Minutes for Meeting of 04-23-2003

HOWDY RAMBLERS-

    -Ramblers meet every Wednesday at 5pm in the Forbes Bldg. in room 307.
    -Our new meeting place is the rock wall across the street from the east
side of Tyndall Parking Garage. Here is a map of the location 
http://clubs.arizona.edu/~ramblers/wall.html
    -Don't worry if you don't have a car. We carpool from our meeting place.
	
PAST HIKES:

    -Curvin hiked to Maiden Pools on Saturday where he saw a bunch of tiny
frogs. The frogs were very camouflaged and he enjoyed watching them. On Sunday
Curvin went on a hike in an area famous for finding geodes. He thinks he
took the wrong trail but he still found some interesting geodes. He also
saw a dead coatimundi.

    -Steve hiked in Pima canyon on Saturday while trying out a new backpack.
He saw many blooming wildflowers, but most were just variations of violets.
In one section above the first dam he came upon a stand of beautiful bright
pink flowers. He also noticed many thistle plants blooming as well.

    -Hanna, Georgio and a friend, stopped at the San Pedro River on their
way to Bisbee last weekend. Their intentions were to find the old Ghost Town
of Fairbank, which Hanna had visited in the past. Instead they found a 
RV/Mobilehome park and picnic area, which had overrun the Ghost Town. The group then
traveled to Tombstone and onto Bisbee where they climbed up Ship Rock. Last
Friday Hanna spent the day and night at Tumamoc Hill where she did some plant
experiments. During her down time she hiked around and explored the hill.

FUTURE HIKES:

    -Steve's Hike: I'm gearing up to start canyoneering here in southern
Arizona as well as points north and looking for some hearty folks who like
adventure aren't afraid of heights (or at least are willing to overcome them)
and like to spend lots of time in canyons climbing over rocks, swimming through
pools and rappelling down ropes. I'm not a rock climber, so there won't be much, 
if any, of that. This Sunday I'll be in Soldier Canyon
a few miles up the Catalina Highway taking my time going down the canyon.
This will be preparation for a trip to the Jug in Salome Canyon off of 
Roosevelt Lake in central AZ on May 9-10th (details posted later). Beginners are welcome
and are encouraged to attend the meeting tonight to find out about rappelling
gear and what is required. Meet at the Wall at Tyndall and 4th St at 9 am
this Sunday. Bring a lunch, 2 liters of water, sun protection, gas money
and canyoneering gear if you have it (harness or webbing, carabiners, 
descending device, helmet).  In an attempt to follow hiking ratings, I've estimated the difficulty
of the entire trip as 3AII based on descriptions I've read. 

Learn about canyoneering ratings here: 
http://www.canyoneering.net/ratings.html 

Map of the meeting place, "The Wall"
http://clubs.arizona.edu/~ramblers/wall.html

    -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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    -If you need the list of Ramblers gear or wants to borrow some, please
contact myself or Dan.
      maryft@email.arizona.edu and dcarroll@u.arizona.edu