Washington Trails Association Continues to Shine at Mount Rainier

Perhaps one of the best parts of the "make sure volunteer hours are entered" season is the ability to see how great of an impact our partners have had at the Park. 

The Washington Trails Association has been working on the trails at Mount Rainier throughout the last few decades, but on a very consistent basis since the Mount Rainier Recovery Corps work started in 2007.  Today, the WTA will hold weekend projects every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the summer months, going deep into September, as well as a variety of other projects throughout the warmest weather.  This year, the Washington Trails Association held Back Country Response Teams in the park, taking groups of volunteers deep into the backcountry to do some much needed trail work for a week at a time.  Additionally, they were also leading Youth Volunteer Vacations, which allowed high school aged children from across the country to come and experience our beautiful public lands.





 A grand total of 458 people volunteered through the Washington Trails Association this year, with 53 of them being youth under the age of 18.  This brought in 4,859 hours of trail work, done all over the park.  Based on 2015 figures, that equates to a value of $112,097.13!! 
Some areas of focus for this year's crews were the Wonderland Trail heading towards Summerland, the Glacier Basin Trail, the Wonderland Trail reroute along Emerald Ridge, and the Moraine Trail, among many others.

 

 

Although the WTA has packed up for the season at Mount Rainier, they will still be having volunteer opportunities throughout the state all year long!  If you are interested in the Washington Trails Association or continuing to volunteer with them throughout the cooler months, please visit www.wta.org !

Help identify historical photos!

Hi All:

The Bremerton Naval Museum dropped off several boxes of photographs that were donated to them but they turned out to not be about the Navy. Many of the images are of Mount Rainier, so they were easy to identify. But there are also many images that I can not identify as from Mount Rainier.

I could use your help identifying the images. Any that are not of Mt Rainier will be transferred to the appropriate park or national forest site.

Please swing by curatorial (T116) between 8 and 5:30 all this week and lend a hand.

Thank you,

Brooke Childrey
Park Curator
360-569-6784
brooke_childrey (at) nps.gov

Snow has Arrived at Paradise

A quick check of the webcams this morning show that the rain has shifted to that fluffy stuff falling from the sky, and Paradise has a new coat.  Remember, whether you are coming out to volunteer or just for a leisurely hike, be prepared for any weather conditions as the winter season is beginning.  Also, starting today, all vehicles, including AWD and 4WD vehicles, entering the park must have tire chains with them. 

 

 

Make sure to check out the Park's webcams before coming out to volunteer this winter to help you to prepare! Stay safe this winter, volunteers!

Mount Rainier National Park Weather Alert

(October 31, 2015) Mount Rainier National Park is expected to experience a significant weather event this weekend. Here are some things to keep in mind:
 

• Visitor access will be affected and evacuations could become necessary. Stay alert and check in with information sources frequently for updates.  

• Current weather models are predicting up to 12” of rain to fall in the park over the weekend, shifting to heavy snow on Sunday and Monday at elevations above 4000’.  

 

• High winds are also expected. Watch for fallen trees and rocks on park roads.  

 

• All park rivers are expected to reach near flood stage, with potential for debris flows associated with glaciers. Roads may close suddenly and without warning.  

 

• Power outages may occur and emergency services may be significantly delayed. 

 

• The following emergency closures are in effect (no driving, biking or hiking):
• Westside Road
• Sunrise and White River Campground Roads, closed at the junction with SR410
• Carbon River Trail
• Mowich Lake Road, beyond the Paul Peak vehicle barricade 

 

• The timing of these emergency closures coincides with the last few days of planned operations, so effectively this storm will end seasonal driving access to these locations. 

 

• Heavy snow may cause winter closure of Cayuse and Chinook Pass. 

 

• The road from Longmire to Paradise and the Stevens Canyon Road will close nightly. These roads will reopen in the morning if and when they are deemed safe for travel. Stevens Canyon Road will close for the winter if it receives heavy snow. 

 

• For their safety, visitors are asked to respect any closure signs, barriers or staff directions as it relates to park access this weekend. 

 

• Backcountry camping permits will not be issued through the weekend and camping in vehicles is not permitted in the park.

 

• Updates on road conditions and restrictions can be obtained by calling the park at 360- 569-2211 for recorded information or visiting the park’s Twitter feed at Twitter.com/MountRainierNPS. The park’s official website is www.nps.gov/mora and its Facebook page is Facebook.com/MountRainierNPS.

 

• Effective November 1, 2015, all vehicles (including 4WD) will be required by state law to carry tire chains when traveling the Nisqually Road to Paradise. Road conditions can deteriorate quickly and mandatory chain use may be required even for 4WD vehicles.

Mount Rainier Prepares for Significant Weather Event

Superintendent Randy King advises that Mount Rainier National Park has begun preparations for a significant weather event that is expected this weekend. Visitor access will be impacted and evacuations could become necessary. Current weather models are predicting 12”-15” of rain to fall in the park over the next 48 hours, with snow at higher elevations. Travel in the park is discouraged until the storm passes. More information can be found on the Park's website.

N2P Road Construction, Oct.29-Nov. 5

Click to enlarge

Citizen Scientists in Action!

In today's post, we feature photographs taken by Yonit Yogev, an Evergreen State College intern throughout the summer at Mount Rainier.  Among many, many, many, other things, Yonit worked very closely with the multiple Citizen Science programs we offer in the park.  Citizen Scientists are volunteers who donate their time and budding expertise to research scientists from all over the state by assiting in the collection of information from an array of sources, be it along a trail, deep in the backcountry, or even in the middle of the subalpine meadows of Paradise or Sunrise (GASP!).

Below are some of her pictures from the field.

A survey of amphibians

Cascades Butterfly Project identfying butterlies in meadows

MeadoWatch, noting the stages of development of subalpine flowers

 

 

 

 

Do you have any pictures that you took while volunteering at Mount Rainier?  If so, please share them with us!  Send pictures and stories to Ian Harvey (ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov) and you may be featured on our Blog this winter!

Just How Busy Were the RAVENs this Summer?

The short answer: very.


The longer answer, in sentence form, with pictures:

This summer, the RAVEN program was off to a very quick start and continued throughout the duration of the summer.  The numbers are in, and the RAVENs were essentially in constant motion from June to September.  Collectively, Les and Gary interacted with over 2,500 visitors, and turned what could have been a vacation ruining experience to a painless and positive time, allowing the guests to continue on their adventures around Mount Rainier.

Together these two assisted with 31 dead batteries, 32 locked doors, and 17 cases of low or flat tires.  Sure, these are important to help get people back on the road, but in addition to the vehicle assistance, the RAVENs also assisted with 7 Search and Rescue efforts, drove the Park's ambulance multiple times, and even provided life giving CPR to a visitor suffering from a heart attack. 

 

These are just a few examples of the extremely valuable service Les and Gary provided while volunteering at Paradise all summer as RAVENs.  Yes, we can look at numbers and hard facts to see how important these two were all summer, but just ask any of the 2,500 visitors they interacted with, and you will hear it firsthand from them how Les and Gary turned their potentially horrible day into a great one.

 

 

We just cannot say it enough.

 

Thank you for a great summer, RAVENs!

Love is Always in the Air at Mount Rainier

Photo by Lynn Kittridge

Do you have a photo you took while volunteering this past summer that you want to share with the world?  Send pictures and stories to Ian Harvey (ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov) and they may be featured on our blog and Facebook page over the winter!  We would love to hear from you!

N2P Road Construction, Oct. 23-30

Please click to enlarge to readable size