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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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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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
8/9/2019 May 2010 Mountaineers Newsletter
7/8
M
May010TheMountaineer
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
8/9/2019 May 2010 Mountaineers Newsletter
8/8
M
May010 TheMountaineer
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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photo Greg Mortenson, south face of K2 (8,611 meters)
STONES INTO SCHOOLSand
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