National Park Rangers throughout the country spend thousands of hours every year rendering aid to and searching for lost or injured hikers. Even the simplest hike can quickly become complicated by changes in weather, unexpected terrain, minor injuries, inappropriate clothing and gear, or group members becoming separated.
Here are some simple tips to help prevent you or a family member from becoming a statistic in a report and ruining a wonderful Blue Ridge Parkway experience.
- Plan ahead for your hike. Review a map of the area or check for a map posted at the trail head. Having a vision of the trail route and where it goes will be helpful should you become confused by unofficial social trails.
- After reviewing a map and if available a description of the trail, do not take on a hike that is more physically difficult than all the members of your group can handle.
- Check the weather report for the area before your hike. Dress and carry appropriate gear to remain comfortable and safe during your time outdoors. Remember that in mountainous terrain temperatures drop sharply at night, so be prepared to prevent hypothermia should you be late getting to your destination or vehicle.
- Proper foot wear is essential not only for comfort but to prevent injuries. If hiking in rocky terrain, be sure to wear stout hiking boots with good tread. Most of the injuries treated by park rangers involve slips and falls on trails by people wearing inappropriate foot wear.
- Stay on the designated trails. The vast majority of the searches for lost hikers I worked during my career involved people getting off the trail, getting confused, and then trying to cut cross country to get to their destination.
- Keep your group within sight of each other. Never let some members, especially children, run ahead of the group. This is a recipe for disaster when members of your hiking group take a different trail and become separated. The result is generally people overreacting and contributing to the complexity of the situation. This reaction is amplified when the missing hikers are children. Well intended emotions then kick in and decision making becomes more difficult for members of the group. One tip is to have the slowest member of your group walk in the front and everyone has to stay behind them.
- Carry water even on short hikes. You may be amazed how quickly you can dehydrate while hiking outdoors. Dehydration and hypothermia both result in confusion and a loss of decision making skills.
Following these simple practices will help you to enjoy your next visit to any park.
May is upon us and so begins the annual migration of seasonal park rangers to our National Parks. This month many National Park Service areas will be bringing on duty the majority of their temporary seasonal park rangers to work visitor centers, campgrounds, patrol roads and trails, and provide emergency medical, fire, and rescue operations.
These park rangers show up with unbounded enthusiasm and with many hopes. It is energizing for year round employees to see new seasonal rangers arriving for training. Their passion is contagious and they show up anxious to start their work helping to educate and protect visitors. When you visit a National Park it is most likely that the park ranger you meet will be a seasonal employee.
Seasonal park rangers come from a variety of backgrounds and levels of experience.
There are the college students working in the parks for the summer to gain experience and help pay for school. Many are hopeful of future opportunities that could develop into full time permanent National Park Service employment.
There are teachers who escape the classroom to the outdoors to refresh their outlook on life, supplement their meager income, and grow in ways that can provide enhanced experiences that can be brought back to the classroom.
Increasingly you will find retirees from a first career now working in National Parks as seasonal park rangers. Many are taking advantage of this opportunity to live a dream they have had since childhood of working as a park ranger.
Returning military veterans will also be found working as seasonal park rangers attempting to establish themselves back in civilian life and perhaps start a new career.
There are many others who will work this summer as seasonal park rangers. They all share the sense of adventure and dedication that is necessary to achieve the mission of the National Park Service to preserve and protect our nation’s resources for future generations.
Thanks seasonals for all you do.
On Monday evening May 10th author Bruce Bytnar will be at the Roanoke County Library Headquarters to discuss his book “A Park Ranger’s Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks.” The talk will begin at 7pm and be followed by a book signing.
Mr. Bytnar spent 27 years as a park ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway working in three districts in both North Carolina and Virginia.
Wildflowers are popping up in a spectacular show all through the Southern Appalachians and the National Parks that protect one of the most diverse plant populations in the world. There are so many different species of wildflowers that entire books are written and illustrated to describe just a fraction of the total number of native flowering plants. With such variety available, each fan has adopted their favorite plants. After working for 27 years as a park ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway, here are a few of mine that you can now find in bloom.
Trillium – This wildflower seems quite simple when first found, but when examined more closely it reveals a complex symmetry that always draws my attention. The plant is well named for tri having the root meaning of three is quite descriptive of this low growing plant that can cover some forest floors like a brightly colored carpet. When in bloom during May every plant has three pedals and layers of three leaves. Colors vary from a deep pink to a faded almost white. Although there are several species of this showy plant, the most prevalent species I have seen is the painted trillium. They generally bloom from April to June and I viewed several impressive displays in the mountains this week.
Azalea – There are two species of native azaleas found in the Southern Appalachians. The one that is bright pink is known as pinxter flower. My favorite and much less seen is the orange flame azalea. Both of these plants are in full bloom now on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.
Many wildflowers will not be seen from a moving car. Stop and take the time to hike a trail anywhere in the Southern Appalachians within the next few weeks. Walk slowly, look around you, and you may be greeted with a beautiful gift of nature.
“A Park Ranger’s Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks” is now available through the Virtual Blue Ridge Bookstore. You can access the store by clicking on Virtual Blue Ridge Bookstore in the right column on this page.
Twenty seven of my years as a National Park Ranger were spent working on the Blue Ridge Parkway and many of the tales have the Parkway as their setting.
What is a park ranger’s life?
- A wild bear who favors Kentucky Fried Chicken
- A fugitive wanted in eight states
- A dog that saves his owner’s life
- Wildland firefighters battling nature and fire
- A ghost haunting a colonial mansion
- Hikers who stay lost because they think searchers calling their names are wild animals
- Being willing to risk your life to make our parks safe and help preserve them for the future
These are just a few experiences you will read about in A Park Ranger’s Life. Drawn from the thirty-two-year career of National Park Ranger Bruce W. Bytnar, you will discover what it takes to be a park ranger, what threats to visitors and resources they deal with on a daily basis, and what you can do to help protect and preserve our national heritage.
