Volunteer Photo Spotlight, Part #1

When I requested photos from volunteers a few months ago, Ed Hunds stepped up to the plate and not only shared a few pictures...he shared a few hundred with the volunteer program.  Because of this, I am hoping to share some of the amazing shots he has captured in a two part series.  Today's post will go best with some hot chocolate and should be viewed while under your coziest blanket, wrapped up on the corner of your couch.

Winter at Mount Rainier National Park:

NPS Photo / VIP Hunds

NPS Photo / VIP Hunds

NPS Photo / VIP Hunds

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! 

A Wild Snow Rover Appears

NPS / VIP Kelly Teale

 

 

Rambling around the Mountain in the winter, you may see many different sights.  Maybe a pika out for a quick stretch before heading back deep into the snowdrifts.  Maybe a raven singing its angelic tune overhead.  Possible even a very cold and confused black bear, but more likely is a warm and alert snowshoe hare.  But, if you are ever around Paradise on a holiday weekend, you will see many visitors in search of any or all of these things, usually to no avail.  What you are more likely to see out there are more and more of our volunteers, out in full force.

 

Many times our Snow Roving volunteers will be dressed to the nines in their warmest gear, trekking poles in hand, with a pack that appears to be almost too heavy to sling onto a back, full of the Winter Ten Essentials as well as a few other odds and ends (maybe a Meadow Stomper button or two from the summer?).  Sometimes you will encounter one of these wild creatures in their natural habitat: high up the mountain, surrounded by untrampled snow, blazing a path of visitors to find their way around.

 

NPS / VIP Teale

NPS / VIP Teale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you were on the Mountain over New Years weekend, you know it was very busy (see: my last post), but even with hundreds upon hundreds of visitors flocking to the snowy subalpine meadows of Paradise, there was still a bit of peace and serenity to be found.  And VIP Kelly Teale was able to capture some of it, with a camera in tow.

 

This was Kelly's first time serving as a Snow Rover, but you may recognize her from the Education Center.  She is an Education Technician, developing and leading programs for students ages both in the park and all over the world through the Park's ever-growing Distance Learning Program.  Over the winter, in addition to having this new found love of Snow Roving, Kelly is also hard at work volunteering for the Park's Archives and Museum Collections, spending countless hours each day handling artifacts that helped to shape the park into what it is today.

NPS Photo / VIP Kelly Teale

 

I still want to hear about your story!  Have you taken any amazing photos while volunteering at Mount Rainier?  Want to share them with the world?  If so, send them to Ian at ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov and you too can be featured on our Volunteer Blog and Facebook Page, visited by millions of people every day! (Okay, that may be only slightly made up)

Just in Case You Hadn't Heard...

...sometimes it snows at Paradise.

NPS Photo / Harvey

VIP Sarah Pigeon shadowed by Eagle Peak
NPS Photo / Harvey

And then sometimes, we get over sixty inches of snow in just a few days span.  This is what happened to Mount Rainier National Park at the beginning of the holiday break for many people.  On December 23rd and 24th, the entire park was closed due to the sheer amount of snow we had received.  In the lower elevations, the snow was so wet and heavy that it was weighing down seemingly healthy trees left and right, many of which fell upon the roadway.  The roads crew was hard at work on both of those days, trying to clear the road as best as possible. 
When the Nisqually gate finally opened at noon on December 25th, the line of cars stretched well past the park boundary and continued over a mile down the road.  Luckily in that line of cars were a few of our hardy Snow Rovers, who spent their afternoon strolling along the Trail of the Shadows and trekking up the Wonderland Trail, making hundreds of contacts on a beautifully sunny day. 

With the abundance of snow, the plows were working extra hard to carve their way to Paradise.  In doing so, our ancient snow moving machines suffered a few losses, and at one point, we were left with only one plow to move all of that snow.  With thanks to the park's auto shop, the plows were on the road in no time, and Paradise was finally open to the public once more.

NPS Photo / Harvey

In the days following the re-opening of Paradise, you could not ask for more perfect weather.  The alabaster snow was glistening under the warmth of the midday sun hanging high in the electric blue sky.  Of course, the Mountain, donning a new jacket reminiscent of mother-of-pearl, drew in all of the attention of park visitors and volunteers, stealing the show, as usual.  Just to the south, shadows were dancing across the ridges and valleys on the serrated Tatoosh Range, leaving the spectators in awe as the sun began to fade below the horizon.  Not to be outdone, every color of the rainbow was visible for only a few seconds on the flanks of the mighty Tacobet, as the sun was starting its race around the Earth, only to come up the following morning and do it all over again.

NPS Photo / Harvey

While the sights were inspiring to say the least, every single volunteer that took in the spectacular wonders of nature also assisted thousands of visitors, either directly or indirectly, during what could have been a chaotic time.  To put it in perspective, the Upper Lot, the Paradise Inn Lot, the Lower Lot, Narada Falls Lot, Christine Falls Lot, and Comet Falls Lot were all full of eager visitor's by 11:30am on Saturday, January 2nd.   

The introduction of over five new feet of snow, sunny skies, and the official opening of the Snow Play area at Paradise were all contributing factors to the influx of excited people to the Park, and with thanks to help from our Nordic Patrol, the visitors were able to find their way around on many miles of marked routes around the Paradise area. 

A big thank you goes out to all of our volunteers, and especially those who spent part of their holiday breaks giving back on the Mountain!  Without your help and dedication, this break would not have been as wonderful as it was!

NPS Photo / VIP Kelly Teale

BEHIND THE SCENES: A Look at the Meadow Rover Office at Paradise

In today's volunteer photo submission, we are featuring a picture taken by Ed Hunds.  Throughout the summer, Ed was roving the many miles of trails at Paradise.  Before heading out on the trials in the morning, or after a long day in the subalpine sun, the Meadow Rover office was the place to share stories, warn of problem areas, and to rehydrate.  It wasn't uncommon to see five, six, seven, or even more people around the office on any given summer day.  Thanks to this photo from Ed, we are able to get a little sneak peak into the life of a Meadow Rover. 

 



Photo by Ed Hunds



 

Even with the ever increasing snow totals at Paradise, try to remember that not too long ago the trails were clear and the sun was hot.  If you aren't one for that cold stuff, then enjoy this picture, also submitted by Ed, of the packed trails in Paradise.

 



Photo by Ed Hunds

Do you have any pictures that you took while you were volunteering this year?  How about a cool story of something you did out on the trails?  Do you love knowing that your pictures and stories could be viewed by MILLIONS (maybe a slight exaggeration) of visitors to this blog, every day?!  If so, send them along to Ian at ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov and you may be featured on this blog and our Volunteer Facebook page.

 

 

Thank you Ed for your submissions to us!  Keep an eye out in the future for more photos shared by Ed and our many other volunteers!

A Peculiar Sight and an All Too Common Sight at Sunrise

Today we are featuring photos from VIP Meadow Rover Mike Mauch.  Throughout October, Mike was hiking the trails at Sunrise, educating visitors about the area and being one of the few on patrol in the area after the Visitor's Center and Ranger Station both closed.  While roving, Mike had a few encounters and was lucky enough to have his camera with him.



Photograph by Michael Mauch, 2015

While hiking towards Shadow Lake in the early afternoon in the first weeks of October, Mike felt as though something was following him.  Having much experience hiking in grizzly country, Mike was constantly glancing over his shoulder.  Just a short ways down the trail, when he looked over his shoulder, he was being stalked.  Only twenty yards behind him was a Cascade Red Fox, tracing Mike's steps.  Since his camera was handy, Mike stopped to snap a few pictures.  As he was doing this, the fox calmly trotted the opposite direction, back up the trail.  Mike, cautiously and stealthly, followed.  Around the next corner, the fox had walked uphill offtrail and bedded itself only about 20 feet away from the footpath.  With great patience came great photographs.  While the fox was basking in the sun just offtrail, two visitors were able to share this experience with Mike as we was sharing his knowledge of the fox with them.

Later in the month, Mike had experienced something that is far too common in the subalpine meadows of Paradise and Sunrise, and something that nearly every Meadow Rover has had to deal with while out on the trails.  While in the area of First Burroughs, Mike had seen a family of mountain goats in the middle of the meadow.  Close behind that family was a visitor, well off trail, trying to snap some pictures of the family (possibly without bothering using his zoom?).  Mike had began to approach him about this, but the rule breaking photographer quickly packed up and was off, before Mike was able to get to him.  This continued to happen again and again, when finally Mike was able to set up his camera on an established and marked trail, and get this beautiful picture of some of the mountain goats grazng with the photographer in the image as well.  It just goes to show that you can capture some really amazing moments happening in the meadows, from right on the trail.

 

Photograph by Michael Mauch, 2015

 

Thank you, Mike, for sharing these pictures with us and for your Roving this year!  Do you have any pictures or stories to share from your time volunteering?  If so, send them to Ian at ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov and you may be featured on our blog!

A Snowy September Morning at Sunrise

Photo by VictorDallons

Today we are featuring a volunteer photo submission made by Victor Dallons of the snow covered bunk houses surrounding the Sunrise Visitor's Center.  During the beginning of his Roving, Victor found the bunk houses in their new coats on this early September morning. 

During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt's New Deal program strove to put Americans back to work, all while beautifying public lands.  One program, the Civilian Conservation Corps, was very prevalent in the park, creating many of the trails and buildings that can still be seen today.  The CCC Camp that was based out of the White River area began work on the block houses at Sunrise in 1939. 

Photo from Park Archives

This photo was found in the Mount Rainier Archives of a CCC member working on construction of one of the block houses seen overlooking the Sunrise parking lot today. 






Do you have any pictures from your volunteering this year?  Share them with us and you may be featured on the Volunteer Blog in the near future!  Send your pictures and stories to Ian at ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov

Thank you for your submission, Victor!