9/19/2010 Posting

First a request: I'm collecting responses to the question, "What the best thing you learned from CHS?". Email me at masterhiker@gmail.com with the reply. I will use the comments on the web site, so if you prefer your input to be anonymous, please let me know when you email me.

As we come close to finishing the course for 2010, I want to remind you that every activity and hike was made possible by the work of volunteers. Volunteers monitor the signups for the trips. Every extra activity, including the Cougar Flat campout, was organized and run by volunteers. Put simply, CHS would not exist without volunteers. I cannot thank each of our volunteers enough. You should thank them too.

Who are these volunteers? Some of them are long-time members of The Mountaineers. Others are newer to the club. Most of them are themselves graduates of the Conditioning Hiking Series. They’ll tell you that a big motivation for their own service was the powerful and positive effect CHS had on them.

If CHS has been a positive experience for you, and you want to help pass that experience on to others, please consider volunteering for next year’s course.

In fact, many of you have already expressed interest in helping with next year’s course. I truly welcome this interest and this help. There is room for more. For those whose abilities and interest may be more behind the scenes, there are opportunities for organization and record-keeping. Please let me know of your interest in these areas, and we’ll find work where your help will be best used.

Many of you may feel moved to serve as hike leaders. There is a great need for hike leaders both for CHS and for the club’s general-membership outings. Becoming a Mountaineers hike leader is not difficult; it does not require extensive training or exotic certifications. There are two simple steps: First, attend a two-hour workshop for prospective leaders; second, partner with a qualified and experienced leader for a mentored hike. The mentor will help guide you through the process and will provide feedback on your performance. Following the mentored trip, you will be qualified to begin leading trips yourself; some people prefer two mentored trips before flying solo. That’s it.

Please consider volunteering for CHS. The time to start preparing is now. Let me know if you want to help, and we’ll get you started.

Graduation Party:

Hold the date of Saturday, October 2^nd on your calendar. The evening will be spent celebrating your graduation from the 2010 season of CHS. You should have received an invitation through email by now. Remember that in order to be recognized as a graduate, you must have also completed your trail maintenance requirement. 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

September Hike Signup:

September hikes are available for signup for more than two hikes. Hikes with space still available:

CHS1:

9/25/10—Cathedral Rock/Deception Pass Loop, Jan Davis (14 miles, 2300 ft gain)

CHS2:

9/25/10—Mt David, Mark Harniss (16 miles, 5000 ft gain)

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. The last date to submit pictures for inclusion on the graduation DVD that we hand out to all graduates is Sept 26^th.