Minutes for Meeting of 10-06-99

Hello Ramblers!

Past Hikes

  1. Joe lead a hike to 7 Falls on Sunday (10/3/1999). 6 people went on the hike and did 2 hrs of swimming in cold, but refreshing, water.
  2. BJ and 5 other pelple went on a hike to Picacho Peak on Saturday.
  3. Liz and Kyle did car camping and did a long day hike on the Kachina Trail in the San Francisco Mountains north of Flagstaff, AZ. They left on Friday and returned on Sunday. Along the Kachina trail, excellent scenery could be seen. They also went to Red Mountain and Crater Lake, which is a pond, where they also saw an eagle.
  4. Wolfgang went on a Saturday afternoon day hike along trails near the Mt. Lemmon lookout.
  5. Wolfgang also made a Sunday afternoon visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The exhibits of the Coatimundi and the Otters, as part of the larger riparian habitat section was excellent. Also, the aviary and hummingbird exhibits were extremely interesting.

Future Hikes

  1. Hanna is leading the Mexico trip to the Pinacate National Park. Departure is at 5:00PM on Friday (10/8/1999). Friday night will be spent in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Saturday morning is the drive into Mexico and the Pinacate Mountains, in which there will be a climb up Pinacate Peak and car camping. The return is late Sunday (10/10/1999). It is important to RSVP with Hanna: hanna@U.ARIZONA.EDU
  2. Liz is leading a hike on Sunday (10/17/1999) to the Pinaleno Mountains, possibly leaving Saturday afternoon (10/16/1999). Rated B+. Contact Liz: crapoe@U.ARIZONA.EDU
  3. Deer drive on Saturday (10/9/1999):
    From: "Chantal O'Brien" (480) 218-0565
    Thanks for your interest in the deer drive. The Three Bar Deer Drive will be held Saturday, October 9th. We will aim to begin about 9AM. What is a deer drive? We assemble 80-90 people who spread out in a line across the width of the enclosure. The line of people walks across the enclosure (about 1.5 miles) and we count the animals that pass through the line. The whole thing can take 4-5+ hours. Driving is 3 hours each way. What to bring? Hat, hiking boots, long pants (lots of brush there), sunglasses, sunscreen, plenty of water (at least a gallon, probably two), snack food that can be eaten while hiking, backpack (to carry all your water and food), rain gear, and an open mind. Some people also prefer to have work gloves with them in case they end up in a really brushy area. Where is it? We will be doing the deer drive in the Walnut Canyon Enclosure, which is located in the Three Bar Wildlife Area in Tonto National Forest near Lake Roosevelt (3 hours north of Tucson). Walnut Canyon Enclosure you updated to any changes in this schedule. Why are we doing this? The enclosure was built in the 1970's and used on-and-off for habitat studies. After going into disrepair, about half of the enclosure burned in the 1996 Lone Fire. This provided the perfect chance to study habitat use of burned/unburned habitat by mule deer and javelina. A two-part study was proposed (two Master's degrees) and in 1998, coyotes will be placed in the enclosure. This will test whether habitat use is affected by coyote presence (predator pressure). There are also nutritional and vegetation components of this study. Thanks for your interest! A final update on the deer drive. The vans will leave at 3 pm Friday and at 5 am Saturday (depending on which day you want to go). You can meet them on the south side of BioSciences East, at the intersection of Fourth and Highland. If you want to drive, I'm leaving maps in my box in 104 BSE (C. O'Brien). Hope to see you there!
  4. Jon is leading a hike to the Huachuca Mountains for a Fall hike on November 6 to 8, 1999. Contact: jonh@U.ARIZONA.EDU.

Announcements

Unless otherwise announced, departure place for the hikes is at the Park Student Center.
Meanwhile enjoy hiking Arizona, or wherever, and keep Rambling!

Wolfgang