Salvaged Salamander

Day 307: Work on the footbridge at Lake Tipsoo was interrupted by the need for a rescue. One of the crew had discovered a Long-Toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) in a shovelful of soil. The little guy was retrieved unharmed, introduced to everyone in the group and then was released back into the safety of shoreline vegetation. This common species has a range of up to 9000' elevation in the Pacific Northwest. They emerge and migrate to their breeding waters even while snow is still on the ground. They reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age, and may live as long as 10 years. A "mole salamander," they frequently occupy rodent burrows during hibernation, undoubtedly where this little feller was hiding out until his rest was disturbed by trail crew's excavation. One lucky little salamander here!

Building Bridges

Day 306: Thirty or forty years ago, the wildflowers weren't nearly as lush at Lake Tipsoo as they are today. The shoreline had been trampled by generations of visitors who "over-loved" the spot, and with visitation on a steady rise, the Park began taking measures to protect what remained of the meadow and to restore the damage done by countless feet.  Even today, it's difficult to keep visitors on the trail. Many of them simply don't understand the impacts; others feel entitled to go where they want, citing "public land" as justification for tramping through the plants.

Mount Rainier National Park Associates (MRNPA) contribute hundreds of man-hours every summer to maintaining the trails in the Park. Here, they are hard at work replacing one of the footbridges at Tipsoo. Due to the fragility of the ecology here, crew size was limited to a dozen workers, although no one seemed to mind when I shouldered a few slabs of cedar puncheon from the parking area to the site despite not being registered as a member of the work party. Kevin and I had stopped en route to Sunrise to photograph the group in action. Pretty impressive, considering that no power tools are used on site!