Skagit Alpine

Skagit Alpine Club – October 2008 Newsletter

Skagit Alpine Club mission statement: "To promote the use and prevent the abuse of outdoor recreation areas"....SAC Articles of Incorporation

Meeting:
September’s meeting will be on Tuesday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m. in Robert’s Hall T-19. The following shortcut is to a campus map http://www.skagit.edu/images/color_mvCampus.pdf.

Secretary‘s Report:

Submitted by Angie V.

Old Business:
As you may recall, the National Park Service is developing a new General Management Plan for the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The process continues to move forward and public comment and more information has been accepted and can be viewed at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?parkId=337&projectId=16940. The next opportunity in the planning process will be the review of the draft GMP, which is expected to be available in Summer 2009. The SAC will be invited to view the draft and provide comments.

New Business:
1. The November meeting was scheduled to fall on Election Day, so it has been rescheduled for November 11th.
2. Dave Myers presented from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station’s Outdoor Program. He is the manager of their Outdoor Programs and they are looking to pay someone to lead their backcountry outings. It sounds like a wonderful experience to expose a new group of people to the beauty of the Cascades and surrounding areas, and make a few extra bucks!
· Desired Qualifications include: Wilderness First Responder Training; Knowledge of Area, Knowledge of some flora/fauna that might be seen on these trips; ability to lead others.
· Example trips: They are thinking of some guided lowland hikes in October and November, such as Oyster Dome. For winter they are thinking of some snowshoe outings around Artist Point.
· Commitment: One full-day outing per month.
· Contact: Dave Myers at (360) 257-0853 or dave.myers@navy.mil

Program: Jason Griffith did an excellent slideshow on his trips into the Pickets! Awesome!

Program:
This month's Alpine Club Presentation will be from the membership. That's right, we want to see images and stories form your best or most memorable trip(s) this summer. Did you finally climb a peak that has been on your list for years, travel to a far off place that has always captured your imagination, or maybe you have some advice for folks considering one of our local classic trips? Well then, bring some slides or digital images to share with the rest of the club this month. The only thing we ask is to limit your time to about 10 minutes and perhaps 15-20 images- we want to make sure everyone has some time to share. If sharing with a group is not normally your thing, don't worry, we are a friendly, encouraging bunch! And it doesn't matter if your images would never appear in National Geographic- just bring a few of your best shots and share some stories with the group. If you do plan on sharing, plan on arriving at 6:30 pm to coordinate with Jason in Roberts Hall- Room 19. We hope to make this an annual tradition at the October meeting, so please participate and make it a success.

Lookout:

Submitted by Marie Erbstoeszer

Park Butte Lookout Update:
Since our August newsletter update, we were informed by the Forest Service that they received a report of a broken window at the Park Butte Lookout. After we circulated a SAC memo, John Seehorn, Peggy Ratterman, Cindy McGuiness and Jim Roberts kindly responded and soon headed up to the Lookout to repair the broken window and also prime the railings. Here's a big thank you to each of them!

On September 15 (a wonderfully sunny day compared to the work party weekend in August) we hiked up to the Lookout and finished the epoxy repair of the rotted window frame and another broken window frame and also finished the painting of the railings. We saw two unusual things that day: someone launching a paraglider off the top of Mount Baker and later a helicopter stopping by to pick up the toilet. The helicopter made a number of stops picking up toilets through out the area.

Did you know that the Park Butte Lookout was featured in the September 2008 issue of Cottage Living? The article was titled, "It's a view with a room" and said that like dozens of other lookout towers spread around the West, the Park Butte Tower, a few hours from Seattle, offers limitless view from a rustically comfortable, free high-rise. Guess it's been discovered!

If anyone gets up to the Lookout over the next few months, we always appreciate a report.

Outing(s):

1. Hiking Through History In Northern Spain
October 12 - 28th, 2008 submitted by Janell Werner

Hike the famous Camino de Santiago trail beginning at Burgos and finishing at
the Cathedral in Santiago. We hike the most scenic and interesting parts of
the trail.

Call Helen Hansen, 503-254-9465 for information and application. Come join us,
a mazama outing. www.mazamas.org

2. LITTLE MTN TRAIL REPORT - We had a successful and sunny day for trail work on Fred and Ginny's trail! The group pulled ivy, cut down holly, built walkways, dug out drains, and hauled gravel with wheelbarrows. THANKS to all the SAC members and friends who helped with this work party - Maggie, Craig, Lynn, Jim Owens, John, Lester, Peggy, Sylvia, Ed, Caroline, John and Marie. If you haven't walked this trail you should check it out this fall. It looks great!

3. PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL ASSOCIATION Http://www.pnt.org 24854 Charles Jones Memorial Circle #4, Sedro-Woolley WA 98284 360-854-9415

2008 SKAGIT COUNTY TRAIL MAINTENANCE ON THE PNT
Want to do some trail work? No matter where you work, wear long pants, have work gloves, have plenty of fluids to drink, and bring a lunch. Each person working will have to sign a liability release form. Parents or guardians of those under 18 must sign for the minor.
For information call 360-424-0407 anytime up until 8 a.m. the morning of the work party. Tools will be provided--hazel hoes, loppers, McLeods, Pulaskis, chain saws, brush cutters. You may bring your own tools if you wish.
If you can only work until noon, please call ahead to see if the work site will be conducive to your leaving early. Sometimes we will be working behind locked gates or far up logging roads and it would not be convenient for people to leave early.
Meeting place is the Cook Road Park-n-Ride, exit 232 from I-5 north of Burlington. Exit the freeway, turn right and then immediately turn right onto Old Highway 99. We meet across the street from the 76 gas station. Meeting time is 8:15 a.m.
GENERAL TRAIL WORK2008 Skagit Trail work schedule for April through October.  Trail work will be done on the FIRST and THIRD Saturday of each month.  April 5 and 19 August 2 and 16May 3 and 17 September 6 and 20June 7 (National Trails Day) and 21 October 4 and 18July 5 and 19

Conservation Report:

Climbing Committee:

The climbing class has been cancelled due to low enrollment.

Trip Report:

Submitted by Stevan Luther

Tuck and Robin Lakes Trip Report

In keeping with my game plan for life, namely, climb all the tough routes when I’m young, suffering cold bivvies, and then over the years scale back to leisure backpacks, drink coffee and eat good camp food, Suzanne and I hiked in to Tuck and Robin lakes last weekend. The forecast for the west side of the mountains was for rain so going east seemed the better option.

A couple of miles up the trail we came upon a troop of Boy Scouts coming out who looked rather wasted. I still vividly recall one young lad, wearing a bug net over his head, lips cracked and dry, looking very haggard, who was very interested in how far it was to the car. Never mind that we were at least twice as old as anyone we saw hiking in or out. It can’t be all that bad of a hike.

After three miles of hiking along Hyas Lake we had only gained 100 vertical, then the grind began. The turnoff to Tuck Lake after 4.4 miles is at 4200 feet and from there up the trail deteriorates, lots of big rocks and roots to climb up and over, for 1000 more feet. Five hours from the trailhead and 6.4 miles later we staggered into “camp”, dehydrated and hungry, the only problem being that there wasn’t any available place to camp near the lake. We found a great spot away from the lake overlooking the valley and Cathedral in the background and went to work on setting up camp.

Only problem was that, in my haste, I had picked up gas canisters which didn’t fit my stove. To top it off, we somehow managed to leave our utensils at home, so things weren’t looking too good all around. My leisure backpack was starting to remind me of earlier survival stories. Oh well, cold Top Ramen can’t be too bad, right? Wrong. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. The numerous chipmunks no doubt enjoyed the leftover noodles. Fortunately, we had some salami sandwiches made up for lunches, so starvation wasn’t an issue. No toothpaste tea.

The next morning, after another salami sandwich and no coffee, I scrambled up 1200 feet to get a view of Robin Lakes. What an enjoyable scramble up granite slabs, following cairns here and there! It does feel a bit like the Enchantments. I could see how it would be fun to take a couple of days to scramble up Granite Mountain and just play on the rock. The scenery really does get spectacular once you get out of Tuck Lake.

What amazed us was how many people and dogs were hiking in on Saturday as we were hiking out—probably 35 people and 11 dogs, big dogs, which means big piles. The only toilet at Tuck Lake is nearly impossible to use without falling off, and I didn’t see one at Robin Lakes, which means you’d better watch where you put your feet. It’s hard to imagine where all those folks were going to camp, since there are only a few sites at Tuck Lake.

All in all, it was a good trip, albeit with a few hitches along the way, but that’s what makes for an adventure, right?

Notice:

Special Announcement:
 

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