A little backstory…

So lets not take it back too far… How about 3 years ago, how does that sound?

Well three years ago I finished college at the University of Washington. I graduated with a bachelors degree in Earth and Space Sciences (ESS). This degree program helped me reconnect with my love of nature that had been lost through a busy life of academics and and sports in high school and college. I felt that by learning about the natural world, I could start to appreciate it more. I know I still don’t know everything, and three years later I really wish I could remember more.

The summer after I finished college I took a position at a small, private geo-technical and environmental consulting company. I was a Field Technician at the company. I visited sites and made observations on soil density and erosion. I loved being outside and being independent, but I did not like the goal of most construction projects. What I mean is that while contractors and landowners need to do environmental surveys on the property before working, the end goal was to clear that area of the natural resources and place as many properties for maximum profits. I wondered if there was a place to work where I could protect wild places and save natural resources. In December of that year I left my job at this company.

In January I found myself in a uniform sitting in a small classroom with 36 other people at Skagit Valley College. What had I gotten myself into? Well I had applied for and was accepted into a program called the Parks Law Enforcement Academy (PLEA). PLEA is part of 7 nationally accredited programs (SLETP) in the U.S. for training Seasonal Park Rangers for Federal (and State) public lands. I spent 4 months in and out of a classroom learning Constitutional Law, firearms, ethics and tact, officer safety, history, emergency driving (EVOC), and really anything you can imagine. I made some amazing, like-minded friends who are independent, self-motivated, and passionate about protecting public lands. Though I developed a strong passion myself for wanted to protect public lands, I was never sure if law enforcement was the right way to go about it for me personally. I was nervous to even give one season a try when I was applying for jobs. I had a lot of support from my family, cadre, and classmates and ultimately accepted a law enforcement position for the summer despite my doubts.

After the academy, I took my first emergency medical course. A Wilderness First Responder course through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI). The course is only 10 days but I learned inventive ways to use the gear I have to perhaps save someone’s life. The course included fun practice scenarios and important medical discussions.

I had accepted a position at Bryce Canyon National Park during the academy and I would be working there with one of my classmates! A geologists dream, there are so many rocks there, plus I had never been to Utah! However due to unfortunate circumstances out of my hands this positions ultimately did not work out for me…

So I pulled myself together and got to work looking for another position in the middle of May (this is late for a temporary position, which usually looks to start in mid-April to the beginning of May (location/visitation dependent)). Luckily for me, the Pacific Northwest Region had posted their jobs late that year and most parks in Washington were still looking to hire a few seasonal rangers. I emailed the hiring official at each park and landed a seasonal law enforcement job at Mount Rainier National Park. I would be living and working out of Paradise on the south side of the volcano.

Paradise is easily the most beautiful place I have ever lived. I trained with an officer, my field training officer (FTO), who worked full time with the National Park Service (NPS). I spent the summer practicing skills I had learned in the academy. I was also a member of the Search and Rescue (SAR) team. I would participate in carry-outs of visitors who were sick or injured on the trail and were unable walk themselves down to the parking lot. Participating in these SARs was the most fun I had all summer. I loved working as a team and helping people. I also enjoyed being out of my vehicle, hiking and enjoying the landscape around me. I had a good summer at Mount Rainier. I hiked almost all the trails on the south side of the park on my days off and even went on my first solo backpacking trip.

I still couldn’t shake the feeling of uncertainty about my career path after my summer at Mount Rainier. I had met some great people and learned a lot about being a law enforcement Park Ranger, but I still wasn’t sure if it was right for me.

Over the next winter I lived in Spokane and accepted a position as a Recreational Technician at Colville National Forest in Northeastern Washington. I started the summer cleaning and preparing developed campgrounds, but later moved onto cleaning and inventorying dispersed campsites. Dispersed campsites are maintained by the Forest Service and are usual created by visitors. My job was created by a state grant devoted to protecting water quality. I spent the summer driving every road (or anything that looked like one) in my district of the forest. That’s a lot of driving! I drove over 100 miles easily most days that I worked. I picked up an unsettling amount of trash and worked my hardest to eliminate negative human impacts from the forest. I had excellent work environment and co-workers and worked for two extremely supportive women. I learned a lot about an area of the state I never really knew existed as it does.

After that summer, I had decided to fix constant pain that I was having in my left ankle. I had my Anterior Talofibular Ligament (ATFL) repaired and spent much of this last winter recovering and doing PT. I also taught myself to cross-stitch and watched a lot of Netflix. I have been working on getting myself back into shape for hiking, backpacking, and trail running and am seeing progress. I went on a road-trip down to Texas (more on that in another post) and best of all I got hired at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

One more time. I got hired at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Me! I took a position as an Interpretive and Backcountry Park Ranger. I will be answering visitors questions at the visitor center and putting on an evening program as half of my job and patrolling the backcountry as the other half. I still can’t believe it. And I leave in 2 days.

If you haven’t heard of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Please take this time to look it up. It is the second largest park in the United States comprising of over 8 million (MILLION!) acres and lies entirely north of the Arctic Circle. The park is part of the largest wilderness area in the world (IN THE WORLD!). I am so excited and nervous and incredibly thankful I will be going on this adventure.

More to come!

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Anne Frank