In 2015, I:
- Visited 6 countries
- Walked 563 miles (and gained 72,000 vertical feet!)
- Lived in 4 places working 4 different jobs
- Saw more than 20 bears
- Presented 72 educational programs to over 2000 Glacier National Park visitors
- Rock climbed 18 times
- Read 8 books
JANUARY
I started off the year on beautiful San Juan Island, working a mellow barista job and spending time with my mom and dog.
Mitch and I went to Yosemite! Only for 2 days, unfortunately.
We had a great time doing a whirlwind tour of the highlights.
We witnessed a sunset so breathtaking it was worthy of John Muir himself.
And, as usual, it helps to have a photojournalist along on your adventures because he makes awesome videos of your trips.
FEBRUARY
Island life continued to be beautiful and relaxing.
I did a couple hikes with friends and spent a lot of time in Seattle.
Mitch made this video of one group hike up Beckler Peak.
MARCH
I apparently didn't do much of anything except work and go to Olympic with John for a weekend.
APRIL
Then the year got a little more interesting - I spent a month traveling! After a long weekend in New Orleans, the first stop was Switzerland. It was not an easy trip to pack for.
I met up with my mom and we spent two weeks in Switzerland, where she has family, and Italy. First we explored Zurich and quaint towns near the German border.
The highlight of our trip was staying in this beautiful house in a little mountain town called Sils. This house belongs to my mom's Swiss family (from when she was an exchange student) and is one of her favorite places in the world. This was the first time I've been to this place I've heard so much about. We explored the snowy valley and spent a week with her Swiss family.
Then we took the Glacier Express train to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn!
It was quite a sight. We took Europe's highest train up to 10,000 feet and Europe's highest cable car up to 12,000 feet for different views of the mountain. It was interesting to see how differently this beautiful place is managed compared to our big mountains in the US.
In the midst of traveling, the deadline approached for deciding on where to go to graduate school. After a lot of soul searching I turned down Harvard and opted to return to UW because it was about 10% of the cost and has a respected environmental policy program. Knowing I'd be returning to Seattle, I then decided not to go back to Mount Rainier and instead to have a new adventure working at a new park: Glacier!
Next stop: Italy. There was a lot of gelato.
We stayed in Verona and spent a few days exploring other towns nearby.
We hadn't planned to go back to Venice (we were there in 2009), but we couldn't resist! Getting lost and exploring little side canals and neighborhoods away from the crowds was the highlight of our time in Italy.
I am quite lucky to have a mom who wants to do awesome things and bring me along for the ride!
I bid farewell to my mom and started the next leg of my journey, to Iceland. First I had a long layover in Copenhagen that gave me a few hours to get out and explore the city.
Then I landed in Iceland! I rented a car and spent a week driving around the island, staying in middle of nowhere hostels and seeing the sights.
There were a lot of amazing waterfalls.
Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon was probably the most spectacular thing I saw. Icebergs from the glacier were floating around in this lake, groaning and cracking as they moved.
The lagoon met the sea on this black sand beach where little chunks of ice were sitting there for miles.
Another highlight was turning down random dirt roads to see what I found. I came across this glacier and I was the only person there to see it.
Visiting Kirkjufell, this crazy pointy mountain, was a must.
Iceland was a stunning, otherwordly place, and a paradise for people who like to explore.
I spent my last day in colorful Reykjavik. And yes, of course I went and soaked in the Blue Lagoon!
After a great trip, I came home to Seattle. Instead of recovering from my jet lag like a normal person John and I went on the first backpacking trip of the year, to Mount Pilchuck fire lookout.
MAY
I packed up my car and left the island for good. Move #1/3 for the year: San Juan Island to Mount Rainier!
I was able to go back to work at Mount Rainier for a month before starting at Glacier because they needed extra hands. It was a great way to ease the sting of leaving, since I had such a wonderful two seasons working there.
The mountain was beautiful as always.
Darcy came home from Australia and I got to see her! Too briefly.
I also started to get into rock climbing.
JUNE
Just when I had settled in at Rainier, it was time for move #2/3 of the year: Washington to Montana. It was hard to leave all my friends, but leaving Washington and challenging myself to go somewhere totally new was important to me. It took some time to adjust, but I ended up falling in love with Glacier.
I lived and worked near beautiful Lake McDonald. Not a bad backyard.
My first three weeks at Glacier consisted of staff training. We had to learn everything from geology to trees to history so it was a little overwhelming and stressful. But on the best days our training was to go out and see the park so we knew what we were talking about.
I started to befriend my coworkers and get out and explore the park on our days off. The first big hike we did, to the unbelievably blue Cracker Lake, set a high bar.
Glacier is huge (1 million acres, it takes 2 hours to drive across) so even just driving to the different corners of the park accessible by road took nearly a month.
The most famous attraction in Glacier is the Going to the Sun Road, the beautiful drive up and across the mountains that's only open a few months per year. When the road opened a few weeks after the staff arrived we couldn't wait to get up and actually see the heart of the park for the first time. We were not disappointed. This drive would become my commute, on paid work time, every Sunday for the rest of the summer.
Hidden Lake is one of the most iconic spots in Glacier. It was fun to see it all covered in snow, then green and full of flowers in the middle of the summer, and turning fall colors by the end of my time there.
My first mountain goats of the summer! This is when they were still exciting and novel enough to take pictures of. They're so common, I easily saw hundreds over the course of the summer.
JULY
After finishing staff training we started actually working. A typical day for me was a few hours in the visitor center answering questions, a few hours presenting an educational talk or guided hike, and a few hours wandering around and chatting with people. Of course the sunny days where I got paid to hike were the best.
My favorite work day was leading a 5 mile hike to Avalanche Lake.
I lucked out and got the same days off as these crazy people. Doing awesome hikes every weekend with these two was the highlight of the summer.
I had terrible bear luck, by Glacier ranger standards, but still managed to see a few dozen over the course of the summer. My closest sighting was one in my front yard!
Iceberg Lake
The Highline Trail
Elizabeth looking badass on top of Mount Oberlin.
Grinnell Glacier trail
John came to visit and we hiked to Grinnell Glacier and went whitewater rafting.
Working at Logan Pass, the highest point in the park, was a major highlight of my job.
I started driving 2 hours across the park just about every weekend to access the best trails and hang out with friends in St. Mary. Not a shabby commute.
One of our favorite hikes was Swiftcurrent Pass. We rallied from hangovers to put in 16 miles from Logan Pass over the mountains and down to a car we had dropped in Many Glacier, an hour and a half drive away. Little did we know that during our great hike a giant wildlife had taken off a few miles from my friends' dorm...
And then the whole park caught on fire and it was smoky and miserable for weeks. Roads were closed, visitors were angry so work was a nightmare, and my friends even got evacuated from their houses. Thankfully the three major fires were contained and life wasn't disrupted too much. It was very interesting to live through!
AUGUST
Mitch came to visit and took more awesome pictures of me.
The best hike of the summer: the 19 mile Dawson-Pitamakan loop. We traversed exposed rocky ridges with sweeping views, lots of lakes, and great company.
We also embraced my favorite summer tradition: going to the bar for karaoke immediately after doing said giant hikes, usually without time to shower.
Mitch and I returned to Cracker Lake with some silly accessories.
Because, why not?
Mitch made a great video of his weekend in Glacier.
One of our best employee perks was a staff canoe we could take out on the lake whenever we wanted.
I did get one solo (and smoky) hike in - a lot less exploring on my own than at Rainier, but only because I had such great people to adventure with!
Ross and I explored this crazy moonscape off trail at Logan Pass. Even if you stick to trails, there's well over a summer worth of awesome hikes in Glacier.
The summer in a picture: carefree days on the porch in St. Mary.
SEPTEMBER
We squeezed in one more awesome off trail adventure, around the mountains above Many Glacier up to Snow Moon and Falling Leaf lakes.
Devlin and Alix came to visit and we went up to a sweet fire lookout above Bowman Lake.
My dad and stepmom visited! I took them up to Grinnell Glacier, which was substantially colder than a few months before. It was great for them to see me at work, leading a hike and presenting an evening program.
My last day of work was bittersweet. Being a park ranger has been an incredible chapter in my life, and it was hard to turn in my badge knowing that was probably the last time I'll wear that uniform.
I had about a week to say my goodbyes to Glacier. I went out with a bang with my first and only backpacking trip in the park. Ross and I went from the Canadian border to a gorgeous lake to camp, then out via Ptarmigan Tunnel.
The path that led me out of Glacier. A great way to end the summer.
This is a song that Ittai and I wrote about our summer in Glacier. It's the first song I've ever written and I'm so proud of it! A little piece of Montana and that wonderful experience that I can take with me and have forever.
I completed move #3/3 for the year, from Montana to Seattle for graduate school. I had a little time before class started to squeeze in a trip that had been on my list for years. Mitch and I through hiked the Enchantments in a day.
At 22 miles and 7,000 feet of elevation change, this was the biggest day hike I've ever done. Not easy but well worth it to explore a hidden granite wonderland of alpine lakes, mountain goats, and golden larch trees!
A perfect end to a great summer.
OCTOBER
I started graduate school at UW's Evans School of Public Policy and Governance! I am doing a 2 year masters in public administration, focusing on environmental policy. I immediately found a great community full of smart, passionate, interesting people and felt assured that I made the right choice in coming back to UW.
It turns out that grad school involves a lot of parties, at least for the first half of the first quarter. Marion and I were Tom and Jean Ralphio from Parks and Rec for Halloween.
I became a published author! An essay that I wrote on being a second generation park ranger was included in this collection of stories from national park staff. You can read my essay here.
NOVEMBER
We got fancy for the Evans School fall ball.
Much fun was had.
I started a part-time job to get some more work experience while I'm in school. I'm interning at the King County Auditor's Office, which is much more interesting than it sounds. Basically I'm helping evaluate what the government is doing and find ways to make it better. The view from our office doesn't hurt.
I brought these lovely grad school friends home with me for Thanksgiving to my mom's new house in Port Angeles. Lots of food and wine and laughs were had, and we made a brief trip out to the Olympic coast.
DECEMBER
It turns out grad school finals are brutal. But I survived my first quarter!
I had a relaxing Christmas in Bend with this cute dog and in Portland with my cute niece and nephew. Then I celebrated with my mom's side of the family in Seattle.
I turned 25! With the help of Juliya, Claire, Mitch, and too many Moscow mules.
I rounded out the year with Melissa and an Evans school new year's party.
It's been a good one. 2016 will be more work and less play but hopefully just as fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment