Home on the Range

By Athena Hendrick

Nice to meet you! My name is Athena, and I’ve just begun my climate science communication internship with the Mount Washington Observatory, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study. My first two shifts on the summit have allowed me a slow goodbye to winter. It’s snowed eleven out of the last twelve days!

I grew up in the Northeast Kingdom of the Green Mountain State. On clear days, I could see Mt. Washington looming over fellow peaks. As many Vermonters, curiosity about our little corner is interwoven into my family and education. In elementary school, we frequented the Fairbanks Museum to explore the weather observatory, learning how folks kept an “Eye On the Sky”. In middle school, my 5th-grade science teacher taught us how to read the landscape and complete sample plots on his farm. That same year, my world was expanded by the field trip our class took to Mispah Spring Hut. This was not only my first overnight backpacking trip, but also when I learned about the Appalachian Mountain Club’s high mountain huts. I remember the unnerving sensation of summit fog, the croo’s exciting stories, and warm soup after a day in the rain.

These events all shaped my undergraduate career. At the University of Vermont, I earned a BS in Environmental Studies, a certification in Place-based Education, and a minor in Studio Art. My thesis investigated how to discuss the ways climate change is impacting the seasons in Vermont, both in timing and norms. While the goal of my fine art exhibition was to immerse the viewer in these shifts, my most valued part of the experience was another aspect – how it created space for meaningful conversations. The artwork was a touchstone between folks who were otherwise hurrying through the central building on campus. The art expanded to include the collection of strangers’ stories. A reminder that moments of pause allow us to connect to place, one another, and ourselves.

After graduating, I became a naturalist. A profession and a way of being in the world. My study of natural history, ecology, and culture continues through personal experience, reading field guides, and chats with locals. I’ve worked in the Northeast, California, Utah, and Washington – learning about extreme environments by being in them. Imagine interpreting kelpforest while snorkeling off Catalina Island, glacial valleys while climbing in Yosemite, and tidal pools while backpacking on the Olympic coast. I’ve even given a presentation to my former middle school when they completed their annual AMC hut trip. Talk about full-circle!

Now I’m on the summit of Mt. Washington. As a former naturalist at the Madison Springs Hut, I am happy to be back living and interpreting on the Presidential Range. When I’m not watching the sunset, I’m working on the second edition of The White Mountains Almanac. Although I’ve taught thousands from K to grey, I’m grateful to be crafting another physical piece of work. Since discussing the impacts of climate change is inherently interdisciplinary, I’ve been doing deep dives into academic research, local recreation resources, regional economics, and White Mountain culture.

As I’m writing this almanac, I’m navigating how to hold our findings. Our research is diverse, and some topics include the timing of sugaring season, bird nesting, fall foliage, and the freezing of lakes. My family is overjoyed when the neighbors are boiling sap, migrating birds return, the leaves begin to change, and snowstorms are in the forecast. I’m in awe when tasting maple syrup right from the tap, listening to a predawn symphony of mating calls, smelling spring ephemerals, spotting a vibrant red leaf, and skating across smooth lake ice. These seasonal rituals ground me. Once again, I’m researching how they have shifted.

I’m looking forward to what Kathryn, the climate research intern, and I will be able to create together. Magic usually happens in collaboration. I’m most excited for the conversations the almanac will ignite between readers and their people.

So here I am. From Mispah as a student to Madison as a naturalist, and now Mt. Washington as an intern. Not long ago, I was a kid experiencing the alpine zone in the clouds for the very first time. Now, it’s where I live.

I’m piecing together
the peaks of the Presidentials,
weaving my past with my present,
and writing to you.

Thank you for your curiosity,
attention, and care
for this extreme
home on the range.