7/11/2010 Posting

What lovely weather we’ve been having! After a slow start to summer, the snow is finally melting off in the upper mountains and we’re enjoying some fine, warm hiking weather.

I spent Saturday working with several other CHS folks on the WTA trail maintenance outing up in the Foss River area by Skykomish. We ended up working on the trail that goes up to Trout and Copper Lakes—a trail I’ve hiked before, but where the beginning of the trail had been seriously washed out several years ago. The WTA is rebuilding the trail to a more stable section and we got to work on leveling out new trail bed. As far as trail maintenance goes, this is pretty hard work—we dug out rocks, sawed out roots and fallen trees, leveled ground, and hauled in new rock for the trail bed. We were beat at the end of the day and all enjoyed an ice cream treat at Zekes on the way back to the Park and Ride.

Hard though the work was, several folks remarked on both the importance of the work and their desire to come back when the trail was complete and admire their handiwork. I know from talking to many course participants that this feeling is very common. Participants who are initially not too excited to get out and wield a polaski or saw can see immediate results after a day of hard work. This is an experience not often gained through the work most of us do for a living. For many of us, it may take months to see progress on a work project. Several of us have worked hard on work projects that end up getting scrapped and never come to fruition. Performing trail maintenance has both an immediate and long-term benefit. You can immediately feel a sense of accomplishment when that fallen tree is finally cleared from the trail. The long-term benefits are many, but the most obvious is contributing to the maintenance of trails that we all enjoy and that will hopefully still be there for all to enjoy after we are long gone.

Thank you for the work you have done or will do in the course of this summer to the maintenance of our trails. Together we will contribute over 60 volunteer days by the time we are done!

July & August Hike Signup

All July hikes are open for signup for more than two hikes. Feel free to take advantage of open spaces we have available in the hikes in your group.

Signup for the Cougar Flat Campout is also going well. There is still space available on the campout and most of the hikes.

If you end up only hiking, not camping this weekend, please be sure to communicate this with your hike leader so that they can arrange meeting times/places with you accordingly. One suggestion is to fill in the note section when you register for the hike that tells if and when you are camping (Friday, Saturday or both nights). But be sure to also email the hike leader and let them know your plans as well so there is no confusion about carpooling. If you are camping, I encourage you to use either the CHS Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/CHS2010) or the CHS Hikers Facebook page to see if others are interested in carpooling with you so we can cut down on the number of drivers and cars parked at the campground.

August hike descriptions will be coming out early this week. August hike signup will begin on Wednesday, August 21st.

CHS1:

7/12/10—Midweek Hike, Surprise & Glacier Lakes, Jan Davis & Sue Shih (11 miles, 2800’ gain)

7/16—Cougar Flat Campout: Union Creek Photography Hike, Steve Payne (6 miles, 1300’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Naches Peak/Sourdough Gap/Crystal Lakes, Steve Payne & Heidi Walker (12 miles, 2400’ gain)

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Berkeley Park/Grand Park, Shep Griswold (14 miles, 1800’ gain)

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Noble Knob, Barbara Folmer & Jan Pecoraro (7 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Summerland, Heidi Walker (8.5 miles, 2100’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Fremont Lookout, Steve Payne & Shep Griswold (5.5 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/24—Harry’s Ridge/Coldwater Peak/South Coldwater Trail, Steve Payne (8.5 miles, 2300 ft gain) leader)

7/31/10—Navaho Peak, Gregg Pilgreen (13 miles, 4200’ gain). This will also count as a CHS2 hike but will be led at a CHS1 pace.

CHS2:

7/16—Cougar Flat Campout: Union Creek Photography Hike, Steve Payne (6 miles, 1300’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Indian Bar, Barbara Folmer (14.5 miles, 3700’ gain)

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Aix, Kelly Cleman & Matt Cleman (12 miles, 4000’ gain)

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Noble Knob, Barbara Folmer & Jan Pecoraro (7 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Summerland, Heidi Walker (8.5 miles, 2100’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Fremont Lookout, Steve Payne & Shep Griswold (5.5 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/25/10— Leavenworth Area Hiking Weekend: Snow & Nada Lakes, Christine Pratt & Steward Hougan (13.5 miles, 3900’ gain)

7/25/10— Leavenworth Area Hiking Weekend: Lake Stuart & Horseshoe Lake, Michale Kelly (13.5 miles, 3900’ gain)

7/31/10— Navaho Peak, Gregg Pilgreen (13 miles, 4200’ gain). This is a CHS1 level hike will also count as a CHS2 hike--it will be led at a CHS1 pace.

WTA Trail Maintenance Signup

If you haven’t already signed up for one of the several remaining trail maintenance trips with WTA, please do so soon, or 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.

Have a great week and I look forward to hiking with each of you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.

7/5/2010 Posting

I hope you are all still enjoying your holiday weekend!

I spent a very lovely 4^th of July weekend with several friends and my brother backpacking on the Eagle Creek trail on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge. While the weather wasn’t exactly sunny and warm the whole time, the rain only showed up a few times when we were heading into our camp on Friday morning; otherwise we were treated to partly sunny skies and moderate temperatures most of the weekend. We even had pretty good views of Mt Adams and Mt St Helens when we hit the top of Indian Mountain off of the Pacific Crest Trail.

I want to discuss a couple of safety issues on the trail this week. First, for trails where there are several junctions, it’s important to wait at all junctions for the whole group to catch up. This way, you know that everyone has taken the correct trail. Secondly, if for some reason you do miss a junction and are beginning to suspect that you’ve taken the wrong trail, then stop and assess the situation. Take out your map (remember why you bring a map?) and figure out if and where you could’ve possibly gone wrong. Take a look at your surroundings, do they look like what you should be encountering on the trail or if you’re heading back down, do you remember coming through this section? If you conclude that you’re not on the correct trail then head back down and figure out where you’ve gone wrong. Hopefully the rest of the group is waiting there for you. If you’re not sure if you are on the right trail, then wait to see if someone else in your group catches up with you. Do not continue to hike on a trail when all signs are telling you that you are not where you should be.

Also, do not be offended if your hike leader chooses to wait for you while you take a party separation. Hikers have been known to come back on the trail and take off in the wrong direction—leading to hours of frantic searching by the whole group. Your hike leader needs to know where you are and that you are not heading off in the wrong direction. You signed up to hike with a group this summer, so be mindful of responsibility you have when travelling with a group—group safety takes precedence over your autonomy.

Hike Leaders: be sure to give clear, proactive instructions on what your hikers should do at all junctions or if they’ve suspect they’ve gone down the wrong path. Be sure to require that everyone waits at all junctions.

CHS Hikers Facebook Group

You should have received an invitation by now to join the CHS Hikers group on Facebook. Steve has set this up to let us more easily stay in touch with CHS folks both past and present. We hope you find it useful. You will need to set up a Facebook account to access it. Let me know if you didn't get an invitation and we’ll send it out to you. This group is totally private and access is only allowed by invitation. Friends who have access to your Facebook Wall will not be able to see posts to this group.

July Hike Signup

All July hikes will be open for signup for more than two hikes starting on Wednesday, July 7^th. Feel free to take advantage of open spaces we have available in the hikes in your group.

Signup for the Cougar Flat Campout is also going well. There is still space available on the campout and most of the hikes. If you want to come on the campout, be sure to sign up before July 7^th. The Cougar Flat hikes will also open up to non-camping CHS hikers on July 7^th.

If you end up only hiking, not camping this weekend, please be sure to communicate this with your hike leader so that they can arrange meeting times/places with you accordingly. One suggestion is to fill in the note section when you register for the hike that tells if and when you are camping (Friday, Saturday or both nights). But be sure to also email the hike leader and let them know your plans as well so there is no confusion about carpooling. If you are camping, I encourage you to use either the CHS Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/CHS2010) or the CHS Hikers Facebook page to see if others are interested in carpooling with you so we can cut down on the number of drivers and cars parked at the campground.

CHS1:

7/11/10— Tired Creek to Pollalie Ridge, Barry Kellems (11 miles, 2600’ gain)

7/12/10—Midweek Hike, Surprise & Glacier Lakes, Jan Davis & Sue Shih (11 miles, 2800’ gain)

7/16—Cougar Flat Campout: Union Creek Photography Hike, Steve Payne (6 miles, 1300’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Naches Peak/Sourdough Gap/Crystal Lakes, Steve Payne & Heidi Walker (12 miles, 2400’ gain)

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Berkeley Park/Grand Park, Shep Griswold (14 miles, 1800’ gain)

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Noble Knob, Barbara Folmer & Jan Pecoraro (7 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Summerland, Heidi Walker (8.5 miles, 2100’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Fremont Lookout, Steve Payne & Shep Griswold (5.5 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/31/10— Navaho Peak, Gregg Pilgreen (13 miles, 4200’ gain). This will also count as a CHS2 hike but will be led at a CHS1 pace.

CHS2:

7/10/10— Alpine Lookout via Merrit Lake, Deborah Dickstein & Bill Schecket (12-13 miles, 3200’ gain)

7/10/10— Indian Bar, Marion Bauman & Michale Kelly (14.5 miles, 3700’ gain)

7/16—Cougar Flat Campout: Union Creek Photography Hike, Steve Payne (6 miles, 1300’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Indian Bar, Barbara Foler (14.5 miles, 3700’ gain)

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Aix, Kelly Cleman & Matt Cleman (12 miles, 4000’ gain)

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Noble Knob, Barbara Folmer & Jan Pecoraro (7 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Summerland, Heidi Walker (8.5 miles, 2100’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Fremont Lookout, Steve Payne & Shep Griswold (5.5 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/25/10— Leavenworth Area Hiking Weekend: Snow & Nada Lakes, Christine Pratt & Steward Hougan (13.5 miles, 3900’ gain)

7/25/10— Leavenworth Area Hiking Weekend: Lake Stuart & Horseshoe Lake, Michale Kelly (13.5 miles, 3900’ gain)

7/31/10— Navaho Peak, Gregg Pilgreen (13 miles, 4200’ gain). This is a CHS1 level hike will also count as a CHS2 hike--it will be led at a CHS1 pace.

WTA Trail Maintenance Signup

If you haven’t already signed up for one of the several remaining trail maintenance trips with WTA, please do so soon, or 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.

Have a great week and I look forward to hiking with each of you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.

6/28/10 Posting

I know that I’ve talked to several folks on hikes about how I really want to get out and explore new places this summer. In that spirit, Matt and I did some exploring on Saturday in the Glacier Peak Wilderness area on Saturday. We drove up to the North Fork of the Sauk River trailhead and walked up the trail a couple of miles to where the Pilot Ridge trail diverges. This is supposed to be a super spectacular hike and I’m hoping to lead it in August as the CHS2 Go Getter. The tricky part is a log crossing of the N Sauk. The river is wide and raging right now, but should be tamer in later August. Doing the hike requires crossing the log—it’s very doable, but has to be something that hikers are fairly comfortable with. I plan to go back in August and do the crossing and part of the trail to see how it goes. There are other cool options in the same area if this doesn’t work out.

Once we’d checked out the log crossing, we took a short, steep trail up to an old lookout site on Red Mountain. Did a bit of a rock scramble to get to a nice secluded lunch spot and enjoy views of Sloan Peak and Bedal Mountain. It was such a lovely day and so enjoyable to be outside. We also checked out the Sloan Creek campground right at the North Fork Sauk trailhead; very primitive, but I think I could get the trailer up there since the forest service road is pretty good.

Finally, we did a little exploring for another trailhead that was farther up the same Forest Service road—Bald Eagle Mountain. This hike hooks up with the Pilot Ridge hike and makes for a 24-mile eye-popping, scenic loop. In my opinion, this is best done as a backpack to enjoy the views earned by all the sweat to get up there. But if you look on WTA, lots of folks have done the loop in the day. After this weekend’s explorations, I’ve got some new hiking fantasies perking!

With all of the cool weather we’ve been having it’s tough to remember that at some point we will experience summer temperatures. Once we get to this point, then you’ll experience the fact that’s it’s very hard to hike uphill in the heat. I do believe that summer will eventually be here in the Northwest and we will need to start thinking about being comfortable and safe while hiking on warm days.

First you will notice that some of the hike meet times are getting earlier. Many hike leaders like to do all of their gain in the cool of the morning and I am certainly one of them. It’s not uncommon to meet at 5:00 and 6:00 AM in July and August just so we can start hiking around 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning. I think on one hike I led a couple of years ago, the meet time was 4:30 so we could get on the trail by 7:00. Hiking uphill requires a lot of energy and having to counteract the heat as well can really tax your body. So while crawling out of bed in the wee hours of the morning may seem really yukky at the time, you’ll appreciate it later in the day.

You’ll also find that your need for water really amps up on a hot day. It’s not uncommon to bring at least 4 liters of water on these hikes, along with the ability to purify more water if needed. I carry iodine tablets with me at all times as well as a 1 liter bottle so I can purify water without having to put the iodine tablets in my water bladder. You will want to be sure that you bring some sort of purification method with you as well. You never know when you’ll run out of water and need to use it.

Be sure that you have some sort of plan for replacing electrolytes. Most people bring along an extra liter of Gatorade or some other sports drink with them. I usually find that most people who end up feeling really bad on a hot day have neglected to consume something like this during the day. I personally use Emergen-C which I find not be as sweet as Gatorade and other sports drinks. So if you’re drinking lots of water and eating well but still feeling bad, then drink some of your sports drink. As with water consumption, this is best done in frequent, but smaller amounts. Don’t guzzle a whole liter of sports drink at once or you’ll waste its benefits by inundating your body with more than it can use at once.

Also be sure to use plenty of sunscreen and wear sunglasses. I often have to reapply sunscreen several times during a hike—especially to my face. Sometimes the best remedy against the sun is to cover up exposed skin, either with lightweight clothing or by wearing a hat to shield your face. I have been known to use my umbrella on really hot sunny days to shield myself from the heat and rays.

Finally, bring a bandanna or towel along to dip in streams as you pass along them. I like to put a wet bandana around my neck on a hot day. It really helps cool me down. I also like to put my feet in water whenever possible. This really helps them deal with miles by reducing swelling.

July Hike Signup

July sign up is going well. On Wednesday, July 7^th, the hikes will open for you to sign up for more than two. So if you haven’t completed your two-hike signup yet, I urge you to do so before that date. Signup for July hikes and the Cougar Flat Campout is also going well. Folks who are not planning to campout may sign up for Cougar Flat hikes beginning on July 7^th as well. July hikes with space available are listed below.

If you end up only hiking, not camping this weekend, please be sure to communicate this with your hike leader so that they can arrange meeting times/places with you accordingly. One suggestion is to fill in the note section when you register for the hike that tells if and when you are camping (Friday, Saturday or both nights). But be sure to also email the hike leader and let them know your plans as well so there is no confusion about carpooling. If you are camping, I encourage you to use the CHS Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/CHS2010) to see if others are interested in carpooling with you so we can cut down on the number of drivers and cars parked at the campground.

CHS1:

7/03/10— Duckabush River to Five Mile Camp, Steve Payne (10.5 miles, 2300’ gain)

7/11/10— Tired Creek to Pollalie Ridge, Barry Kellems (11 miles, 2600’ gain)

7/12/10—Midweek Hike, Surprise & Glacier Lakes, Jan Davis & Sue Shih (11 miles, 2800’ gain)

7/16—Cougar Flat Campout: Union Creek Photography Hike, Steve Payne (6 miles, 1300’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Naches Peak/Sourdough Gap/Crystal Lakes, Steve Payne & Heidi Walker (12 miles, 2400’ gain)

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Berkeley Park/Grand Park, Shep Griswold (14 miles, 1800’ gain)

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Noble Knob, Barbara Folmer & Jan Pecoraro (7 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Summerland, Heidi Walker (8.5 miles, 2100’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Fremont Lookout, Steve Payne & Shep Griswold (5.5 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/24/10— Harry’s Ridge/Coldwater Peak/South Coldwater Trail, Steve Payne (8.5 miles, 2,300’ gain)

7/24/10— Navaho Peak, Gregg Pilgreen (13 miles, 4200’ gain)

CHS2:

7/10/10— Alpine Lookout via Merrit Lake, Deborah Dickstein & Bill Schecket (12-13 miles, 3200’ gain)

7/10/10— Indian Bar, Marion Bauman (14.5 miles, 3700’ gain)

7/11/10—Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground from Longmire, Barb Motteler (15 miles, 3500’ gain)

7/16—Cougar Flat Campout: Union Creek Photography Hike, Steve Payne (6 miles, 1300’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Indian Bar, Barbara Foler (14.5 miles, 3700’ gain)

7/17—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Aix, Kelly Cleman & Matt Cleman (12 miles, 4000’ gain)

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Noble Knob, Barbara Folmer & Jan Pecoraro (7 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Summerland, Heidi Walker (8.5 miles, 2100’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/18—Cougar Flat Campout: Mt Fremont Lookout, Steve Payne & Shep Griswold (5.5 miles, 800’ gain)—no CHS hike credit for this.

7/25/10— Leavenworth Area Hiking Weekend: Snow & Nada Lakes, Christine Pratt & Steward Hougan (13.5 miles, 3900’ gain)

7/25/10— Leavenworth Area Hiking Weekend: Lake Stuart & Horseshoe Lake, Michale Kelly (13.5 miles, 3900’ gain)

WTA Trail Maintenance Signup

In June, the first of several WTA Trail Maintenance work parties is coming up. The link to sign up for this trip and the others is located on the CHS web site in Course Document>CHS Trail Maintenance Flyer. (http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/chs/CHS/Class_Resources.html)

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.

6/20/10 Posting

I took the weekend off from hiking and spent Saturday with Matt at his Civil War Reenacting event in Port Gamble. This is where folks dress up in period clothing, erect camps complete with canvas tents, and participate in mock battles. Even if you’re not a Civil War buff you can have a good time viewing camp life in Federal and Confederate camps, watching the battles, or shopping at the suttlery shops for period clothing and other accoutrements. While I am not a reenactor like Matt, I occasionally dress up in period clothing and attend a ball and have dinner with his Federal or Confederate unit. It’s something completely different from hiking and I enjoy spending time with the folks from Matt’s units. This kind of group activity teaches me how to get along with and appreciate folks with different perspectives and from different walks of life.

In order to enjoy any group activity—be it Civil War Reenactment, Mountaineers hike, or other activity—I find that a healthy curiosity about other people’s lives and opinions makes for interesting conversations and is a great way to pass time while on the trail. Learning to enjoy and appreciate other people is one of the things I like best about hiking and, aside from the safety benefits of hiking in a group, is one of the other great benefits of hiking with others. So if you haven’t yet had an in-depth conversation with someone you don’t already know, I strongly encourage you to engage your hiking companions in conversations that go beyond the realm of occupations or the vagaries of the weather. Ask open-ended questions (those that can’t be answered with a “yes” or “no”) about their lives or thoughts about current trends or events. Pick something that you learn about them in this way and ask them more questions about it. People like to talk about themselves and getting them to do so is one of the best ways of finding shared experiences and beliefs and creating new friendships. You already know what your friends do and think; why not find out about people in the same way?

July Hike Signup

I’m emailing out the July hike descriptions today. Signup for July hikes and for the Cougar Flat campout begins on Wednesday June 23^rd at 9:00 AM. If you plan on attending any of the Cougar Flat weekend activities—either as a camper or just to go on the hikes—pay special attention to the signup instructions. There is a different signup process for both the camping portion of the trip and for signing up for the hikes. This is because registered campers have priority signup on area hikes over non-camping hikers and so we allow them to sign up earlier for these hikes. Please read the instructions carefully and if you have any questions, either contact me (masterhiker@gmail.com) or Steve Payne (stevepayne@mindspring.com) and we will help you. Signup for non-Cougar Flat hikes is the same process you have been doing all along.

June Hike Signup:

Open signup for June hikes is going on right now. Feel free to sign up for as many hikes as you would like. Available hikes are listed below.

CHS1:

6/22 (Tue)—Midweek hike, Jan Davis/Sue Shih, Tronsen Ridge (8 miles, 1,000’ gain)

WTA Trail Maintenance Signup

In June, the first of several WTA Trail Maintenance work parties is coming up. The link to sign up for this trip and the others is located on the CHS web site in Course Document>CHS Trail Maintenance Flyer. (http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/chs/CHS/Class_Resources.html)

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.

Have a great week and I look forward to hiking with each of you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.

6/13/10 Post

Matt and I took the trailer out for its 2010 inaugural shakedown trip this weekend. We headed out on Friday amidst cloudy and rainy skies to Red Bridge Campground on the Mountain Loop Highway. Just as we were pulling into the campground, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear. I backed the trailer into the spot perfectly the first time. Leveling the trailer was another story, but we were set up and relaxing by 5:30 PM under increasingly sunny skies with a crackling campfire—absolute heaven in my book.

We did a short hike on Saturday up to Independence Lake—a short but spectacular hike to a pretty lake that still had a fair bit of snow on it. The snow pretty much obliterated most of the trail to the further North Lake, so we opted to stop for a lovely lunch in the sun at Independence Lake. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, and the only sound we could hear was the birds. In fact, we ran into very few other folks—seems everyone was else was down at Lake 22. When we drove by there, the parking lot was crammed full and the overflow of about 20 cars was lined up on the Mountain Loop Highway. I’m sure the trail was a mad house of people. Not really the hike experience I’m looking for.

I imagine that all of those folks either went to the Ranger Station looking for a sure thing (no snow to deal with) or they hadn’t thought of an alternate destination, so they had no Plan B to fall back on when they saw how crowded this trail was going to be. Lake 22 is a nice destination, but there are many great hikes in that same area that aren’t much harder to get to. The experience at these other trails may be more of an unknown than Lake 22, but isn’t that part of the adventure of getting out into the wilderness? I knew that there was a strong possibility that Independence Lake would still be snowy and that there might be too much snow to continue on to North Lake, but I opted to try out the unknown trail for a new—and much less crowded—experience. I encourage you to try out trails that aren’t well-travelled or well-known crowd pleasers. At best you find a new favorite to go back to and at the least you have a new place to explore.

June Hike Signup:

Open signup for June hikes is going on right now. Feel free to sign up for as many hikes as you would like. Available hikes are listed below.

Signup for July hikes and the Cougar Flat Campout will begin on Wednesday, June 23^rd at 9:00 AM. I will send out a July hike list on the 21^st. At the same time, I’ll also be sending out details of the Cougar Flat Campout (July 16-18). This information will describe the weekend and how to get registered for camping and for the hikes held in the area on this weekend. Those hikers camping at Cougar Flat have priority for hikes being held in conjunction with this weekend.

CHS1:

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). This hike is also open to CHS2 folks as a possibility for their second June CHS2 hike, but it will be done at a CHS1 pace.

6/22 (Tue)—Midweek hike, Jan Davis/Sue Shih, Tronsen Ridge (8 miles, 1,000’ gain)

CHS2:

6/18 (Fri.)—Midweek hike, Sue Shih, Mt. Baldy (9 miles, 3,000’ gain)

WTA Trail Maintenance Signup

In June, the first of several WTA Trail Maintenance work parties is coming up. The link to sign up for this trip and the others is located on the CHS web site in Course Document>CHS Trail Maintenance Flyer. (http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/chs/CHS/Class_Resources.html)

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.

Have a great week and I look forward to hiking with each of you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.

06/05/10 Post

I picked the right day to lead a hike this weekend. Saturday was glorious indeed and I lead a group of eight CHS2 hikers to the top of Dirtyface Peak over near Lake Wenatchee. We had warm weather to hike in and sunny skies to enjoy the awesome views of all of the surrounding snow-covered peaks including Glacier Peak and the Enchantments, including Mt Stuart. There were so many peaks that we had a hard time figuring out what some of them were! What a great problem to have. After our lovely hike, we enjoyed a milkshake and some tasty food at the 59er Diner. It was a perfect day!

Last week I wrote about animal encounters. This week let’s discuss encounters with our smaller insect friends. As we’re in tick season right now, please remember to be sure and check yourself for ticks after each hike. Check yourself all over. You can't feel them on you until they have already burrowed in. They will wander around (unfelt) on your body until they find a place to dig in and feed. While we don’t have the types of ticks in the Northwest that can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme’s Disease, it’s still best to be vigilant of these small critters. Click on this link for information on how to remove a tick if you find one: http://dermatology.about.com/cs/miscellaneous/a/tick.htm

You will also start encountering mosquitoes and the occasional dreaded-black flies on some trails. Be sure to carry insect repellent with you or someway of covering up to discourage these pesky critters. I like to carry a lightweight nylon long-sleeve shirt that I can pull on to both protect myself from biting insects and from getting sunburned. I find Deet insect repellent to be noxious, so I have some eucalyptus-based repellent that I use which is fairly effective for short periods of time; but I prefer to just cover up when the bugs become bad.

June Hike Signup:

Open signup for June hikes is going on right now. Feel free to sign up for as many hikes as you would like. Available hikes are listed below.

Signup for July hikes and the Cougar Flat Campout will begin on Wednesday, June 23^rd at 9:00 AM. I will send out a July hike list on the 21^st. I’ll also be sending out details of the Cougar Flat campout soon (July 16-18) which describes the weekend and how to get registered for camping and for the hikes held in the area on this weekend. Those hikers camping at Cougar Flat have priority for hikes being held in conjunction with this weekend.

CHS1:

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:

6/12 (Sat.)—Bill Shecket/Barb Motteler, Denny Creek Trailhead to Pratt Lake Trailhead (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)

WTA Trail Maintenance Signup

In June, the first of several WTA Trail Maintenance work parties is coming up. The link to sign up for this trip and the others is located on the CHS web site in Course Document>CHS Trail Maintenance Flyer. (http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/chs/CHS/Class_Resources.html)

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.

Have a great week and I look forward to hiking with each of you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.

05/31/10 Post

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 6^th 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 3^rd 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.