Hiking on the job, part 2

Today was another hiking excursion. I thought that might be the case, so I brought clothes to change into, which saved some time. This time it was me, Ben and Miriam, who was here last year.

We headed east this time, then north to Yahoo falls (pronounced yay-who) where we hiked the shorter trail to the falls. The pace was a little easier, and I was able to take a few more photos along the way. The waterfall was very pretty – it’s the highest one in Kentucky, at 113 feet, so even without a lot of water going over it’s very impressive. It’s got a huge overhang – like a whole amphitheater behind the waterfall. Of course, there are tons of rocks to walk around that have fallen at one time or another… It was a very pretty hike. Afterward we walked to the overlook, which was also very pretty – and spotted a little lizard on the rocks there!

Hiking on the job

Today I went on an unexpected excursion! I arrived at the Visitor Center and found out that Ben and Natasha (the two other new seasonal interpreters) and I were to take a park vehicle and drive out and hike some of the trails that we’re going to be telling people about, so we know what we’re talking about! We went back to the dorm first, because I was wearing my uniform and shoes not suited for hiking. I changed, and then we headed out.

Our first stop was the Twin Arches trailhead, on the western side of the park. (There are a lot of natural stone arches in this area – the rock of the plateau just happens to weather away in that manner.) This took a while to get to, especially because we very carefully drove past the rode we needed to turn down… I started to wonder when we reached the state line, and then Ben, who had the map, realized what we had done. Once we turned around it was easy to spot – it still took a while, because it is a long and winding gravel road.

There are several options for hiking at Twin Arches. We opted to take the shorter loop, since we were supposed to check out several other spots, and it was already 11:00!

It was really amazing – the trail goes across the top of one of the two arches, and then we went a bit further and climbed up to a high point that gave a spectacular view of the wooded hills all around. It did get pretty hot, out on that sandstone under the sun… it’s been unseasonably hot these last few days.

Wildflowers, Take 2

Today I went to Leatherwood Ford and walked along the Angel Falls Rapids trail, the same one Dad and I walked near the river a few days ago. I would have gone there again eventually, but I figured out that my camera batteries had been really low when I was there before, and a lot of my flower photos didn’t turn out very clear. I was hoping to retake a few of them while the flowers were still there.

A lot of them were still there, but quite a few weren’t – and some were just in the middle of wilting away. It was a lovely walk, with that late-day sunlight – and it went more quickly than it did before, because I sort of knew where to look for the flowers. (Also, there were a few mosquitoes out, which is always an incentive to keep moving… they find you when you stop!) I went a bit further than we did before, and even thought of walking to the end – but that’s a full two miles each way, and I didn’t want to run out of energy halfway back. Then I wasn’t sure if the sun went behind a cloud, or had started dropping behind the wall of the gorge – but it was definitely less bright out, and I wasn’t prepared for a night hike!

Coreopsis! This wasn't there before! Also, notice the spider that's totally photobombing this shot, hanging underneath on the right side... I did NOT know that was there at the time!

Mountain laurel

I’ve been working in the Bandy Creek Visitor Center, learning the ropes and figuring out what the usual questions are that I need to know how to answer. Today on the way home I stopped at the East Rim overlook to check on the mountain laurel. It looked about the same – mostly buds, just a couple of blossoms starting to open. The light was different, though, since it was early morning when I was there before – and the view of the gorge was, of course, spectacular!

Wildflowers

This was my day off – my “weekends” will be Monday-Tuesday usually. It was also Dad’s last day – he's planning to head back toward home, stopping at various places along the way. We had agreed to meet for a hike and a picnic before he left.

We met first at the East Rim Overlook, which is actually right near my house! A little side road takes you to a parking lot with a very short paved path to the edge of the gorge of the Big South Fork River. Dad had walked there once already, and had noticed that the woods there were full of bushes that he realized were mountain laurel, about to bloom! I was very excited about this – I’ve only seen mountain laurel one time, on a trip to North Carolina by way of the Blue Ridge Parkway when I was little.

The bushes here are only in bud – there were a few clusters of buds that were just starting to open, but most of them were only just turning pink. So that is something to look forward to – and since it’s so close to my house, on the way home in fact, it will be easy to keep checking and watch the progress of the flowers!

The view of the gorge was lovely as well! It’s amazing to see how rounded the hills are around this steep-cut gorge. It’s all a giant plateau that’s had channels worn down through the sandstone, so all the hills are the same height as you look out.

There were some bluets blooming right next to the overlook platform, mixed with a few little yellow stargrass flowers. And blueberries – green for now, but they’ll be ripe before you know it! And probably won’t last long in that area, either..

The dogwood trees are beginning to fade.

First Day

Today was my first day. I met two other seasonals who will be working at other visitor centers; this is the first time for both of them. Bill drove us to park HQ, where we had to fill out more paperwork, find out about uniforms, etc. When we got back to the visitor center, Dad was just driving by, so we pulled out in front of him and said hi. He ended up joining me for lunch, on the porch opposite the VC – there are several buildings there, a complex left over from when the Corps of Engineers was preparing to build a dam and flood the area. When it ended up being set aside as a national park instead, the buildings got transferred to the National Park Service as well.

It was really nice sitting out there – there are rocking chairs all along the porch, and it was nice and cool whenever a cloud went across the sun. As soon as the sun came out it warmed up noticeably, even in the shade! The others had gone inside to eat but came back out and joined us after a while. Before they did, we had a wildlife sighting – a little lizard ran across the top step and away along the edge of the porch!

We went back inside and spent the afternoon going over a lot of the basic general information about the park. Before I left for the day, I asked Bill to borrow a couple of flower books. I am planning to hike down at Leatherwood Ford tomorrow morning, because he had said that was a good place for flowers. I have recognized some of the flowers I’ve seen, but I know there will be some I don’t know!

Starting a new chapter in the South

I just started my new job at Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area! This will be my third summer working in the national parks as a seasonal ranger, although I did several internships in the parks a few years earlier which involved the same type of work. This is going to be a long season for me, running from the beginning of May through the end of October – a full six months! I only got here today, but I can already tell I’m going to love it.