Name that fungi

Shroom found on the trail...hummm name that shroom...Carel?

Back on Campus!

We started back on campus September 30th a Thursday, thank the maker we had 3 days off to decompress and settle back into our bodies...it actually took a week but hey...worth the effort.


Classes are T, W, Th in Olympia. The morning lectures on Tuesday and Thursdays are either in the longhouse, which I prefer, or Lecture II which is more reminiscent of a traditional amphitheater with chalkboards and swivel chairs. Wednesday morning is in the Longhouse and more than likely has a slide show or film to view and discuss. The afternoon sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays are in Seminar and we report on books, articles and projects we have been assigned. 


Details to follow...


Ok Campers, adjust your pack and keep your write in the rain field notebook handy!

Days 3 through 10

Ok, so not to get too far behind I will just take you through the events of the day(s)


Morning just about every day my bio clock wakes me at 5:30 or so... its still dark and one of my tent mates wakes at about the same time...we dress in the dark trying to be quiet...oh left something out here...lol after the first night my tent of 20 years or so lost what was left of its weatherproofing and we had to abandon it for a canvas platform tent across the path. Thank the maker one was available. We added the other early riser a day later to make 3 in the canvas tent. It leaked in the front but kept us moderately dry...nothing in all of that rain was completely dry unless you slept in the campground conference room. Which others who had perfectly good tents had to because it rained so hard and so much the first couple of days.


After waking the two of us would run into Jeff and in the middle of the week Jeff asked if we could start the water for cleaning so to leave more time for him for other duties. No worries. 


Whomever was assigned to cook would be woken next and then the assigned cleaning group. We eat, we meet, we get announcements, then usually have 20 to 30 mins to pack lunch, take care of personal biz, get your daypack ready with items specific to your daily assignment, and don't forget your rain gear.


Each day the different teams would be assigned different tasks/hikes/field journal work.


There are still 6 groups, I think we are still grouped...lol


The Flying Squirrels A-1
The Spotted Owls     A-2
The Elks             B-1
The Devil's Club     B-2
The Red Algae        C-1
The Snow Worms       C-2




Each Lettered team would combine for daily duties and sometimes for daily assignments.


And it usually went like this: 
One day Hiking with guide learning about the different type of elevations and flora and fauna the they share, field journal was assigned. Our group hiked the Trail of Shadow, the Longmire trail to the water tower, Ricksecker Point, The Myrtle Falls trail/Skyline trail, Westside hwy past the Trail Head, Kautz Creek trail, Two firs Trail, The Sourdough Trail to Frozen Lake followed by the Burroughs Trail to the First Burrogh. This last hike was a challenge for me but I did it and a first for that elevation. The last hike was Pinnacle trail, apparently my nemesis, 1.1 miles of vertical assent. Our guide was so experienced he felt that this was a moderate hike. According to my turtledom hiking skills this was more like strenuous. Doug was very kind and made sure that we all made it down safely. My bad for not reviewing the details of the hike prior to going. This is where my knee and heal took some stress. The views of all the hikes were amazing even the last one where we had moments of clearing of clouds to see the valley below. We saw golden mantled ground squirrels, pika, and chipmunks. 


*** A big thanks to all my hiking groups who had the patience to wait for me to catch up. I am working on the stamina and strengthening my legs to keep up with you guys and getting trek poles!


Day two Service Learning, either re-vegetation or trail work. No field journal assignment and you got to shower that day. Our group did re-veg, trail work (hauling rocks and wet sand down the wonderland trail by reflection lake via wheelbarrow, sack or bucket...) then the last day the entire class did re-veg.


Day three would be a "drawing in nature" hike, field journal was assigned. 


Even with all the rain, the long days, the trying to keep up with my group and the assignments, I would so do this all over again! I feel a real connection to my classmates. We all helped each other out when someone needed something. We all learned, laughed and had a good time. Nothing will ever be as important as this trip...well I'll keep you posted...knowing our instructors and Evergreen I am sure something wonderful and enchanting and remarkable will occur.


Here is a list of some of the plants and Animals we saw on the trip:


Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Red Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Pacific Silver Fir, Sub-Alpin Fir, Lodgepole Pine, Mountain Hemlock, Noble Fir, Devil's Club, Skunk Cabbage, Sitka Valerian, Red Huckleberry, Blue Huckleberry, Corn Lily, Red Alder, Ravens, Grey Jays, Turkey Vultures, Red Tail Hawk, Eagle, Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, Chipmunks, Pika, Marmot, Black Bear, Mountain Goat, Snags, Nurse Logs, Deer Fern, Pilliated Woodpecker, False Lily of the Valley, Trillium, Bunch Berries, Heart Leaf, and a Grouse.


We also learned about some of the volcanic history, some of the glacial history and some of the history of flooding. Lahars, Glacial Outbursts, Earthquakes related to Volcanic activity make Mount Rainier one of the most active and interesting National Parks I've visited to date. There is so much more to share that we experienced but I'm going to leave that for future postings and just say I feel connected to a place.


cheers! Rest up campers and save up for your new upgraded gear!

Day 2 On the Mountain

Ok this may be the only other separate day I post...lots to share!!


Day 2 on the mountain was just as jamb packed and fun filled...


The morning lecture included safety and day preparation: sunscreen, plastic bags for your day pack, first aid, sunglasses, map, water, lunch and to be prepared for weather changes...at this point we would like a weather change, one that included some sunshine...lol...


We also had group participation on the 10 essentials for being out in the wild: water, first aid, warmth, tools, navigation (compass and map), the ability to signal, food and the knowledge to use all...


Lucia Harrison our other instructor had us practice our drawing using some of the tools from "Drawing from the right side of the Brain". A couple of quick sketches later we took care of camp life and got ready for our afternoon hike..


The Trail of Shadows is located just north and across the highway from the Longmire Inn. Longmire is a Historical District surrounded by old growth forests including Douglas Fir, Red Cedar, Western Hemlock to name a few.


This was my first hike utilizing my "write in the rain" notebook, draw a map and write down interesting species along both sides of the trail. Being an over achiever the map took up both sides of a page and certain highlights were numerated on map with corresponding text in the notebook. I would learn later that all of my species descriptions were supposed to go in a separate section by themselves thus reducing my daily entry to a few pages vs. a small tome. But then again...I hadn't gotten that far in the Grennell Field Journal textbook...no worries...


There was a plaque commemorating John Muir and I love the quote on it..." When you try to change any single thing, you find it hitched to everything else in the universe."


Later that afternoon we had a talk by creative writer and TESC Writing Center representative Sandy Yannone. She read the poem "The Fish" to us several times with instructions to listen with different criteria each time. By the end of the Poem I felt the presence of my Mom...cool and sad at the same time...


After dinner, we had a lecture by Ken Tabbutt, provost from TESC and Geologist who of course spoke on the Geology of Mt. Rainier. Some of the information I studied before, but then there were a few notes on this specific mountain that made me realize how different this volcano was to say Mt. Shasta in California. He passed around different samples of volcanic rock specific to Mt. Rainier: Granadiarite and, Andracite. May the goddess help me I did not write down the third type of rock...He also spoke of Lahars...cohesive and non cohesive. Cohesive Lahars are not volcanic in origin while the non-cohesive are. With all the glacial ice up there, it doesn't matter how the Lahar starts the results could be devastating to the lower regions of the Puget Sound. Apparently one brought debris all the way down the mountain to Tacoma...ok then campers


In So Cal you have earthquake drills, in the midwest Tornado drills on the gulf and east coast huricane drills...up here people we  have Lahar drills....


So know where your high point is and keep those car keys handy...


Cheers

Day 1 getting to the Mountain...

Thursday September 16th 0830 Evergreen State College elevation 130 ft. parking lot C. It is raining, no one is standing in the area previously designated for loading the vans. Instead we all are standing under the motorcycle/bike port trying to stash our gear in a spot that is not a small creak or puddled like a lake.

0845 Jeff our instructor shows up and gives gratz on finding shelter. The vans gather, more students show up, the gear we gathered the day before for the kitchen arrives. we pack gear in "tetras" is the key word here.

0910 we are all secured in our vans, gear secured, instructors line up besides the vans an extra truck for supplies.

I could actually post my field journal notes here, but it would be more of the same with altitudes, highways notations, which river or creek we crossed, the time it took to get from here to there and tada we arrived at Longmire Campground with only the slightest of drizzles. We make camp, setting up tents, the tarps for the kitchen and eating area were done by Jeff's friends. Before dinner we have team building exercises to see if each team ( mine is the Spotted Owls of course) can get over an imaginary electrical fence without touching it.  The fence is a rope tied between two trees and we are given the choice between two 2x4's of which we can only use one and we cannot touch the fence or the trees, go under or around the fence. Only over. All sets of two teams failed to get every member to the other side. There are many books written about this activity and no solutions to date to be found online. Our team got the most people over, before the other team adapted our idea...lol

We had the Superintendent of Mount Rainier National Parks give a brief talk and then dinner, Burritos,  three bean burritos and by the time I got there...there wasnt much left...not to worry the kitchen crew made sure there was enough by the next night.

The evening lecture was given by Jeff on "leave no trace" and group living. If you want details on the lecture, I can email them to you..

Food in bear box, gear stored in canvas platform tent, hit the tent for sleep about 2200. Janelle is my tent mate. Good night sleep tight and don't touch the sides of the tent when it is raining...

Back from the Mountain!

Ok, two days off the mountain and I'm 75% back...lol
It was one of the most marvelous, engaging, inspirational, challenging experiences I have ever had in my 58 years this lifetime!

So to make this post not a tome I will follow with each day as a single post.

Cheers,

Keep your rain gear handy, like at the top of your day pack! El Nina year...woohooo!!!

Day 2 prep

Boy these Greeners (that would be me now too!) don't waste anytime! We gathered this morning at 9 to go over the days agenda, broke into our groups for the trip. Our group is the "Spotted Owls" and is a very auspicious name to boot...owls have been visiting me for over a year in a serious way. We helped each other review the personal gear list. You can tell the class is excited just by the preparation everyone has done up to and including having enough tent space for gear and legroom. 


Now for those of you whom camping is not even close to "no room service", we have to keep our food, our toiletries and anything that has a scent in either one of the vans or a "bear box". Yes campers we will be viewing bears with scopes, maybe even some elk, mountain goats and big horn sheep. Not to forget the tamer of the viewing: hawks, eagles, owls, jays etc.....


We then broke into different groups to do a myers briggs eval, personal shopping, group shopping, and finding lunch. Post lunch break 3 fellow campers and I helped procure the camp kitchen supplies from the Lab shop. No not the items used in the labs but the Lab shop is in charge of the camping/climbing equipment and we had to dig through and find working stoves, industrial sized pots, bowls, mixing utensils, pans, strainers, peelers, shredders, knives, cutting boards, fuel for the stoves, lanterns, tarps, well you get the idea and then haul it to one of the vans....The menus are vegetarian with some items of protein for lunch like salami (thank the maker) and eggs for hopefully breakfast...lol...my personal shopping included Trader Joe's for almonds, and cashews...


At 6:30 we will hear a lecture from the Myers Briggs lady and of course not much has changed.... still an INTJ....


Will post more tomorrow, gotta go....in the meantime make sure your matches are dry and your coffee hot!


Cheers