When readers learn that I spent several years working as a park ranger, I tend to get a lot of questions. “Where did you work? Was it the best job ever? How did you become a park ranger? What was it like?” I typically nod and agree, it was a dream job. But like any job, it came with good days and some days I’d rather forget.
Every ranger’s experiences are different, so I’m only speaking from my own memories. I worked as a seasonal park ranger in the interpretation division at Mount Rainier National Park for two summers. It was enough for me to fall in love with the National Park Service, but not enough to become jaded. I also worked a few years for state parks.
The Highs
Nothing can compare to getting to live and work in a gorgeous national park. I felt very fortunate to step out my back door and be a short walk from some of Mount Rainier’s best trailheads. I enjoyed teaching visitors about the mountain’s geology and wildflowers. An old college friend came for a visit and we spent the night in one of the park’s fire towers watching both the sunset and the sunrise from Mount Fremont. That was definitely one of the highlights.
After I left the National Park Service, I went to work as a seasonal naturalist for Oregon State Parks. One of my best memories from that job was the day I took a large group of kids––part of a summer camp for children of migrant farmworkers––for their first hike in the Oregon forest. They were so nervous at the start, picturing bears and mountain lions around every corner. It didn’t take long before their fears were replaced with delight. I loved seeing their eyes light up with each new discovery.
The Lows
One evening after closing the visitor center at Mount Rainier, I rushed to squeeze in a short hike before nightfall. Due to my rapid pace, I took a wrong step and tumbled down a slope of loose pumice stones. (Picture an incline coated with styrofoam packing peanuts that shift with every step.) I wasn’t hurt, but when I finally scrambled back to solid ground, I turned and glanced down the hill. It dropped steeply into more rocks and scrubby little trees, eventually ending at a river about a thousand feet below. If I’d fallen to my death, it would have been a long time before my body was found, especially since I hadn’t informed anyone where I would be.
The low point working at the state park was an event that still haunts me to this day. I was one of the first officials on the scene after a gruesome suicide. I then spent several hours standing guard so park visitors wouldn’t accidentally happen onto it. That’s a long time to stand there contemplating what could drive a person to such desperate measures. I’ve never forgotten it.
Working as a park ranger can be a dream job, it’s true. But it’s not all wildflowers and sunrises. If you’d like to read more of the inside story of park ranger life, you might check out the book, Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks by Angela Lankford. This was an eye-opening (and occasionally graphic) read, even for someone who has worked for the NPS. If you’re interested in reading more books containing true stories of adventures and misadventures in our national parks, check out my top five favorites.
As for me, I’m happy to now be writing novels set in our national parks. Writing allows me to share my passion for parks with even more people, and it means I get to travel and experience a lot of different places as I research new locations for books.
Would I ever brush off my flat hat and take another job as a park ranger? I might. My husband and I have talked about the possibility of us doing that after we retire. I’m not sure we’ll actually follow through, but it’s fun to imagine. After all, daydreaming is another of my favorite pastimes!
Happy reading!
