May 2010 Mountaineers Newsletter

8/9/2019 May 2010 Mountaineers Newsletter

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MountaineerThe

www.mountaineers.org

May, 2010Volume 104, No. 5

M3 Burke event:Mushroom Maynia

M4

Book comingto the rescue

of NC National Park

M5 Whittakers namedto Sports Hall

M2 View from the Top

M4 Conservation Currents

M4 Summit Savvy

M5 Off the Shelf

DiscoverTheMountaineersIf you are thinking of joining -

or have joined and arent sure

where to start - why not attend

aninformation meeting?

Check theGo Guide branch

sections for times and locations.

Are you ready to jump right in?

Visitwww.mountaineers.org.Need to call?206-521-6000.

PERIODICAL

POSTAGEPAIDAT

SEATTLE,WA

T

heMountaineers

7

700SandPointWayN.E.

S

eattle,WA98115

The monthly publication of The Mountain-

eers:Enriching the community by helping

people explore, conserve, learn about, and

enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacic

Northwest.

U p c o m i n gU p c o m i n g

Legends converge. See M3 By Brad Stracener

The pitter-patter heard by

Mountaineers around their

usual haunts may not be

just the rain. It is very likely the

sound of lighter feet on the way to

a mountain lake, a salmon-spawn-

ing stream or the top of one of theclimbing walls at The Mountaineers

Program Center.

Especially since The Mountaineers

Board of Trustees adopted a new

strategic plan a few years ago, a

youth movement has been afoot,

one that includes the families of

these youths as well.

A recent visit by this writer to

Kitsap Cabin, operated by The

Mountaineers Kitsap Branch and

Players, exemplied the surge of

youth and family activity within and

outside the organization. More than

70 fth-graders from Crown Hill

Elementary School in Bremerton

Thumb is for chum. The rst nger

is for the sockeye. The tallest

nger, your middle, is for the king.

The ring ngerthink what some

jewelry is made ofis for silver

salmon and the pinky is for pink

salmon.

The kids are then divided into a few

groups and each group is given

On a recent Salmon Safari eld trip, fth-grade students from Bremerton browse

the banks of Chico Creek for traces of the chum salmon run last fall. The creek

runs through The Mountaineers Rhododendron Preserve. For more about the

preserves history, see the article below.

Continued on M6

New family and kids

programs launched! See

pg. 10 of theGo Guideteemed inside the cabin to watch

a lm on salmon and then listened

intently to Mountaineer and Kitsap

Branch Chair Katha Miller-Winder

as she reviewed the information

imparted by the lm:

So does anyone remember the

types of salmon in the Northwest?

She proceeds by raising the ve

ngers on one of her hands.

Lighter feet

are llingMountaineers

landscape

Editors note:Gardner Hicks was

asked 40 years ago if he could

help The Mountaineers Players at

the Forest Theater on the Kitsap

Peninsula. He responded with a

yes and ended up with a walk-on

part in the cast for The Hobbit.

Ever since, he has been known

by Players as a one-man mainte-

nance committee on the grounds,

part of the 460-acre Rhododendron

Preserve that found its genesis via

a group of thespian-inclined Moun-

taineers who hiked into the forest

to view the wild rhododendrons 100

years ago. In the following article,

Hicks conveys some history about

the preserve and its signicance.

By Gardner Hicks

I think that the Players and Rho-

dodendron Preserve have a kind

of symbiotic relationship such that

neither one would be around today

if the other were not.

The Mountaineers was founded in

1906. In 1909 a group of Mountain-

eers was making its way up Chico

and Wildcat Creeks intending to

hike to Wildcat Lake. The group

had taken one of the mosquito-eet

PlayersprovidesupportingcastforRhodiePreserve

Continued on M7

Liesl von Trapp (Ila Faubion) and Rolf

(Anthony Dreessen): The Sound of

Music. See the ad on pg.M7

for info.Gardner Hicks on site.

The rugged and remote picture:

Photographer Chris Noble, whose

lens has captured some of the

most wild corners of the globe, will

present a show here on May 7.

See the ad on M3 for details.

GREEN DRINKS to food our

halls!A gaggle of green groups,

are expected to ll The Mountain-

eers Program Center on Tue., May

11 at 5:30 p.m. The monthly Green

Drinks event rotates hosts from

month to month. For details visit

www.seattlegreendrinks.org.

Brad

Stracnenerphoto

MickEtch

oephoto


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May010 TheMountaineer

Withappreciationtoallwhosupportandcontribute

The

MountaineerAlso see us on the web atwww.mountaineers.org

The Mountaineers is a nonprotorganization, founded in 1906and dedicated to the responsibleenjoyment and protection of naturalareas.

Board of Trustees

Ofcers

President Tab Wilkins, 10-12President Elect Mona West, 10-12VP Properties Dave Claar, 10-12VP Publishing Don Heck, 10-12Treasurer Gavin Woody, 10-12Secretary Lorna Corrigan, 10-12

Trustees at largeKirk Alm, 07-10Rich Draves, 08-11Dale Flynn, 07-10Ed Henderson, 08-11Lynn Hyde, 08-11John Ohlson, 09-12Mark Scheffer, 09-12

Dave Shema, 07-10Matt Sullivan, 09-12Mona West, 09-12

Branch TrusteesBellingham, Steven GlennEverett, Rob SimonsenFoothills, Gerry HaugenKitsap, Jimmy JamesOlympia, John FlanaganSeattle, Mike MaudeTacoma, Tom Shimko

Executive DirectorMartinique Grigg

Managing EditorBrad Stracener

Contributors, proofreaders:Chris Austin, Jack Edwards, BrianFutch, Jim Harvey, Suzan Reiley

Photographers & I llustrators:Mick Etchoe

THE MOUNTAINEERis publishedmonthly by:The Mountaineers,7700 Sand Point Way N.E.Seattle, WA 98115206-521-6000; 206-523-6763 fax

Volume 104, No. 5The Mountaineer(ISSN 0027-2620)is published monthly by The Moun-taineers, 7700 Sand Point Way N.E.,Seattle, WA 98115.Members receive a subscription as partof their annual dues. Approximately$12.42 of each members annual

membership dues is spent to print andmail this publication. Non-membersubscriptions to The Mountaineerare$32. Periodicals postage paid at Seat-tle WA.Postmaster: send address changesto The Mountaineer, 7700 Sand PointWay N.E., Seattle, WA 98115.Opinions expressed in articles arethose of the authors and do not nec-essarily represent the views of TheMountaineers.

Mission and purposes

To enrich the community by helping people

explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the

lands and waters of the Pacic Northwest.

To explore and study the mountains, forests and other water

courses of the Northwest and beyond;

To preserve by example, teaching and encouragement of

protective legislation our special places; and,

To add value to our members and our community by provid-

ing youth and adult outdoor education opportunities.

Who ya gonna call? Your mentor, of course

Are you a new member wondering about the how-to, where-to and what-to-do with

your club? There are a number of resources available to you, not the least our

websites. Now there is also a real, live person. If you want to know about expected

conditioning for a hike, what not to wear, how to sign up for events or whatever call

or e-mail the mentor of the month. Mona West is this months mentor. Feel free to

contact her at [email protected] with your questions or comments.

View from the TopBy Martinique Grigg, president

On April 9 The Mountain-

eers Program Center

hosted an event to honor

Wolf Bauer and celebrate the re-

lease of his new biography, Crags,

Eddies and Riprap. As Tab Wilkins

mentioned in last months View

from the Top, Wolf, 98, boasts the

longest tenure of membership81yearsamong all members of the

organization. His contributions to

the outdoor education, conserva-

tion and recreation communities

are unparalleled.

Not only

was he a

founding

member

of the

Mountain

Rescue

Council,

the Wash-

ington Kayak Club and the Wash-

ington Environmental Coalition, but

he also created The Mountaineers

basic climbing program and taught

the rst kayaking course in Seattle

at the YMCA. Later in his lifeas

a second careerhe led the way

in preserving and protecting the

Green River Gorge and the shore-

lines of Washington state.

Listening to all of his achieve-

ments, I couldnt imagine a better

person to embody our mission:

to help people explore, preserve,

conserve . . . learn about and enjoy

the lands and waters of the Pacic

Northwest.

He brings together the three pillars

of our organization: conservation,

education and recreation. And

he knows that teaching people torecreate safely and responsibly is

the best way to ensure a love and

commitment for the special places

in which we play.

While Wolfs numerous achieve-

ments are inspiring, similarly

inspiring were the 220 or more

people who gathered from across

our community at our Evening of

Legends event to support Wolf and

The Mountaineers. Volunteers,

teachers, recreationists, conserva-

tionists, members, government of-

cials, corporate executives, young

and old, they all came to celebrate

with us. And for that I need to ex-

press my personal gratitude.

In fact, many of our guests went

above and beyond to offer dona-

tions to The Mountaineers in order

to sustain and grow our programs,

conservation efforts and mission.

This organization was built upon

the shoulders of legends like Wolf,

as well as all of the volunteers,

members, students, public partners

and donors whose contributions

have allowed us to thrive for over

100 years. With your support we

want to continue for 100 more.

In his books preface, Wolf states

that telling his story has a dual

roleexplaining the past in order

to plan and guide the future.

Today, our 9,700 members are

testament to a community dedi-

cated to sharing its passion for the

pg. M1 of this Mountaineeryou

will read about our recent Family

Activities Summit and new family-

oriented programs. Over 20 volun-

teers gathered to brainstorm and

create a slate of family activities for

this summer. Keep an eye out for

the schedule to be posted on our

website and in the Go Guide.

In the coming years we will needto further protect our irreplace-

able lands and waterways and

to continue to educate the public

about responsible recreation. The

board spent its April retreat taking

a fresh look at our 2007 strategic

plan (available on our website in

the About Us section) and we are

working to update it for 2010. You

will nd that the current document

outlines our current priorities fairly

wella future focused on growth,

community outreach, youth, fami-lies, outdoor education and nan-

cial stability.

To achieve our aspirations, we will

need your continued involvement.

So in the spirit of creating lasting

legacies for The Mountaineers, I

hope you are inspired by Wolfs

achievements enough to continue

or even increase your contributions

to The Mountaineers. Who knows?

It may be you we are celebrating at

one of our future Legends events.

How's 20 percent o your frst

piece o hiking gear sound?

That's how much you save on the price

of guidebooksor any book for that

matterat our bookstore when you join

The Mountaineers.

Mountaineers

volunteers educate

over 2,500 students

annually in responsible

recreation skills.

outdoors and protecting the special

places in which we recreate.Mountaineers volunteers educate

over 2,500 students annually in

responsible recreation skills. Over

8,000 of our members will engage

in our conservation efforts when we

launch our conservation e-newslet-

ter this month.

Inspiring the next generation of

explorers, conservationists and

educators is our next challenge.

We want to increase our efforts

to get youth outdoors. In fact, on


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May010TheMountaineer

ReadThe Mountaineer/Go Guide online, too!

Did you know you can ndThe Mountaineer and theGo Guide online?

Visit www.mountaineers.org and go to monthly mangazine in the top

menu bar.

Thank you! To all those who attended an Evening of Legends

More than 220 people joined The Mountaineers on April 9 to celebrate the life and achievements of Wolf Bauer at an Evening of

Legends banquet. Everyone in attendance was awed by the amazing achievements of Wolf and many were inspired to purchase his newly

published memoirs, Crags, Eddies, and Rip Rap: The Sound County Memoirs of Wolf Bauer, by Wolf Bauer and Lynn Hyde. Special guests

included Jim and Lou Whittaker, as well as Dee Molenaar and numerous local leaders. Thank you, again, to all those attended this year. We

hope to see everyone again next year!

(From bottom left clockwise) Mountaineers Executive Director Martinique

Grigg and President Tab Wilkins present Wolf Bauer (left) with the inaugural

river stone of the Tributaries campaign, in honor of his monumental

contributions to The Mountaineers; the rst American to summit Mt. Everest,

Jim Whittaker, presents a gift to Bauer; attendees share stories while

reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones; Dee Molenaars hijinks

catch the Whittaker twins at a vulnerable moment.

ColoradoMountainClubofferscanyonraft,hikeThe Colorado Mountain Club invites Mountaineers to participate in a 2011

rafting and hiking trip on the Colorado River. Titled the Best of the Grand

Canyon, the outing is scheduled for April 23-May 5 of next year.

The motorized raft trip will cover 188 miles, from Lees Ferry to Whitmore

Wash, and will include extensive hiking opportunities at all levels.

The group will return to its put-in via helicopter and airplane. See the

Colorado Mountain Club website for details: www.cmc.org. Leaders: Blake

Clark and Rosemary Burbank, [email protected], 303-871-0379.

The Burke Museum invites everyone to learn about a fabulous friend, the

fungi, at its Third Annual Mushroom Maynia on Sun., May 2.

Visitors are invited to bring in mushrooms for identication, join in demon-

strations of mushroom cultivation, listen to talks on mushroom collection

and their place in our ecology, taste yummy mushroom specialties, and

join in crafts projects for children and adults. Visitors may also view photos

from the 2009 event.

Mushroom Maynia, which begins at 10 a.m. and continues to 4 p.m., is

presented by the Burke Museum, the Puget Sound Mycological Society

and the Daniel E. Stuntz Memorial Foundation. This event is included in

the price of museum admission and is free to Burke members. For more

details visit www.washington.edu/burkemuseum.

BurketohostMushroomMayniathismonth

Brad Stracener photos


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Can you identifythe summit in

the foreground here? Send your answer

(by May 10) by post or e-mail: brads@

mountaineers.org; Summit Savvy, The

Mountaineer, 7700 Sand Point Way

N.E., Seattle, WA 98115. If you guess

correctly, youll receive $10 of Moun-

taineers Money, good for Mountaineers

Bookstore merchandise, and well

publish your name in next months

column. (In case of a tie, one winner will

be chosen at random.) Club employees

or persons shown in the photograph are

not eligible. Each month well publish a

new mystery summit and identication

of the previous one.

Send your photographs for pos-

sible publication as a mystery summit

(include identication for our benet).

See e-mail and mailing address at

right. If we use your photo, you will

receive $10 in Mountaineers Money.

At the end of each year, all correct

respondents names are placed in a

hat and the winner of that drawing will

receive $50 of Mountaineers Money

good for purchases at The Moun-

taineers Bookstore.

No one correctly guessed last

months mystery summit, DeRoux

Peak, as photographed by Curt

Baxstrom.

SummitSavvy

conservation

CURRENTS

By Ed Henderson

In September 1946, relaxing onthe summit of Liberty Bell afteran epic rst ascent, Fred Beckey

viewed the surrounding peaks.

He wrote of this experience in his

book, The Challenge of the North

Cascades, which follows:

The only sound was the whir-

ring of a mysterious wind eddying

around a corner of the enormous

precipice below . . . The views

were outstanding of Silver Star,

Cutthroat, Kangaroo Ridge, and

Snagtooth Ridge, and of Golden

Horn, which Keith Rankin, Chuck

Welsh and I had rst-ascented a

fortnight before.

Twenty years later, in 1968, and

after decades of work by dedicatedvolunteers, President Lyndon

Johnson signed legislation creating

the North Cascades National Park.

This legislation was a victory, but

an incomplete triumph. In the then

prevailing political climate, many

deserving and qualied areas were

left out of the national park. Today,

the American Alps Legacy Project is

working to incorporate those omit-

ted areas into the North Cascades

National Park. As it was with the

creation of the park, The Mountain-

eers is actively involved as a charter

member of the Legacy Project.

Today, in fulllment of our third

purpose, To preserve by example,

teaching, and the encouragement

of protective legislation or oth-

erwise the beauty of the natural

environment,The Mountaineers

has joined a coalition of groups

and individuals to bring the area of

unprotected scenic peaks and eco-

logically important lands into the

North Cascades National Park.

Neither Liberty Bell nor any of the

peaks that Fred Beckey observed

in 1946 were included in the new

park. The orphaned areas contain

scenic, ecological and recreational

features both deserving of and

qualied for national park status.

In addition, national park status

would protect the headwaters of

the rivers and streams of the North

Cascades, helping restore and pre-

serve the waters of Puget Sound.

While these public lands remain

nearly pristine in their relative isola-

tion, development pressures are

increasing. Now is the time to fulll

the original vision and complete the

North Cascades National Park.

Millers The North Cascades,

1964, and Harvey Mannings The

Wild Cascades, Forgotten Park-

land, 1965, were inuential in

the founding of the original park.

Likewise, Brock Evans The Alpine

Lakes, 1971, tipped the scales in

favor of President Fords signature

protecting that popular wilderness

under the Wilderness Act.

Former Gov. Dan Evans, who

presented President Ford with a

copy of The Alpine Lakes beforehe signed the bill, has joined the

Legacy Project. He stated, I wish

there was a book on the North

Cascades that I could pass around.

It worked like a charm last time!

This magic is still powerful. Anda book with striking imagesand compelling essays will tell

the story of this national outdoor

treasure and serve as a persuasive

advocacy tool for park completion.

To release that genie, the Conser-

vation Division of The Mountain-

eers recommended and the board

of trustees approved a $25,000

commitment from the dedicated

Conservation Reserves for a fund-

raising campaign that will enable

Mountaineers Books to begin pro-

duction of a new exhibition-format

book on the North Cascades.

The $25,000 will be used as

matching funds, dollar for dollar,

toward contributions to the cam-

paign, yielding as much as $50,000

seed money for the production cost

of the new book.

Now is the time for dedicatedMountaineers to put theirmoney where their hearts are and

contribute to The North Cascades

Book Fund Raising Campaign.

With this one-for-one, dollar-for-

dollar matching opportunity your

donation will have a double impact.

These matching funds were made

possible through the generous

bequest of Kathleen Husband insupport of conservation efforts by

The Mountaineers.

Matching contributions to the North

Cascades Book Fund Raising

Campaign can be made directly

to Mountaineer Books/Braided

River. When making your contribu-

tion, please make your check out

to Braided River-North Cascades

Book. Contributions to Braided

River, a 501(c)3 non-prot organiza-

tion that exclusively supports the

conservation publications and publicoutreach of Mountaineers Books,

are tax deductable to the extent al-

lowed by law.

Please keep an eye on www.

braidedriver.org and visit www.

northcascades.org/programs/

americanalps.html for more details

about the campaign and additional

North Cascades protection.

Ed Henderson is a member of

The Mountaineers Conservation

Execuitve Committee.

Book project hopes to help rescue

unprotected parts of North Cascades

Liberty Bell: Overlooked in the act that created the North Cascades National Park.

The Mountaineers isworking with the Legacy

Project to advocate for

park completion.

The Conservation Division ofThe Mountaineers is workingwith the Legacy Project coalition

to advocate for park completion.

This is a task much greater than

preaching to the choir of commit-

ted conservationists and outdoor

recreationists.

For park expansion to happen,

the public at large and our leg-

islative representatives must be

convinced to actively support it. In

past campaigns one of the most

effective means of inuencing

favorable public opinion has been

the publication and distribution of

exhibition-format books, a tradition

that continues today through The

Mountaineers Books publishing

imprint, Braided River. Both Tom


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ThelatestfromyourMountaineersLibraryOff the shelf

By Dennis Sampson, Chair of the Library Committee

Help us by volunteering!

Through the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers, the library has been openmost evenings, Tuesday through Thursday, with the core hours being 6-8 p.m.In order to maintain this level of service, more dedicated and committed volunteers

are needed to staff the library, to attend new member nights (rst Wednesday of

each month) and to help publicize the library to both members and the public.

The Library Committee will provide the necessary training to certify you as an

illustrious Mountaineers Library volunteer. To volunteer your services contact

Dennis Sampson, Library Committee chair, at [email protected], or the

volunteer coordinator at [email protected].

The Library Committee has prepared a grant request to The Mountaineers Foun-

dations designated Friends of The Mountaineers Library (FOML) Fund to cover the

bare bones cost of operating the library while using volunteers for the rest of 2010.

As of this writing the grant has been approved by The Mountaineers Fundraising

Committee and has been submitted to The Mountaineers Foundation for consider-

ation at its April board of trustees meeting; it is expected to be approved.

Tax-deductible donations to the designated FOML Fund can be mailed directly to

The Mountaineers Foundation, P. O. Box 25590, Seattle, WA 98165 (be sure to

indicate FOML on the check), or can be made online at www.mountaineersfoun-

dation.org by clicking on donate in the upper left corner of the home page. The

FOML Fund is at the bottom of the list of designated funds. All donations are wel-

come, no matter the amount.

The Library Committee welcomes your suggestions about how best to fulll your

needs and desires during this difcult period. To make it easier for you, a special

e-mail address has been established, [email protected].

Internationally renowned mountaineers Jim and Lou Whittaker, who began

climbing mountains through The Mountaineers, will be inducted into the

State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame on June 3 at the Tacoma Dome

as part of the annual Banquet of Champions.

It will bring the total number of inductees to 168 since the inception of the

Hall of Fame in 1960.

As a member of the American Mt. Everest Expedition in 1963, Jim Whittak-

er was the rst American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He guided

Robert Kennedy up the newly-named Mount Kennedy in 1965; led the

1990 Everest Peace Climb that brought together climbers from the United

States, USSR and China, and he was also the rst fu ll-time employee of

Recreation Equipment, Inc. (REI) and served as REIs CEO in the 60s.

Lou Whittaker led the rst American team to summit Mt. Everest via the

mountains north wall in 1984. One year later, his climbing expertise was

crucial in reaching many intact burial sites on a 1,000-foot cliff face in the

Peruvian Andes. In the spring of 1989 and going by way of the North Wall,

he led the rst successful ascent by an American team to the top of Mt.

Kangchenjunga in Nepal, the worlds third-tallest mountain.

For more information about the Sports Hall of Fame visit www.washington-

sportshof.com. For dinner reservations to the banquet contact Marc Blau,assistant executive director, at 253-677-2872, [email protected].

Whittakerstobecelebrated

Trailaccesssavedfor010butfuturehazyAlthough the Legislature decided recently to rescind a budget edict which

would have eliminated access to popular trailheads near the west slope

of the Cascades this year, the prospect for the same closures next year

looms unless lawmakers nd a sustainable funding for such trailheads.

The Senate revised a House bill in the most recent legislative session to

eliminate a $278,000 trail fund cut. As a result Department of Natural Re-

sources access to such popular hikes as Mt. Si and Rattlesnake Mountain

will remain open in 2010.

The Mountaineers joined several other hiker-advocate groups for HikerLobby Day at the capitol in January. The groups lobbied for reinstatement

of the $278,000. However, the Legislature did not come up with a long-term

solution.

Enroll in a school as big as all

the outdoorsand then someWhen you join The Mountaineers you not

only tap into year-round outdoor acitvi-

ties. You acquire the skills to introducehundreds of others to natures splendor.


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Continued from M1

a jar with a tea bag inside. The

groups sniff the essence of what

is inside the jar and are then told

to proceed just a couple hundred

feet outside and into the cabins

surrounding forest where they mustnd a hidden jar with the same es-

sence inside it.

This is very close to what an adult

salmon must do when it returns

to its stream of birth to spawn,

explains Miller-Winder, who has

been spearheading the effort to

bring youths to the Kitsap grounds

in order to learn more about the

Pacic Northwest environment.

Whether it is education bentor skills bent, The Mountain-eers, its volunteers and its leaders

have been trying to focus on teach-

ing youths and their families what

they know and love. Kids Rock

Days at the program center in Mag-

nuson Park show parents how to

belay for their children scaling the

south-plaza climbing wall. Junior

Naturalists, a division of the Seattle

Branch Naturalists, beach-comb

along Elliott Bay at low tide to see

what ordinarily only a sh can see

on Whos Who at the Beach day.

Laura Rightmyer of the Kitsap

Martinique Grigg, a two-year grant

is being sought to meet a goal of

engaging 4,000 youths under the

age of 20.

At the hub of this effort is KenHahn, program developmentcoordinator for The Mountaineers

over the past two years. He and a

volunteer who is chair of the Se-

attle Branch, Courtenay Schurman,

are currently holding meetings

with various activity committees in

the realm of climbing, navigation,

hiking, backpacking, photography,

naturalists, winter travel, rst aid

and kayaking to recruit leaders for

trips with kids.

My husband, Doug, and I have

been trying to contact the various

activity committees to have their

leaders join us on family activities

and introduce kids and families to

the basics of their activities, stated

Schurman, who has already led

numerous family hikes and outings

that included her 5-year-old daugh-

ter, Brooke.

As a Mountaineers staff member

whose experience in alpine travel

through Mountaineers courses has

allowed him to lead and instruct

for those courses, Hahn is recruit-

ing other qualied leaders such as

the Schurmans to kick-start youth

participation in activities rich in

Mountaineers expertise.

His reach has recently extended

to the Boy Scouts of America and

the Gareld High School Post, a

group of more than 300 studentswho endeavor in almost any and

all outdoor experiences, including

climbing, navigation, wilderness

survival, winter travel and wilder-

ness rst aid.

I would like to see (them) form

some kind of internal youth com-

mittee from which they would cre-

ate their own programs that would

serve them, our membership and

youths in the broader community,

stated Hahn, who also sits on the

board of directors for the Gareld

Post.

Hahn will have a hand in teach-

ing outdoor wilderness skills and

leadership development but noted

he already knows a few Mountain-

eers who are qualied to train the

students to be leaders, some of

every fall.

Gillat and his children joined The

Mountaineers last year after they

happened to visit the Rhodo-

dendron Preserve. His desire to

become more involved with youth

education and his expertise, whichhe also shares with the Seattle

Aquarium, fell serendipitously into

place with the Kitsap Salmon Safa-

ris, held in the spring and fall and

open to any school that wishes to

schedule a eld trip.

At a recent youth summit meeting

held at the program center, current

leaders, parents and children lent

their ideas for future endeavors,

ranging from photography classes

for kids to astronomy outings to

planting trees, do-it-yourself trail

food and family gear swaps.

Back at Kitsap and the Rhododen-

dron Preserve, Gillat and Miller-

Winder are also brainstorming on

ways to connect youths from the

wider community to the outdoors.

The Kitsap Branch is pursuing a

Honda grant to conduct a salmon

summit, according to Miller-Winder,

with the idea of bringing school

teachers here to speak with agen-

cies and community resource

people who have educational pro-

grams that teachers and schools

may not know about.

Much like Hahns plans for the

Scouts and Post groups, the sum-

mit could provide classes on the

460-acre Rhododendron Preserve

that would train the trainersmak-

ing teachers and students them-

selves the leaders for eld trips

such as Salmon Safaris or even

workshops on invasive species,

Miller-Winder conjectured.

The ideas are endless, according

to these Mountaineers leaders.

They are hoping that eventually the

leadership pool will be, too.

Brad Stracener is managing editor

ofThe Mountaineer.

Want to help?

If you have any ideas, have

leadership expertise to offer,

wish to be trained as a leader

or want to learn more about

how your children can become

involved, contact Hahn, kenh@

mountaineers.org, 206-521-

6011.

Branch takes families on a eld trip

to Mima Mounds, a mysterious se-

ries of hummocks below Olympia,

as part of HARK (Hiking and Active

Recreation for Kids), an outreach

program founded by the Tacoma

Branch of The Mountaineers, which

introduces the splendor of the

Pacic Northwest to kids who nd

it difcult to engage in the outdoors

because of their particular domes-

tic situation.

The effort to better engage some of

the half-a-million kids under 18 who

live in the same neighborhoods as

Mountaineers is reliant upon adult

volunteers and leaders, such as

the aforementioned Mountaineers

members. The ultimate goal of this

youth movement is what one for-

mer president of The Mountaineers

likes to call leave no child inside.

Much of the support for provid-ing the new family-orientedprograms is being sought through

grant applications. According to

Mountaineers Executive Director

The ultimate goal of

this youth movement

is what one former

president of

The Mountaineers

likes to call, leave no

child inside.

whom will become trainers of lead-

ers themselves.

Conversely, some leaders andinstructors simply fall fromthe sky and hit the ground run-

ning. Such was the case for Rick

Gillat, a biologist who assisted

Miller-Winder by guiding the Crown

Hill Elementary students along

Chico Creek, a spawning stream

for salmon that brims with chums

Pool of leaders, instructors being built for family events

Volunteers Katha Miller-Winder (left) and Rick Gillat discuss future eld trips.

Brad

Stracenerphoto


7/8

M


Summer2010

Conceived by John-Michael Tebelak

Music and new Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

July31,

August1

7,8

14,1521,22

2:00pm

Spring201

0 May30,31June5,6 12,13 19,20

2:00pm

KITSAP FORESTTHEATER

Escape to the Kitsap Forest Teater, located a short drive rom theBremerton erry. Enjoy a great day trip with riends and amily!

Picnic under the frs beore you stroll down the orested trail to ourunique and magical theater! Call today or tickets: 800-573-8484.

Shows presented by Te Mountaineers Players

ickets available atwww. ForestTeater.com

ferries from Seattle to Chico and had hiked in from there. On the way, it en-

countered a homestead in the woods. The homestead (then known as Hid-

den Ranch) had been established in the 1880s. Edward Paschall bought it

and moved his family into the 14-by-16 foot cabin in 1907. The Paschalls

and Mountaineers found that they enjoyed each others company and The

Mountaineers began to make it a regular destination.

In 1915 some property adjacent to the Paschalls became available andThe Mountaineers acquired it. By 1919 The Mountaineers opened therst section of what was later enlarged to construct the present-day Kitsap

Cabin.

Conditions in this part of the world were

a good deal different from what they

are today. There were still considerable

stands of original old-growth timber

and the works of man were scattered

and widely separated. The automobile

existed but it was a rich mans toy and

fairly rare. Serious travel was by water

or by train. Local travel consisted ofwalking, or if you could afford it, riding

a horse or a horse-drawn buggy.

Mountaineers had about a one-hour

ferry ride, a one- or two-hour hike, and

maybe an hour to set up camp. After that their time was free until it was

time to strike camp and head back to the ferry. In the evening they would

sit around the campre, talk, tell stories, sing and perform impromptu skits.

There was no radio, no movies, no television and no internet. Their enter-

tainment was pretty much a matter of their own resourcefulness.

The skits became more elaborate and more of a daytime production. By

1918 each scene took place in a different clearing or spot in the woods and

the entire company and audience moved from spot to spot. Word got out,

attracting more people from Seattle and this progressive theater format

began to get cumbersome. So work was begun to nd a site and develop

a more traditional theater. The rst performance on the present site was in

1923, and the Players group was born.

Coincidentally, the road which is now Seabeck Highway was openedthe same year. In the preceding decade, the automobile had becomewidely affordable, and it was practical to spend ones free time in the

mountains or at the beach. One had more choices and could enjoy more

varietyresulting in fewer people being attracted to the property at Kitsap.Fortunately for the property, the Players had a play to put on. They needed

a facility from which to stage their production, preferably with an outdoor

ambiance, as they were part of an outdoor club. The Kitsap Forest Theater

lled the bill nicely. Between the play and the property, enough people were

attracted to the enterprise to supply

the energy to keep it going.

I suspect that without the attraction

the Players providedsomething to

do once you got therethe property

would have lingered on for a time

but would have eventually faded

away. And its doubtful that the people

and interest would have been there totend and nourish the preserve.

For a considerable period of timethere were no changes to the pre-serve boundaries. Eventually, a piece

of property became available, ve acres for $7,000. You could literally

see the edge of the property to the left as you sat in the theater. The club

couldnt help. It felt its resources were limited and shouldnt be used in a

way that would benet a relatively small number of members. The Moun-

taineers Foundation was on the scene but quite new and didnt have the

necessary resources either.

We could imagine people someday in the backyards of their houses using

their barbecues and looking over a fence to watch our show. So, a group of

Players (Mountaineers Kitsap Joint Venture) was formed to buy and hold

the property until ownership by the club could be gured out.

We sent in our checks, the property was purchased, and we held it for

about three years. During that time we held fundraisers; I know that for two

seasons cast members went through the audience soliciting donations.

One year they were selling golden apples. Finally the club stepped up and

took part in the effortmembers donating signicantly to the causeand

enough money was raised so that the joint venture was completed and the

title to the property transferred to the club.

Continued from M1

Hidden Ranch and Patience PaschallPatience Paschall, daughter of Edward Paschall, was a talented composer

and lyricist, an actress who could forge a character with whatever costume

parts and props came to hand, a naturalist wise in the ways of the creatures

and plants of Hidden Valley, and a true Mountaineer. She circumnavigated

Mt. Rainier seven times, building her strength and endurance by walking the

steep trail to her home at Hidden Ranch (now the Rhododendron Preserve).

She was warm and friendly, but with a spunk and proclivity to speak hermindacquired as the much youngest of four siblings. She learned to drive

at age 60.

Theatre in the Wild: A Pictorial History of The Mountaineers Forest Theatre.

Above are the boundaries of the Rhododendron Preserve and its acquisitions

through 2008. Since then, it has gained 100 acres from land formerly owned

by Ueland Tree Farm and a 68-acre option on an additional Ueland parcel. In

the mid-1980s the state passed a law permitting appropriate public and private

organizations to hold wild land in conservancy status free of property taxes.

Soon after, The Mountaineers Board of Trustees decided to transfer 170 acres

of the 190-acre Rhododendron Preserve to The Mountaineers Foundation with

the stipulation that the acreage be placed in conservancy status, maintained and

preserved through contracts with The Mountaineers, and that money be raised to

enlarge it. As a result, potential development has been stied around the property

and habitat around salmon spawning streams preserved.

Annual performance sustained interest in the preserve

The making of a preserve


8/8

M


A member of Penguin Group

www.penguin.com Also available on Penguin Audio and as an eBookAvailable inpaperback from Penguin Books

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Greg Mortensons dangerous and difficult

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photo Greg Mortenson, south face of K2 (8,611 meters)

STONES INTO SCHOOLSand

THREE CUPS OF TEA

Two bestselling books that are changing the way

people think about changing the world.

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Documents

May 2010 Mountaineers Newsletter