Mount Rainier National
Park is Washington’s premier hiking destination, and currently
has 13 virtual caches and 2 earthcaches within its boundaries,
along with many wonderful physical caches just outside the
park.
In September 2007, Team Misguided organized the excellent
Mount Rainier Recovery CITO Event, which received very positive
feedback from our sponsors as well as local
press coverage.
For this CITO, we are again working with SCA Mount Rainier
Recovery, which leads the restoration efforts. Check out their
website to see the amazing work that’s been accomplished in the
past year. National Trails Day is one of their biggest volunteer
pushes each year, but they only have two groups signed up – us and
a Boy Scout group. Three other groups have dropped out, so let's
show them what geocachers can do! SCA's new Field Coordinator is a
geocacher (yay!), and she's excited that we're coming. SCA will
also have 40 trainees on site, so should be a fun gathering.
Time and place? Meet at Longmire (posted coordinates) in
the parking lot, near the museum, at 9:00 am. Work parties are
scheduled until 4:00 pm, with a lunch break. So plan on making a
day of it, since we’re having a cookout, too. The long summer days
mean you will even have time for caching afterward.
Work project? Last fall, we did trail rebuilding (see
photos), debris removal, and replanting. Due to high snow levels,
most trails remain buried, so we will probably be cleaning up storm
debris and removing snow at Longmire or Cougar Rock campground,
which is still closed (impacting visitors and the park).
What to wear and bring? Long pants, boots, and work
gloves are a must. Dress to get dirty! Rain gear and layers
depending on weather. SCA will provide hard hats and tools. Bring
water and a sack lunch/snacks, and food for the cookout.
Temperatures drop into the 30s at night, so bring hats, gloves, and
thermal underwear if you plan to arrive early, stay late, or
camp.
Entrance fee? Waived for SCA participants. Park entrance
fee is $15, but tell the staff at the entrance kiosk that you're
with the SCA work project, and you will get in free.
Road conditions? All access roads are open and snow-free
for both west and east entrances. This includes Hwy 706 (west side)
to Nisqually entrance, Longmire, and Cougar Rock; Hwy 123 from
Longmire to Paradise, and Hwys 410/123 on the east side (including
Chinook Pass).
Socializing? We'll have a cookout and geo-raffle at
Longmire after we finish working (4:00 pm); SCA has offered us one
of their sites. I will provide hot dogs and buns, along with
drinks, plates, utensils, and condiments. You should bring side
dishes or desserts to share and round out the meal, plus any other
proteins or drinks you prefer. (Thanks to SCA and Team Misguided
for the loaner grills.)
Goodies? Thanks to the generosity of Groundspeak, WSGA,
and a few cachers, we have some great geo-goodies for the
raffle.
- Groundspeak: Lackey coins, CITO pins and T-shirts, bumper
stickers, logbooks, pens. (Thanks to MissJenn and love<3.)
- WSGA: lanyards. These are the new WSGA-branded goodies.
- Team Misguided: 2008 Volunteer coin, Team Misguided coin,
Lackey coins, Washington coin, Garmin hats and T-shirts.
- LindaLu: the coffee-table book "Hidden Treasures: Geocaching
Across America."
- drakebrimstone: Freezer Bag Cooking starter kit, includes the
book "Freezer Bag Cooking," a cozy, long-handled spoon, and freezer
bags.
- hydnsek: CITO coins and T-shirts, pet travel water
bowl.
Camping? Contrary to earlier reports, we can't stay at
Cougar Rock campground; it's still closed and SCA found too many
maintenance issues. Instead, SCA has generously offered us a group
site at their staff camp at Longmire. The site will hold 6-8 tents,
and parking will be at a premium, so carpool if possible. If you
have an RV, there are a few hookups available. We will be sharing
the Longmire camp with 90+ SCA folks, as they are doing a training
this weekend. Prepare for crowded conditions, and be considerate of
our hosts, who are "on the job." And expect cold nights - tent
campers should have 3-season tents, ground tarps, sleeping pads,
and warm sleeping bags. Also, absolutely no alcohol is permitted,
so leave the beer at home (sorry).
Because "outsiders" are not normally allowed in this private
camp, SCA can't just provide directions to our site. We'll need to
be escorted, so they need to know how many to expect and when we'll
arrive. So if you're camping, I need to hear from you by noon
Thursday. Thanks.
Hiking? Trails remain under several feet of snow, so
bring snowshoes if you want to hike. For example, the trail to
Carter Falls reportedly has 8-10 feet of snow (although the
sign needed for its virtual cache is apparently visible, as it was
logged June 2). If you're staying till Sunday, TotemLake has
scheduled his June Hike of the Month (HOTM) for 9:30 am at the
Carter Falls trailhead, to be followed by
Nisqually Vista.
More about Mount Rainier? Visit the park website.
Updates? Put this cache on your Watch List, and I’ll
update the page and add notes as plans firm up. There's also a
forum
thread where logistics and other details are being
discussed.
Caching, cleanup, cookout, camping - the 4 C's - what more is
there? (Ok, coins, too.) Hope to see you there!