Minutes for Meeting of 06-19-2002

Ramblers,
This brief and strangely formatted version of our traditional weekly minutes is being sent out due to the complications caused by National Forest closings and the lack of Mary our wonderful secretary during the summer months. Many hikes have occurred so far this summer despite the fact that none have been recorded and sent out as minutes. If any of you have been hiking and would like to share your adventures with us or if you can elaborate or make corrections to the hikes I will try to give a synopsis on, please email me.

• Due to the lack of hiking areas open to the public, a few of us would like to take a "Car Hike" up Mt. Lemmon to enjoy the viewpoints, play a little Frisbee at Ski Valley, eat some pies and socialize. Some of us plan to meet around 11:30 or noon to eat lunch in Tucson, then recongregate at 1 PM to head up the mountain. This will be SUNDAY, June 23. If you are interesting in joining us for any part of the excursion, please contact Dan @ 271-6916.
• From this point in time forward, Ross Lampert will be hosting a gathering every THURSDAY at around 5 PM at his house southwest of campus. After a couple of hours of drinking beer and several varieties of liquor, the group will proceed to La Placita Village to watch a movie. You are welcome to take part in either of the two events by calling 241-2022 for directions to Ross' NEW residence. Please note that he has recently moved.

• Michael Dumke will be going back to Germany :-( He will be missed. He was our webmaster for the past year so we will need to find a new person to take over that position. If you are good with computers and have the time, please contact me @ dcarroll@u.arizona.edu.
• Ross had to give up his duties as the Gear Warden for the time being. If anyone has a storage shed or room in their garage for a few packs and sleeping bags, et cetera, please let me know ASAP. It is preferable if you have a residence closer to campus.

• Last Thursday (June 12), Ross held the first of what will hopefully be a long tradition of hitting the booze and catching a movie at La Placita Village. They saw Roman Holiday but, the movie will be different every week (thankfully...otherwise it might get old).
• Last weekend Matt Chamberlain went orienteering with the Tucson Orienteering Club in Lincoln Park near Escalante and Pantano on the east side. He was up all night but received 2nd place Saturday night while carefully avoiding the infamous jumping cholla cacti in the dark (though he was allowed to use a flashlight). Sunday morning he competed in the most advanced group and most likely won first place (though the official results weren't known at the time of the meeting).
• Michael Chamberland went to Sedona to protest the Fee demonstration program. He stayed with our resident Rambler in Sedona overnight and enjoyed Walnut Canyon the next morning.
• Susan has been on several hikes in preparation for her upcoming adventure in the Grand Canyon this August. She went to the Rincon's before the fires broke out and enjoyed the sites along the Tanque Verde trail while trying to brave the scorching heat of the day. They had to wait out the mid day under their tent's rain guard.
  Most recently (last weekend), Susan spent 2 nights in the Apache National Forest. She may be one of the last to see it prior to the damage inflicted by the fires. They were 10 miles north of Clifton and stayed at Roper's Lake State Park before packing into the forest. They saw an interesting open pit mine and stayed at Juniper Basin (camp) 7 miles in.
• At this week's meeting there was an EXCELLENT slide show courtesy of Michael C. highlighting the trip to Mt. Whitney organized by our departing German friend Michael Dumke. The professional photography and superb commentary gave attendees a movie-like experience of the trip. We saw just how close to death our brave Ramblers came when climbing switchbacks along the edges of cliffs. By the way, Michael has left me with many extra photos he had of hikes and fellow hikers during his 2 1/2 years with us. I will be bringing them to meetings for those who might want the photos they are in.
  Here is my synopsis of the Mt. Whitney trip to best of my memory's ability:
  Everyone left Tucson on Friday, May 10th and drove as far as Kingman before stopping at a camping area for the night. Saturday morning they proceeded on to Death Valley National Park and explored the lowest point in the Continental United States. I cannot recall where they stayed the night Saturday night but, they made their way up to Lone Pine California where the dramatic rise of the Sierra Nevada mountain range can be enjoyed. From there, they headed to the base camp in the mountains. They had time Sunday to explore the area and headed up the trail a few clicks to take some pictures and enjoy what they wouldn't be seeing in the early morning darkness the next day. Many beautiful mountain lakes were scattered along the trail. The next morning, Monday, was the big day. The group got started at around 4:30 AM and headed up the trail. Albert and Massimo were farther up the trail as Michael C. took photographs and Michael D. and his girlfriend stopped to smell the flowers. The switchbacks lining steep cliffs were filled with snow forcing them to walk frighteningly close to the edge. It was often difficult to stay on the trail and find a way through snow fields but Massimo was there to guide them. The first two got to the summit at around 3 or so in the afternoon and the others followed within 30 minutes. They enjoyed spectacular views of the rest of the Sierra Nevada range and ate along side the true Summit Hut that was built out of stones but had a metal roof and wooden door. We can only speculate how it got there. Certainly not by helicopter. Massimo and Michael D. came away with some open wounds and sore bums but that is the price they pay for a quick decent. Instead of going back down the switchbacks, they slid down a snow field with many rocks and other painful objects hidden just below the surface. The last of the party didn't make it back to base camp until almost 10 PM.
  After the Mt. Whitney hike, Michael D., Massimo, and Albert went to Yosemite national park and saw some bears and nice views as well. Michael D. also went canyoneering in Zion National Park after that.
• Hanna's Pacific Crest Trail Hike:
  Although I didn't get many details on this one, Hanna let a hike around May 20th or so up the Pacific Crest trail with Lenny, Andrew, and someone else. They had an enjoyable time learning about each other and saw many animals.

That is all for now.