Minutes for Meeting of 02-12-2003

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.

PAST HIKES:

- Hanna, Lenny, and some physics people (9 total) went up to Sunrise near
Flagstaff for a ski trip. They left Friday, were skiing on Saturday and
Sunday, and returned on Sunday. It was snowing and they skied on fresh
snow. They had a great time, and the snow "was interesting". On their way
to Sunrise, they saw a bald eagle.

- On Sunday, Wolfgang did a hike with the Southern Arizona Hiking Club. It
was a combination of a "History of Tucson" and "A Mountain" hike, which was
different from the usual hikes. It was quite an eye opener! This historical
area is, unfortunately, a very sorry state of affairs, due to the vandalism
and trash! (Here the mayor and city council were talking about a Rio Nuevo
redevelopment of the downtown area of Tucson, which would include the area,
which is west of the Santa Cruz River and I-10.) Structures, which should
be treated as historic sites, have been left to deteriorate. It was a very
interesting hike, though! For certain, he will be sending letters and
e-mails to the mayor and members of the city council, offering some
recommendations for renovations and improvements.

- Ross and company made a 23 mile trek on Sunday to Grandma's house,
starting from the downtown area, going up Silverbell. Steve made it 12
miles up to Ina.

FUTURE HIKES:

- There will be a war protest in Phoenix on Saturday and Ross and Tina will
be carpooling so if you would like to carpool with them please contact Ross
at 241-2022. The demonstration begins at 10am, so they will probably leave
around 8am.

- Information about Steve's hike for Rodeo Weekend is as follows:
The Blue Range Primitive Area in the east part of the Apache Sitgreaves
National Forest is one of the best wilderness places in Arizona. Mary Lyons
and I plan to do an ambitious backpack trip of some 42 miles over 4 days
completing a loop from Strayhorse Trail #20 to the Blue River Trail #101 to
Hannah Hot Spring back up the Blue River and out the AD Bar Trail #14. We
are hoping to get a few more people to do a car shuttle to save 7 extra
miles. Each day should be a "B" class hike, from 8 to 12 miles and less
than 2300 ft climbing elevation change. We will start in pine forests and
work our way down to juniper and pinions and then the Blue River basin. The
map indicates there will be impressive canyon walls to walk through along
the river. Plan on numerous crossings, probably up to thigh high. The
destination is Hannah Hot Springs, a beautiful spring in a narrow canyon
next to a cool creek with crystal clear water.
The trip will take place over the Rodeo Holiday, Feb 19-23. E-mail Steve
for more details: [sanewcomb@yahoo.com].

- Matt Chamberlain is leading a backpacking trip to the Little Rincons, in
preparation the Little Rincons Rogaine, with information as follows:
*****     *****     *****
Greetings,
I am going to backpack in the Little Rincons (on the other side of the
"big" Rincons) for the weekend of 22-23 Feb.
Anyone interested in coming is welcome.  Be aware however that I will be
setting the course for the Little Rincons Rogaine
(http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~mc/rincon) at the same time. This means I will
working and running around hanging flags part of the time.  Anyone who
comes in February will not be able to enter the event in March (though you
could still come and help us run the event!).
Some of the 'running' around will be in the car in order to cover the whole
course, though I will still be backpacking for Saturday night. There are
some interesting places I found that I want to go back to explore.
Come along and tag along while I'm hanging flags, or just come to hike in
and backpack, whatever you like.  The trip will leave Tucson early Saturday
and return late Sunday.
Let me know if interested.
Cheers,
Matt
*****     *****     *****
The Little Rincons Rogaine is on, Saturday and Sunday, March 15 - 16, 2003.

- Steve will be leading a backpacking/car camping trip to Bryce and Zion
Canyons in Utah over Spring Break. The trip will depart on Sunday, March
16th and return on Saturday, March 22nd. Most of the trip will be spent in
Zion Canyon. There will be an alternate plan for inclement weather. This is
a trip for everyone, as the level of difficulty is quite variable and can
be somewhat tailored to individual needs. Watch for more information.
Contact Steve if you are interested. An RSVP will be required:
[sanewcomb@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: [http://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 rallies 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 June 12th. 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! They are still
looking for a driver for a support vehicle.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

- Ross is having a potluck at his house, which involves the peace march
hike (as mentioned above). Information is as follows:
*****     *****     *****
Hi all,   I want to invite you all to join us for a potluck dinner on
Monday (2/17) at 6:30 at my house (111 W. 17th St.). This potluck will be
to organize a group that will be in Tucson to help us (Walking Bohemian
Band of Hope) with all the things we need to do or to have done when we are
walking. There are many ways you will be able to help and we will describe
these in more detail on Monday. If you have friends that can help, please
bring them as well. Thank you all so much.   Ross
*****     *****     *****

- 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 e-mail is [dcarroll@u.arizona.edu].

SUMMIT HUT ANNOUNCES FREE SLIDE SHOW:

Please join the Summit Hut for the following FREE event: Friday, February
21, 8pm., at Summit Hut, 5045 E. Speedway at Rosemont. Join the Summit Hut,
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and canyoneer and guide book
author Steve Allen for a slide show presentation: "Canyoneering Chronicles:
the Legend Speaks."  Canyoneering involves hiking, climbing, wading, and
rappelling in breathtaking topography.

Known throughout the West for his series of books on Utah Canyoneering,
Allen has spent 35 years hiking more than 35,000 miles in the canyons of
southern Utah's backcountry.  He has explored nearly every canyon and
climbed practically every pinnacle and tower in the million acres of Utah's
San Rafael Swell region.

This slide show will take the viewer on a dazzling tour of some of Utah's
most spectacular and remote canyons, and highlights several areas currently
being considered for Wilderness designation in America's Redrock Wilderness
Act, now pending before Congress.  Allen will discuss the art and beauty of
technical slot canyoneering, as well as current threats to the land and the
divisive issue of ethics in the canyoneering community.

The event is free and open to the public, and those who care to donate $5
to SUWA will be entered into a raffle drawing after the presentation.
For further information contact: (520)-325-1554 or [sharon@summithut.com].
The Summit Hut is a locally-owned Tucson business that has been equipping
backpackers, climbers, campers, hikers, adventure travelers and outdoor
enthusiasts with quality gear and clothing for over 30 years.
Sharon Scott
Marketing Coordinator
Summit Hut, Ltd.
www.summithut.com
(520)-325-1554

Keep Rambling!
Wolfgang