Mt. Rainier National Park, WA

Dates

Sep 12th - Sep 18th 2010

Service Project

Invasive weed inventory/survey & control

Free Days

Day hikes to Mt Rainier vistas & falls, photography, wildlife viewing

Accommodations

Tent camping by cars in developed park campsite

Trip Rating

Active : Bending, digging, long day hikes

Leaders

Robin Rose
Curtis Mobley

Equipment

Mt. Rainier National Park, located in southwestern Washington, was established 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains 378 square miles including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot volcano. As the highest point in the Cascade Range, the mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet, up to its namesake summit. Surrounding Mt. Rainier are verdant valleys, numerous waterfalls, subalpine wildflower meadows, old growth forests and more than two dozen glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year, often hiding it from visitors who flock to catch an exposed glimpse.

Ninety-seven percent of the park is preserved as wilderness, including the Clearwater Wilderness and Mt. Rainier Wilderness, designated in 1988. Immediately adjacent to the park lie the Tatoosh Wilderness, Norse Peak Wilderness, and William O. Douglas Wildernesses. Mt. Rainier National Park is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it truly a destination holding a myriad of wild treasures!

Our service project is lending much needed volunteer help to the Park Service to identify the spread of invasive plant species (weeds) through a ground inventory/survey and active weed control. We'll focus on the eastern boundary of the park which includes sections of the Pacific Crest Trail, Eastside Trail, Silver Falls Trail and Laughing Water Trails. Volunteers will be car and tent camping at the Ohanapecosh Campground for the week, a developed site with amenities. From our base at Ohanapecosh, we'll make daily forays into the backcountry, day hiking sometimes several miles per day to complete an accurate and effective service project. Volunteers who have their own GPS devise should bring them to help in the survey.