12 years in Natl Parks and resorts. AMA and pics.

[DreamerMMA]

Splinty thought it'd be a good idea to make a thread about this here.

In 2003 I got out of the US Army and went to the Oregon Unemployment Department. I talked to the vet rep there and he asked me if I'd ever considered working at a park. Crater Lake needed a gift shop clerk and I had a little bit of retail experience as a teenager. I took the job and started an absolutely incredible journey to some of the most amazing places the US has to offer.

I started at Crater Lake and have worked 4 summers there, 3 winters at Death Valley, a year and a half at Sequoia, winter at Grand Canyon South Rim, summer at Grand Canyon North Rim, summer at Olympic, Summer at Glacier and part of a summer at Yellowstone.

Besides the 8 national parks I've worked in I've also worked for 4 ski resorts. Deer Valley and Stein Erickson at Park City, UT. I did Royal Gorge in Truckee CA and Big Sky in Montana just this past winter.

I've also worked a fishing lodge in Oregon, a fish processing plant in Alaska, a brew pub on the Oregon Coast and some other seasonal gigs. Spent a little bit of time in Portland, OR and Cincinnati, OH as well.

This is me in 2010 in the Umpqua National Forest near Crater Lake.

A friend and I at the jumps at Deer Valley in Park City, UT, winter 2010-2011

Death Valley National Park, CA, 2012

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

looking good man! loving that pedo stach in 2012! LOL!!

how is working in the parks? I hear it can be boring and you have to clean lots of bathrooms?

 

[DreamerMMA]

A couple of friends and I working a NAGA event.

Death Valley again.

The girlfriend and I trimming some bud for my parents between seasons. They are medical marijuana patients and I've been a legal caregiver for a few years now.

 

[DreamerMMA]

This is the Many Glacier Hotel at Glacier National Park in Montana. We worked there summer 2013.

Near Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park.

Foot bridge going by employee housing, Glacier National Park.

 

[DreamerMMA]

Because I'm a man child who has to climb on everything. Just outside of Glacier.

Black bear near Many Glacier Hotel.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

great pics man! how close were you to those bears? I have only ran into 2 bears in the wold here in Canada. both times they were quite far though.

 

[DreamerMMA]

Another one at Glacier.

My dad and I around 2005 or so.

I'll have to dig up some more pictures. I've lost some over the years.

 

[DreamerMMA]

looking good man! loving that pedo stach in 2012! LOL!!

how is working in the parks? I hear it can be boring and you have to clean lots of bathrooms?

It's really whatever you make of the experience. You are only cleaning bathrooms if you are in housekeeping or a dorm proctor.

I've really loved the experience for the most part. You have free reign of the park and often work with really cool people.

 

[DreamerMMA]

great pics man! how close were you to those bears? I have only ran into 2 bears in the wold here in Canada. both times they were quite far though.

Probably a good 150 yards away. My girlfriend took these pics from the car window.

We know better than to approach wildlife.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

Probably a good 150 yards away. My girlfriend took these pics from the car window.

We know better than to approach wildlife.

well obviously you know better, but I wasnt sure if you stumbled upno them whilst hiking or whatever. thankfully i have only seen the 2 bears while hiking. those guys scare the shit out of me.

 

[DreamerMMA]

My girlfriend in Yellowstone, 2012.

Crater Lake National Park with Wizard Island in the background.

 

[DreamerMMA]

Another at Death Valley.

 

[DreamerMMA]

well obviously you know better, but I wasnt sure if you stumbled upno them whilst hiking or whatever. thankfully i have only seen the 2 bears while hiking. those guys scare the shit out of me.

Dude, at Glacier I the dorms were right on the edge of the woods with big patches of berries nearby so we always had bears nearby. I stepped out into the woodline to have a smoke and ran into bears two different times doing that. Scared the shit out of me but the bears always took off just as fast as I did.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Awesome pics and stories. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

whats the scariest / weirdest / hardest things you have encountered while working in the parks?

 

[ThatOneDude]

Awesome pictures man

 

[DreamerMMA]

whats the scariest / weirdest / hardest things you have encountered while working in the parks?

The scariest thing in a park is peoples lack of common sense in the wilderness and with wildlife.

Honestly, I'm perfectly comfortable out in the woods, the desert, on a volcano, around bears, bison, you name it.

What will get you killed is the dumbass actions of people. I've lost friends working in the park, mostly killed by their own action. I know of plenty of guests who've been killed on vacation in a park, again, usually due to their own foolish actions.

I can't think of too many scary things. Of course there are legends that the lodges/hotels are haunted, I've worked in bigfoot country, cougar and bear country, etc.... but never really had a truly terrifying experience in these places. I've been startled by wildlife a couple of times and I suppose that could have gone badly and I've done some dumb shit hiking that could have landed me in an early grave but all in all, it's a great lifestyle.

For a visitor, the scariest thing is probably getting lost. People disappear every year in the parks and I know there are conspiracies about what happens to them. Truth is, many just plain and simply get lost. If you die in the wilderness, it's likely the animals and elements will scatter your remains if you don't end up just falling into a hole or some other place thats inaccessible and rarely explored if ever.

 

[Leigh]

How do people die due to being dumbasses? Can you give us some examples?

 

[lookoutawhale]

neat. How do you end up going from park to park? do they place you in another park, do you quit and quickly apply to another place or hows that work season wise.

When do you decide to move to another place? always one season or when you've had enough and want to move on?

 

[Wild]

Damn Yellowstone is beautiful. I need to get out there with the wife & kids.

 

[jason73]

this is a really cool thread

 

[DreamerMMA]

How do people die due to being dumbasses? Can you give us some examples?

I know one guy that was drunk, high on acid and had been up all night. Instead of going to bed, he went hiking with some friends that morning. Being exhausted and loaded he decided it'd be a good idea to try to climb out over a natural wall and ended up falling 60 feet to his death.

Drunk driving is a dumbass one as well and that kills plenty of guests and employees.

Some people have no common sense with wildlife and approach dangerous animals and their young far too close. I've known of a few people getting mauled by bears, fucked up by elk and one guy got killed by a mountain goat doing stupid shit.

I know another guy that got into an argument with Park Rangers at his campground. He got highly agitated and grabbed a knife or a club or something and rushed the cops so one shot and killed him. I knew that ranger and he was devastated. He'd never shot anyone before and certainly didn't want to. I'm not sure what that was all about whether it was suicide by cop or just an angry man who made a really bad decision.

I don't mean to call these people dumbasses. Some were my friends, others were guests with families and it's all very tragic.

The point is, their deaths were highly unnecessary and easily preventable. Common sense goes a long way in a national park. The problem is a lot of people here the word "park" and think it means "Safe". It's not a petting zoo, the animals are not tame although some are used to the presence of humans and won't react until people get far too close when it's often too late.

 

[DreamerMMA]

neat. How do you end up going from park to park? do they place you in another park, do you quit and quickly apply to another place or hows that work season wise.

When do you decide to move to another place? always one season or when you've had enough and want to move on?

The best tool for finding jobs in national parks, ski resorts, state parks, cruise ships and other seasonal jobs is Summer Jobs and Seasonal Jobs in Great Places | CoolWorks.com It's a recruiting site where employers post their jobs much like Monster or something but it focuses on adventure/seasonal work instead.

Typically, I apply a couple of months out for each job. In the summer, you apply for winter jobs, in the winter, you look for summer jobs if you want to get it done well ahead of time and secure the job/location you want. Most resorts are always hiring when they are open though so people come and go all season.

Some resorts are open year around and welcome employees to stay as long as they want, most others are seasonal and give employees an agreement that covers their season with a start and ending date so they are free to pursue other jobs, collect unemployment or do whatever else they need to do.

I typically finish the season I started and can either transfer with the same company to another resort or pursue work with another company entirely. They are all very understanding of this and don't mind employees working for the competition. It's expected in this industry and builds valuable experience and a well rounded staff.

In the national parks, the concessionaire companies get a contract for so many years. NPS owns the actual lodges and buildings most of the time so they basically lease them out to the contractors who then hire staff and run operations that NPS cannot. When that contract is up, it goes up for bid so you often have companies playing musical chairs with the contracts.

The main companies involved in National Parks outside of the National Park Service which is of course the federal government would be Xanterra, Delaware North, Aramark, Forever Resorts. Some smaller companies like Ortega National Parks, Acadia, Glacier Park Inc and a few others are smaller and typically stick with one or two locations along with smaller, private resorts, marinas and other tourist attractions. Many of these companies started as food concessions at sports events and the like.

 

[DreamerMMA]

Damn Yellowstone is beautiful. I need to get out there with the wife & kids.

Please do, it's amazing. Just don't put your kids on top of a bison.

Yes, this has happened.

Hit me up if you go. My girlfriend and I worked there a couple of years ago and can give you a pretty good rundown of the place and some good advice for your visit.

 

[DreamerMMA]

this is a really cool thread

Thanks, I don't mind sharing my experiences doing this. I'm also available to help someone land a job in one of these places should the fancy strike. I know the industry pretty well and a lot of people in it.