About 4 million people visit Yosemite National Park every year - about the same as the total population of New Zealand. To say that it is busy in Yosemite Valley is a bit of an understatement. In a number of respects this Park sets the standard nationwide in terms of planning, design and management (and possibly scenic wonders). There are a lot of talented, hard working and extremely dedicated people working there. It is interesting to note that many seasonal rangers return year after year to work for barely more than the minimum wage just to be at this park, meaning that some of them have never had the security or income of a permanent job while in their 30's & 40's.
So what does an Interpretive Ranger job entail? Basically they are in the front line of having contact with all these visitors. This means running the visitor centre, conducting guided walks and talks, running junior ranger programmes, roving (jargon for patrolling) the tracks, facilities and campgrounds, and narrating several 2 hr tram tours that circle the Valley. It also means wearing a formal Smokey da Bear (ranger) costume at all times while the temperature hovers around 100 degrees F. All this involves 9.5 hr shifts, compounded by over an hour commutes since very few rangers live in the Park, resulting in 12 hour days. The biggest challenge is simply talking all the time, because as soon as visitors see the Smokey the Bear hat (aka a "lemon squeezer" hat in NZ) they want to ask a question or have a photo opportunity with the family. I've managed to keep my voice most days but sometimes I get coughing fits, which doesn't sound so nice when amplified over the sound system on the trams.
Although this all sounds like work and no fun, there are some amazing aspects to the job. For a start, my "office" is AWSUM and beats the view out of any Manhattan skyscraper. The people I work with and the visitors to the park are generally in a good space and contribute towards a very friendly atmosphere. Hiking the trails or chasing bears through the campgrounds is also fun, although I wouldn't want to admit that to everyone. I gather that a recent survey indicated the Park Rangers were among the most trusted profession in America, beating out doctors and school teachers (politicians apparently don't rate). While I'm not sure that this trust is warranted, it does mean that visitors show you an enormous amount of respect, which of course is what we all seek even if it is largely unearned.
I must come clean here, at the risk of getting an earful (or worse) from Margot. Yosemite National Park is largely run by volunteers and could not operate without them. They help staff many of the facilities for no pay and sometimes rudimentary accommodation. Volunteers here are also a dedicated bunch and some of them have been returning year after year and bringing with them an incredible store of knowledge and expertise. The non-profit Yosemite Conservancy is very effective in raising money (almost half the budget), running programmes and underwriting big restoration projects. Many of the volunteers and staff here are avid rock climbers, photographers and naturalists, who pursue their hobbies during and after work.
Hopefully we (Margot) will post some more pictures of this amazing place, including some full-frontal shots of us in our park uniforms. As one of our co-workers mentioned, it's kind of hard here to take a bad photo...
