Minutes for Meeting of 01-29-2003

HOWDY RAMBLERS-
    -Ramblers meet every Wednesday at 5pm in the Forbes Bldg. in room 307.

    -FYI: THE PARKING LOT BEHIND PARK STUDENT UNION IS CLOSED DUE TO 
CONSTRUCTION
(IMAGINE THAT) SO SPECIFIC MEETING PLACES WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE HIKE
LEADER.

    -Don't worry if you don't have a car. We carpool from our meeting place.

    -I apologize for the delay in these minutes!

PAST HIKES:

    -Ross and Tina made the inaugural Rambler journey from Old Main to the
top of "A" mountain last Saturday. From the top of the mountain they could
see all of the city except for the foothills because of pollution. It was
a much shorter hike than they anticipated. They recommend climbing "A" mountain
because of the unique view it gives of Tucson. There is a parking lot at
the base of "A" mountain for those who want to hike it without walking from
town.

    -Robbie did some hiking in the Sawtooth range with his pups last weekend.
As the range is close to Phoenix, the smog was pretty intense. He found no
signs of big horn sheep that have been known to inhabit the range.

    -Curvin, last weekend did a nice long 9 mile loop in the Chiricuauas.
He also hiked around in the Santa Ritas and explored some of the mining area.
He did not go into any mines, but he did see some old mining relics abandoned
on the mountain.

    -Steve, Mary Lyons, and Andreas backpacked 18 miles from Catalina State
Park to Sabino Canyon last weekend. They camped at a nice spot near Sabino
Pass that overlooked the city. Steve reported good water flow in Romero Canyon
but not in upper Sabino. Critters they crossed paths with included a squirrel
and a hawk. They heard a bobcat but did not spot it.

    -Joe, during part of a three week vacation (imagine!) traveled to Vietnam
and climbed Baing Peak in S. Vietnam. It was about a 1500-1600 meter mountain
covered in a interesting Pine forest. 50 years ago, elephants and rhinos
inhabited the mountain but they were pushed/hunted out because both the animals
and the human animals inhabiting the mountain lived off the same food. The
area around the mountain is about 75 degrees year round and the humidity
is relatively low for the majority of the year. Joe and Cindy, more recently,
hiked around in the Italian Trap area in the Rincons. They noted good stream
flow in the area.

    -Hanna visited the Desert Museum for the first time in 10 years last
week. She spent a lot of time at the underwater exhibit, where she enjoyed
the watching the otters and fish endemic to Arizona.

FUTURE HIKES:

    -Ross and Tina are planning to walk to a friends house that is located
west of the city. It will be about a 24 mile hike over relatively flat ground.
They will leave around 6:30am on Sunday from Tina's place at 105 West 17th
street. For more info contact Ross at 241-2022.

    - Here is Steves hike for Saturday:
If you are looking for a short getaway from campus, come along this
Saturday to hike Blacketts Ridge in Sabino Canyon. It's rated a "C"
hike at just over 6 miles total and 1300 ft elevation gain. Read about
it here: http://arizona.sierraclub.org/trail_guide/HIKE11.HTM
Meet at the stone wall on the NE corner of Tyndall and 4th St., across
from the Tower Clock on the east side of the Tyndall Parking Garage.
This is just north of the usual meeting place, the Park Student Union,
which is currently closed. Be there at 9 am this Saturday. We will try
to return to campus before 4 pm. Bring a lunch, 2 liters of water, and sun
protection (sunscreen, hat, etc.).

    -Hanna has some volunteer opportunities for those of you interested in
botany, ecology, biology, or are just plain altruistic. She will be doing
some camping about once a month to measure the change in metabolic rates
of certain plants during the night. No experience is necessary. This is a
great way to get out in wild, practice research skills and have fun. Email
her if you are interested and she will email you with upcoming research dates.
haacoy@yahoo.com

    -Curvin will be spending the entire summer exploring Alaska. If you would
like to spend any amount of time hiking, camping, and exploring Alaska this
summer, and you can transport yourself to Seward's Folly (the state of Alaska)
please feel free to check out Curvin's website and contact him to set up
some trips. www.redundancydept.com.

    -Ross is planning to walk from Tucson to Washington DC in protest of
a war with Iraq. His group will be taking a southerly route through the 
contiguous
48 and will be walking approximately 25 miles a day. The entire trip should
take about 110 days. They are planning rallys in front of the governors mansion
in Austin, Texas and Tallahassee, Florida. They are departing Tucson Saturday
Feb. 22nd, after the Tucson Peace Rally at Reid Park. They intend to arrive
in DC on May 31st. If you are interested in participating in this walk for
peace as either a walker, monetary/ material supporter please contact Ross
at 241-2022. If you know people in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi,
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, or Virginia and you think
they would be willing to support the group in any way during their walk through
those states, contact Ross as well. This is a great cause and it needs your
support!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    -If you have pictures of any of the Ramblers outings, please bring them
to a meeting ASAP. We are looking for pictures, preferably ones with people
in it, for our ASUA funded flyers.

    -If you have an idea for a T-shirt design please email Dan or bring it
to a meeting ASAP. It can be a drawing, humorous slogan, etc. There will
be a prize for the winning design. Dan's email is dcarroll@u.arizona.edu