Week 4 at Shenandoah National Park!

On Saturday and Sunday I worked with SNP’s fee operation on the boundary of the park; Saturday I worked at Old Rag and Sunday I worked at White Oak. Both days I worked with Chelsea Aldrich and Jason Strickler; they are two amazingly wonderful people. 

Chelsea, Jason, and I at Old Rag Boundary.

Beautiful day for a hike!

Working the boundary taught me a lot about the visitors and the park. They taught me numerous things including communications, teamwork, and interpersonal relations. We effectively communicated on a frequent basis with a wide range of people in various settings using multiple communication methods and tools. I also learned about how the fee collection and visitor services operate. This gave me a better understanding of fee collection, visitor services, and park resources. Another aspect of the boundary is safety and making sure the work environment is safe for its employees and its visitors.

White Oak Falls

On Saturday when Chelsea and I were done working we hiked Old Rag Mountain; of course we planned ahead for the hike. Old Rag is Shenandoah's most popular and most dangerous hike, it is 8.8 miles long. There are a lot of Search and Rescues each year at Old Rag; if not planned correctly it can be extremely dangerous. The views during the hike are magnificent and breathtaking! There is a rock scramble before the summit that is a lot of fun but can be extremely challenging. The hike took us about five hours; I highly recommend this hike to anyone that is in shape and up for a challenge. 

We did it!

The summit at Old Rag Mountain

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I worked in Central Remit. They are responsible for fee collections from all the entrance stations, campgrounds, and boundaries. All funds taken in by fee officers are submitted through bank deposits and treasury department verification. They also assist in cash and register technical support for all the stations. They provide and account for all of the stock at the entrance stations, campgrounds, and boundaries.

Central Remit

My week with fees was a lot of fun and very informative. I started off working at the campground and boundary collecting people’s money to enter the park and I finished with learning how all the money is collected, counted, and distributed. 

Thursday I worked with Dan Hurlbert, we continued with the Global Positioning System on interpretive signs and input them into a Geographic Information System. With the information the results will be used to make maps showing the conditions of the signs that are maintained by the Interpretation and Education divisions and to also have the inventory for future reference. We worked on bulletin boards, double sided bulletin boards, trail heads, and waysides.

Hope everyone is having as much fun as I am!