Happy Friday everyone! A few fun things have happened over the last few days. On Wednesday, I was scheduled to give my first ranger talk at the Sinnott Memorial Overlook. This shift means I give three 20-minute talks throughout the day while working in the visitor center when I’m not giving a talk. I’ve been thinking about, researching, and writing this talk for a while now, so it was exciting to finally share it. The title of the talk is “Crater Lake Ladies,” in which I talk about five different women who have left their mark on Crater Lake National Park. At first, I think people were skeptical that I’d find enough material, but I was able to find so much interesting information, and I think the talk was a success!
On Wednesday after work, my roommate Karlie and I decided to do the ranger-led sunset hike up to Watchman Peak, a fire lookout that we have here in the park. So at 7:30, we met Ranger Dave, a retired teacher who is so knowledgable and has a super funny dry sense of humor, and we made our way up the peak with a group of park visitors. It’s only 3/4 of a mile up to the lookout, and Dave stopped along the way to share information about history of the park roads, women who worked in the fire lookouts in the 40’s, fire ecology, and trees. When we got to the top, the sunset was beautiful, but it was also a bit breezy and chilly. Regardless, the view was totally worth it!
On Thursday, I was on a long boat shift which means I did two full boat tours, plus a three-hour stay on Wizard Island. While on the island, there are two trails: one goes to the summit of the peak, and one goes out to an area called Fumerole Bay. I had never done the hike to Fumerole, so I decided to do it this time.
There was another gentleman on the tour named Marshall who was also going that direction, so he and I hiked together and I enjoyed hearing about his travel adventures! Marshall was in his 50s though I’d never guess it, and he’d been married for 30 years. His wife isn’t really the outdoors-y type, so he travels to many national parks on his own. He told me about hiking Half Dome in Yosemite, seeing wolves in Yellowstone, and volcanoes in Lassen. Marshall also works in the NICU with premature babies at a hospital in California, and he was so passionate about these little infants who fight to survive and about the miracles he sees everyday. It was a lot of fun talking with Marshall and we had a great hike. He even braved the cold waters and jumped in the lake! Being here in Crater Lake has really given me the opportunity to meet some pretty amazing people from all over the world, and I’ve been so fortunate to do this for the summer.
So after a long day of boats, it was time for the “White Bark Pint” party here in Sleepy Hollow where the seasonal staff lives.
White Bark Pint is a pun of the White Bark Pine which is a fragile tree here at Crater Lake. So to celebrate this tree, and kick off the summer season, one of the other interps, Shawn, hosted this fun event. People from many different divisions came to hang out, and it was a lot of fun chatting, dancing to 90s music, and seeing co-workers in a different setting. I have a trolley shift at 8:45 this morning, so I had to leave by midnight, but it was a great time!
So now I’m off to do my trolley shift. Tomorrow I’m on the boats again, and on Sunday, I’m in the visitor center for a half-day in the afternoon. My friend Allison is coming to visit on Sunday, and I absolutely cannot wait to see her!
Until next time, have a great weekend!
My Crater Lake Summer 