by Mt. Adams Institute | Jun 8, 2020 | VetsWork
I am from Montana. I was in the Marine Corps for five years. After the military, I worked in underwater construction, and then security in Kuwait. After that I was a lineman for a private jet company. The last thing I did before signing up with Mt. Adams Institute was...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jun 8, 2020 | VetsWork
My name is Mark Martinez. I grew up in south Texas to a low-income, migrant farming family. I love hiking, fishing and hunting, however, I never hunt or fish just for the sport of it but to provide food for myself at times. I joined the Army at 17 years old, with two...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jun 8, 2020 | VetsWork
I served in the United States Air Force (Active Duty) for four years and the United States Air Force (Reserves) for two years. I’ve always had aspirations to “pay it forward” by giving back to the country that has given me so much. I came to the United States as a...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jun 8, 2020 | VetsWork
My name is Christopher Steinle and I grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am an eleven-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard where I developed several skills that I’m expecting to transfer to the environmental field. I have a bachelor’s and associate’s...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
I was laying in my hammock reading “Guns, Germs, and Steel” by Jared Diamond, when finally it clicked. The general thesis of the book is that environment and ecology are some of, if not the, biggest factors in determining how a culture, technology, and a...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
The following are potential hazards that a wilderness backcountry ranger on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest might face on a daily basis. This is not an attempt to scare anyone away from spending a season in this position, but serves as a list of some of...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
The purpose of this blog is to inspire anyone who is interested in a Public Lands Stewards AmeriCorps position with the Mt. Adams Institute (MAI), but has yet to fully commit. This specific blog is oriented towards the Wilderness Ranger position in the Methow Valley...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …” – Wilderness Ranger, quietly muttering to himself. I could tell you about everywhere I...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Oct 23, 2019 | Land Stewards
My one person tent and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness have become my home and I am not ready to let either of them go. These past few months have been a whirlwind of adventures. There are only a dozen or so lakes that I have yet to visit and only a few trails that I have...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 10, 2019 | Land Stewards
Upper Lyman lakes in the Glacier Peak Wilderness area is a truly sublime glimpse into Washington’s high alpine. As little as one hundred years ago, these lakes were nonexistent, and instead were covered by the Lyman glacier, now almost completely receded onto...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2019 | Land Stewards
It has been barely over a month since I began the internship with Mt. Adams Institute. After spending a winter in Bozeman, MT, I became accustomed to so many luxuries that I didn’t realize how detached I was becoming to the natural world around me. I slept in a...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2019 | Land Stewards
I am stationed on the Entiat Ranger District of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest as a backcountry ranger. Due to training and the terrain of my district, I have been loaned to the Chelan Ranger District for my first two tours. Lake Chelan, the main...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2019 | Land Stewards
The sun shines high above the Pacific Crest Trail. Spinola Creek tumbles through basalt rock worn by millennia of meltwater. A northern harrier hawk crests over Cathedral Ridge looking to make a meal of a vole. It is noon – and like the predator above, I search...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2019 | Land Stewards
The first time I crossed over Highway 20 and into the Methow Valley I was in a strangers truck hitchhiking from Bellingham, WA to Glacier National Park. Our driver pulled off the road at Washington Pass where Liberty Bell, Early Winters Spires and the Needles...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2019 | Land Stewards
It’s a quiet June evening here in the Methow Valley and I’m slowly soaking in the last few days off before heading back out into the Pasayten Wilderness. This hitch I’m headed out with a few members of the trail crew to put my newly earned crosscut certification to...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2019 | Land Stewards
About two months in and every day is still unique, keeping me on my toes. I have predominantly been helping the Cle Elum Ranger District’s Trail Crew by clearing out trails in the front country. I had not been on a single trail in the Cle Elum Ranger District before...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2019 | VetsWork
I’ve been working for about two months now and have yet to find an aspect of this job that I have not liked. I wanted to be outdoors, learning about wildlife and getting familiar with the local forest. I have been thrilled with the work I have been doing so far and my...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2019 | VetsWork
There are a few easy ways for an outsider to know when spring has begun in Rockbridge County. The turkeys are out, as are the soon to be hunters, Morel mushrooms will begin to appear around the poplar trees, and country roads will become clogged with trout...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2019 | VetsWork
I’m a couple months into the VetsWork AmeriCorps internship and so far it has been a great experience. I began the internship in Trout Lake, WA on the Mount Adams Ranger District of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I was there to learn and perform facilities...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2019 | VetsWork
Hello everyone out there in Blog land! My name is Jeff and I am a VetsWork intern working with the fleet management department in (wait for it), Anchorage, Alaska!! I am going on my 3rd month with the program here and love it. The people I work with are awesome and...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2019 | VetsWork
My name is Dallas Reece Rhinehart. I served 5 years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman before transitioning into civilian life, and the Mt. Adams Institute (MAI) VetsWork program. I’m currently serving on the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the Umatilla...
