boltsâ of the camera world.â
Adams then invited Randy to come to his home in Carmel, California, to discuss the subject at length.
âI think I can help you much more in this way,â Adams continued. âIt is easy to write down ideas and suggestions, but you have a very definitive purpose in life (rare!) and I think I could help you most by just talking with you and exploring.â
The dialogue between Randy and Adams from that meeting isunknownâbut Randy did leave Carmel with a gift, one of Adamsâs classic wooden tripods and a 4-by-5 view camera. A few weeks later Randy dropped out of his fall semester courses, and applied for the job of seasonal backcountry park ranger on February 8, 1965.
On the application, under Special Qualifications, he wrote: âEntered public speaking contests in high school, and have been meeting the public and working with people all my life; have been backpacking through the Sierra covered by these 3 parks [Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon], plus some, for as long as I can remember.â
Two months later, Randy was informed of an opening at Sequoia and Kings Canyon. He arrived at park headquarters at Ash Mountain on April 29. He was honored to serve in the Park Service and had proudly purchased the classic ensemble of olive green coat, gray shirt, dark green tie, and the traditional tan flat hat. The silver National Park Ranger badge represented something important. Just a few weeks earlier, he had been in Arizona, majoring in outdoor recreation. Now he was going to live it, to actually get paid to go camping in the mountains.
On May 1, Randy reported for duty at the parksâ vehicle entrance kiosk, not far from Ash Mountain, where he would work for a few weeks before being dropped into the backcountry.
The entrance kiosk, or check-in station, was the hub of activity at this, the parksâ southernmost entrance. With the passing of the Wilderness Act in 1964, the parks had experienced a slight increase in traffic. Still, check-in station duties had changed little since the early 1940s, when Gordon Wallace, a ranger in Sequoia from 1935 to 1947, worked inside the same rock-walled building. Wallace recounted his duties in his memoir, My Ranger Years :
Not only must all traffic, local as well as tourist, stop here and make its business known, but the station also served as the clearing house for all the trivialities, petty bothers and errands, information of all kinds, and amenities of daily life. The park ranger on duty at the checking station was the pivot of this lifeâ¦. Besides the locals, I have seen and talked to many othersâpeople who came from the forty-eight states as well as from other parts of the world.
From years working customer service jobs in Yosemite, Randy knew that a smile combined with enthusiastic local knowledge went a long way when dealing with the public. Randyâs performance at the check-in station prompted accolades, as acknowledged by a letter written to the parkâs superintendent, John M. Davis, on November 5, 1965, in reference to a familyâs encounter with Randy on June 8, 1965:
Dear Sir,
On behalf of the attitudes promoted in Sequoia National Forest [sic] , I must comment that itâs wonderful to know that for those traveling throughout our great country, there are individuals and systems set up to further interests and establish atmospheres of enjoyment for all who wish to grasp the beauties of America.
In particular, I refer you to Mr. Randy Morgenson, a ranger who attended the check-in stationâ¦. His brilliant character, sparkling personality and cheerful smile both entering and leaving Sequoia left an impression my family and myself will never forget and Iâm sure made the long trips for the many who passed through Sequoia that day bearable onesâ¦. We appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Please give Randy our sincerest regards and the enclosed picture we took of him on our way
Adams then invited Randy to come to his home in Carmel, California, to discuss the subject at length.
âI think I can help you much more in this way,â Adams continued. âIt is easy to write down ideas and suggestions, but you have a very definitive purpose in life (rare!) and I think I could help you most by just talking with you and exploring.â
The dialogue between Randy and Adams from that meeting isunknownâbut Randy did leave Carmel with a gift, one of Adamsâs classic wooden tripods and a 4-by-5 view camera. A few weeks later Randy dropped out of his fall semester courses, and applied for the job of seasonal backcountry park ranger on February 8, 1965.
On the application, under Special Qualifications, he wrote: âEntered public speaking contests in high school, and have been meeting the public and working with people all my life; have been backpacking through the Sierra covered by these 3 parks [Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon], plus some, for as long as I can remember.â
Two months later, Randy was informed of an opening at Sequoia and Kings Canyon. He arrived at park headquarters at Ash Mountain on April 29. He was honored to serve in the Park Service and had proudly purchased the classic ensemble of olive green coat, gray shirt, dark green tie, and the traditional tan flat hat. The silver National Park Ranger badge represented something important. Just a few weeks earlier, he had been in Arizona, majoring in outdoor recreation. Now he was going to live it, to actually get paid to go camping in the mountains.
On May 1, Randy reported for duty at the parksâ vehicle entrance kiosk, not far from Ash Mountain, where he would work for a few weeks before being dropped into the backcountry.
The entrance kiosk, or check-in station, was the hub of activity at this, the parksâ southernmost entrance. With the passing of the Wilderness Act in 1964, the parks had experienced a slight increase in traffic. Still, check-in station duties had changed little since the early 1940s, when Gordon Wallace, a ranger in Sequoia from 1935 to 1947, worked inside the same rock-walled building. Wallace recounted his duties in his memoir, My Ranger Years :
Not only must all traffic, local as well as tourist, stop here and make its business known, but the station also served as the clearing house for all the trivialities, petty bothers and errands, information of all kinds, and amenities of daily life. The park ranger on duty at the checking station was the pivot of this lifeâ¦. Besides the locals, I have seen and talked to many othersâpeople who came from the forty-eight states as well as from other parts of the world.
From years working customer service jobs in Yosemite, Randy knew that a smile combined with enthusiastic local knowledge went a long way when dealing with the public. Randyâs performance at the check-in station prompted accolades, as acknowledged by a letter written to the parkâs superintendent, John M. Davis, on November 5, 1965, in reference to a familyâs encounter with Randy on June 8, 1965:
Dear Sir,
On behalf of the attitudes promoted in Sequoia National Forest [sic] , I must comment that itâs wonderful to know that for those traveling throughout our great country, there are individuals and systems set up to further interests and establish atmospheres of enjoyment for all who wish to grasp the beauties of America.
In particular, I refer you to Mr. Randy Morgenson, a ranger who attended the check-in stationâ¦. His brilliant character, sparkling personality and cheerful smile both entering and leaving Sequoia left an impression my family and myself will never forget and Iâm sure made the long trips for the many who passed through Sequoia that day bearable onesâ¦. We appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Please give Randy our sincerest regards and the enclosed picture we took of him on our way
Similar Books
