Welcome to the CHS 2011 Season!

I can't believe it's almost time once again for CHS to begin again. The off-season seemed to pass so quickly this year!

Once the course begins on March 24th, I will start making entries into this blog. These entries will cover hiking-related issues of interest to folks in the course. Topics are generally educational in purpose, but I may also discuss and state an opinion or two about pertinent outdoor issues. You may respond to this blog if you wish, but please keep all comments polite and on topic. I do have the power to delete entries and am not afraid to use it!

You do not need to be follower of the blog to read these entries, but if you are, then you will be notified when I make updates to it. Generally speaking, I make an entry each week, usually around Sunday or Monday.

I am looking forward to another fun season of CHS!

Kelly C.

10/03/2010--Final Posting

The time has finally come to say goodbye for the summer. I had an awesome time at the Graduation Party. It was great seeing all of you in your everyday clothes without trail grime on your faces. Congratulations to Steve Payne for being knighted “Prince of the Cascades.” It is a well-deserved honor. Steve has posted some images from last night on the CHS Facebook page. Go check it out.

Also, John Connelly, our photo guru, has posted his slide show presentation from last night on U-Tube. You can view it by entering the following into the youtube.com Search window: Seattle Mountaineers CHS Highlights 2010.

My favorite memories of the course are from hiking with you this year. Thank you for another fun season of CHS. I enjoyed meeting all of you and hiking with many of you. Congratulations on gaining a significant achievement. Even if you don't plan on doing longer distance day hiking ever again, you have gained the skills and knowledge you need to perform confidently on the trail, regardless of difficulty.

Several of you have shown interest in either taking the course next year or helping out with it. I'm glad that you enjoyed the course enough to want to be involved with it again. We could definitely use all of your support! Please email me with your interest and I’ll be in touch when it comes time to start planning CHS 2011. And remember that even if you decide not to take the course again, you are always welcome to come along on any of the hikes that do not fill up by the Thursday before the hike—one of the perks of graduating from the course.

I also wanted to reiterate again my comment from last night about finding some volunteer activity—even if it’s not CHS—that you are passionate about and making it a part of your life. One person committed to a calling can make a difference in this world. I encourage you to find your calling in life—be it outdoors-related or otherwise—and keep working to make it happen. And while you’re at it, visit your National Parks and see what dedication by others can do to make a difference in other people’s lives.

If you were unable to make it to the party, I have your graduation certificate and picture CD and I will have the clubhouse mail them to you sometime before the end of the month. Please make sure today that the address you have on file at the clubhouse is the correct one.

Keep in touch and I hope to see you on the trail again soon!

Kelly

9/26/10 Posting

Well, can you believe it? The CHS hikes are over for the season. It seems to have come so soon this year. Congratulations to all of the folks who completed their graduation hike this month.

I spent the glorious weather on Saturday doing a scramble up Mt Pugh in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The views were incredible and the route presented a good challenge for me as I keep pushing the limits of my ability to handle exposure. I consider it my Graduation hike for the summer. I’ve included a happy photo of myself at the summit with Glacier Peak over my shoulder.

As graduates of CHS, you have also challenged yourself this summer. Many of you have hiked longer and higher than you ever have before. Those of you who are repeat graduates may just be challenging yourself to keep in excellent hiking condition for another summer. I know that as I grow older, it seems to take a little longer each year to get myself back in CHS shape.

So as you move on to the next phase of your post-CHS hiking life, I encourage you to meet a different kind of challenge in your hiking career: Figure out one bad hiking habit you have developed and get rid of it. For example, I have a bad habit of not putting on sunscreen every time I go hiking. I have lots of excuses, but there really is no good reason for not applying I before I head out in the morning. I’m sure you have a different bad habit. Here are some common ones:

· Do you always bring the Ten Essentials? Including the map?

· Do you always bring extra food and water.

· Do you let an emergency contact know where you are going hiking and when you’ll be back?

· Do you start walking before you put your camera away (another big one of mine)?

· Do you eat and drink enough to avoid low blood sugar and dehydration?

· Do you let hiking companions know when you need to take a break or do you walk along suffering in silence?

· Do you stretch after a day of hiking?

I could go on and on. Pick one bad habit and make it into a good habit. That’s my off-season task for you.

CHS Graduation Party

The graduation party is next Saturday, October 3^rd at the Seattle Mountaineers clubhouse at Magnusson. I’ll see you there and we will celebrate your accomplishments. Please contact me if you have any questions.

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.

9/12/2010 Posting

In my off weekend between a backpack trip and climbing Mt St Helens, my plan was to hike up Mt Pugh. But as it’s a bit of an exposed scramble, I only wanted to do it in dry, sunny weather. Unfortunately, today it was neither dry nor sunny. In fact it was one of the soggiest days I have ever hiked on. Plan B was to hike up to Tin Pan Gap near Three Fingers and look down on the glacier below the Three Fingers lookout—about a ten-mile roundtrip hike. However, it was so wet and unpleasant that we only made it to Saddle Lake—about five miles roundtrip. We were pretty happy to get out and do that given that it poured the whole time we were out. The fun meter was definitely hovering around zero. We did have the trail all to ourselves however…

A participant requested that I put together a list of hiking resources that our hike leaders use to plan and prepare for hikes. Here is a website on the Seattle Hiking Branch page that has some resources: http://www.mountaineers.org/seattle/seahike2/Resources.html

I also polled the hike leaders and this is what they use the most:

Books: Mountaineers Books Day Hikes series

Trail Info Web Sites:

· Olympic National Forest trail information: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic/recreation-nu/trails_1.shtml#trailinfo

· Northwest Hikers: http://www.nwhikers.net

· Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/road_conditions_report.shtml

· Washington Trails Association: http://www.wta.org/

· Google "Karen Sykes [name of hike]" to see if she’s written a trip report on it

Mapping Web Sites:

· http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

· http://mapper.acme.com/

· http://mattj.net/overlaymap.html

· http://greentrailsmaps.com

Other Web Sites:

· Sunrise/Sunset times: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=234

· Weather: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/

· Pass conditions: http://www.skimountaineer.com/MtnWebCams/WA-MtnWebCams.html

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:

9/18/10—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:

9/17/10—Copper Mountain, Sue Shih (20 miles, 6000 ft gain).

9/18/10—Pacific Crest Trail from Snoqualmie Pass South, Bill Shecket (20 miles, 3000+ ft gain)

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.

9/6/2010 Posting

I just got back from a wonderful weekend spent on a backpacking trip with friends up into the Goat Rocks Wilderness. We spent two glorious days exploring Snowgrass Flats, Goat Rocks, and a high section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Despite a rainy forecast, we enjoyed amazing views of Mts Rainier, St Helens, and Adams on several day trips from our campsite below Goat Lake.

The highlight of the trip was a day hike up the Pacific Crest Trail to the shoulder of Old Snowy Mountain. A couple of us scrambled up the block summit of Old Snowy and saw some amazing views of Mts. Rainier, St Helens, and Adams along with Mt Stuart in the Enchantments. We then enjoyed a ramble down the other side of the pass on a narrow rock ridge to a view of Packwood Lake and dreams of hiking farther up the trail on a true knife-edge ridge. But save that for another day.

It was very cold last night, right around freezing in fact, and woke up this morning to windy, cloudy, and very cold weather. So we packed up quickly and headed back down to the trailhead. We were amazed when it started snowing on us at Snowgrass Flats. The first signs of fall, I guess. Summer always seems to go so quickly.

While on my backpack trip, I was reminded of the advantage of being prepared for unplanned events in the backcountry. This means that it’s a good idea to bring along items which may not necessarily be used on any given trip, but which would come in handy if you had them. For example, despite having had my Yaktraks attached to my backpack for most of the summer, I declined to bring them along on this backpack trip as I didn’t think we would encounter any snow. Well wouldn’t you know, we did encounter snow when we were high up on the PCT. There was an icy snowfield with a long runout that we had to cross to get up to Old Snowy. Those yaktraks (which weight maybe a couple of ounces) sure would’ve come in handy. I also looked at some chemical handwarmers in my daypack and decided they didn’t need to come along too. Did I mention that it got down to freezing on our last night out and was snowing on our hike out? Those handwarmers sure would’ve felt nice this morning. There was also the extra pair of long underwear I didn’t bring along…

Do you get the idea that I wasn’t thinking it would be that cold? That’s kind of a silly assumption given the fact that it’s been a bit chilly on my hikes these last few weekends. Even if it had been warmer and I hadn’t needed them, it still would’ve been easy to bring them along and to be prepared for the unplanned event. Keep that in mind as you pack for your all of your adventures, regardless of season.

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 will receive an invitation soon with more details. 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:

9/11/10—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:

9/17/10—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)

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.

8/30/2010 Posting

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 1^st 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.