Setting Forth on a Journey

You never know who you are going to meet or what you might find when you set out on a journey. That is the thing about journeys. They are defined by the unknown, by mysteries and surprises. If you knew what was going to happen it wouldn’t be much of a journey at all. Perhaps that is why the notion of a journey appeals to me so much. Some journeys are epic in scale and others are much smaller. In the midst of the greater journey of life I enjoyed some unique smaller ones here in the park in the last couple of days.

Alison got a job nannying this week which meant that she could not come out to visit me and it made no sense for me to go into DC to visit her since she would be busy for more than 10 hours a day.  So that meant I had the much needed opportunity to both rest and catch up on things here after nearly a month of largely being absent. It also meant that I could do some longer and more demanding hikes here in the park. I decided to do the former today and the latter both Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday I hiked a six mile loop that included the most demanding ascent that I have undertaken in the park. It was ridiculous. One ranger has dubbed it the “Stairway to Heaven” because it seems as though the steps carved out of the steep face of the mountain ascend indefinitely all the way out of the earth’s atmosphere. It feels like that climbing up them too!

So there I was climbing and climbing up these steps when I saw someone coming down toward me at a much greater rate of speed. As he passed he stopped to say hello and in the conversation that followed I learned that I was talking to him in the midst of his third trip up and back down the mountain that day and that he intended to do a fourth. I was struggling to make it up once and he was going both directions  four times consecutively?!?!?

I went on to learn that he was conditioning himself  because at the end of the month he was going to hike to the summit of the highest peaks in Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada.  He had also recently returned from climbing Everest.

Quite an interesting person to run into out on the trails! Oh, and did I mention he was in his 60s?!?!
Yesterday I decided to tackle a demanding loop in the Northern section of the park that travels up to a summit and down to a beautiful stream, which the trail follows for more than 5 miles as it works its way back up the canyon. It is a hike I have wanted to do for a while, but the loop is 14 miles so it is not exactly possible after getting off of work!

I decided to add a bit extra to the hike and actually did a 17 mile circuit, all of which on trails I had never been on before. I saw two bears and four people in that 17 miles. I also saw two rattlesnakes. I have not seen a rattlesnake in this park before, but within ¼ mile I came across two, or rather the two guys in front of me did about two minutes before I arrived. They were still trying to figure out what to do about the first snake when I arrived and came across the second with me trailing about 200 yards behind. In both cases the snakes were right next to the trail, coiled and ready to strike. With a little encouragement both the snakes elected to move further away, thus allowing us to pass safely. But in either case it would have been very easy to step right on the snake if one was not paying attention! I sure was glad they were in front of me!

But it wasn’t the snakes or the bears or even the distance that was most unique about the hike, it was the berries. I started that hike about 1200 feet lower than the elevation of Big Meadows where I live. That meant that the berries were much riper there than they are here. And since it is perfectly acceptable to consume berries one finds in the park I proceeded to do exactly that.

It began with blueberries, which I picked and ate as I traveled down the mountain to the stream. I was happy with that and figured that would be it for the day, but as I came back up the other side I discovered that the blackberries there were beginning to ripen. So I enjoyed several handfuls of tasty blackberries. I came out to the drive about ½ a mile from where I was parked and could have just walked down the road to my truck, but I knew there was a trail about 1/10 of a mile on the other side of the road and decided to take that instead. It was well I did for on that trail I discovered Raspberry bushes, also with many berries ripe for the picking.

In fact when I first paused and moved toward them I suddenly heard grunting and a great deal of rustling in the bushes about ten feet away and realized that I had unwittingly disturbed a bear who was in the midst of enjoying the berries himself!

So in the space of a single hike I found and enjoyed blue, black, and raspberries, all straight of the bushes as fresh and tasty as one could desire.

You never know who you are going to meet or what you might find when you set out on a journey.

The Blessings of Blueberries

I am blessed indeed to have this job. I have been keenly reminded of that fact over the past few days. I am living in an amazingly beautiful place and getting paid to help people appreciate the wonder around them. That is a pretty good gig!

In addition to the general value of working here at Shenandoah these last few days have contained some extra special reminders.

Normally when I arrive at work in the morning there are several other rangers engaged in various activities necessary to begin the day. Yesterday when I walked into the Visitor Center I was the only one in the building which meant I quickly became responsible for doing everything required to open at 8:30 (a task nearly impossible to accomplish in 15 minutes). While that could have been a bit stressful, any such feelings were mitigated by the sight of two adorable fawns curled up in the grass right outside the main viewing windows of the visitor center.

I watched those fawns for a while, but that was not to be my last experience with fawns. I saw another pair of twins driving back from work yesterday and then saw yet another pair and a group of triplets while hiking today. Fawns everywhere!

I also continue to be amazed at what I get paid to do here. This morning I once again got paid to hike several miles along a beautiful trail, something I get to do with some regularity.  But perhaps the best circumstance in my time here thus far happened Thursday morning when I got paid to go out in the meadow and gather wild mountain blueberries with another ranger while enjoying a spectacular spring-like day.

Our lives are filled with blessings if we take the time to see them!

Life is the Sum Total of Moments Such as These

The theme of the value and significance of moments in our lives is one that has often made an appearance in these emails. This latest edition is proving to be no exception. It has been quite a while since I was last able to write and the intervening days from then to now have been filled to overflowing with memorable moments.

Between June 20 and July 20 I will have spent a total of five nights in my house in Shenandoah. Every other night I have found myself sleeping somewhere else in locations ranging from Washington, DC to Broomfield, CO. These last few weeks have been rather full to say the least!

Nearly a month ago theaters around the country began a three week special engagement in which they showed the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings on three consecutive Tuesday nights. Sadly Alison and I were unable to make it to either the second or the third films, but we did attend the first, watching all 3.5 hours of the extended edition of Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring the only time it has every been shown on the big screen. It was pretty exciting, especially since I thought I would never get to watch Lord of the Rings in such a fashion again!

The night after the film we attended a Washington Nationals baseball game, bearing witness to them creaming the Cardinals 10-0. Although this is this is the only game I have been able to attend this season Alison has made it to four more since then!

The following Monday my Mom and Callie arrived in Shenandoah with Alison, joined by Kristen and Corey the following day, allowing us a couple of days of fun and exploration together in the park. The visit culminated with the official 75th Anniversary celebration of Shenandoah National Park on Saturday, June 25. Definitely a week filled with special moments, lots of hiking, and a plethora of blackberry deserts (Shakes, Ice Cream, Sunday, Cobbler, Ice Cream Pie, and Jam that was so good it was like desert)!

I flew out to Colorado the morning following the anniversary so that I could attend the wedding of one of Alison's childhood friends. The next morning Alison and I began driving her car east toward Washington, DC, beginning a three day adventure that resulted in her car finally being with her out on the East Coast (her parents had driven it from California to Colorado).

We couldn't simply drive across the country on the most direct path, but rather had to make a few diversions along the way. These diversions took us to quite a few exciting gems and resulted in us traveling through eleven states including two new ones for each of us. That brings our count for states visited together since Dec. 13 of 2010 to 28 (not bad for seven months!) and my personal count to 42 states in the last two years and 44 states total. We are getting fairly close to all 50!

Highlights along our journey included a brief stop for lunch and pictures in Ogalalla, Nebraska, a visit to a genuine Pony Express Station, a stop off at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa, participation in the Taste of Chicago street festival, sticking our feet in the waters of Lake Michigan in Benton Harbor, MI, and a jaunt through Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. I would certainly have enjoyed more time in each location, but we did have to make it back to Shenandoah by Wednesday night so I could go to work the next morning!

The story continued a few days later when Alison and I successfully found a spot on the grass in front of the Washington Monument for a lovely view of the Independence Day Celebration on the National Mall.

We headed back out toward Shenandoah the following day because I had to be back to take care of cats and water plants. I have been house sitting for the acting Chief of Interpretation of Shenandoah since July 1 which means I have actually had to commute into work each day and also that I have had the opportunity to appreciate and experience the Shenandoah Valley a great deal more than I have before.

When I was picking up one of the items of furniture I attained for free when I first came to DC I also ended up with a raft, which I had never taken out of the box. We figured me living in the Shenandoah Valley was a great opportunity to give it a test, so Alison and I took it out on the Shenandoah River last Wednesday. It performed quite well and we enjoyed a splendid afternoon on the water.

It has been an adventurous and exciting last several weeks and it looks like the next few will continue in the same vein, at work as well as outside of it. I hiked a little over 10 miles in the park today, completing a circuit I had not succeeded in hiking thus far and moving further toward my goal of eventually hiking all 516 miles of trails in the park. I have written several times about my program on the Appalachian Trail which I have been able to actually give a few times in these last weeks, but this past Friday I decided to try something different just for fun and successfully gave my first bear talk at Shenandoah. It was great fun. Everybody loves to learn about bears!

Life is ever an adventure!

The Threads of Connection

Shortly before leaving the visitor center on Sunday I fell into a wonderful moment that I very easily could have missed. 

I was at the front desk when a young girl and her parents approached with Junior Ranger book in hand. As I was the only ranger up there at that particular moment it fell to me to check it with her. Since things were slow and other rangers were soon to return to the desk I was able to sit down with the young lady and really go through the book with her in detail. We spent about 20 minutes going through each page of her book and speaking in detail about her experience in the park. I grew more and more impressed as our conversation continued.

Eight year old Jenna had successfully completed every line of every page in the book. She didn't stop at the 12 activities required or do anything partway. She fully embraced the venture and completed the book in its entirety. Not only that, but everything in it was absolutely correct. There was not an error of any kind to be found.

That alone was enough to gain my admiration and respect, but when I turned to the final page to check on the programs she had attended I was quite surprised by what I found. The second program bore the signature of one of the other rangers, but the first program was a tour of Rapidan Camp given by Martha Bogle, who just so happens to be the superintendent of the park.   I was quite surprised and confused as to how that was possible, but the parents went on to explain that they had hiked down Mill Prong and happened to be in the camp when Martha brought a group down in conjunction with the 75th. When she saw them looking at the trees and working on the book Martha approached Jenna and talked to her about the book. She then took them into President Hoover's cabin and gave them a tour. They went on to tell me that they had not realized who they were talking to until they went on the website later that night and noticed Martha's picture and discovered what her position in the park truly was. Needless to say I informed Jenna that it was pretty special to have that signature in her book!

The significance of this family and the connections to the park did not end there, however.   When I went to sign her certificate I discovered that her full name was Jenna Mather. Since we have a life-size picture of Stephen Mather (the first director of the National Park Service and the man who pushed to have a national park in the east, which resulted in Shenandoah) right there on the wall of the Visitor Center I pointed to him and asked if she knew who he was. She did not, and neither did her parents. I went on to tell them about Mather and his importance for to the Park Service as a whole and to this park in particular. They promised they would go and do some work on the family tree to see if there was any connection!

Jenna maintained a high level of enthusiasm throughout our interaction, and was especially excited about the pledge at the end as well as her sightings of a black bear and newborn fawn. I was able to capitalize on that as I gave her both an explorer sticker (picturing a fawn) and a Jr Ranger Patch (picturing a bear). Her parents videoed much of our interaction and took pictures of me shaking her hand and presenting her with her patch, but allowed it to be her special moment.  

The whole interaction was inspiring. It wove together a geological hike, the interaction with the superintendent at Rapidan, their experience hiking in the park, stories of the sacrifice of the families who had to give up their land in order to make way for the park, Stephen Mather and the National Park Idea, the 75th anniversary, the excitement of seeing a bear and a fawn for the first time, and a general since of wonder and admiration for the park.

I was blessed indeed to be a part of it. 

Responding to the Call

You may remember that a few weeks ago I went through Search and Rescue (SAR) training so that I could respond to incidents in the park. Last Sunday I had my first chance. I responded to a call with two other rangers but had only made it about 2/3 of a mile up the trail in question when the injured man (who had fallen 50 feet onto solid granite while rock climbing) was successfully airlifted off the mountain in a helicopter, thus rendering us unnecessary. It was well that he was for he was in critical condition and would have faced a six-eight hour carryout had we had to use that option.

Today, however, was a different matter. Shortly after 11:00 this morning a call came over the radio for a medical emergency at Old Rag Mountain, one of the toughest summit climbs not only in the park, but in the state of Virginia. Shortly thereafter the call went out for a litter team and the visitor center received a phone call requesting anyone that could respond to the incident. I was supposed to be going on lunch at 11:30 and then be on the desk for 6 hours this afternoon, but my coworkers said they could find a way to cover without me and I was able to respond.  I arrived at Old Rag with four others and headed up the mountain. We intercepted the litter about 1/4 mile from the summit and were quickly pulled into service as the only other people there were the old rag mountain stewards (volunteers who help take care of the mountain and its visitors on weekends) and two other park personnel.

I spent a substantial portion of the next 3.5 hours helping to carry and maneuver the litter down an incredibly steep and rocky trail. Old Rag is a very difficult trail in any circumstances, and when carrying a litter it is challenging indeed! We twice had to set up a belay line to help control and guide the litter down slick and steep sections.

The task was made more interesting when a thunderstorm hit us out of nowhere, quickly soaking everyone and making it that much more difficult to find good solid footing.

But in the end we got her down, and a woman that would otherwise still be lying in agony on the top of the mountain is currently safely in a hospital as a result of our labors. The experience was a model of teamwork, as we had to communicate to those behind us about what was coming up in the trail and frequently had to pass the litter from one person to the next as the trail was so narrow and steep that it was impossible to walk with it. Six people must always have hold of the litter in order to control it and carry it successfully. That is not easy to do in those circumstances.

With one person it would have been impossible. But with a team working together we got her off the mountain. It was a powerful picture of what a difference one person can make when a part of something bigger.  I am exhausted now, completely physically spent, but it was well worth it. It is highly likely that I will be on a carryout again before too long as it is not uncommon for someone to get hurt in this park, particularly on Old Rag.

So instead of working at the desk I spent most of the day carrying a litter. That marked the fourth day of consecutive work that I spent doing something unusual.

On Wednesday and Thursday I backpacked into the wilderness of the park on a Leave No Trace training course, spending the night sleeping under the stars and learning how to camp with as little impact as possible on the environment. I am now certified as a Leave No Trace trainer myself.
 Yesterday I spent the day in a training course on interpretation and how to develop interpretive programs. So in four days I found myself doing three very different sorts of things.  On the way back home last night I stopped and hiked down to White Oak Falls. On the way back I ran nearly smack into a bear on the trail. It is the closest I have come to a bear thus far and the first time we have been face to face. I also finally got at least some decent pictures, two of which you can find posted in a new album.

So one might say that this has been a rather interesting week!

Life Gets Busy

Life gets busy. Even when one is living in a National Park, life still gets busy. Too many things to try and figure out and manage can quickly overwhelm even the stoutest individual and it is very easy to lose focus of what matters in life. This past week has served as a significant reminder for me of what some of those things can be.

I ended up driving down to DC last Sunday right after getting off here in Shenandoah to attend the Memorial Day concert in front of the capitol. Alison had gone down earlier and had a spot on the lawn and I showed up in uniform which allowed me to sneak through the security entrance (they assumed I was working the event, which I had last year, so I knew where to go!) resulting in me getting to the blanket where she waited at 7:54 for an 8:00 show. It was a splendid show, honoring the sacrifice of troops past and present, and focusing and the larger ideals that this country represents. I am really glad I got to go. It was a fitting way to begin my week and to honor the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for this nation. I am deeply proud to be an American, a part of the ongoing story of this country and what it is founded upon.

On Memorial Day itself I managed to escape from a busy visitor center (we logged 2444 people on Saturday and 2500 on Sunday just in the VC, maybe 5% of the people actually visiting the park) and get out on a trail for a couple of hours. It was a hot day, but I still wanted to hike! I hiked about 4 miles on the AT, stopping off to visit one of the shelters here in the park where I checked the logbook to see what the through hikers had to say. I also spoke to five different through hikers along the trail, all five passing through Shenandoah after having already hiked 910 miles, with another 1268 to go. What causes people to take on such an overwhelming journey? That very question is the subject of my terrace talk, which I gave for the first time last Thursday. It is my one chance at an interpretive program here in Shenandoah, and I figured the AT would make a pretty good story!

Today was National Trails day and there were two different special programs at the VC about the AT. I sadly did not get to attend either one because I was stuck at the desk, but I did get to talk to one of the presenters after he had finished. He has hiked the entire 2178.3 miles (give or take--it changes on a regular basis) 5 times. FIVE TIMES! I don't even know how to comprehend doing that! Thinking about such a journey helps to put my own life journey in the proper perspective!

I did have the pleasure of embarking upon my own trail journey yesterday. I actually got released from the desk for an entire day, the first time that has happened since I got here, and I decided to make the best of it! I did two hikes way down at the southern end of the park, which required 75 minutes of driving just to arrive at the trailheads! The first was a 3 miles circuit that included some lovely views and a stop off at another AT shelter where I again consulted the logbook for interesting entries (can you tell someone is looking for fodder for his program?). The second hike was a 10 mile loop which took me to a stunning vista from chimney rock, down to the riprap run to splendid swimming hole (I could unfortunately not partake in uniform!), and along nearly 4 miles of the AT. Now that is the way to spend a day working as a National Park Ranger!

During my travels yesterday I encountered a turkey with four little chicks waddling behind her, a doe and a newborn fawn (I saw another while out hiking Monday; that fawn walked up to me and curled up at my feet!), and a mama bear and three cubs. Methinks is it the time of year to see young animals!

And then there is the wedding. Alison and I have nearly decided on what we are doing for a save-the-date card and also done the initial work to design and set up a website. It is becoming significantly more exciting as the reality of the wedding continues to take shape!

Life continues to be an adventure, and amidst the adventure I continue to be reminded of why I am here at this time in this place and what it means to be a part of the larger story of creation that God continues to write with each passing moment.

Living always in dangerous wonder!

Blazing a Trail

For the past two weeks much of my time off the desk at work has been spent learning about and designing a program telling the story of the Appalachian Trail. It is really quite a fascinating story and quite a fascinating trail. Did you know, for example, that the 2178.3 miles of the trail not only pass through 14 states, but also involve a total gain in elevation of 471,151 feet? To put that in perspective, that would be like spending five months climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest from sea level 16 consecutive times. Sounds fun huh?  I would love to hike the entirety of the trail someday, but for now am contenting myself with reading about the accomplishments of others and hiking bits of the trail here in Shenandoah.

Just last night I hiked another mile of it as I descended to one of the park's many waterfalls. Hiking the trails here in general is always inspiring, but there is something about that particular trail that places it in a different league. It is a great way to feel part of something bigger than yourself and that is never a bad lesson to remember! It is this feeling that inspired me to use the AT as the centerpoint of the program I am designing. I don't get to do much interpretation here in Shenadoah, so I want to maximize this opportunity! It is just a simple talk given on the terrace of the Visitor Center, but why not make it something more and leave people with something more valuable than information itself?

Life is indeed a precious gift and the celebration of life continues to call to us. As you may have noticed, the world failed to end last Saturday when it was scheduled to do so. Apparently now the date has been revised to October 21. It was rather convenient that it didn't end at 6:00 Saturday evening as that was right in the middle of my friend Wes' wedding, which Alison and I traveled to Kansas City to attend. Instead of the world ending we were blessed with the opportunity to see two individuals join together as one, something we ourselves will be doing in 232 days in case you are not counting down yourself!

When we returned to the house in which we were staying following the wedding we soon found ourselves hiding in the basement in fear of a tornado headed in our direction. Thankfully the tornado did not strike that particular house, but it came pretty close. The next day, after a visit to the Truman Library and some very tasty barbeque we arrived at the airport only to find that our plane was delayed, resulting in us missing our connection in Minneapolis where we would have been stranded had we not been rescued by old friends who lived in the area whom I had not seen in 13 years.  Though delayed until the following morning we still made it back to DC in time to drive out to a pretty amazing ropes course by the name of "Go Ape" http://www.goape.com/ in Rockville, MD where we spent more than two hours traversing various suspension bridges, swinging on tarzan ropes, and sliding down ziplines.

It was a splendid celebration of both my birthday and the manner in which our lives have become so intimately connected to each other.   It is sometimes nothing short of amazing how the interweavings of the web of life come together to form new and interesting patterns. As Alison and I continue to look forward to our own wedding and the beginning of our own new life together we find ourselves not out on our own, blazing a new trail through unknown wilderness, but instead walking a path that has been trod by others if we have the eyes to see the blazes marking the way. It is all too easy to find oneself lost in the forest of life, cut off from seeing the path ahead. In such moments the blazes of those who have walked the trail before us can provide the guidance we need to reach our destination.