Yellowstone YCC

Jul 13, 20223 min read

Week 4 and 5: Work, Rec, and Farewell

Dear Reader,

How time flies: the first session of this year's YCC has ended already. However, at YCC, we seize each passing second to make the most and establish the fondest memories. So was the same for the last week of spike. Guest speaker, Jeremy Sunder-Raj, opened the week with his presentation on Yellowstone's wolf project and its efforts to reestablish Yellowstone's wolf population:

There was also an interactive element to Jeremy's presentation as students got the opportunity to interact with wolves in a somewhat more direct manner...

Week 4 of Work

The last week of spike as well as the last full week of work! But certainly not the least one of them. After all, it isn't everyday that one gets to shake hands with the Secretary of the Interior or the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. That's right: last week, Deb Haaland and Shannon Estenoz visited Yellowstone National Park to see the impacts of the catastrophic floods as well as to meet with employees here. Among the employees included YCC's own Alpha Crew:

Alpha crew's accomplishments certainly impressed the secretary. Just look at a bear box they installed:

For resource education, they visited the Tribal Heritage Center near Old Faithful to learn more about the cultural practices of indigenous communities:

Here's them at Nez Perce cabin:

Bravo crew also had an important visitor, none other than our own Bob Fuhrmann. Here's him with trailhead signs that Bravo crew installed at Dunraven Pass:

Compare that with the original sign:

Now, let's take a look at the hard work that realized this improvement:

Charlie crew, on the other hand, sought patronage in Mother Earth's own wonders at the Norris Geyser Basin for their recreation.

They also installed a bear box and enjoyed watermelon amid July heat.

For resource education, Charlie crew explored whether it would be possible to reverse a tarp with everyone stepping on it; the narrator is unsure whether they actually succeeded.

Week 4 Recreation

Mount Washburn

On Saturday, we embarked on YCC tradition to summit Mount Washburn. With a peak elevation of over 3 km, the landscape before our eyes contained both the Tetons and the Mammoth Hot Springs. Although this hike was not our final rec activity, it provided a good summary overview of the places we visited these past few weeks.

And of course, we could not resist a good ole' snowball fight:

Atop Mt. Washburn lies the only operational fire lookout tower in the park, and its occupant, firefighter Ed Stark, lent us a cameo. The narrator would like to comment on his fine taste in music; Ed Stark likes jazz, Copland, and Stravinsky. In particular, Stark loves The Firebird. Upon Mike's request, Ed Stark recounted an episode from his Latin class: Ed had a tendency to stare out the window, a habit that provoked his Latin instructor to reprimand him with "Ed! Stop looking out the window! Nobody is going to pay you to look out the window!"

Ed's job now is to look for fires out the window. Oh, the irony!

On the way back, JJ showed us an elk carcass to illustrate wolf kills:

Whitewater Rafting

A day hike up a mountain, shouldn't be that enough for a weekend? Not at YCC. The next day, we headed north into the town of Gardiner via the Old Gardiner Road to go whitewater rafting. It was the first time for many (including your narrator) and it was a blast. See for yourself:

Week 5 (or really just Monday) Work

This past Monday, students signed up for one of three work projects: adopt-a-highway (trash cleanup), Mammoth boardwalk repairs, or Tower deck staining. See below: