"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine

The quote above is the end of this story, but it also belongs here at the beginning. 

The middle of May through the middle of June is full of rewards, because that is when spring is in full swing here in Shenandoah National Park.  Nearly every day is rewarded with a new fawn appearing on the face of the earth.  Wildflowers are showing up at an amazing pace.  The American black bears are out of their dens.  Life is going strong.  Today, I watched two of my goals for this year reach completion. 

Goal #1:  At 8am, I took and passed the annual moderate duty test, to qualify again for Search and Rescue (SAR) duty in the park.  A carry-out is a form of rescue operation where the patient, has fallen into the bad luck of an injury or illness in the park far away from the road, perhaps miles down a steep rocky trail.  They need to be brought out in a litter (a special kind of stretcher) over rugged terrain by a team of rescuers to where additional medical help waits.  The operation often takes many hours and goes on in daytime or darkness, in spite of weather of all kinds.  There are other qualifications that also have to be tested but physical fitness and situational preparedness is an absolute must for all members of the SAR team.  The physical test required that I walk, not run, two miles in thirty minutes or less while carrying a twenty-five pound pack.  That is an average of four miles per hour for half an hour.  I passed with minutes to spare, the product of spending much of the winter in a gym working out with that test in mind.

In the years 2005 and 2006, I struggled, but passed the test.  In 2007, I was sick on the day I planned to take the test, and was unable to schedule another test.  I participated in about four carry-out operations each of those years.  I guess, I was allowed to participate in 2007 because of reputation from the previous years.  This year the opportunities for participation have been fewer.  As of middle of June, I had not been on any carry-outs.  That is good news, that the park’s visitors are taking better care of themselves out there.  At no time does any SAR team member hope that someone will need help.  We all have other jobs in the park that are enough to keep us busy.  SAR operations pull us away from those jobs and our personal time off.  In 2008 I gave two twelve hour days contributing to a search for a missing individual.  One of those days was my day off.  The search involved approximately fifty people a day for eleven days.  The search had a conclusion, tragic, but it had an end.  I was not participating on the last day.  My prayers go out to the family.  

Goal #2:  My photography was published in a special way.  I have been a volunteer photographer for the park for five years, and my photos have been included in the park newspaper, “Shenandoah Overlook”, in the park map given to all visitors, on the park’s public website, and in ranger presentations.  But today, I saw my photo of “Iron Mike”, the CCC Boy statue in front of Byrd Visitor Center made available to the public through the Shenandoah National Park Association as a postcard.  Every postcard sold will bring a portion of the sales revenue back to support the park’s Interpretation and Education programs.   I am very proud.

Tonight, I walked among the blooming mountain laurel on the Limberlost Trail.  And tonight, I celebrated my day of goals met by eating out at Skyland Resort.  The quote from Steve Prefontaine, the gifted runner, that I started this entry with caught my eye as I was eating dinner.  It was on a Tee shirt a man was wearing at a nearby table.  The print was just big enough for me to read the quote, but not to see who had said it.  I had to get up and apologize to the gentleman wearing the shirt so I could look closer.  I had to follow the quote’s advice one more time tonight.  I would not have been giving it my best, if I only read the quote and did not learn who had said it.

--Ranger Bob