You will have to fight the urge to get out the sleds, but Paradise has gotten nearly a foot of snow in the last 24 hours.

If you want a peak at the view, try these webcams at Paradise:

Looking toward Paradise Inn.

Looking down the Paradise Road.

Looking at the visitor center.

For fans of the white stuff, here is an image that should make you smile. It is from the Webcam inside the Henry M. Jackson Memoral Visitor Center at Paradise. I guess summer really is over. Sighhhhhhh.

The Senate late yesterday confirmed Jonathan Jarvis, a former Mount Rainier National Park superintendent, to be the new director of the National Park Service.

“This is a great day for the National Park Service and for the American
public,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a press release. “Jon Jarvis is a career professional who has consistently stood up for protection of national parks. He brings great wisdom and three decades of experience to the job.”

Jarvis, a 30-year veteran of the National Park Service, has served since
2002 as regional director of the agency’s Pacific West Region, where he was responsible for 54 national parks in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands of Guam, Saipan and American Samoa, as well as a host of NPS community revitalization programs that serve those states.

"America's National Park System is a gift from past generations to this and succeeding generations. I look forward to working with Secretary Salazar, the Congress, our partners, and the extraordinary employees of the National Park Service as we prepare for the next century of stewardship and excellent visitor experiences," Jarvis said in the release.

Jarvis has served as superintendent of Mount Rainier, Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. A trained biologist, he was also Chief of Natural and Cultural Resources at North Cascades National Park. Jarvis is currently the co-leader of the Children in Nature taskforce with the National Association of State Park Directors.

A native of Virginia, Jarvis has a B.S. in biology from the College of
William and Mary and completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Program in 2001.

I've been talking to folks about the premiere of the upcoming Ken Burns documentary on national parks. I have been asking them which is their favorite park and what national parks mean to them in general.

Here are some comments from folks I interviewed at the Puyallup Fair Tuesday, as well as from Randy King, acting superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park.

If you would like to share your thoughts, you can go to the comment section or send them to me at jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com.

Favorite national park: Mount Rainier. There’s no more beautiful mountain in the world, and we’ve traveled to places around the world.
What national parks mean to you: Wilderness, peace and quiet. It’s almost reverential in the mountains. National parks should offer places where you can just be quiet. Beauty, every park is just beautiful.
Candy Tingstad, Lakewood

Favorite national park: Zion. It’s unparalleled beauty. I feel like, in some ways, that that part of the country hasn’t been touched by so many visitors. It’s amazing.
What national parks mean to you: It’s a respite, I think, from our daily lives.
Mary Watkins, Bremerton

Favorite park: Mount Rainier. But I’ve only been to one.
What national parks mean to you: Permanent opens space that will stay that way. If you look at the parks are set aside now, and how big they are, I don’t thik that you’d see that happen today.
Dan Tilley, Tacoma

Favorite park: The one I¹m in at the current time. I have never been in a park that wasn’t special. They are all special. I started at Yellowstone (National Park), and worked there on and off 13 years. That¹s where I started my career and my family. I call it my heart park.
What national parks mean to you: It obviously has been my life. Parks represent my avocation as well as advocation. They represent a tremendous heritage that we all share. As much as anything, it’s one of the ties that binds us a people. It connects us as people and our history. They’re irreplaceable. I can’t imagine life without them.
Randy King, acting superintendent Mount Rainier National Park

Two Guest Services Inc. employees from Mount Rainier National Park were injured Thursday morning when their vehicle went off Nisqually Road near Paradise and fell about 350 feet.

“I think it’s safe to say they are both lucky to be alive,” said park spokeswoman Lee Taylor.

The injuries are significant but not life-threatening, Taylor said.

The names of the employees have not been released. The employees were a male and female who were not working at the time of the accident, said David Wilde, managing director of Guest Services.

An investigation is ongoing, Taylor said.

One of the employees was airlifted from the scene and the other left by ambulance, Taylor said. One victim has been released from the hospital.

The road was closed during the rescue. Park staff was first on the scene. The incident, which took place near Glacier Hill on a section of road with no guard rail, was reported by a 911 call.

The slope drops sharply from the road to the Nisqually River. The vehicle came to rest above the river, Taylor said.

Mount Rainier National Park officials are warning hikers and climbers that the Muir Snowfield has melted out early this season adding additional challenges to the route to Camp Muir.

According to a statement released by the park today there is exposed bare glacier ice and crevasses above 8,200 feet on the route. The steep slope - 25-30 degrees in some areas could make the route slippery and hazardous.

According to the park's statement, "There have been numerous cases this year of slips that have caused fairly severe abrasions. Also this year, the exposed ice from 9,500 feet to 10,100 feet has opened up crevasses that require skill and care in safely picking out circuitous routes which avoid the open cracks in the ice. Over the years, people have found themselves injured by falling in the crevasses or left dangling above them."

If you are planning to hike to Camp Muir, park officials recommend doing the following:

- Get the latest route conditions at the Climbing Information Center in Paradise (360-569-6009) or the Wilderness Information Center in Longmire (360-569-HIKE, 360-569-4453).

- Carry and use crampons and an ice axe.

- Cover all skin with durable full-length pants and long-sleeve shirts.

- Download the Muir Route Bearing Sheet.

- Carry a map, GPS, and compass, and know how to use them. Track your route on the way up, trackback on the descent.

- Travel to Camp Muir with someone.

- The only anchors that work in the glacier ice are ice screws, should you choose to belay over the crevasses with a short section of rope.

- Get up-to-date forecasts and prepare for cold, wet weather.

Here is a roundup of wildfires on national park land in Washington. The information comes from the National Park Service’s “Morning Report”:

North Cascades

About 646 acres are currently burning in the North Cascades National Park Complex. The largest fires being managed for resource benefit are: The Panther Creek Fire (220 acres), Elija Fire (353 acres), and the Brush Creek Fire (66 acres) in the Moon Complex. Fires being managed with suppression tactics include: The Cascade Fire (2 acres) in the Panther Complex near Ruby Mountain and the four fires in the Crapper Complex (2.7 acres total) near the Newhalem Creek.

Twelve fires, ranging in size from a single tree to 350 acres, have been burning in the North Cascades National Park Complex since late June. All 12fires were started by lightning. Five of these fires are being managed with suppression tactics to protect the public, and infrastructure in the area. The other seven fires are being managed for resource benefits.
Full containtainment is expected by Oct. 1

Olympic

Fire managers observed minimal fire activity when they flew over the Heatwave Complex fires on Tuesday. Five fires in the Heatwave Complex continue to creep and smolder. Constance fire (started July 11, 438 acres) still showing active smoke on Tuesday less than 5 percent of the perimeter is active. The 10 Mile fire (June 13, 492 acres) increased fire and smoke activity observed was observed Tuesday on the west side of the fire where it continues to burn downslope along the Duckabush River. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of the perimeter is active. Buckinghorse fire (July 29, 324 acres) is still showing active smoke. Approximately 1 percent of the perimeter is active. Knife Fire (July 29, 140 acres) is still showing active smoke, approximately 1 percent of the perimeter is active. Solduc fire (July 29, 4 acres), no visible smoke.

Seven additional fires remain inactive, all are 0.1 acres in size: Dose (July 11), Second Column, Five Ridge (July 28), Morganroth (July 29), Long (July 29), Wilder One (July 29) and Wilder Two.
Full containment is not expected until the end of the fire season

Mount Rainier

Two small fires on the report earlier this month were not listed in this morning's report.

I had the incorrect date for the astronomy program at Mount Rainier. Ranger Mike Punches will give his presentation at 9 p.m. Friday, followed by viewing through telescopes provided by members of the Tacoma Astronomical Society.

Here is a corrected version of the story:

Friday will be a night of celestial treats, if the weather cooperates, and Mount Rainier National Park will be one of the best places to be.

The evening will begin with the program “Stargazing at Paradise.” Ranger Michael Punches will start with a 30-minute presentation in the lobby of the Paradise Inn at 9 p.m. Afterwards, visitors can join members of the Tacoma Astronomy Society for stargazing through telescopes in front of the Jackson Visitor Center.

As an added bonus, the program coincides with the Perseids meteor shower. While the shower peaked Wednesday, there still will be plenty to see, said Michael Bakich, senior editor of Astronomy magazine.

“If there were no moon, you would see 60 to 80 an hour (at the peak),” Bakich said. “On (Friday) there will be 35 to 40 an hour.”

Whether at the park or at some other dark location, Bakich said the best viewing will be before the moon rises around 1 a.m. He said to look about halfway up the sky to the east.

Bakich also cautioned observers ers not to get frustrated if you miss a meteor.

“If you miss one, wait a couple of minutes and you’ll see one,” he said. “The Perseids are pretty cool, many of them leave smoke trails. Even if you miss it, but people are still pointing, look where they’re pointing and you can see the smoke trail.”

The fun won’t stop with the meteor shower. Jupiter will be in opposition with the sun, meaning it will be its biggest and brightest since October 1999.

While the gas giant will rise at sunset, the best viewing will be after 10 p.m., when it rises above the lower atmosphere in the southeast sky.

If that doesn’t sound like enough, you can start your sky viewing in the early hours of Saturday.

That is when the moon will pass in front of the Pleiades star cluster, Bakich said. The event will start around 1 a.m. and lasts about three hours. The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is one of the brightest star clusters in the night sky.

“The best way to view it is through binoculars or a telescope with a fairly wide field of view,” he said.

Oh, how a well-timed thunderstorm can save the day.

Like the rest of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier has been feeling the heat. At noon on Wednesday, the temperature reached 80 degrees at Paradise – that’s at 5,400 feet of elevation.

That’s when a thunderstorm rolled in.

The .12 inches of rain that fell in about two hours helped drop the temperature 15 degrees in the same span. It only warmed back up to 70 by 6 p.m.

But lightning caused some issues, including a strike that damaged some of the phone and electrical systems at the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center. Park staff were still assessing the damage this morning.

This was posted on the National Park Service Web site today.

On the afternoon of Thursday, July 23rd, a 17-year-old boy from New York disappeared while hiking with his family on a southwest section of the Wonderland Trail. The family hiked west from Longmire on the Wonderland as far as Pyramid Creek that morning, then began their return hike to Longmire, retracing their earlier route. The boy was last seen by his family at the Kautz Creek crossing, where he moved ahead of the group. A ground search was conducted on Thursday evening and resumed on Friday morning. When ground searchers were unable to locate the boy, a helicopter was called in to assist. He was spotted by the helicopter team in the Kautz Creek drainage near the point last seen just after 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. He was air lifted to the Kautz helibase and was reunited with family members at Longmire. He reportedly attempted to shortcut on a social trial which took him north, further up the drainage and above the initial search area. A total of 29 park staff and a helicopter and crew from Northwest Helicopters were assigned to the incident. Laura Bellasalma was incident commander. [Submitted by Patti Wold, PIO]

Stevens Canyon Road should reopen by 5 p.m. Thursday.

Acting superintendent Randy King said final inspection of the repairs done to the flood damage stretch at milepost 14.1 is scheduled for earlier today. If all goes well, the road across the southern portio of the park will reopen that evening.

This road, east of Backbone Ridge Viewpoint, was damaged during a January storm and has been closed to through traffic all season.

South Sound reisdents wanting to access the southeast corner of the park have been forced to use Highway 7 and U.S. 12 or Skate Creek Road.

More than 40 volunteers spread across Mount Rainier National Park today to talk with park visitors about the trouble caused by people feeding animals.

I joined the group and just got home from the park.

The park is making a real effort to communicate to park visitors the problems created when animals become habituated to humans and conditioned to learn that people mean food.

Alyssa Herr, who led the program for the park, cited a 2006 study of observed animal behavior. Of the animals observed, 54 percent relied on food foraged left behind or taken from humans and 11 percent were fed by huamns. Just 35 percent relied on natural forage.

Herr talked about a chipmunk that has learned to come out when the tour buses stop at one location and how the foxes at Paradise are teaching their kits to work the roadways for handouts.

The volunteers visited popular locations on both sides of the park to caution people against feeding animals and to watch for instances where people were actively feeding animals.

All the groups I talked to were receptive to the message and promised the only wildlife they would feed were the anxious children sitting at the picnic tables.