Occupy Paradise

Day 87: "Occupy Paradise!" It is the rallying cry you hear echoing through the valleys and across the snow-filled meadows of Mt. Rainier National Park. It comes from the lips of every ranger, every concessionaire, every volunteer, every member of the maintenance staff, every trail crew worker, every dispatcher, naturalist, secretary, mountain guide, and it swells above the trees, rolls over the glaciers and shines like a beacon from the summit as the Park reopens to the public.

For the first time in thirty years, I will be putting on my uniform and joining with my colleagues and friends at Margaret Anderson's memorial on Tuesday. I had to get new trousers because the years show a bit too profoundly on my lower portions, and I bought two pair with a thought in the back of my mind. It is a thought I've entertained on quite a number of occasions during those three decades, but for one reason or another, never managed to put into action. My resolve has strengthened through this tragedy, and for all I wish the circumstances might have been different, I now have the motivation to inquire about a volunteer position with the Park.