Ask a Ranger: She's worked in Lassen National Park for 20 years. This one was different.

In her career, Shanda Ochs has had exactly one place of work: Lassen Volcanic National Park. She’s been a ranger in the volcano-studded hydrothermal wonderland for a shade over 20 years, running educational programs, interpreting the nature and culture, leading the visitor center team and providing information to guests and the media.

We are kind of obsessed with Lassen over here, so we were thrilled when Ochs agreed to answer some burning questions about her job as a ranger and her experiences working in the park as part of SFGATE’s new Ask a Ranger series.

SFGATE: What’s something important we all need to know about Lassen?

OCHS: Many people do not take enough time in the park to really get to know it. Lassen is well-known for its volcanoes and thermal areas, but many miss the rest of what the park has to offer: the extensive trail system, expansive forests, hidden lakes and meadows, diverse plant species, just to name a few.

Places like Lassen are opportunities to learn about nature, culture, history. Experience solitude, dark skies, natural soundscapes and reconnect with nature. A visit that only lasts a few hours isn’t sufficient.

SFGATE: What’s your favorite place in the park?

OCHS: Since I work in visitor services as an Interpretive Park Guide, this is a common question I get from visitors. I answer honestly that I do not have one favorite place. Lassen is so diverse that I cannot pick one place over another. I’d say I have more favorite places than I don’t.

SFGATE: How often do you have to hike the trails? How many miles do you put in on a normal day?

OCHS: I think you mean, “How often do I GET to hike the trails?” My primary duty stations are inside visitor centers, so I stand and sit more than I hike. But when I do get to hike, it can be as little as once a week to up to three days a week. My average mileage would be 2 to 4 miles.

Park ranger Shanda Ochs and a visitor at Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Courtesy of Shanda Ochs

SFGATE: What is the craziest/weirdest thing you’ve encountered on the trail?

OCHS: Nothing too outlandish, but in regards to being prepared, many people who visit the park on a whim don’t research the environment that they are exploring. Some attempt to hike mountain trails in flip flops, or don’t have food or water with them.

SFGATE: What’s the most dangerous animal in the park? Have you encountered it, and if so, please tell us the story.

OCHS: The most potentially dangerous animal in the park is the mountain lion. I have never encountered one.

SFGATE: How has the job of being a ranger changed since you started?

OCHS: My job hasn't changed a whole lot. But as a whole, the park ranger persona has changed. In the early days, park rangers had multiple duties and wore multiple hats. The classic image that comes to mind is the ranger outside, hiking, camping, telling stories around the campfire, saving people and animals.

Now, there are more visitors and less rangers, and we have to decide what the priorities will be, meaning some things will not get done and others have to be pushed out. Also, with increased use of digital platforms, we now communicate through the computer as often as we communicate in person.

SFGATE: What’s one thing you wished everyone understood about nature?

OCHS: Nature is not static; nature is always in flux and adjusting to changes in the environment and climate. To quote John Muir: “Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.”

I wish everyone would realize that nature should not be taken for granted or exploited, and that there’s a delicate balance we do not clearly understand.

Park ranger Shanda Ochs and group of snowshoe walk participants outside of the Kohm yah-mah-nee Visitor Center.
Courtesy of Shanda Ochs

SFGATE: What’s the one thing you’d like to remind everyone to pack when traveling into the wilderness?

OCHS: Pack plenty of water and electrolytes. Many people underestimate how much water they need when hiking in high elevation, in a dry and hot environment while exerting.

SFGATE: What is the coveted park that every ranger dreams of working in?

OCHS: I do not know of one park that every ranger would like to work at. But I think most park rangers would seek to work at one of America’s iconic parks like Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Shenandoah, etc.

SFGATE: Which three California parks would be your top choices and why?

OCHS: Death Valley National Park. Redwoods National & State Parks. Lava Beds National Monument.

I am in awe of desert landscapes, the vastness, the life that can survive in the extreme environment, the flowers that spring up from the dry desert floor every spring. I’m also a lover of trees and volcanic landscapes, and fascinated by extensive cave systems and California’s native history.

SFGATE: What changes have you noticed within the park during the pandemic?

OCHS: First of all, visitation had increased. In part, that has been a trend since the National Park Service's centennial in 2016. However, the pandemic seemed to compound that.

Not using any data, just my observations throughout the summer, it seemed that most new visitors were from California. In some cases, they were coming to Lassen because national forest areas and campgrounds were closed for most of the season, and other national parks like Yosemite had created reservation systems due to the pandemic.

As a result, many of our visitors had never been to Lassen before, and had little knowledge of the National Park Service. This was evidenced by rule-breaking, mostly.