I never actually planned on being a ranger, but it just sort of happened rather pleasantly. My dad used to take my brothers and sister and me backpacking a lot when we were kids to all the epic places in the High Sierra, and I fell in love with the landscapes. When I was 21 I left college with a geology degree and no plan. After bumming around doing art projects between California and Montana for two years, I decided I needed to look busy. I ended up taking an internship with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at the Marin Headlands. It was really beautiful there, and I was trained well by crazy old men.

That eventually led to a ranger job at Kings Canyon National Park, specifically at 6000' in the Sequoia forest of Grant Grove, where I work now. I am a Park Ranger for the division of interpretation and cultural resources, which essentially means my job is to "interpret" nature and things of cultural historical value. My job is more to "inspire" people than simply "educate" them as a teacher would. In other words, I'm not one of the rangers who carry a gun. I carry things like maps and seeds and Audubon guidebooks.

FAVORITE HIKES

The fist thing to know is that it pays to be honest about your own abilities. I recently led a "strenuous 8 mile hike" in the Marin Headland, and even though it was advertised to be kind of hard-core all these really sweet, yet really out of shape older folks showed up. It ended up being a total disaster when they complained that it was too hard. So, be realistic, and learn to read maps. The trick to a nice hike is like a nice photograph: timing and lighting are everything. Virtually all hikes are spectacular at sunrise or sunset.

For Beginners
(All these walks reach the destination in 30 minutes or less.)

Climb Moro Rock

This is a nice little granite dome that juts out above the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River Canyon. There is a drive to the rock, and then a steep 15 minute stair-step climb to the top, which offers stellar views of the jagged snowcapped peaks of the Great western Divide. Beware of father-figure visitors who may look at you in your peacefulness and mistake you for a jumper. My dad's friend once had the job of scooping up dead bodies from way below this precipice. Be careful, and avoid lightning storms.

Climb Buena Vista Peak

This is a good west-facing peak to climb if you want to see the twinkly lights of the valley sparkle as the sun goes down. It is about 20 minutes up and twenty minutes down, and happens to be one of the only places where we ranger girls can use our cell phones up here. It's a good spot to go to if you don't want to feel totally disconnected from the valley. You can call home, and be like "Guess where I am?" There are also lots of nice granite slabs for sunbathing in those late-afternoon rays.

Nap on the Mark Twain Stump

From the Big Stump Picnic Area there is an easy trail down to a good tree cemetery where a mill once stood just inside the park entrance on Highway 180. At the heart of this loop hike is the 24-foot wide Mark Twain Stump where you can climb up and watch the clouds go by, or better yet stargaze, as it's one of the only open areas in the forest, thanks to those burly lumbermen of the 19th century.

Intermediate
(These hikes take a little exertion and a good half day's effort.)

Visit Marble Falls

This 8-mile roundtrip climb starts above the Potwisha campground in Sequoia National Park and follows some of the nicest metamorphic rocks around up to a palace-pretty white marble waterfall. This one is at a low elevation, so it's great now, but the flowers will die out and more rattlesnakes might show up later in summer.

All along the Watchtower

Follow the Lakes trail out of Lodgepole up to the El Capitan of Tokopah Valley. My friend Emily and I used to relax atop this cliffy vista on our way up to the higher swimmable lakes, but it is grand as a destination in itself. Be warned though, you may be surprised when out of nowhere some sweaty rock climbers arrive from below your dangling feet.

Advanced

Study a good topographical map and pick a peak to climb. Maybe one with a rad name. I like Florence Peak, because that's my mom's name, and Brewer is on my soon-to-tackle list because William Brewer was like a godfather of geology.

There are so many rugged and awe-inspiring peaks in Sequoia and Kings Canyon (the largest expanse of wilderness in the country) that you could climb ten a summer for the rest of your life and never get to all of them. If you drive up to the valley, you can get to a few if you're willing to hike all day. Alta Peak, Lookout Peak, Mitchell, even Sawtooth are doable in a day- a long crazy day, which your thighs and calves will remember for the rest of the week.

CAMPING

If you camp in the National Park, car-camping costs $18 a night and backpacking $15 per trip until the end of September. Those of us who aren't rich need alternatives. This is where the National Forest comes in handy. If you get a (free) camp fire permit and can live without toilets, you're allowed to drive off on any random forest service road and spend the night. If you want a little tinge of comfort, Convict Flat in the narrow depths of the Kings canyon is a rugged retreat. It's also not too far from the fabled clothing-optional hot tub hewn out of rock at the home of the Boyden Cavern guides.

My personal favorite camping spot in the park involves a backpack trip to a set of lakes in Mineral King, called Mineral Lakes, that are not on many maps and are only reached by a jungle-like creek drainage no trail at all.

RANGER PROGRAMS

Ranger Programs go on all summer long throughout the Park wherever Visitor Centers are found. We advertise each week's programs at all the visitor centers and they range from short nature walks to river explorations and campfire programs with ghosts of folks like John Muir. I also highly recommend the "junior-senior ranger" program where kids of all ages can complete a workbook and earn a rad arrowhead patch.

WEATHER

Spring and fall are traditionally "good" times to do anything, but the trick is just to move to higher elevations as the weather gets hotter. The native Yokuts used to do this. They were onto something. When it's 110 degrees on the valley floor it may be a cool 70 at 7000', or a decent 90 at 4000' in the canyon and perfect for river-swimming.

People with questions about camping, hiking, or mountain-y stuff can call the Grant Grove visitor center at 559-565-4307. That's where I work half the day and spend a good portion of time answering questions from callers like, "Where should I go? What should I do?"

For directions, maps, and other information, visit http://www.nps.gov/seki/. Entrance to the park is $10 per vehicle or $5 per person on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, or bus.

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