Saturday, January 16, 2016
Friday, January 1, 2016
NPS Ranger Margaret Anderson
On January 1, 2012, NPS Park Ranger Margaret Anderson was killed by a veteran with a car of guns and ammuntion. The veteran entered Mt. Rainier NP through the Nisqually Entrance, ran a vehicle check for snow conditions, and encountered Ranger Anderson’s vehicle blocking the road. The veteran shot and killed Anderson before she had time to get out of her vehicle. He then went into the backcountry where he found dead from hypothermia.
Ranger Anderson blocked the highway about a mile from the Paradise Visitors center area where there were over 100 visitors and NPS employees, but at the time, no one had weapons to defend the visitors had the veteran made it past Ranger Anderson. She sacrificed her life to stop a potential massacre.
In 2010 in an amendment governing guns in National Parks tucked inside a bill on credit cards passed by Congress and signed by the President. There was nothing any NPS employee could have done to stop the veteran with a number of weapons on the back seat of his car, or let alone confiscate the weapons.
He didn’t violate any law on guns in national parks until he fired the weapons at NPS rangers, before he was stopped by ranger Anderson and shot and killed her. The veteran was reportedly suffering from PTSD from his time in the service, but his record revealed he never was near combat during his time in a combat zone.
It turned out he have mental heatlh issues before he went into the service and came out with the same issues. All the time he was able to aqcuire the weapons and ammunition before he went on his shooting and killing spree which started earlier January 1st in Seattle after which he drove to Mt. Rainier National Park.
We owe our gratitude to the employees of the NPS service for their dedication to their work and willingness to sacrifice for the safety of all visitors to National Parks, as shown by ranger Anderson. Remember to say thank you when you visit a National Park. They’re there to serve everyone.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Holiday Break
If you been looking for the November-December updates and reports, they're not there because I've been on holiday break for the first months of winter, in part because it's winter and there's less interest in Mt. Rainier NP, and in part because I've been struggling with reoccurring colds and a persistent bacteria infection.
Without going into details, the infection has been an intermittent, but persistent, one since January, and for reasons I don't understand I keep coming down with colds or cold-like symptoms weekly. This hasn't hampered my daily 6 mile walks (5-6 days a week) very much, but has hampered doing much else.
Anyway, I want to wish everyone a good holiday season and a happy new year. I expect I'll be back with the Mt. Rainier NP photo guide early in January. Enjoy the winter and holidays.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Bailey Willis Essay
In the early 1880's Bailey Willis was a geologist with the Northern Pacific Railroad (NPR) assigned to conduct reconnaissance of the coal and iron ore resouces in several northern states and territories, one area being the Washington territory and more specifically the Carbon River areas near and in the Mt Rainier National Park.
During some of his expeditions in the area he guided dignitaries, some of whom, along with Willis, advocated Mt Rainier be designated a national park similar to Yellowstone in 1872. That effort wouldn't begin until about 1893 and succeed in 1899.
As part of his work with the NPR he established and supervised the construction of trails into the upper Carbon River and Mowich Lake area, parts of which are part of the present day Carbon River road and Mowich Lake road (highway 165), and parts of which are parts of the modern day trails in the NP.
And as described in the essay, he often travelled to areas in the NP long before there were trails, again where there are trails today. He likely was the one of the few, if not the first, to see some of the places now accessed by established trails.
Bailey and others would convince the NPR to promote tourism in the northwest area, in part because of the ready access to it from Seattle and Tacoma, and the beauty of that part of the NP. The effort would fade because effort was put into the southwest area with the establishment of the Longmire resort and the popularity of the Paradise Valley.
From his travels in the area Bailey wrote a personal essay, "Among the Cliffs of the Northwest Spur", referring to the upper Carbon River and Mowich Lake area in present day Mt Rainier NP. The essay was never published and tucked away into his papers at the Huntington Library in Los Angeles.
I have transcribed the essay out of interest in his thoughts and experience. Clearly he was awed by the scenery. You can find the essay here which has a link to a PDF version. Some of the names of places in the essay have changed and some places were misidentified from later work to name places in the NP. I have inserted the current names in brackets in the essay.
During some of his expeditions in the area he guided dignitaries, some of whom, along with Willis, advocated Mt Rainier be designated a national park similar to Yellowstone in 1872. That effort wouldn't begin until about 1893 and succeed in 1899.
As part of his work with the NPR he established and supervised the construction of trails into the upper Carbon River and Mowich Lake area, parts of which are part of the present day Carbon River road and Mowich Lake road (highway 165), and parts of which are parts of the modern day trails in the NP.
And as described in the essay, he often travelled to areas in the NP long before there were trails, again where there are trails today. He likely was the one of the few, if not the first, to see some of the places now accessed by established trails.
Bailey and others would convince the NPR to promote tourism in the northwest area, in part because of the ready access to it from Seattle and Tacoma, and the beauty of that part of the NP. The effort would fade because effort was put into the southwest area with the establishment of the Longmire resort and the popularity of the Paradise Valley.
From his travels in the area Bailey wrote a personal essay, "Among the Cliffs of the Northwest Spur", referring to the upper Carbon River and Mowich Lake area in present day Mt Rainier NP. The essay was never published and tucked away into his papers at the Huntington Library in Los Angeles.
I have transcribed the essay out of interest in his thoughts and experience. Clearly he was awed by the scenery. You can find the essay here which has a link to a PDF version. Some of the names of places in the essay have changed and some places were misidentified from later work to name places in the NP. I have inserted the current names in brackets in the essay.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
1896 geology field notes
Update.--The links to the original field notes and transcriptio of the field notes have been updated since the original post in April 6, 2009. Original post below.
During the 1896 expedition geologist George Otis Smith took rock samples and field notes while he, Bailey Willis, Israel C. Russell and George Landes explored the geology of Mount Rainier. Willis explored the north side of Mt. Rainier in the early 1880s' working for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Smith also explored the Mt. Rainier during the previous summers before the expedtion as part of the overall exploration of the geology of the western side of the Cascade Mountains, and specifically in the Mt. Rainier area in August 1895.
Doing the research for the expedition I discovered the USGS had the original 1895 and 1896 field books in the archives, and they provided copies of them. I have transcribed the 1896 field book to work with the report narrative for their travels on the expedition, listed below.
Original Field Book
Transcribed Field Book
The files are in PDF format and will either open in your browser window or dowload to your computer. I'm still in the process of transcribing the field book to the expedition timelime for dates and places so people know where the samples were taken, but it's likely most places won't be excactly known. They didn't have maps then to determine locations, only their own descriptions.
Anyway, it's interesting reading if only for historical purposes. I was notified later that my transcription of the field book is now part of the USGS archive with the orginal field book, so future readers have both.
During the 1896 expedition geologist George Otis Smith took rock samples and field notes while he, Bailey Willis, Israel C. Russell and George Landes explored the geology of Mount Rainier. Willis explored the north side of Mt. Rainier in the early 1880s' working for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Smith also explored the Mt. Rainier during the previous summers before the expedtion as part of the overall exploration of the geology of the western side of the Cascade Mountains, and specifically in the Mt. Rainier area in August 1895.
Doing the research for the expedition I discovered the USGS had the original 1895 and 1896 field books in the archives, and they provided copies of them. I have transcribed the 1896 field book to work with the report narrative for their travels on the expedition, listed below.
Original Field Book
Transcribed Field Book
The files are in PDF format and will either open in your browser window or dowload to your computer. I'm still in the process of transcribing the field book to the expedition timelime for dates and places so people know where the samples were taken, but it's likely most places won't be excactly known. They didn't have maps then to determine locations, only their own descriptions.
Anyway, it's interesting reading if only for historical purposes. I was notified later that my transcription of the field book is now part of the USGS archive with the orginal field book, so future readers have both.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Walk Through
Wandering around the Website I noticed quite a few Web pages have errors or broken links, or are need of updating for better organization, information, etc. This is been accumulating for some time now for a number of reasons.
So, over the winter I plan to take the sets of Web pages for each topic in the photo guide and update them to a newer standard with updated information. And with so many sets of Web pages, this won't be a short or easy task, but something I'll do over the next 6 month or so.
If you have problems with, or questions or suggestions for the Web pages, please let me know. If you see wrong or bad information, broken links or other obvious issuse, please let me know. It's hard to tell what people want with the Web pages if they don't say something.
The longterm goal is to work on the sets of Web pages into more detailed ones and eventually a book, but there's so much left to do and to add, a book on the wish list for now, but recent publications have prompted me to start thinking if not working on it.
Anyway, that's it, just a short note of work I'll be doing on top of new sets of Web pages for publications, topic, interests, history, etc. It's like my office, piles of ideas (documents, outlines, research notes, books, maps, reports, etc.) where I've lost track of what's where, which is why have the Web page for plans.
So, over the winter I plan to take the sets of Web pages for each topic in the photo guide and update them to a newer standard with updated information. And with so many sets of Web pages, this won't be a short or easy task, but something I'll do over the next 6 month or so.
If you have problems with, or questions or suggestions for the Web pages, please let me know. If you see wrong or bad information, broken links or other obvious issuse, please let me know. It's hard to tell what people want with the Web pages if they don't say something.
The longterm goal is to work on the sets of Web pages into more detailed ones and eventually a book, but there's so much left to do and to add, a book on the wish list for now, but recent publications have prompted me to start thinking if not working on it.
Anyway, that's it, just a short note of work I'll be doing on top of new sets of Web pages for publications, topic, interests, history, etc. It's like my office, piles of ideas (documents, outlines, research notes, books, maps, reports, etc.) where I've lost track of what's where, which is why have the Web page for plans.
Photo Places Update
I have updated the Web page for photo places in Mt Rainier NP with a second map from a set of pamphlets with two maps by photographer Tom Haseltine, dividing the NP into southern and northern halves.
The places on the maps in the pamphlets different somewhat from the places in the chapter on the NP by Greg Vaughn in his book Photographing Washington but more often overlap with respect to the common areas and places photographers go in the NP.
The problem is that there is just too much to photograph in the NP and too many places to go so photographers have to ration their time for the few places they have time in the NP. Very few photographers have the access to return frequently enough to photograph in more places.
And fewer photographers wander more than a 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the road, into the backcountry, often for days at a time. Even I limited myself to long day hikes for personal reasons but still managed to get 5-6 miles into the backcountry, short considering the size of the NP.
Anyway, the Web pages are there for visitors and photographers. I highly recommend the book, especially if you're visiting Washington State and the NP is one of the places you want to visit and photograph.
And I recommend the pamphlets because they're full of places with a good map to know where you can go. But remember the NP has seasons and not everywhere is open outside of summer, so you need to take the time of your visit into account.
The places on the maps in the pamphlets different somewhat from the places in the chapter on the NP by Greg Vaughn in his book Photographing Washington but more often overlap with respect to the common areas and places photographers go in the NP.
The problem is that there is just too much to photograph in the NP and too many places to go so photographers have to ration their time for the few places they have time in the NP. Very few photographers have the access to return frequently enough to photograph in more places.
And fewer photographers wander more than a 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the road, into the backcountry, often for days at a time. Even I limited myself to long day hikes for personal reasons but still managed to get 5-6 miles into the backcountry, short considering the size of the NP.
Anyway, the Web pages are there for visitors and photographers. I highly recommend the book, especially if you're visiting Washington State and the NP is one of the places you want to visit and photograph.
And I recommend the pamphlets because they're full of places with a good map to know where you can go. But remember the NP has seasons and not everywhere is open outside of summer, so you need to take the time of your visit into account.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Green Trails Maps
Green Trails has redesigned their Website where the links I have to individual maps for the Web page for Mt. Rainier NP don't work anymore. I've changed the link on the table of contents for the photo guide to the pages for the Washington and you have to navigate to the central Cascasdes west and down (south) to the map for the NP.
I'll look to see how I can fix the link the Web page for the individual Green Trails maps, but barring luck, the Web page may be dropped as it doesn't work to what I want and what I think users want, but does what Green Trails wants.
It's a shame their Website doesn't have individual link to products. While the design works for browsing for products and may simply some functions and operations, it's basically bad design that users have to navigate through Web pages for a single product.
I apologize for not checking this by now, but I'll see what I can do and update the Web page accordingly.
I'll look to see how I can fix the link the Web page for the individual Green Trails maps, but barring luck, the Web page may be dropped as it doesn't work to what I want and what I think users want, but does what Green Trails wants.
It's a shame their Website doesn't have individual link to products. While the design works for browsing for products and may simply some functions and operations, it's basically bad design that users have to navigate through Web pages for a single product.
I apologize for not checking this by now, but I'll see what I can do and update the Web page accordingly.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Access Map
I have updated the current news, information and access map for two things. First, I converted all the locations to WGS84 latitude and longitude so they will plot better on Google Map. Google uses WGS84 instead of NAD83 which are slightly, but not significantly, different locations, when you zoom in on places on the map.
The second is that I've added 8 new places and relocated some of the places for better representation on the map. The new places are mostly in the Longmire, Paradise and Sunrise areas to provide more information of the facilities and activities there.
I've also updated the information from the NPS schedule for winter closures or reduce days and/or hours at facilities and campgrounds. All the roads are currently open and will remain until the NPS begins closing them on schedule or with the first significant snowfall.
I'll update the information again when we get into October and the actual closures have happened, often at Sunrise, or will happen in October as outlined in the schedule. The closures usually align with the Columbus Day holiday, the last good weekend and holiday in the NP.
The second is that I've added 8 new places and relocated some of the places for better representation on the map. The new places are mostly in the Longmire, Paradise and Sunrise areas to provide more information of the facilities and activities there.
I've also updated the information from the NPS schedule for winter closures or reduce days and/or hours at facilities and campgrounds. All the roads are currently open and will remain until the NPS begins closing them on schedule or with the first significant snowfall.
I'll update the information again when we get into October and the actual closures have happened, often at Sunrise, or will happen in October as outlined in the schedule. The closures usually align with the Columbus Day holiday, the last good weekend and holiday in the NP.
Horizontal Datum
I've been reviewing the map with the current news, information and access and discovered when you zoom in on specific places, the points I have for Google Map, which uses NAD83 latitude and longitude, plot differently on Google Map than for the map applications I use for locating places.
This is because Google uses WGS84 and not NAD83. This is due to the fact Google needs a consistent world horizontal datum and not one specific to North America which I've used throughout my career with the USGS and with the maps for the Mt Rainier photo guide.
The difference can be small, almost insigificant, or obviously close but not right. So, I'll be adjusting the map for the news to WGS84 and checking the locations with Google Map. If this works to correctly plot the locations, then I'll work through all the maps to correct them to WGS84, but that will take some time.
In the meantime the difference is small enough to still identify what the point is and where it is in Mt Rainier NP. But for the information on the maps for elevation, they will still be NGVD 1927 and not NAVD 1988. The USGS still uses NGVD 1927 for a lot of application, reports and uses, so that's still the standard I'll use on the maps with the photo guide.
If you have problems with the elevation, all computer and mobile device map applications have toggles to switch between the two vertical datums, so it's easy to translate between them for your needs or work. As they say, if anything changes, I'll keep you posted.
This is because Google uses WGS84 and not NAD83. This is due to the fact Google needs a consistent world horizontal datum and not one specific to North America which I've used throughout my career with the USGS and with the maps for the Mt Rainier photo guide.
The difference can be small, almost insigificant, or obviously close but not right. So, I'll be adjusting the map for the news to WGS84 and checking the locations with Google Map. If this works to correctly plot the locations, then I'll work through all the maps to correct them to WGS84, but that will take some time.
In the meantime the difference is small enough to still identify what the point is and where it is in Mt Rainier NP. But for the information on the maps for elevation, they will still be NGVD 1927 and not NAVD 1988. The USGS still uses NGVD 1927 for a lot of application, reports and uses, so that's still the standard I'll use on the maps with the photo guide.
If you have problems with the elevation, all computer and mobile device map applications have toggles to switch between the two vertical datums, so it's easy to translate between them for your needs or work. As they say, if anything changes, I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Photography Places
Recently travel photographer Greg Vaughn published Photographing Washington of which a chapter is dedicated to Mt. Rainier National Park. I have reduced the information in the chapter to Web pages, Photography Places in Mt Rainier NP along with a map of the places in the book with a few variations.
While the book is an excellent resource for photographers visiting Mt. Rainier for many of the best places to photograph, it's doesn't present all of the places as the many are in the backcountry far from the visitor areas and locations and far off the roads requiring long day hikes or multiple day backcountry hikes.
That said, I highly recommend the book if you already photograph places in Washington state or plan to visit to photograph places in Washington state, and the chapter on Mt Rainier is the best presentation I've seen to date.
It encompasses many of the most and often photographed places in the NP and some of the lesser known or visited places. It opens the door to what other photographers will tell you, some of the best places are in the backcountry, where over 90% of the NP is open to photographers away from the tourist and photographers.
And this is good won't get old or out of date for information, the NP is always there waiting for you.
While the book is an excellent resource for photographers visiting Mt. Rainier for many of the best places to photograph, it's doesn't present all of the places as the many are in the backcountry far from the visitor areas and locations and far off the roads requiring long day hikes or multiple day backcountry hikes.
That said, I highly recommend the book if you already photograph places in Washington state or plan to visit to photograph places in Washington state, and the chapter on Mt Rainier is the best presentation I've seen to date.
It encompasses many of the most and often photographed places in the NP and some of the lesser known or visited places. It opens the door to what other photographers will tell you, some of the best places are in the backcountry, where over 90% of the NP is open to photographers away from the tourist and photographers.
And this is good won't get old or out of date for information, the NP is always there waiting for you.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Camp Muir
This is the view south from Camp Muir (NPS Webcam) with, left to right, Mount Adams, Mount Hood (center in the distance), and Mount St Helens. The view looks down the Muir snowfield between the Paradise (east) and Nisqually (west) glaciers.
Camp Muir is a long day hike to and back down for some but mostly the stopover site for summit climbs where the climbers stay for the evening to arise in the early morning hours for the climb to the summit and back down to Camp Muir and Paradise.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Sorry about that
I screwed up and didn't upload the new table of contents with the changes for September-October news, conditions and access links. It's fixed. I apologize for the oversight. Too much work and too many other things in life I overlooked all the pages to upload.
I'll be updating them again in about a week or so when the NPS release its initial schedule for the reduction in days and hours and closures for the facilities, campgrounds, services, roads, entrances, etc. Those come out with the fall Tahoma newsletter which comes out after the Labor Day holiday.
I'll get the newsletter and update the Web pages with the specific dates and information.
I'll be updating them again in about a week or so when the NPS release its initial schedule for the reduction in days and hours and closures for the facilities, campgrounds, services, roads, entrances, etc. Those come out with the fall Tahoma newsletter which comes out after the Labor Day holiday.
I'll get the newsletter and update the Web pages with the specific dates and information.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
September-October
Webcam at Camp Muir looking south with Mt. Adam and Mount St. Helens.
I've uploaded the bi-monthly reports for September and October for the NP, which you can find at the table of contents with the photo guide for the NP. I've updated the Web pages for the areas for the NP, also found in the table of contents under "Photography" section.
September and October are the transition months from late summer into fall in the NP, with respect to the weather of the warm sunny days to the cooler fall days and cool to cold nights with periods of both rain or warm and sunny weather, and, in some years, the possiblity of snow in October, which has occurred 23 of the last 32 years.
It's also for the NPS to transition the vistor facilities, camgrounds and roads for the upcoming winter as well as preparation for possible extreme rain events with floods or snowstorms. This requires establishing and following a schedule to close all but one road and almost all the facilities through September and October, with the rest occuring in November.
September and October are excellent months, despite the changes in the weather from summer to fall and the reduction or closure of some places, facilities, etc., with far fewer visitors everywhere, meaning the visitors areas and the trails. And there still is enough daylight for some enjoyable trips.
Small Update
I'm working on the September-October bi-monthly reports for news, access, conditions and prospects for Mt. Rainier NP along with working on several small projects for description and map Web pages for books and other information about the NP.
In part I'm waiting for the specifics of the fall-to-winter closure schedule for the NP. The NPS starts the process to reduce hours and close facilities, campgrounds, and roads in September and more so in October, with the last by November where they're in full winter mode until spring.
Without the specific dates, the best I can do is guess a time frame and add the specifics when the NPS releases the fall Tahoma newsletter with the dates, which usually occurs around the Labor Day holiday weekend, the last of the full summer operations.
In addition I'll be doing my long overdue walk through on the Website for global changes to the structure, design and look of it, albeit mostly small stuff since I haven't decided on version 3's new design yet (l like version 2 too much), and for a review and edit of individual pages for writing errors and updates.
Anyway, it's just a short note to say I'm back working on the photo guide after three years of health issues, the last two with bacterial infections in my digestive system, and has left me with new back problems (pinched Sciatic nerve in June 2011 and July 2012), which has curtailed my fitness program, but I'm gone from 185+ lbs to 150 lbs in the same period from walking 3,400+ miles to date.
That said, as they say, I'll keep you posted.
In part I'm waiting for the specifics of the fall-to-winter closure schedule for the NP. The NPS starts the process to reduce hours and close facilities, campgrounds, and roads in September and more so in October, with the last by November where they're in full winter mode until spring.
Without the specific dates, the best I can do is guess a time frame and add the specifics when the NPS releases the fall Tahoma newsletter with the dates, which usually occurs around the Labor Day holiday weekend, the last of the full summer operations.
In addition I'll be doing my long overdue walk through on the Website for global changes to the structure, design and look of it, albeit mostly small stuff since I haven't decided on version 3's new design yet (l like version 2 too much), and for a review and edit of individual pages for writing errors and updates.
Anyway, it's just a short note to say I'm back working on the photo guide after three years of health issues, the last two with bacterial infections in my digestive system, and has left me with new back problems (pinched Sciatic nerve in June 2011 and July 2012), which has curtailed my fitness program, but I'm gone from 185+ lbs to 150 lbs in the same period from walking 3,400+ miles to date.
That said, as they say, I'll keep you posted.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Westside Road
Update.-- The NPS announced today they re-opened the Westside road. It will be open until the seasonal closing date, usually some time in October.
If you haven't heard or read the news, the Westside Road, which starts about a mile past the Nisqually entrance in the southwest corner of the NP. It's usually the place I start in the spring with each hiking season while it's still closed as it's a nice 3.5 mile (one way) hike to get the legs back and focus on the scenery (mostly forest and Tahoma Creek with just few places to see Mt Rainier).
On August 13th a Jökulhlaup (glacial outburst flood) from Tahoma glacier flowed down Tahoma Creek, and while it hasn't been reported that it damaged the Westside Road, the NPS closed the road for safety reasons as any additional outburt flood could easily damage the road and trap hikers parked at the Fish Creek trailhead.
There is no announcements from the NP when the road will reopen, but with the extended warm weather, often a major contributing factor creating the circumstances for the floods, the road could be closed for some time, which closes each fall, usually in October.
I'll try to watch the NP news to see if/when they reopen the road as it provides the only trailhead to the southwest area of the NP without using the longer Kautz Creek trail to the Tahoma Creek suspension bridge to the upper part of the Westside Road around Emerald Ridge.
There is a shorter trail from the bridge via the old (non-addvertised) Tahoma Creek trail, used by backcountry rangers, but more than likely that trail, which hugs the side of the valley in the upper Tahoma Creek basin, may have been damaged beyond repair to use.
Anyway, if/when I get news of changes, I'll update this information.
If you haven't heard or read the news, the Westside Road, which starts about a mile past the Nisqually entrance in the southwest corner of the NP. It's usually the place I start in the spring with each hiking season while it's still closed as it's a nice 3.5 mile (one way) hike to get the legs back and focus on the scenery (mostly forest and Tahoma Creek with just few places to see Mt Rainier).
On August 13th a Jökulhlaup (glacial outburst flood) from Tahoma glacier flowed down Tahoma Creek, and while it hasn't been reported that it damaged the Westside Road, the NPS closed the road for safety reasons as any additional outburt flood could easily damage the road and trap hikers parked at the Fish Creek trailhead.
There is no announcements from the NP when the road will reopen, but with the extended warm weather, often a major contributing factor creating the circumstances for the floods, the road could be closed for some time, which closes each fall, usually in October.
I'll try to watch the NP news to see if/when they reopen the road as it provides the only trailhead to the southwest area of the NP without using the longer Kautz Creek trail to the Tahoma Creek suspension bridge to the upper part of the Westside Road around Emerald Ridge.
There is a shorter trail from the bridge via the old (non-addvertised) Tahoma Creek trail, used by backcountry rangers, but more than likely that trail, which hugs the side of the valley in the upper Tahoma Creek basin, may have been damaged beyond repair to use.
Anyway, if/when I get news of changes, I'll update this information.
ADA in NP
Long over due from requests, I've added a description and map Web pages for the NPS' compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in Mt Rainier NP, see description or map Web pages. These are not in the table of contents yet, as I'm working on updates to that Web page and the monthly/seasonal reports.
There is not a lot of information on ADA accessible places in the NP, just a few Web pages and the recent book (see book review), so I took the information I found there and added some I know from my travels in the NP for the Web pages.
Compliance to the ADA varys within the NP depending on the area, most of it in the southwest with Longmire and Paradise visitor areas and the northeast with the Sunrise area. There's some compliance in the southeast within the Ohanapecosh and Stevens Canyon road area.
There is no compliance in the northwest area with the Carbon River and Mowich Lake entrances as those areas exist for backcountry hikers, the Carbon River entrance closed at the NP boundary for only hiker and mountain bikers. The Mowich Lake area as minimal access at the Mowich Lake parking lot for the same reason, lack of facilities and being more a trailhead for hikers going into the backcountry.
That said, there are a few trails in the three other areas accessible for people under the ADA where the trail is relatively flat and wide enough for wheelchairs, etc., paved or with planks in some cases. This affords visitors some measure of getting into the area.
Anyway, please let me know if you have questions or suggestions for the Web pages.
There is not a lot of information on ADA accessible places in the NP, just a few Web pages and the recent book (see book review), so I took the information I found there and added some I know from my travels in the NP for the Web pages.
Compliance to the ADA varys within the NP depending on the area, most of it in the southwest with Longmire and Paradise visitor areas and the northeast with the Sunrise area. There's some compliance in the southeast within the Ohanapecosh and Stevens Canyon road area.
There is no compliance in the northwest area with the Carbon River and Mowich Lake entrances as those areas exist for backcountry hikers, the Carbon River entrance closed at the NP boundary for only hiker and mountain bikers. The Mowich Lake area as minimal access at the Mowich Lake parking lot for the same reason, lack of facilities and being more a trailhead for hikers going into the backcountry.
That said, there are a few trails in the three other areas accessible for people under the ADA where the trail is relatively flat and wide enough for wheelchairs, etc., paved or with planks in some cases. This affords visitors some measure of getting into the area.
Anyway, please let me know if you have questions or suggestions for the Web pages.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Google Map API Job
Update August 19 2015.--I'm still looking for an experienced Google Map API programmer. I've decided to raise the rate I'll pay to $50 per hour. If you know someone who can do or is interested in the work, please let me or them know. There is more work available if the person does a good job.
I'm still looking for this help after I updated this work and posted it on the University of Washington Career Connections blog 2 years ago. It's $50 an hour for 3-4 hours of work, more if proven necessary.
I posted an entry about wanting, and paying for, help with Google map API version 3, which you can read here. Well, I realized I forgot to tell folks what they can see what I want to do with the one map I want updated where I can translate those changes to the rest of the maps.
So, what I want is to change the Web cam map Web page from version 2 to version three which you can see what I've done so far, which is get the map and nothing else. You can view the source of these to compare the Google API code on the bottom of the page (after the address tags).
That's the script to change, which is mostly the call and load statements as I've found the core block of code for the XML files didn't change, or that I can find or read. Unfortunately I can't find any examples using XML files where I can adapt my code using their call and load statements.
Anyway, that's the update. The need is still there and the offer still good. If you know version 3 code, I'm open to discuss the work. I can quickly load any code into the local Website files using Dreamweaver to test them. I'm also open for someone to suggest changes, enhancements, etc. I can always use the help and learn.
And the pay? Negotiatable but in the $50 per hour range assuming a few hours of work for a reasonably experienced Google API programmer.
I'm still looking for this help after I updated this work and posted it on the University of Washington Career Connections blog 2 years ago. It's $50 an hour for 3-4 hours of work, more if proven necessary.
I posted an entry about wanting, and paying for, help with Google map API version 3, which you can read here. Well, I realized I forgot to tell folks what they can see what I want to do with the one map I want updated where I can translate those changes to the rest of the maps.
So, what I want is to change the Web cam map Web page from version 2 to version three which you can see what I've done so far, which is get the map and nothing else. You can view the source of these to compare the Google API code on the bottom of the page (after the address tags).
That's the script to change, which is mostly the call and load statements as I've found the core block of code for the XML files didn't change, or that I can find or read. Unfortunately I can't find any examples using XML files where I can adapt my code using their call and load statements.
Anyway, that's the update. The need is still there and the offer still good. If you know version 3 code, I'm open to discuss the work. I can quickly load any code into the local Website files using Dreamweaver to test them. I'm also open for someone to suggest changes, enhancements, etc. I can always use the help and learn.
And the pay? Negotiatable but in the $50 per hour range assuming a few hours of work for a reasonably experienced Google API programmer.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Book on ADA Access
A book was recently published on barrier-free travel in Olympic and Mt. Rainier National Parks, see information. The book is a good overview of the ADA compliance by the National Park Service in those National Parks. The goal here is a review of the book as while I found the specific information about ADA access accurate, I found the general to be inaccurate or incomplete and a lack of additional resources for current information.
The book covers two National Park, but I'll focus on the chapters on Mt. Rainier NP, specifically by section and page. The first is a semantic difference since I'm a geographer. On page 43, 2nd paragraph, it should be noted Mt. Rainier NP doesn't a southwest side, it has a south or west side (boundary) and a southwest quadrant, corner or area.
On the same page under "The Basics", the section on "Seasons and Road conditions" is incorrect, misleading or incomplete. The NPS for Mt Rainier NP has a Twitter Account where they report current weather, road and other conditions in the NP which effects travellers and visitors. It's more current and quicker than any telephone number will provide.
With respect to the Longmire to Paradise road, from November to May the road is closed nightly at 4-5 PM (always, not "usually" in the book) just east of Longmire and does not reopen until about 9-11 am the following morning after checking the roads and clearing any snow. They report this information via their Twitter account.
More importantly the Sunrise road (White River campground to Sunrise) closes every fall for the whole winter, until the following spring. The NPS shutters their facilities and operations at Sunrise a week or two earlier and then closes the road with the first significant snowfall.
The information on the facilities and campgrounds are good and complete for the different areas in the NP. The point she doesn't make is that the NP essentially closes everything but the Nisqually entrance, Longmire and Paradise in late fall through late spring, leaving just the one access and two areas for visitors.
The next is the Jackson Visitors Center, page 50. The old (1966-2008) Jackson Visitors Center was designed by two architecture companies, one in Hawaii. It was NOT designed and built for Hawaii, and relocated to Mt. Rainier NP as stated in the book. It was designed and built for Mt. Rainier as part of the Mission 66 program.
In addition the NPS built a brand new visitors Center, seen here, for Mt. Rainier, which opened in October 2008. Also, the Paradise Inn was closed in 2010 and re-opened in 2013 after a complete overhaul of the structure and refurbishing of the interior.
The information on the Jackson Visitors Center and Paradise Inn is easily available on Wikipedia and other sources, so I don't know how this was overlooked, but the author and/or editor(s) should have caught this for a book that was just published.
Anyway, overall, the book is a good resource, but I hope the author updates the information to make it a better book.
The book covers two National Park, but I'll focus on the chapters on Mt. Rainier NP, specifically by section and page. The first is a semantic difference since I'm a geographer. On page 43, 2nd paragraph, it should be noted Mt. Rainier NP doesn't a southwest side, it has a south or west side (boundary) and a southwest quadrant, corner or area.
On the same page under "The Basics", the section on "Seasons and Road conditions" is incorrect, misleading or incomplete. The NPS for Mt Rainier NP has a Twitter Account where they report current weather, road and other conditions in the NP which effects travellers and visitors. It's more current and quicker than any telephone number will provide.
With respect to the Longmire to Paradise road, from November to May the road is closed nightly at 4-5 PM (always, not "usually" in the book) just east of Longmire and does not reopen until about 9-11 am the following morning after checking the roads and clearing any snow. They report this information via their Twitter account.
More importantly the Sunrise road (White River campground to Sunrise) closes every fall for the whole winter, until the following spring. The NPS shutters their facilities and operations at Sunrise a week or two earlier and then closes the road with the first significant snowfall.
The information on the facilities and campgrounds are good and complete for the different areas in the NP. The point she doesn't make is that the NP essentially closes everything but the Nisqually entrance, Longmire and Paradise in late fall through late spring, leaving just the one access and two areas for visitors.
The next is the Jackson Visitors Center, page 50. The old (1966-2008) Jackson Visitors Center was designed by two architecture companies, one in Hawaii. It was NOT designed and built for Hawaii, and relocated to Mt. Rainier NP as stated in the book. It was designed and built for Mt. Rainier as part of the Mission 66 program.
In addition the NPS built a brand new visitors Center, seen here, for Mt. Rainier, which opened in October 2008. Also, the Paradise Inn was closed in 2010 and re-opened in 2013 after a complete overhaul of the structure and refurbishing of the interior.
The information on the Jackson Visitors Center and Paradise Inn is easily available on Wikipedia and other sources, so I don't know how this was overlooked, but the author and/or editor(s) should have caught this for a book that was just published.
Anyway, overall, the book is a good resource, but I hope the author updates the information to make it a better book.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Hiking and Map Apps
I've added a new Web page for the hiking and map applications on desktop and laptop computers and on smartphones and tablets, along with some Websites with hiking, trail and trailhead information, some with maps.
The new Web page is available here. Please let me know if you know of, have or use applications you feel would be useful for hiking in Mt Rainier NP or has maps of Mt Rainier NP. I'm always open to research them and add them to the list.
The new Web page is available here. Please let me know if you know of, have or use applications you feel would be useful for hiking in Mt Rainier NP or has maps of Mt Rainier NP. I'm always open to research them and add them to the list.
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