Can you believe that we’re done with August hikes already? Seems that the summer time is picking up speed and rushing to its conclusion—particularly with the fall-like weather we had this weekend. I co-led a hike with Barbara Folmer on Saturday up to Tuck and Robin Lakes and while the skies were sunny and clear, it certainly felt like a fall day. The views of Cathedral Rock, Mts Daniel and Hinman were awesome though and it felt so great to finally arrive up at Robin Lake and enjoy the beauty and sunshine even in the cooler weather.
If you haven’t done the hike up to Tuck and Robin Lakes before, then this hike can be a bit of a butt-kicker. It’s very steep and in some places you have to do some low-level scrambling using your hands to climb up rocks. We slowed down and did this section as a group, so that folks could help each other out and encourage each other. A few folks had not done this kind of thing before so they needed an extra hand. Everyone did a great job on the trip and we all had a great time together.
Caring for and helping your fellow hikers is one of the most rewarding parts of hiking with others. When you care about and believe that your hiking partners care about you, then you really enjoy being in their company. At the beginning of the year, I discussed the tenants of the “CHS Way.” One of these guidelines is that “We support other hikers and the group.” We fulfill this guideline when we help our fellow hikers who are having trouble either physically or mentally while on the trail. Instead of complaining about how much a struggling hiker is wrecking our good time, we ask ourselves how we can make their experience better and then we do it. Struggling hikers need to be able to recognize when they need help and then be able to ask for and accept aid from others. This is not weakness, it is maturity. Hiking in CHS is a group activity, and we all have a better time when everyone feels valued and supported by the other members.
September Hike Signup:
September hikes are available for signup. Please limit yourself to signing up for one hike. You can sign up for more than one starting on September 1st at 9:00 AM.
September hikes with space still available:
CHS1:
9/05/10—Chinook Pass to Norse Peak, Karen Sykes & Lola Kemp (14+ miles, 3000 ft gain)
9/11/10—W Cady Ridge/Benchmark Mt, Kim Westerhof & Jennie Douglas (16 miles, 3300 ft gain)
9/18/10—Deer Lake/Bogachiel Peak, Barry Kellems (16 miles, 3450 ft gain)
9/25/10—Cathedral Rock/Deception Pass Loop, Jan Davis (14 miles, 2300 ft gain)
CHS2:
9/04/10—Welcome Pass/Excelsior Ridge, Barbara Folmer (16+ miles, 4000 ft gain)
9/17/10—Copper Mountain, Sue Shih (20 miles, 6000 ft gain).
9/18/10—Pacific Crest Trail from Snoqualmie Pass South, Bill Scheket (20 miles, 3000+ ft gain)
9/25/10—Mt David, Mark Harniss (16 miles, 5000 ft gain)
WTA Trail Maintenance Signup:
All CHS/WTA combined trips are completed. If you have not completed your trail maintenance requirement you can schedule an outing on a non-CHS trail maintenance trip with either WTA or some of the other outdoor organizations. Once you have completed your trail maintenance requirement, please email me to let me know what date you did it on as we keep track of this information for graduation purposes.
CHS Pictures:
If you took any pictures on your hike this weekend, please be sure to forward them to chshiker2008@gmail.com to post them on the picture site for everyone to view. You can access the picture site through the CHS Web Site or directly by going to http://picasaweb.google.com/hiker.chs.
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