“Good morning, Skiers!!”: Get to know Mt. Spokane Rangers

Susan Mulvihill, February 2011

When you call the Snow Line and hear that exuberant greeting, do you ever wonder who's recording those messages?

     One person those words belong to is Mt. Spokane State Park (MSSP) Ranger Jerry Johnson.

     I can't tell you how many times I've called the Snow Line (509-238-4025) to find out the conditions and ended up smiling and chuckling while listening to his enthusiastic early-morning report.

     Johnson has been a ranger for 26 years, with six of those being at MSSP, and he's a great guy. You'll see him in Selkirk Lodge, or walking through the parking lot to check for Sno-Park permits, or perhaps skiing on the trails - always with a smile on his face.

     He grew up in the small town of Rochester, Wash. (population: 1,829) which is near Centralia. He didn't necessarily know from the start that he wanted to be a ranger but "I always knew I wanted to be outside and doing something interesting every day," he says.

     Johnson is a family man who is "married to a wonderful wife" and has six children and one grandchild.

What's his favorite thing about being a ranger? "I love how every day there's something new and I get to meet new people all the time," Johnson says.

     At Mt. Spokane State Park, his favorite things are "the seasons and the people - both who I work with and the visitors. I love my job." He enjoys Nordic skiing - both classic and skating - but says his skate technique is still a little rough.

     When asked what he'd like me to relay to the recreational users of the park, Johnson said this: "Enjoy the mountain year-round. And stay close to us during these times of budget cuts; we may need your help keeping things together."

     The other person who also records upbeat Snow Line messages is Park Manager Steve Christensen.

     He has been a ranger for 27 years and grew up in the town of Rochester, Wash. (population: 2,096), which is located 20 miles southwest of Olympia. Christensen has been at Mt. Spokane State Park for 10 years and originally wanted to be a marine biologist.

     He is married and has three daughters, six grandkids and has had 27 foster kids over the years. He says his favorite thing about being a ranger is "where I work." What he loves most about being at MSSP is "the quality of the natural environment, the recreation, and the people who use the park."

     In addition to being passionate about Nordic skiing (he skates and classic-skis but skates about 70 percent of the time), his hobbies include building fishing rods, scuba diving, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and fishing.

     When Christensen was asked what he'd like park users to know, his response was similar to Johnson's: "If you are watching the news, you are hearing that park funding is in jeopardy. To keep some quality of recreation at Mt. Spokane, volunteers are going to be needed more and more to fill in the gaps."