thedangerranger123

It's not super common but I had a feeling when I started I would eventually deal with a body in some way. I had heard of another staff member helping get 1 or 2 out but not much and didn't ask too much. I had never seen a body not at a funeral and I wondered how I would react in the situation. I am pretty calm about that stuff but you just never know.

I get to work one day and the gate is open when it shouldn't be, and there are two cop cars and a couple cops standing around. They hadn't called or anything I just happened upon the scene about the same time as them. It was a guy down the wash, bloated and sun cooked in a bush curled up. It just felt weird not scary. I go back to the main gate to turn around visitors. In that time the coroner comes and then leaves with the cops. I go back in to make sure everything is good and they left all the blood soaked clothes and belonging where the guy was found... backpack unopened, clothes.
It's summer in the desert, it's hot, if you were to walk by you would think you were smelling a body and then if you were to look you would have seen a bloody outline and clothes, not something I wanted anyone to have to see. So I returned with a storage tub, contractor bags, grabbers, eye protection and respirator and cleaned up the belongings. You could see the ground moving and at one point an open reusable bottle was emptied of it's contents.

I was odd, just me a lone with nobody around for miles, just hearing my breathing in a respirator, and I'm collecting bloody clothes and belongings. It didn't mess me up, the only thing I have held onto from that was some anger that the stuff wasn't taken. It felt disrespectful to the dead to me. If I ever died like that I would hope someone would have the respect to gather my belongings.

So the most important thing I tell people who want to do this is that the NPS isn't the only place you can be a Ranger. There's multiple government agencies and there are places like non-profits which I prefer after working in government for so long, they have taken care of me.

Education and experience is the key, and I think experience is more important once your foot is in the door. If going for a government agency your Education is a prerequisite. I had experience volunteering in a fire tower, which was really isolated, on your own, and had some responsibility. I was also taking classes in conservation though I was honest it wasn't much. I also had some flexibility in the hiring because they didn't care just about education or if I knew how to build trails. They said they could teach me all that but they can't teach me to have the passion for the work, which you need, especially for my location. But despite my lack of a college degree I interview well, I wasn't bullshitting, and I don't come off like a dummy until I get comfortable with you and let down my guard.
But that honesty is a big factor. We've had people say they love the outdoors and outdoor work and then 6 months later they are hating it and confused why they having to do Ranger duties, so I reminded them that's the job they applied for.

We aren't terribly far from civilization, a few people also live out here, but it's like 4 houses in our area. I have to off-road to get home and back to the street so what's hard is times like right now. My Jeep power steering is leaking and I don't want to have to off-road myself to a mechanic. So in a few days I will have to rent a trailer and get it out of here. So stuff like that adds up and makes you thankful you don't have rent. Plus police take an hour to respond here so there is a risk of getting injured and dying alone. Stuff like the car sucks. I had to do the same thing last April so it will be 2 birthdays stuck out here!

That's awesome! Great point!

In terms of being isolated, that's not a problem, I've kind of done things on my own since I was in my early 20's. I can be very social but in my spare time I like being alone rather than going out or having people come over, unless they are old friends.

I actually do have a Fiancé, we see each other on weekends and we have really good communication so it hasn't been an issue. We would like to live together but we are ok with waiting for that to be easier. We both play PC games so that's what we do a lot during the week. Pretty quickly in relationships the "What's your favorite color?" questions are done with, so video games are a way for us to talk like normal while also doing something together.

I joined up in 2020 and we found a lot of masks that first year. Now I can't remember the last time I saw one. The biggest issue is two things. People pulling off the road at night shit faced, dumping trash and plowing over vegetation, and PEOPLE LEAVING BAGS OF DOG SHIT!.

People, the poop fairy isn't real. If you aren't going to pickup your dog poop don't put it in a bag!! You just took littering up another level by wrapping dog crap in trash and leaving both out there.

That's all they needed even though they didn't open the backpack to look for an ID or anything and I found stuff tossed in bushes. We let them know they didn't care.

I guess some people just really need to be in air conditioning.