“The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”
– NPS Mission Statement

My relationship with the National Parks….

In 1975 our family took the quintessential national parks trip. Decades later we still refer to this as “The Big Trip.” I turned nine in the middle of this trip, somewhere in the Canadian Rockies. My impression at the time was that this was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment trip on my dad’s part – a need to bring the family closer together, and help pull his children away from negative influences (drugs). For me and my younger siblings, this was a neat adventure. But for the four older ones who ranged in age from 15 to 19 years, they initially viewed this as the loss of a summer, pulled away from friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and summer jobs. The phrase didn’t exist back then, but FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) would probably have described their initial attitudes. I believe they eventually came around.This trip started in New Jersey, headed north through New York to Ontario and across Canada, to the Rockies (Jasper, Canadian Icefields, and Banff), south through Washington, Oregon, California. East towards Utah, the salt flats, Monument Valley, on to Colorado and Pikes Peak. From there we headed north to Ann Arbor, Michigan (this would not have been en route to NJ), and then to home. Were it not for family movies and recounting stories at family reunions, most of my memories would be far fuzzier.

We spent a fair amount of time in Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows. While we had been doing the Junior Ranger program at other national parks, this is the patch (below) I’ve held on to. I’m not even sure the other programs had patches like this. Certainly the badges they provide today were not yet in existence. All of us, except my youngest sister and Mom, went backpacking into the backcountry. A Park Ranger hiked in with us and we made camp by a lake (the water was really cold), and at some point we hiked a mountain and spent the night up there (I’m uncertain that was part of the plan). I remember sleeping in a crack in some rocks with dad, it was July and I was really cold. Joy, my youngest sister, who was 5 or 6 at the time, remembers this time for getting ice cream every day while we were gone.

Inclusive Parks

I’m heartened to see the growth of affinity groups for outdoor spaces. Affinity groups are a collection of individuals who share a common identity. Media and society have painted a picture of the quintessential outdoorsman — flannel-wearing, muscular, tall, white guy. Intellectually I understood the need for affinity groups. I thought “I get this”. But it wasn’t until I was invited to join Outdoor Afro – Atlanta on a Zip Lining trip in Amicalola Falls State Park in northern Georgia. I’ve been there before to see thru-hikers set off on their AT adventure. When I arrived at the lodge in the morning to meet up with the group I was greeted by Belinda Dapreis, the trip leader. There were 16 folks in total, most were women, only three were guys. I was the only white person in the group. We spent 2.5 hours zipping from tree to tree, gaining courage and confidence with each challenge. The time went by too quickly. Back at the lodge saying our goodbyes as the group was heading back to Atlanta and I would stay for another two days camping at the state park. For the rest of my time I didn’t see another person of color in this space. I “got it”. How intimidating to come into a space by yourself when you may not feel you belong. Where even unintentional signals tell you, you are not welcome here. Shit. How can I be a better ally? Be welcoming. Listen. Help make structural change that makes spaces more welcoming.

Helmets and natural hair. Um, no. The zip lining helmets didn’t fit most. During a trail work video session with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Derrick Lugo, a/k/a Mr. Fabulous couldn’t wear a hard hat with his fabulous dreadlocks. There has to be a better solution than just mashing down hair to make it fit.

Seeking Solace in Nature

In April of 2007 life changed dramatically in the course of one day. Virginia Tech, where I work, experienced a mass-shooting. 32 people were killed, and many more injured — students, faculty, staff — ranging in age from 18 to 76. Dr. Liviu Librescu, who Joy had as a professor 17 years earlier, survived the holocaust as a Jew in Romania. His instinct to block the door allowed students to escape by jumping from the second-story windows of their classroom and saved their lives. The shooter was mentally ill and the systems that could have prevented this event failed. This remains the worst day of my life.

While I had always been an outdoor, adventure seeking person, this marked the time that I intentionally sought solace in nature to cope with anxiety, fear, stress, and so many other emotions that came out of that day.

Nikki Giovanni’s words ring on in my mind:

“We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.”

– Nikki Giovanni, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cSuidxE8os&t=7s

Community

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Wilderness First Aid / Beyond the Golden Hour

Labor Day weekend, 2018, I took a Wilderness First Aid at the Mountain Lake Biological Research Station on Salt Pond mountain through MEDIC SOLO. It was a 3-day course with a mixture of class (in an outside pavilion) and running practice scenarios of what we had just learned. There was a lot of repetition, which was very helpful. Then in June 2019 I took an Advanced WFA course (2-day) in West Virginia. That was significantly harder, and I wished I had practiced more of my skills between September and June. The key is to follow the protocol to ensure you are not distracted by the obvious (the excruciating pain of broken bone) and missing something that would be life-threatening (skull fracture, bleeding out under the body).

A – Awake
A – Airway
B – Breathing
B – Breathing quality
C – Circulating in (pulse)
C – Circulating out (bleeding)
D – Deformities
D – Disability
E – Environment
E – Everyone else

Memorial Day weekend 2019 I arranged to have a MEDIC SOLO WFA 3-day course that ran in conjunction with the Appalachian Trail Partners in the Parks project. We had 12 students from 10 different states, plus others joined the class. We sponsored a Geology Ph.D. student to take the class in exchange for her giving a lecture to the students on the geology of Peter’s Mountain. Another couple that joined were passing through the area in an RV with their two young kids. Dad was a blind AT thru-hiker. The class was held at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Pearisburg which allowed for camping on-site and use of the hiker hostel facilities. After the course, the PITP crew went out on a 3-day trail work trip. I’ll expand on this in another entry, but short story I broke my arm the afternoon of the second day and the students got a real shot at using their WFA skills.

Memorial Day weekend 2021, the WFA Medic-SOLO course was held at New River’s Edge in Pembroke, VA (10 minute drive from home). Jim and I both participated. Because of COVID the class was smaller (17 people) and while everyone was vaccinated, myself and another person were not +2 weeks vaccinated. So Jim and I had to stay distanced from the class, as did the other person (and her mom). We all wore masks (even outside), frequently sanitized our hands, and used medical gloves during the scenarios. Matt, the instructor, was appropriately cautious, especially considering the hands-on nature of this course. Jim passed his practical and written exams for the WFA certification, and I recertified for Adv. WFA. It was a good weekend, and I’ve recommitted myself to practice the skills and review the knowledge more frequently than in the past.

Volunteers in the Park (VIPs)

My university’s motto is Ut Prosim (That I may serve). Throughout my childhood, my family was civic-minded. These days I’ve been putting in a fair amount of work on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (a/k/a AT). It is as much therapeutic as it is contributing to society. Often you can visibly see the impact of your work — a clearer trail, a tree removed, a shelter roof replaced, an improved trail tread, stairs built to prevent erosion, graffiti removed, etc. Conversely, it often feels like Sisyphus, the vegetation continues to grow and infringe on the trail, trees continue to fall, trail continues to erode, and assholes continue to make graffiti on rocks, trees and shelters. The natural impacts don’t bother me, but the human affects really irritate me. More recently I’ve also found that the snarky social media comments about the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the 31 AT Trail maintaining clubs as some sort of enemy of hikers just really get my goat. These are people I doubt have ever volunteered on the trail, they are quick to criticize and complain when the trail isn’t completely clear. Haters gonna hate. I’ve been inviting them to join our trail crew – no takers. I think I just need to unplug and ignore them.

Fallesafe
Tue May 25, 2021
Is anybody in charge of maintaining the section of trail before this?? I haven’t seen a more disgusting portion in ~ 700 miles.

Guthook Guides posting for Mile 648.7

Yellowstone National Park – 1997

Have you ever traveled with a significant other when the relationship is on the rocks? #NotFun. Back in 1997 I found myself in such a spot. Suffice to say, it wasn’t the best way to experience Yellowstone NP. I’m outdoorsy, he isn’t/wasn’t. One morning I woke up super early (4am) to sneak in a run to the top of Observation Peak, catch a sunrise, and run back down before he woke up. It was a great 10 miler (r/t). To this day I remember getting to the top, alone, a brilliant sunrise. I couldn’t linger too long, because it was much colder up there. But oddly enough, there was a public phone. (Keep in mind, this was 1997). I had my AT&T number memorized, so I didn’t need coins to make a call. So I called home, specifically my dad. It was a couple hours later there (Mountain vs. Eastern time), but still I got the voice message. Things between us hadn’t been great. You guessed it, he really didn’t like the guy. I left a message, letting him know where I was, that I was in the middle of a run (because this is something he would have done, something he did do, when we were traveling national parks as a family). I thanked him for instilling me a sense of appreciation for nature, for the national parks and for running. On the way down, I spied a wolf (or s/he spied me first). We were about 300 feet away from each other at different elevations on the mountain, and we had a moment acknowledging one another. I’m not sure there were others around, and like most wildlife s/he trotted away leaving me with a lasting image of her rear-end. I had recently heard of their reintroduction, but didn’t expect to see any. It was great to not have a camera or phone, to just be in that moment. My trail headed in the other direction and I had no interest in running after her/him, because that is just stupid. I have held on to that special moment. The only memory I have of that trip. I got back to the cabin in time to join “what’s his name” for breakfast, but held back on sharing that moment with him and have it go unappreciated. Needless to say that relationship ended a year later. #TooLong

Nota bene: That relationship made me appreciate the loving, caring, unconditional relationship I have been in for the past 23 years. I think this is the “you have to kiss a few frogs to find your Prince Charming” adage. I could have done without it though.

Partners in the Parks – National Collegiate Honors Council

Cedar Breaks National Monument – 2012 https://www.nchchonors.org/events/partners-in-the-parks

May 2014 – I tried to hold a party and no one came. My first attempt at running a Partners in the Parks project and no one signed up. It was Shenandoah National Park, and I spent a good deal of time pulling it together. There were a couple of reasons no one signed up – primarily I didn’t promote it well and Shenandoah is not one of the charismatic mega-parks. So I went anyway. I hiked the hikes I planned, visited the headquarters and camped at Big Meadows. It was cold – below freezing. I was (almost) the only one camping. Then one night two Harley motorcycle dudes rumbled in and set-up right next to me. Who were these guys? Are you famous? Should I know you? Carey Harrison, son of Rex Harrison.

Camp Rapidan – President Hoover’s Get Away – great hike, especially this time of year. Our service project was going to be helping to set up Camp Rapidan for the season. That would have been very cool.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park – 2015

Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park – 2016

It was the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service and we set off to the mecca of the Appalachian Trail, the proverbial half-way point ad the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). Our first night was spend at the Bolivar KOA (for contrast). With the incredible collaboration with the NPS staff, Matt Graves, Ranger Hope and Ranger Lane we would spend three days out on the trail just north of Harper’s Ferry. It rained a lot. It was muddy. With J.W. forgetting to put the tent that him and Bas would share in his pack, the MacGyver came out and a neat little 2 person, close quarters bivy was made. Jeff Marion joined us for a day and a night and taught us Leave No Trace in a very practical fashion. Pitching our tents and hammocks at the Harpers Ferry HI Hostel for the last two nights and enjoying pizza and front country food.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park – 2017

C&O Canal National Historic Trail – 2018

Partners Alumni Retreat – Capitol Hill – NPS Advocacy – 2018

Utah – Summer 2019 Escape Camper Vans Cedar Breaks National Monument – Bryce Canyon – Kodachrome – Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument – Capitol Reef National Park – Natural Bridges National Park – Bears Ears National Monument

Appalachian National Scenic Trail – Who knew that the A.T. is a national park?

Wilderness First Aid – #BePrepared https://www.solowfa.com/course-info-MEDIC-SOLO-WFA-WFR/wilderness-first-aid-course.htm

Leave No Trace –

Junior Ranger Program –

National Parks versus National Monuments –

Don’t forget State Parks! Virginia State Parks – Nicole and her Wisconsin SP challenge

Fall Break 2021 – OCVT – White Rocks USFS Campground – a real gem