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Today is the curtain raiser for the US National Park system, which begins its busiest season.
Last year, nearly 312 million people visited the park, hiking through the Grand Canyon, posting Instagram stories from Joshua Tree and waiting for Old Faithful by Yellowstone’s rainbow pond. (Warning: Don’t touch the bison calf!) On Memorial Day last year, many people headed to the site where many parking lots were full early in the morning.
At Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park, home to 50-million-year-old rock formations, park rangers begin clearing trails for visitors weeks before the peak season. They restored dozens of miles of trails – removing debris and navigating steep cliffs on foot before the snow even melted, as my colleague Linda Qiu reported in a story with photos by Erin Schaff. Similar preparations are being made in park systems across the country.
Erosion cleaning
Over millions of years, wind and rain have shaped the limestone in Bryce Canyon into a maze of spire-shaped rocks rising into the air at 8,000 feet. This process is responsible for the park’s dramatic beauty. But it also hurts the rangers.
Every winter, rain and snow fall on the rocks and destroy the trails. Every spring, crews clear the hiking trails of debris, mostly by hand to limit damage to the natural habitat.
“The amount of physical effort it takes to clear the roads I was shocked,” said Erin. “The rock he was lifting was really heavy. Like, how can you keep doing this over and over again with the summer behind you?
Last year’s unusually strong storms and rainy season caused heavy damage, delayed the opening of roads and complicated cleanup. One side of the road remains closed as crews continue repairs, excavating the route’s surface and installing wire baskets filled with boulders along the perimeter to divert water and facilitate drainage.
Training for emergencies
Rock slides and high elevations are also dangerous for visitors.
Bryce averages about 40 search-and-rescue operations a year, often helping people who have died. Rangers and local volunteers undergo basic technical rescue training, learning to use ropes and high-angle equipment for more complex rescues.
Here’s an example: Last summer, a visitor couldn’t complete the grueling eight-mile hike. He tries to take a shortcut to get back to the starting point and becomes separated from his grandchildren. Hours later, the ranger found him clinging to the precipitous slope, unable to move. Securing the rope, they went down and lifted him to safety.
Make sure the sky is dark
The rangers must meet all the cleaning and preparation work during the day. At night, their job is to turn off the lights, protecting Bryce’s status as a dark-sky park: After sunset, less than 1 percent of Bryce Canyon is illuminated by artificial light.
“It’s very clear that they are proud of the uniqueness of Bryce’s night sky,” Linda said. “They keep the park, but they also keep the view of the Milky Way.”
Read Linda’s story and see more of Erin’s photos from Bryce Canyon here.
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