A Grand Opening

Mount Rainier National Park, May 5, 2007

I could feel the anticipation from the crowd, the excitement of the park staff, the satisfaction from the mountain. May 5th started out a warm, brilliant day filled with hope and joy. As we drove to the Nisqually entrance of Mt Rainier National Park, Michael & I noted that the mountain must have known what was about to transpire - she was gleaming in the morning sun, happy to welcome visitors back onto her flanks.

Of course being Adventure Girl, I couldn't let this auspicious occasion pass without my presence. I had already missed one re-opening this spring - that of the Hoh River Road in the Olympic National Park just days before. This event had to be attended.

Now for those of you who haven't been paying attention, the Northwest was devastated by a series of winter storms this past November & December. For the past 6 months the Hoh River Rd and the entirety of Mt Rainier National Park have been closed due to the damage. Damage seems such a mild word for what took place. It was a complete reshaping of the landscape. In just a few days time river carved new paths wiping out roads, trails, bridges and campgrounds. Hardly a park or forest between northern Oregon and southern British Columbia remained unscathed. And there lies even more damage as the snow melts and reveals what has been hidden beneath for the past 6 months.

But today we were celebrating. Celebrating the hard work and efforts of park staff, government agencies, and the all powerful volunteer. We heard stories of the dedicated crews working 10-12 hour shifts for days on end; having to be shooed away by the superintendent on Easter Sunday. But they refused to give up - it was more important for them to give Washington's crown jewel back to her people.

I thank you all. But more work needs to be done, not only in Mt Rainier and Olympic but in all the forests of our beautiful Cascades and Olympics. Lets get together this summer and help rebuild a trail.

Damaging Storms

Carbon River Road 1/28/07 & 3/10/07

After two months of watching and listening to the reports out of Mt Rainier, Michael & I decided to walk up the Carbon River Road to survey the damage ourselves. The damage begins 1 1/2 miles beyond the park entrance, wiping out the road to the point where rangers built trails around the damage. In January we had just reached the damaged section of road. I hopped up on the side of the road to snap a picture and hopped back to the road. However, my toe caught the lip of the road and I went down, hard. Rolling on the ice-cold road, my hopes of hiking this summer started to fade. What if I had really screwed up my knee? It took us two hours to find our way back to the car, hobbling along using Michael as a crutch. How could I have done this - on a road? I could have taken the pain if i wasn't so humiliated by my clumsiness. Luckily, no permanently serious damage happened to my knee. I'm not too sure I can say that about the Carbon River Road.

After several weeks of recuperation, Michael & I hit the road again. We passed the spot where I had fallen and just beyond that the stunning remnants of nature at her wildest. Rocks, trees, mud strewn about where the road we had just driven on a few months meandered through the trees. Now the road was itself a creek bed, water streaming through the rocks and around culverts that had once allowed the water under the road. They were now useless, some filled with mud, others yards from where they originally laid.

Sections of the road are still in good working condition, but others were ripped apart, showing the same signs of the storms that hit Mt Rainier in November. Trees, rocks, & mud lay across the road or a stream ran down the middle. By the time we reached Ipsut Creek Campground, we had crawled over logs, around root balls ripped from the ground, boulder hopped up the creek, slid through mud and marveled at the destructive force of nature. But we also knew that nature will be able to rebuild herself. How humanity can rebuild access to her beauty is another question. The road will not be open this year. The superintendent has promised Carbon River Road will re-open.

At this point, Michael & I are planning other hikes for the summer beyond Mt Rainier. Our quest to finish the Wonderland Trail will need to be put on hold - the park is not issuing back country permits for the wonderland this year. But there is hope; both the WTA & SCA will be coordinating volunteers to help rebuild the mountain and the other areas hit by the November storm. I plan on volunteering along with hundreds of other from around the world who have already promised their time and money.