Renee Hausske reporting

Myself at the base of the trail

     Our hike started at the visitor center, and then lead us to the golden gate trail. Justin and I met Tonnie Cummings, a regional air resources specialist with the National Park Service (NPS), at the bottom of our hike. Tonnie accompanied Justin and me on our hike. She gave us information about her job duties working at the NPS.

     The hike up to the sites were a bit easier today. My legs and back were tense from the hike yesterday. Carrying a backpack full of technology, comes at a price. When we got to the first site, I drank an entire water bottle; being thirsty was an understatement.  Then the research commenced!

     The research process was interesting, fun and time consuming. In 2012, Justin packed PVC pipe and homemade gas chambers up the mountain to set twenty different test sites around the Paradise wildflower meadows. The gas chambers consisted on a large PVC pipe hammered into the ground and a portable thick rubber lid to enclose the gas inside. On top of the lids, is a hole with special material that allow a syringe to be inserted without allowing gas to escape.  Justin allowed Tonnie and I help take samples.

The peak of Mount Rainier

     Later on in the day, Justin taught me how to take soil samples, identify plants, and document results in his notebook charts. I spent a lot of time doing real world field work. It was so easy to get caught up in the field work and forget to film; but at the same time, with such a beautiful view, it was hard not to film!

     About every half-hour, a loud thud from a higher elevation of the mountain rang in my ears. At first I stopped filming and looked around to see if I could figure out where the sound was coming from. After many times of looking confused, Justin laughed and told me it was an avalanche. Most of the avalanches couldn't be seen, but I was able to catch a few. It was actually terrifying knowing that there were hikers climbing to the top and avalanches were common. Since it was August, there was only small patches of snow left. Justin said we got lucky with the weather. A week before I came up to the mountain, there was twice as much snow and it was foggy and rainy the whole weekend.

     Tonnie left around four p.m. leaving Justin and me on the mountain to finish collecting results from test sites. Spending the day with Tonnie and Justin opened my eyes to potential careers in the environmental communication field. What a life it would be to be able to communicate about issues I am passionate about. I was so lucky to have Tonnie join us for the day. She took the time out of her busy schedule to accompany Justin's study, which the NPS helps fund. While it was important to get things done at the test sites, the three of us got to know each other on a more personal level. Up on the mountain there are no cell-phones or televisions to distract us. I have to say, it was quite nice not worrying about my phone.

Documenting soil sample results

     We started the hike down a little before dark and took a different route. We came across a tall, roaring water fall spitting out water droplets onto our overheated bodies. It was nice to take a second to admire the mountains' beauty. Thoughts kept running through my head; When can I come up again? I want to work here, how do I make that happen? Crap, I should have put more bug spray on. I hope I can actually sleep tonight. Do I have to leave? When we made it back to our cars, it was lights out. Twelve hours in the field drains every limb inside your body. I was ready to finally get a good nights rest, so I could wake up tomorrow for my final day on the mountain.