Hawaii
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Hike to Skeleton Point
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Hike to Plateau Point
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More hiking
Every so often in my schedule I get a day of "Prep/Rove" in which I can either prepare for upcoming programs, complete training, or rove the area talking with visitors. Yesterday I had one such day, and I really wanted to be out and about. So early in the morning I hit the Bright Angel trail in my uniform and hiked down the trail. My goal was Plateau Point, a location 6 miles into the canyon, with an elevation change of 3000 feet. Along the way there are are few stops that I was using as markers, so I knew if I had the time (and energy) to make the full hike.
Four and a half miles into the canyon the trail passes through a beautiful oasis filled with trees, and more prickly pear cactus than you can shake a stick at! This is the location of Indian Gardens. There's a campground and a ranger station located there, and during the fall/winter that is the first water available. I didn't stop on my way down, except to say hi to some ranger friends in passing.
Heading further out on the Tonto plateau another mile and a half I reached Plateau Point. This is the first view of the river you can get from the Bright Angel trail. At this vista you stand 2,000 vertical feet directly above the river. The wind is incredibly powerful, and I spent the whole time down there holding onto my uniform hat.
After a short impromptu program for some of the visitors down there about the condor circling above, I started back up. The hike down took me 3 hours, which meant I should average about 6 hours on the way out. In this summer this hike would have been completely in the sun, and therefore very dangerous. Even now it's an incredibly difficult hike, and we don't recommend it to visitors.
On the way up I ran back into a ranger friend, helped her with some tasks, and then she offered me some Gatorade and ibuprofen, which I desperately needed! At that point I was only in a little pain, but still knew the hike out would be hard, and I still had 4.5 miles and 3000 feet to climb! On these hikes usually it's my hips that ache, while my knees and legs are just tired. After refueling I hit the road.
This time of year is incredibly busy for hikers, as the weather in the canyon is cooler, and an ideal time to be out galavanting. On my way out I stopped and talked with over two hundred visitors, gave advice for hiking, turned some people around and asked them to return to the top (they had no water, or an insufficient amount), and provided some basic first aid to a woman who had tripped and scrapped up her leg. For me it was a lot of fun, but also gave me a chance to break and give my legs a rest!!
I made it back out (obviously, as wifi is really not that prevalent below the rim), with a grand total of 8 hours and 30 minutes hiking, including stops! No wonder I was exhausted when I made it back up!!
It was an absolutely beautiful hike, and I am surprisingly not that sore today. A little soreness in my calves, but nothing like my last hike where I waddled around for a day with soreness/stiffness throughout my legs, glutes, and lower back. I have some photos on my camera, as well as my phone, which will be posted soon!!
Four and a half miles into the canyon the trail passes through a beautiful oasis filled with trees, and more prickly pear cactus than you can shake a stick at! This is the location of Indian Gardens. There's a campground and a ranger station located there, and during the fall/winter that is the first water available. I didn't stop on my way down, except to say hi to some ranger friends in passing.
Heading further out on the Tonto plateau another mile and a half I reached Plateau Point. This is the first view of the river you can get from the Bright Angel trail. At this vista you stand 2,000 vertical feet directly above the river. The wind is incredibly powerful, and I spent the whole time down there holding onto my uniform hat.
After a short impromptu program for some of the visitors down there about the condor circling above, I started back up. The hike down took me 3 hours, which meant I should average about 6 hours on the way out. In this summer this hike would have been completely in the sun, and therefore very dangerous. Even now it's an incredibly difficult hike, and we don't recommend it to visitors.
On the way up I ran back into a ranger friend, helped her with some tasks, and then she offered me some Gatorade and ibuprofen, which I desperately needed! At that point I was only in a little pain, but still knew the hike out would be hard, and I still had 4.5 miles and 3000 feet to climb! On these hikes usually it's my hips that ache, while my knees and legs are just tired. After refueling I hit the road.
This time of year is incredibly busy for hikers, as the weather in the canyon is cooler, and an ideal time to be out galavanting. On my way out I stopped and talked with over two hundred visitors, gave advice for hiking, turned some people around and asked them to return to the top (they had no water, or an insufficient amount), and provided some basic first aid to a woman who had tripped and scrapped up her leg. For me it was a lot of fun, but also gave me a chance to break and give my legs a rest!!
I made it back out (obviously, as wifi is really not that prevalent below the rim), with a grand total of 8 hours and 30 minutes hiking, including stops! No wonder I was exhausted when I made it back up!!
It was an absolutely beautiful hike, and I am surprisingly not that sore today. A little soreness in my calves, but nothing like my last hike where I waddled around for a day with soreness/stiffness throughout my legs, glutes, and lower back. I have some photos on my camera, as well as my phone, which will be posted soon!!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Life the Grand ditch of them all!!
After receiving a comment on my last post from my sister, I figured I should probably update my blog...
I am living the canyon now, and have been working for nearly a month. After flying home to Buffalo, I bought a Toyota 4Runner (her name is Betty White, because she's sassy and has a dirty mouth sometimes, but looks very sweet), and drove from Buffalo, through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona... in just about 3 days. I spent an extra night in Flagstaff, AZ to pick up groceries and such before driving up to the canyon. It was a long trip, and not a whole lot to see along the way. I did get to see my sister, and a friend in Ohio, but that was just the first day. I did a lot singing loudly to my favorite tunes, and laughing at weird signs. I have pictures, which I will post.
After returning to the canyon I immediately dove back into work, though my job is different than it was when I left. I give programs every day, on everything about the canyon- geology, history, condors, math (yes, math), biology, and nature. I love it!! Every so often I get to help with special projects.
Every time I've had my first day back in uniform something has happened. My first summer when I was in uniform I had to make a call to dispatch because there was a dispute between two visitors. This past summer my first day in uniform I helped on a rescue of a man who had a heart attack in the canyon, carrying him out in a litter. Now returning to the canyon, my first day back in uniform I helped with a body recovery of a gentleman who fell over the edge. Another ranger and I got caught in a huge thunderstorm just after the helicopter took off with the body, and had to wait it out in a low lying area on the rim edge. We were frozen, though thankfully our uniforms kept us mostly dry.
Every day here is different. Some days I give programs on the condors to a group of over 100 visitors, and spend a half hour afterwards talking with folks and pledging in new junior rangers. Some days are quieter and I spend a lot of time out and about just admiring the canyon with visitors. It is getting colder here, and I am very thankful that my winter uniforms have finally arrived. We had one day where the temperature was around 49ºF all day, and I froze.
Yesterday I was called in to work overtime. We had a film crew from Swiss National TV who had a permit to tape at two locations in the park. While they are on site they need to be escorted by a ranger to make sure they aren't disturbing the area or visitors, or putting themselves or their host in harms way just for a cool shot. The group I worked with consisted of 4 Swiss nationals, and 1 American. They all spoke English, but most of the time conversed in German. And I don't think the German song I was taught as a child was really going to help much...
I didn't have to restrict them very much, which was good, but I was able to give them better information on where the sun was headed, what they were looking at, where would be good at a specific location to get the best view, and so forth. Mostly I stayed out of the way. And froze... it wasn't too cold, but very windy. At the end I needed to unlock a gate and I could barely use my hands.
Visitation has quieted down a bit, which is a nice change of pace. I no longer have a sore throat at the end of every day from trying to talk and be heard over the din of construction, or just the massive amounts of people.
On my days off sometimes I'll drive to get groceries, but also sometimes I'll go hiking. Most recently I hiked into the canyon down South Kaibab Trail to Skeleton Point. Let this be a warning to all canyon visitors- Unless you are used to hiking here, at Grand Canyon, with these conditions, at this elevation, and there are no storms on the horizon, NEVER under any circumstances attempt this hike. I am used to this area, and I know what the canyon can do, and I was still in an incredible amount of pain on the way out and for the next few days. Skeleton Point is listed as a 4-6 hour long hike. I was done in 3.5 hours, but that's only because I know what I'm doing (mostly). That and it was cooler down there than in the summer time, so I wasn't combatting the sun. On the other hand, I did get trapped in a rainstorm and froze out there. That's a bit painful. Also, I completed the hike when I hadn't fully recovered from a fever/cold, which brought back the fever in full force that night. Bad idea... bad ranger.
Well my lunch break is nearly over, so I'd best get back out there!! I'll update again soon, and in the meantime post some pictures.
I am living the canyon now, and have been working for nearly a month. After flying home to Buffalo, I bought a Toyota 4Runner (her name is Betty White, because she's sassy and has a dirty mouth sometimes, but looks very sweet), and drove from Buffalo, through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona... in just about 3 days. I spent an extra night in Flagstaff, AZ to pick up groceries and such before driving up to the canyon. It was a long trip, and not a whole lot to see along the way. I did get to see my sister, and a friend in Ohio, but that was just the first day. I did a lot singing loudly to my favorite tunes, and laughing at weird signs. I have pictures, which I will post.
After returning to the canyon I immediately dove back into work, though my job is different than it was when I left. I give programs every day, on everything about the canyon- geology, history, condors, math (yes, math), biology, and nature. I love it!! Every so often I get to help with special projects.
Every time I've had my first day back in uniform something has happened. My first summer when I was in uniform I had to make a call to dispatch because there was a dispute between two visitors. This past summer my first day in uniform I helped on a rescue of a man who had a heart attack in the canyon, carrying him out in a litter. Now returning to the canyon, my first day back in uniform I helped with a body recovery of a gentleman who fell over the edge. Another ranger and I got caught in a huge thunderstorm just after the helicopter took off with the body, and had to wait it out in a low lying area on the rim edge. We were frozen, though thankfully our uniforms kept us mostly dry.
Every day here is different. Some days I give programs on the condors to a group of over 100 visitors, and spend a half hour afterwards talking with folks and pledging in new junior rangers. Some days are quieter and I spend a lot of time out and about just admiring the canyon with visitors. It is getting colder here, and I am very thankful that my winter uniforms have finally arrived. We had one day where the temperature was around 49ºF all day, and I froze.
Yesterday I was called in to work overtime. We had a film crew from Swiss National TV who had a permit to tape at two locations in the park. While they are on site they need to be escorted by a ranger to make sure they aren't disturbing the area or visitors, or putting themselves or their host in harms way just for a cool shot. The group I worked with consisted of 4 Swiss nationals, and 1 American. They all spoke English, but most of the time conversed in German. And I don't think the German song I was taught as a child was really going to help much...
I didn't have to restrict them very much, which was good, but I was able to give them better information on where the sun was headed, what they were looking at, where would be good at a specific location to get the best view, and so forth. Mostly I stayed out of the way. And froze... it wasn't too cold, but very windy. At the end I needed to unlock a gate and I could barely use my hands.
Visitation has quieted down a bit, which is a nice change of pace. I no longer have a sore throat at the end of every day from trying to talk and be heard over the din of construction, or just the massive amounts of people.
On my days off sometimes I'll drive to get groceries, but also sometimes I'll go hiking. Most recently I hiked into the canyon down South Kaibab Trail to Skeleton Point. Let this be a warning to all canyon visitors- Unless you are used to hiking here, at Grand Canyon, with these conditions, at this elevation, and there are no storms on the horizon, NEVER under any circumstances attempt this hike. I am used to this area, and I know what the canyon can do, and I was still in an incredible amount of pain on the way out and for the next few days. Skeleton Point is listed as a 4-6 hour long hike. I was done in 3.5 hours, but that's only because I know what I'm doing (mostly). That and it was cooler down there than in the summer time, so I wasn't combatting the sun. On the other hand, I did get trapped in a rainstorm and froze out there. That's a bit painful. Also, I completed the hike when I hadn't fully recovered from a fever/cold, which brought back the fever in full force that night. Bad idea... bad ranger.
Well my lunch break is nearly over, so I'd best get back out there!! I'll update again soon, and in the meantime post some pictures.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Big News
Currently I'm sitting in a tea shop in Portland, OR after having traveled from Grand Canyon, through Grand Staircase (Utah), to Provo, Utah, to Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming), to Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming), to Boise, Idaho, and then here. I know, I know... why in the world would I travel all that way?! For fun, of course!
Soon I'll hit the road (by plane) back home and then... (drum roll)... I'll be moving to Grand Canyon National Park PERMANENTLY!!! I just accepted a permanent job at the canyon!!
This is huge news, and a really big deal. Permanent park service jobs are hard to come by (incredibly difficult), and to get my first one at Grand Canyon is amazing!!
Though I'm very disappointed to not be able to move to Portland with my love, I am excited for this adventure. Now before I start I need to... get a car, move all my things to Grand Canyon, find a place to live...
Anyway, that's the big news!!
Soon I'll hit the road (by plane) back home and then... (drum roll)... I'll be moving to Grand Canyon National Park PERMANENTLY!!! I just accepted a permanent job at the canyon!!
This is huge news, and a really big deal. Permanent park service jobs are hard to come by (incredibly difficult), and to get my first one at Grand Canyon is amazing!!
Though I'm very disappointed to not be able to move to Portland with my love, I am excited for this adventure. Now before I start I need to... get a car, move all my things to Grand Canyon, find a place to live...
Anyway, that's the big news!!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
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