Northern Concerns

It's been a while since I've posted (something other than Ducks) so I thought I'd share my thoughts about my forthcoming trip.

I'm headed north for a photography adventure.  This time I'm on my way back to Seattle to see if I can tackle some of Olympic National Park's more popular features during the off months; Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rainforest, Crescent Lake, etc.  It's the off season for many of the Country's northernly located National Parks.  The temperatures tend to keep visitors at bay, and only the real psychos visit places like the Grand Canyon in potentially blizzard conditions (been there, done that).  Also, this time of year, the weather contributes the "Rain" to the Hoh and Quinault Rain Forests and people are adverse to getting wet.  I'm all set to go: I've got good rain gear, good footwear.  I'll be bringing things like Yaktrax and my Gortex gaiters to keep me dry and upright on icy trails.  Also, the plan right now is to snowshoe if there's an opportunity.  I'm ready. 

There's just one little problem, and it's located at the opposite end of the country, firmly seated in Washington D.C. (at the time of writing, also in Texas).  This Federal shutdown, with 800,000 impacted employees, may wreak havoc with my plans.

First, it's fairly obvious that the National Parks are having a really hard time right now.  Some are flat-out closing due to the damage already caused by uncaring visitors, bringing in garbage and overtaxing the un-serviced facilities. (#thisiswhywecanthavenicethings).  Most recently, Joshua Tree National Park closed and blocked it's roads from vehicular access.  Why?  The desert ecosystem is extremely sensitive.  The soils that are there haven't been trod on for centuries or longer.  Idiots decided that they would off-road there destroying critical habitat and maybe permanently damaging the ecosystem, and whoops, they also accidentally obliterated some of the 200+ year old Joshua Trees for shits and giggles.  Ugh.

To be safe, I decided to call the Kalaloch Lodge where I have a reservation and is affiliated with Olympic to see what conditions on the ground are currently.  I called their 800 number.  The pre-recorded message, before I was transferred to the operator, was that the lodge is open for business as usual...and that the National Park was open for business as usual.  This is counter to everything I read.  When I finally hit the right combination of numbers, the live operator at the lodge got on the phone and I asked to confirm that access was possible. 

"Nope, it's closed," he said, "there's a concern that some of the access roads get temporarily washed out.  As there are no services in the park right now, and cell service is spotty at best, it was safer for the park to close.  There's no vehicular access to the Hoh trail-head at this time."  OK, so, how close can you get?  "Well, I've been told it's about a 3 mile hike from where you can park, up the road to the start of the rain forest.  It's do-able, but not optimal."  He indicated that he hoped that the shut-down was lifted soon.  "Yeah, it's hurting business.  We've had a number of cancellations in the last week.  Still, there's lots to see near here and our restaurant and shop is open.  We're open as usual.  Glad you're coming and see you soon."

Yeah, I'm still going.  I've got a place to stay, and while a 3-mile hike to a hike isn't what I wanted, it's possible, even for this 43 year old, and I think it'll be worth it.  Fingers crossed.  Many other factors will guide me like the weather and the slim possibility that this political nightmare will be over by then.  That said, getting into the park is actually not as daunting as the other Federal issue I have; namely, the flight to get there.

I'm sure you've heard about the rolling sick-out as TSA employees call out sick so that they can work second jobs so as to pay their rent or for food and such.  Well, did you also know that, included with those TSA employees, that every air traffic controller is on the Federal dole...and have been similarly furloughed but required to work?  That doesn't give me warm fuzzies at all.  While the news frequently reports where things are worst, it is eye opening to see how long the lines are getting at the x-ray machines.  I haven't yet heard reports of dramatically delayed flights, but I do hear recommendations of needing to arrive at airports for domestic flights up to 3 hours before scheduled departure.  I guess I'm glad I bought a new book?

All in all, in addition to holding our Federal employees hostage, it's clear that there are peripheral economic impacts from lost wages, a decrease in spending in some areas like Maryland and northern Virginia, and lost revenues for all of those small businesses that live off of National Park tourism dollars.  Now in it's 19th day,  I think it's time to end this ridiculousness.  $5 billion can't possibly pay for a 1,000 mile wall.  Give it to him.  Let him use the funds to implement a virtual wall, with border agent hires and technology upgrades, like cameras and drones, and let's get this country back to work protecting both our natural and economic assets.  And, if my trip consists of photographs of Olympic National Park abuses, you better be sure that I'll share them liberally to show what this shut-down really looks like.  Until then, I'm gearing up to go as if none of this ever happened, and I'm guaranteed to see and photograph something that I've never seen before, for good or for ill.