Skagit Alpine

Skagit Alpine Club – November 2007 Newsletter

Meeting:

We're meeting November 7 in N-120 in Nelson Hall at 7:00 p.m. at Skagit Valley College.  The following shortcut is to a campus map http://www.skagit.edu/images/color_mvCampus.pdf.

Secretary‘s Report:

Old Business:

1.)    The club voted to encourage individual members to send letters of support of Grizzly Recovery in the North Cascades to Congressman Larson if they so choose, but that the club as a whole wouldn't be sending a letter because the membership was not all in agreement that they support the bear recovery.   We are going to continue the discussion at the November Meeting.

2.)    Lynn reported that the Easy Pass trail maintenance day on September 29^th was wonderful and good work on the trail was done, including brushing, draining and removal of cables from the footbridge.  Stay tuned for upcoming work parties on the PNT.

New Business: 

1.)   A waterfalls brochure was passed around.  The author of the Waterfalls Book may present at a future meeting.

2.)   Chris Danilson announced that the Everett Mountaineers will be offering a Backcountry Ski Course.  It is not necessary to be a Mountaineer to take the class.  Corrina has taken the class in the past and can answer questions.  

Program:

Thanks to Wayne Wallace for an amazing program on his incredible first ascents, including the Southern Pickets Traverse, the Northern Pickets Traverse, and Mongo Ridge.  Wayne also mentioned Erdun Erug’s ‘round the world trip before his presentation.  The link to the website is:   http://www.around-n-over.org/

Food and Drink Schedule:

Program:

Our November presenter will be Sky Sjue, giving a talk entitled:

"Wet and Scrappy, Wild and Steep:  Skiing Skagit and Whatcom Counties"

As one of the new-wave ski mountaineers exploring the North Cascades, Sky Sjue has found many untracked lines.  These first descents are
usually down routes that most would be proud to just have climbed, let alone ski:  West Ridge of West McMillan Spire, Price Glacier Couloir on Mount Shuksan, Degenhardt Glacier, and the North Face of Spider among many others.   With so much spectacular terrain to choose from, the mountains in our backyard are home to what Sky calls "some of the best year-round skiing in the world".  Although it has not been well studied, visiting such terrain can cause a severe case of "skisickness" in those who venture too close.  At the November Alpine Club meeting Sky will come and share a bit about this illness that compels him to return time and time again to the challenges of skiing steep lines in the North Cascades.  Be sure to check out his website for many fine tales and photos:  http://skisickness.com/
It is time to get psyched for the ski season!

Lookout:

Submitted by Marie Erstoeszer

Here's a BIG thank you to all of the volunteers who helped this year with carrying in supplies, general maintenance, scraping, painting, staining, and minor repairs at the Park Butte Lookout:  Susan Brown, Jane Vilders, Shannon Good, Larry Hoover, Maggie Sullivan, Kate Sullivan, Brian and Debby Peterman, Lynn Postler, Craig Emery, Sancho, Cindy McGuiness, John Seehorn, Ginny Darvil, Beth Walsh, Paul and Laurie Sherman, Lyall and Judy Bishop, Evelyn Rissman, Lester Bradford, Jill and Robb Zuk and John and Marie Erbstoeszer.  We apologize if we inadvertently missed someone, so please let us know if we missed you.  As of October 26, we all volunteered a total of 140 hours of work at the Lookout which does not include the hike in and out or vehicle mileage.  Thanks again for all of the help!  We are hoping to get in one more hike to the Lookout to be sure it is ready for winter and check what someone reported as a missing door knob… 

Through October 26, 2007, we have spent $277 on supplies for things such as paint, stain, brushes, rodent repellent, a new registry book, plastic garbage bags, etc.  Dale Ragan of Karl's Paints in Mount Vernon continues to give us a 10% discount on all paint related supplies – so give him a thank you when you patronize the store. 

Also through October, 26, we have received $429 YTD in donations.  Yes, those self addressed envelopes at the Lookout do work.  Many of the donations included notes saying thanks to the Alpine Club for maintaining such a special place and some mentioned they saw work parties while they visited the Lookout.  Here's a recent quote received with a $20 check from a Maryland man, "I recently visited the Lookout at Park Butte and it was simply amazing.  I look forward to perhaps staying overnight some day.  Thanks for helping make one of the most beautiful places on Earth accessible to Lowlanders like myself."  Isn't that a great statement? 

Thanks again to the Skagit Alpine Club and its members and friends and Lief Hazelet at the Mount Baker Ranger District of the National Forest Service for the ongoing support and work at the Park Butte Lookout.

Outing(s):

MANY THANKS!  To all the wonderful people who came out and worked hard on the EZ Pass trail.  Once again we had a GREAT turnout of TEN volunteers!  They dug out roots, cut back brush, built drains, and improved the hiking trail.  We enjoyed good weather (no rain), mushrooms, and talked about our summer adventures.  Please pat the following people on the back the next time you see them.  They worked hard!  Dan Rogers (our fearless leader), Craig Emery, Sylvia Trask, Peggy Ratterman, Lester Bradford, Kathy and Brad Monrad, Larry Hoover, George and Roseanne Reeves, and Sancho.

Conservation Report:

Reminder that you have until October 31 to respond to Prez Paul with comments addressing the letter about re-introducing grizzly bears into the North Cascades.

Trip Report:

By John Seehorn

PCT Oregon
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/jman1963/OregonPCT

429 miles in 23 days on the Oregon Pacific Crest Trail essentially border to border (We got on the trail a few miles north of the California border where it crosses I-5).

After months of planning, packing and scheming, Myrna and I were finally off to hit the trail.  We took the redeye greyhound from Seattle to Medford.  Labor Day weekend made for a full bus load the whole way with lots of interesting people, each with very unique stories.  Riding the bus is an interesting experience all in its own and I could write a trip report on just that.  Myrna managed to get some sleep on the way down but I think I was awake almost the whole way.

When we got to Medford I found that my trekking poles did not make the last luggage transfer, so I was lightening my load already and hadn’t even set foot on the trail.  From Medford we caught a shuttle that dropped us off at the I-5 trailhead a few miles South of Ashland near Siskiyou.   The weather was perfect and we were only on the trail about half an hour when the first thru hiker passed us; his trail name was “Goat” and by the looks of his tan we believed him when he told us it had only rained once on him since getting on the trail in Mexico.  He was soon gone, but we continued to see his name in the trail log books at various places along the way.

The first night we camped below a reservoir just south of Hwy 66.  The terrain in this area is composed of low rolling tree covered hills and not very much under brush, pretty dry.  In two days we were at mile 53, Fish
Lake Resort, to pick up our first food drop, get a shower and do some laundry.  Although it was a nice and clean resort I think I picked up some cooties from the shower or maybe it was an allergic reaction to the laundry
soap.  For the next week I was fighting a rash on my feet and went through almost a whole tube of hydrocortisone.  The weather had been perfect and when we set off from Fish Lake my barometer watch indicated a nice day ahead… it was wrong.  By nine the rain was steadily coming down.  I had my umbrella and it was really working out.  We hike pretty late that evening looking for a good spot. I made a fire in the stainless steel wood burning stove I had made and had a hot dinner in the dark.  The stove is simply a flat four and half ounce piece of stainless sheet metal that rolls into a 5” diameter tube that stands on end.  There are air holes near the bottom and the top.  It would boil a quart of water in 5 to 15 minutes depending on weather and fuel conditions.

At mile 108 we were picking up our next resupply at Crater Lake and then on to Shelter Cove Resort for the next food pick up at mile 185.   About an hour and a half before we got to Shelter Cove I could smell dirty smoke, I followed it to a near by lake where a campfire had rekindled and spread out to a radius of about five feet burning the super dry underground roots.  We made about 50 trips to the lake with a quart pan for water, dug the burning roots out and pitched them in the lake.  When I got to the resort I called the forest service and they sent a crew to check it out.

The days were getting shorter and the nights were getting colder especially when we camped high near the divide.  One night when it was beginning to rain I was in a hurry and picked a spot for the tarp tent that allowed a small trickle of water to run in and soak about 30% of my down sleeping bag.  From then on keeping warm at night would be a challenge.  I would sleep in all my cloths and rain gear as well as take a quart bottle of boiling water wrapped in a fleece vest to bed.  At around 2 in the morning when I would wake up cold, the wrap would come off the hot water bottle and get me through until 5.  Most days we were up and on the trail by sunrise.

The last food pickup at mile 231 was Elk Lake where I had the best toasted ham and cheese sandwich of my life.  This would be the heaviest food load and would have to last us the last 10 days of the trip.  We managed to get a day ahead of schedule by not staying at Elk Lake and continuing on early that afternoon.  It rained and froze a few more times during the last leg of the trip.  In the Northern sections we crossed many burned areas. During one crossing we were high on the West side of the ridge in the clouds and howling wind.  What made it so unique was that the cloud/fog was blowing though at a very steady rate.  If I were to have taken a video it would have looked very calm like the fog was just hanging in there.  Most of the smaller branches were burned off the trees so they did not move in the howling wind.  When the trail would cross over to the Eastern side of the mountain crest everything would change.  No wind and we could see out to the brilliant sunshine of the East.

My camera did not like the cold and I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I usually do.  I could hear the worn out plastic gears grinding away each time I turned it on and occasionally it would refuse to come on until I
warmed the battery under my arm.  I knew before the trip its days may be numbered and estimated I have taken between five and ten thousand pictures with it in the last three years.  I did get a few pictures of Mount Hood near Timberline Lodge when the weather was clear; it was a spectacular sight that pictures don’t do justice to.

We ended up losing the day we had gained earlier during the last leg of the trip due to the lack of daylight and not getting in the miles we needed to each day.  As it turned out we got into Cascade Locks about a half hour
ahead of our planned time of 6:00 on the 23rd.  We were in need of showers and headed to the campground at the locks.  The hosts were gone and the showers were locked so we got a motel room instead.

From there we got a ride into Portland the next day with the motel owner and his family where he was going to pick up his son, from there we caught the train (not nearly as interesting as the bus, but that was ok at this point) to Seattle and I was sleeping in my own bed by just after 10:00 that night.

Myrna did GREAT with hardly a complaint even though here feet were heavily blistered.  I could only pull away from her on the steepest climbs.  She did most of the planning, organizing and map procurement as well as giving me lots of extra food she sent to the food drops.  And that’s a good thing because she is much more creative than I in the good food department.

This trip was great and I’m glad we did it, but we both agreed it was much harder than the last PCT section we did from Stevens Pass to Canada a few years ago.  The days were shorter, the miles each day were more, it was colder and it rained more.  We were both happy to be home.  I didn’t get a single blister and I attribute that to lots of preventative care and changing out my socks to dry every hour when it was hot.  Next time I do a
long hike I’ll check into some trail running shoes and leave the leather boots at home.  The boots I took were fairly light weight (as boots go) but didn’t keep out the water after the second day of wet and took forever to
dry.  Also I have an idea for an improved wood stove that should burn hotter and faster.  The whole wood stove concept has been inspired mostly by my friend Skips interest in wood fire gasification and his enthusiasm.  12 hours a day on the trail makes for a lot of thinking time, I should have written down more of my ideas.  Next time I’ll bring more snickers bars and less Gatorade, I lost 8 lbs.  The tarp tent was a success, there were no
bugs except for carpenter ants, but they seem to tread lightly when they walk across my face in the night.  No bear sightings, but lots of sign.  No elk sightings but lots of sign and lots of bugling in the night near the
tent.  We saw all kinds of strange mushrooms, more than I’ve ever seen.  And of course there were the strange noises outside the tent in the night.  I didn’t tell Myrna until we were back about how Google Earth has all of the
Bigfoot sightings along the trail documented.

Officers:

President – Paul Sherman  293-2984 or 391-6078 (cell),  pshermanpt@verizon.net

Vice President – Jeff Smith 425-478-2698

Treasurer - Kim Griffith  (360) 419-7480 jkgriffith@gmail.com

Secretary - Angie Vandenhaak Angela.Vandenhaak@wwu.edu  (360) 756-6950

Newsletter - Corrina Marote corrina.marote@gmail.com

Webmaster - Steve Trent skagitalpineclub@comcast.net

Programs – Jason Griffith (360) 419-7480 jkgriffith@gmail.com

Lookout - John and Marie Erbstoeszer erbst@cnw.com

Outings - Lynn Postler sancho999@comcast.net

Conservation Com- Maggie Sullivan 724-3158

Social Com- Wade Bessett bessettw@hotmail.com

Climbing Com- Rick Rodgers stillyfish@valleyint.com,  Chris Danilson (mentee)