the legacy that the founders started nearly 50 years ago.  In 2010, volunteers donated over 100,000 hours of their own time working on the trails, making this the largest program of its kind in the nation. 

                Throughout the summer here at Mount Rainier National Park, you may run into volunteer trail crews, sporting their forest green WTA hardhats, working hard to keep the trails that you are hiking on in immaculate condition, but there is always more to be done.  The WTA has partnered with Mount Rainier in an effort to maintain and improve sections of our almost 300 miles of trail, and they do this by having volunteer weekends every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the summer.  Those volunteering are eligible to receive free camping in the park for the duration of their service, if requested at least one week prior to volunteering.

You can help for one, two, or all three days, or for every weekend this summer, and any work done is appreciated by not only the trail crew, but the nearly 2,000,000 visitors Mount Rainier receives every year.  For more information on the Washington Trails Association or how to get involved, check out their website at www.wta.org/volunteer .

Have Experience with Surveying or GIS?

The Longmire Stewardship Campground was a favorite of park visitors from the mid-1920s until the 1980s.  Now, it is “home-base” for hundreds of volunteers and park partners each year, exclusively.  Many projects recently have involved work in and around the campground area, and now we are seeking an outstanding volunteer with a very special set of skills.  We are looking to upgrade our maps of the campground from the current hand drawn version to a much more accurate and aesthetically pleasing version.   

Brief Job Description:  Survey the features of the Longmire Stewardship Campground and create a map to be used by the general public and Park Service Employees.

Duties:

• Plot key points around the campground, including campsites, fire pits, electrical hook-ups, etc.
• Include adjoining trails and roads
• Map the perimeter of the campground
• Create a user-friendly map to be used by volunteers, partners, coordinators, and the National

Park Service

Anticipated Results:  The end product will be a more practical and useable map of the Stewardship Campground.

Qualifications:

• Experience with mapping and surveying programs and processes
• Ability to work independently or in a small group
• Physical ability to hike the entire campground area

Benefits:

• Free park entry for the entire duration of the project
• Availability of Longmire Campground for the length of the surveying, including night prior to beginning and day following completion

For more information, please contact Kevin Bacher at 360-569-6567 or via email at Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov