Another Day at the Office

2018-06-26 16:31:19.000 – Zach Butler, Summit Intern

 

Starring out the office window for motivation of a blog post is never that hard. The beautiful northern view of our presidential range is always an eyesight to amaze and daydream amount. How far can I make it on a hike today? What kind of flowers have emerged today and this week? These are just some of the thoughts I daydream about as I look to the north and west.

I’m really not sure if there is a better office view possible. The daydreams and wonder about the terrain to the north are always endless. The only downside to this view is the distraction it as too my work! Fortunately from the desk I sit at right now, I can only see part of this view.

Anyway, on with my blog! I was able to address and answer some of the questions I made this week. As I hike quickly down the Appalachian Trail to the Great Gulf, fellow intern Ben Seleb and I were trying to make it as far as we could within the hour time slot we had. As we hiked and hopped on the rocks, we noticed how much greener the grass and Great Gulf was then weeks prior. Summer had finally appeared to arrive to the area. We continued to see wildflowers that we saw on prior week hikes. As we descended, we approached the saddle between Mt. Clay and Mt. Washington, the clay-cole junction. Ben and I hadn’t made it to this junction on weeks past hikes due to time constraints. Finally, our legs and knowledge of the terrain allowed us to hike a little faster. As we approached the junction, we saw some yellow flowers we had not yet seen before! Quickly, I pulled out my iPhone and used the app “iNaturalist” to identify this flower. This new app has drawn my attention to the amazement and accuracy it has to identify plants and flowers. I simply took a picture of this yellow flower and the app told me it was most likely “Mountain Avens” or Geum peckii. I reported this flower so fellow hikers or naturalists could see where this flower was in the mountains.

 

As Ben and I observed these yellow flowers, we made it to the clay-cole junction at last. At this point, we realized it was quickly time to turn around. We started hiking back, happy with our success to make it this far. As we made our way back, we realized that we had to pick up the pace to make it back on time to finish our work in the museum for the day. This stroll and adventure quickly turned into a tough workout as we rock hopped feverously up hill. Sweating profusely despite the 37 degree temperature and wind chill in the 20s, Ben and I made it back just in time.

This quick hour adventure made me realize how lucky we are to work up here. Completing an adventure that you daydreamed about while getting a workout in, helped me answer more questions that I thought of in the beginning. The office view we have here allows one to inspire. By physically experiencing this office view, I obtained more rewards and appreciation than expected.

 

 

Zach Butler, Summit Intern

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