I’m beginning to get the feeling that the rain will never be going away. What about you? I think it’s been about the soggiest May I’ve ever experienced in the Pacific Northwest. Me and seven other hikers escaped yesterday to the east side of the Cascades for a rain-free hike in the Teanaway (near Cle Elum). While it wasn’t sunny blue skies, we saw the sun quite a bit and enjoyed great views of Mt Stuart and other Enchantment Peaks as we climbed up towards Medra Pass. Our initial plan had been to go all the way to Koppen Mountain, but we lost the trail right below Medra Pass. We decided to call it a day at a ridge close to where we were pretty sure the Koppen Mountain trail was. It was a nice place to hang out and take nap, talk, or just look at the views.
As I was walking up the trail yesterday and enjoying being in the outdoors, I was thinking about the reasons I used to avoid hiking. I was definitely an indoor girl and when asked if I wanted to go hiking I would say, “Why would I want to do that? It’s cold and dirty and there are bears.” Well I have solved the cold problem with decent clothing, I enjoy getting dirty now, and I’ve encountered bears several times and had no problems.
I don’t know about your ability to endure cold or love of getting dirty, but I do know that I hear from many folks both in the course and in the Beginning Hiking Seminar that one of the biggest issues they have with getting into the backcountry is fear of encountering wildlife—specifically bears and mountain lions. Please don’t let this fear stop you from getting out into some really great areas. Instead, learn how to minimize your chance of encountering wildlife in dangerous situations. For excellent trips on how to do this, please read these safety guidelines provided by the National Park Service in Glacier National Park. There are links to tips specifically for bears and mountain lions. I’ve backpacked in this beautiful park and have seen both grizzly bears and moose fairly close up and have not had any problems with them.
What many people fail to realize is that the biggest issue with wildlife is failing to respect the wildness of wildlife. Getting too close to or feeding creatures is a much bigger safety issue than dealing with marauding bears and cougars. Most people get injuries from being bitten or struck by animal—usually by a cute chipmunk or deer while trying to get that close-up picture or when giving them something to eat. I think I had my worst encounter with wildlife at a picnic spot in North Cascades National Park where a jay habituated to human food was dive-bombing Matt and I at a picnic table as we ate our lunch. This bird was actually landing on our heads and arms trying to get us to give it something to eat! In contrast, the bears I’ve seen either took one look at me and headed the other way, or continued browsing on the huckleberries.
So here’s the best advice I can give for dealing with all wildlife (provided by the Yosemite National Park web site):
Keep Wildlife Wild:
· Respect animals at a distance: never feed or approach them.
· Keep your distance from animals, even if they approach you.
· Dispose of trash in animal-proof trash cans or dumpsters.
· Keep your food and trash from wildlife by storing it properly, day and night.
If we can minimize the reasons why animals desire to approach humans in the first place, then the chance of having a negative or dangerous encounter will be minimized.
June Hike Signup:
Steve Payne has valiantly offered a CHS 1 hike on June 6th to Camp Pleasant. See the hike description on June hike descriptions document on the CHS web site Resources tab (http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/chs/CHS/Class_Resources.html)
June CHS hikes are available for signup. Open signup for more than two hikes will begin on Thursday, June 3rd at 9:00 AM. If you haven’t signed up for your two required hikes yet, please do so before then in order to have the best selection. Below are the hikes with space still available.
CHS1:
6/06 (Sun.)—Steve Payne, Pleasant Camp (13,5 miles, 1000’ gain)
6/12 (Sat)—Barry Kellems, Oyster Dome/Lilly Lake (10 miles, 2200’ gain)
6/13 (Sun)—Steve Payne, Ingalls Creek (12 miles, 1,200’ gain)
6/20 (Sun/Father’s Day)—Anna May Brennan, Pratt-Olallie Saddle (9 miles, 2,400’ gain)
6/20 (Sun/Father's Day)—Go Getter Hike, Jennie Douglas, Navaho Pass (11 miles, 2,900' gain)
6/22 (Tue)—Midweek hike, Jan Davis/Sue Shih, Tronsen Ridge (8 miles, 1,000’ gain)
CHS2:
6/05 (Sat/National Trails Day)—Kelly Cleman, Dirtyface Peak (9 miles, 4,000' gain)
6/06 (Sun)—Barbara Folmer, Teanaway Ridge/Iron Bear Peak (11 miles, 2,300’ gain)
6/12 (Sat.)—Bill Shecket/Barb Motteler, Denny Creek TH to Pratt Lake TH (13 miles, 2,900' gain)
6/13 (Sun.)—Deborah Dickstein, Leaders' Choice (11 miles, 2,500' gain)
6/18 (Fri.)—Midweek hike, Sue Shih, Mt. Baldy (9 miles, 3,000’ gain)
6/27 (Sun.)—Cynthia Stevens/Ellen Purington, Mt. Defiance (11 miles, 3,300’ gain)
CHS Pictures:
John Connelly, our picture guru, asks that you send your May hike pictures to him—he hasn’t seen many for this month and we know that you’re taking them. A link to this web site is listed on the Class Resources tab on the CHS web site.
On your picture email to John, be sure to include the name and date of the hike and the hike leader name in the subject line. You can send your pictures to chshiker2008@gmail.com.
If possible, attach the photos to the email rather than imbed them. In some cases, this might involve resizing them. If you need help doing this, contact John at hiker.chs@gmail.com
WTA Work Party Signup
There is still space in the June WTA/CHS trail maintenance trip on June 26 on the Pratt River Connector. Here is the link to sign up:
Sign-up: http://www.wta.org/groups/CHS
We have the other links available for you to sign up for the trail maintenance work parties being held later this summer in conjunction with WTA. I have posted the WTA document with the links on the CHS web site>Class Resources tab>Course Documents section>2010 CHS Trail Maintenance Flyer link. You can view the date and description of each trip as well as click on the link to sign up for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment