A Personal Challenge to All Coming to the Mountain...Do You Accept?

I am looking to finish a project that has been talked about for a few years at Mount Rainier, but I need YOUR help to complete it!  Over the next month or so, I am hoping to collect pictures of some of the winter routes around Longmire and Paradise to create an information sheet for Rovers, Nordic Patrol, General Rangers, and Interpretive Staff to use. 



NPS Photo / VIP Ed Hunds

Although I would absolutely love to hike each and every trail in perfect weather conditions and do no other work whatsoever, I can only manage to pull that off a handful of times before I am questioned.  So, with your help, I am hoping to have pictures of:

• Trailheads
• Markers
• Identifying features of a route
• Areas that may be a little tricky to navigate around
• Dangerous sections of trail
• Avalanche zones
• Places people get lost
• Amazing view points and features of that route
• Any other information you can give me

Please keep in mind that the winter routes at Mount Rainier are very dynamic, in that they are always changing and shifting.  When you are taking your pictures, please focus on the solid surroundings, not just the path in the snow, as that will more than likely be gone with the next snowfall.

Also, while you are out snapping your pictures, make sure that you are being 100% safe.  Don't try to get a good picture of an avalanche chute...while standing in an avalanche chute. 

Some points of focus would be:

• Nisqually Vista Loop
• Narada Falls to Paradise
• Inspiration Saddle to Reflection Lakes
• Rampart Ridge Trail
• Route to Glacier Vista
• Myrtle Falls Trail
• Safe travel in Edith Creek Basin

After we finish up these seven points of interest, we can absolutely branch out to other areas, but I am targeting these as the most traveled and with the highest need.

These photos can be taken while you are out here for a Rove, on patrol with the Washington Ski Touring Club, or while you are out hiking on your own.  If you are out hiking on your own and you take a series of pictures, let me know how much time you were spending actually volunteering, and your hours will still count!

NPS Photo / Harvey

This information packet will be entirely volunteer created and you can consider it a part of your ever growing legacy at Mount Rainier.

Send all pictures to Ian at ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov as soon as you can, and he will start to piece the publication together!  Questions?  Comments?  Political outbursts?  Send them all to Ian as well!

Thank you for your help in this project! 

Mount Rainier National Park Associates: Jacks and Jills of All Trades

The volunteers at Mount Rainier National Park Associates have many talents: trail work in any and all weather conditions, invasive species removal (or conquering alien invaders), revegetation of once destroyed meadows, and advocating for Mount Rainier National Park.  MRNPA has been a longtime partner of Mount Rainier, and over the years have played a crucial role in preservation of the beautiful resources that we all share in the park.  This year, MRNPA has volunteered 468 hours doing trails projects, 84 hours participating in the annual "deveg" day, removing exotic species, and 170 hours replanting native species in the former Sunrise Camp.  This totals to 720 hours of volunteering, equating to a value of $16,610.40!!

A huge thank you is in order to the Mount Rainier National Park Associates for all of their hard work and their longstanding dedication to the park over the past 30 years! 

 

Interested in learning more about MRNPA?  Seeing some of the projects they have participated in over the years?  Learning how to sign up for the next projects?  Visit www.mrnpa.org today!

MRNPA - May 16th Project Update

The location and details for Saturday's MRNPA project have been announced!

The group will be working on the trails at Narada Falls repairing winter damage and improving the trail tread.

If you would like to join the work party, please contact Volunteer Coordinator John Titland at volunteer(at)mrnpa.org to let him know that you are coming.

Bring a lunch and full rain gear, and gather in the Narada Falls parking lot at 8:30-9:00 AM.  Departure to the work site will be at 9:00 AM sharp.

MRNPA Aug. 2 Project Update

The August Mount Rainier National Park Associates trails work party will be on Saturday, August 2nd.  The project will be at Narada Falls.  The crew will be replacing two culverts just below the Narada Falls overview area.  To accomplish this, there will be 30-40 feet of turnpike which will be constructed and filled with tread material.

The Narada Falls parking lot is a busy place this time of year.  Volunteers who have spent Friday night at the Longmire VIP campground are asked to car-pool to Narada Falls.  If possible, volunteers who arrive early on Saturday morning should go to the Longmire VIP campground and join the car pools forming there.  As always, on Saturday, arrive at the Narada Falls parking lot between 8:30 and 9:00 and be ready to go to work at 9:00.

The work site is not far from parking lot so there will not be much hiking involved to get there, but bring your lunch and a raincoat anyway.

Following every August work party, MRNPA volunteers are invited to assemble in a nearby campground for some relaxed time together, a potluck dinner, and an evening spent sitting around the campfire.  Plans are still forming for this event, so please stay tuned. Additionally free camping is available the Friday night before the work party and the Saturday of the work party.

If you plan to attend the August work party, and if you plan to camp one or both nights, please respond to volunteer(at)mrnpa.org. The trail crew leader needs an estimate of the number of volunteers to expect and the number of campsites required.