MT HOOD PERSONALITY

Mt Hood Personality

Mary Ellen Fitzgerald, Keeper of Trails

When you’re hiking, skiing, or snowshoeing on Mt. Hood, do you ever stop and think about the people who work on the trail you’re taking?  Mary Ellen Fitzgerald does.  She’s the Park Ranger for Trails and Wilderness at the U.S. Forest Service’s ZigZag Ranger Station.  Her career has been devoted from early on to sharing the respect and enjoyment she feels for the mountain.

“I came for the snow,” she says.  After her childhood in central Massachusetts, Mary Ellen headed west to attend Evergreen State College, where she earned her B.A. studying the role natural resources play in human society.  In 1987 she joined the Forest Service on Mt. Hood as a seasonal summer employee, gave ski lessons during the winters, and worked her way to a permanent position in trails during the 1990-91 seasons.  When in 1995 she took an opportunity to transfer from the mountain’s east side to Zig Zag, she was exactly where she wanted to be. She’s been there ever since, and it suits her fine.

Speaking of her years observing each seasonal cycle and the patterns of how people use the forest, she says, “You really get to know the ground,” through each time of year and every pattern of human use.  She takes great pleasure in the familiarity she’s earned with the mountain, which serves her well in one of her major tasks at the Ranger Station:  coordinating the volunteers that care for the trails.  They may be private individuals offering their time and muscle, or members of organizations such as AmeriCorps or the Oregon Nordic Club.  Mary Ellen trains and supervises them as they groom snow for an optimal ski surface, put up new winter diamonds on a re-routed trail, or fix a wet spot.

She also recruits new volunteers; manages information and updates websites; and writes plans for maintenance of wilderness areas, air quality, and invasive plants, to name only a few things she does in a typical week.  She’s also currenly the sole trail staff at ZigZag Ranger Station, and the lead Forest Service person involved with south side mountain climbing.

That’s a lot to ask, but Mary Ellen does it all.  Then she gets to take some recreational time for herself.  When asked what she likes to do in her off time, her first answer is “I ski a lot!”  She also hikes, camps, and rides mountain and road bikes, commuting to work by bike when she can.

Another favorite activity is soccer, which she’s played for over 30 years.  She belongs to a women’s soccer league in Portland, which she says is easy to do when the city is so close and easy to reach from the mountain.  She and her husband and son can attend Portland events any time — another reason to like the area as much as she does.

Are you thinking about coming up to play in the snow?  Mary Ellen has a couple of recommendations.  First of all, if you’re a wildlife watcher, she always has fun looking for tracks of pine martens (a member of the weasel family, brown and housecat-sized) and river otters in fresh snow.  Last but not least, she says, “Have your vehicle ready for winter!  Have your traction tires, shovel, and emergency pack.  And be patient on the roads.”

Good things to know from someone who knows and loves the mountain well.  Mary Ellen, and everyone at ZigZag Ranger Station, is glad to help you have the very best and safest winter adventure.

 

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 « Back to this issue...