August 8, 2008, Truchas Peaks Day Hike
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Leader: Jeff
Click, click.jeff@gmail.com
(I/S)
In deference to raising gas prices, I am instituting the "Explore
Your Back Yard Series". The first installment in this series
will be a Truchas Peaks Day Hike on Friday, Aug. 8. We will leave Los
Alamos around 7:00 AM and head to the Truchas trailhead. From
there we will enter the Pecos Wilderness and hike up the north fork of
the Rio Quemado. Along the way we will pass the beautiful Quemado Falls
and hike into the spectacular Truchas basin. From there, weather
permitting, we will have our choice of a number of peaks to climb: North
Truchas, Middle Truchas and/or Truchas Peak (13,103). Rain gear will be
required. Total mileage will be 10-12 miles with an elevation gain of
approximately 3500 ft.
August 15-17,
2008, Latir Wilderness Backpack
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Leader: Bill
Priedhorsky,
bill@priedhorsky.net
Area Map: click
here
More information:
click here
Photos (from a recent trip to the
area): click
here
(B/M)
We will backpack to one of New Mexico's premier alpine areas in this 3
day trip into the Latir Wilderness just north of Taos. We plan to
settle in to the Heart Lake area for two nights (Friday and Saturday),
and return on Sunday. Heart Lake is 5 miles from the trailhead and is
backed by sweeping mesas that reach 12,600 feet. It is a relatively
easy climb to the lake; our Saturday day hike will make a grand loop
past the lake onto the alpine ridges of Latir Mesa, where sweeping views
reach from the Latir Lakes below to the summits of distant Colorado.
The trail fades in the high meadows, and some route finding will be
necessary over Latir Mesa and on the Bull Creek Trail. The loop trip
traverses more than 4 miles of terrain above timberline. We expect to
put in over 20 miles of total hiking, over 4000' vertical in three days
(10 miles with backpacks), and also hope to summit Latir Peak. The
rainy season may still be in effect, and the nights may be chilly. We
will return home Sunday. This replaces
the previously announced trip to Pecos Baldy Lake.
August 17, 2008 - Intro to Map, Compass, and GPS - Or How Not to Get Lost
Instructors: Dick and Judy
Opsahl, 505-662-9404,
opsahl@losalamos.com. Advance registration is required in order to
prepare handouts. Contact the Opsahls to reserve your space.
Details: August 17th,
1:30pm-4:30pm. Classroom portion at 141 Chamisa. Outdoor portion in Rendija
Canyon. Cost: $20.
(B-I/E)
This course presents the basics of map reading and compass use for wilderness
navigation. After students have mastered these skills, the use of modern GPS
units will be presented as an augmentation to baseline navigation skills. The
course will include an indoor session in which basic skills are presented,
followed by an outdoor session in which students can practice using these skills
in mountainous terrain. This course is valuable for both beginners and those
wishing a review of navigation techniques.
August
28 - September 1, 2008 - Labor Day Camp-out at Holy Ghost
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Pecos Area Family Camping Leaders:
Dick and Judy Opsahl, opsahl@losalamos.com,
141 Chamisa St, Los Alamos, NM 87544
(B-A/E-S) Join Dick and Judy
Opsahl for family camping Labor Day Weekend (2008) at the Holy Ghost Campground
group site ( elevation 8100 ft.) from August 28 to September 1, 2008. Holy
Ghost is about 75 miles from Los Alamos, an easy drive. The road to the
campground is narrow but paved all the way. It's a super place with great
facilities including a covered Gazebo with picnic benches under cover with
seating for about 40 people. It has a hand water pump and a modern pit
toilet just for the group site. There are lots of relatively flat places
for tents but we will take our small RV. An excellent Gazebo set-up allows us to
cook our gourmet group meals in all weather situations. Tenting areas are
very close. The forest in this area is dense mature spruce with some
aspen. Reminded Dick of the forests in Maine. The rub is the group
size limit 8 cars or RVs and a max of 40 people. I expect the trip will
fill-up so get your checks in soon. Reservations will be made with Dick and Judy
and the price will be $25 per auto or RV or trailer space plus $5 per person.
If the money taken in more than covers the camp cost, we will use the excess for
group food. Reservations will count when we receive the checks.
There are excellent hiking possibilities: Redondo, Santa Fe Baldy, and Lake Peak
should be day trips from the campground. Lake Katherine will be much
easier from this side than from the Santa Fe Ski Basin side. For the kids
there is Cave Creek. Stewart Lake is only 3 hours from the campground and
2 hours back down. To make a reservation send a check to address above.
Dogs WILL NOT be permitted. Kids are fine.
Note that this will be a combined Los Alamos
Mountaineers, PEEC, and Sierra Club outing.
September
11-14, 2008 - Gallup Area Mountain Biking
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Leaders:
Bill Priedhorsky will organize trip logistics, and the mountain bike
outings will be led by Dennis Brandt and Annette Weyrauch. To
reserve a spot, please send a check for $100 per participant to Bill at
380 Rim Road, Los Alamos 87544, letting him know the check is coming
with a note to
bill@priedhorsky.net.
(I/M-S)
On the "A" weekend of Sept. 12-14 (departing Los Alamos
Thursday Sept. 11), the Mountaineers will explore some new country by
mountain bike: the red rock country between Gallup and Thoreau, and the
ponderosa pines of Cibola National Forest. We will be based at the Zuni
Mountain Lodge, about 14 miles south of Thoreau. The lodge has 8 rooms
and holds up to 16, including with both breakfast and dinner. We have
rented the whole place for a price of about $150 per person for the
3-night weekend. Details of this nice lodge can be found
here.
This will be an easy trip to prepare for: you need bring
only your outdoor gear, bike, and lunches. We will leave Los Alamos late
in the afternoon of Sept. 11, carpooling as much as possible to save
money and the environment.
Photos of biking possibilities can be found
here. An outdoor guide to the Gallup area, "The Gallup Guide",
can be found
here.
An additional option for the weekend is to drive up to
Crown Point on Friday evening for the monthly
Navajo
rug auction. This is reputedly the best place to buy rugs in the
Southwest; with no middleman, most of your money ends up in the hands of
the artisan.
September 13, 2008, San Antonio Peak (10,833) Day Hike
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Leader: Jeff
Click, click.jeff@gmail.com
(B/M-S)
The second installment of the "Explore Your
Back Yard Series" will be a day hike on Saturday, Sept. 13,
to San Antonio Peak (10,833). This peak is just south of the
Colorado boarder on state highway 285. Join us for a beautiful
hike amid the fall colors which should be peaking about this time of
year. I have been told there are lovely aspen forests on the north
side of this mountain. On a clear day, which is common this time
of year, there should be outstanding views in all directions.
Total mileage should be about 8 miles with an elevation gain of about
3,100 ft. Club members that are familiar with this hike, please
feel free to send Jeff any helpful hints you discovered in past
adventures or join us and share them along the way.
October
11-19, 2008 - Ticaboo Canyon Adventure, Utah
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Leader:
Bill Priedhorsky,
bill@priedhorsky.net. To reserve a space, I would like to
receive your deposit of $200 per person made out to me at 380 Rim Road,
Los Alamos 87544, or contact me for details for a direct bank transfer.
(I/M)
For our fall '08 canyon adventure, we will return to
Ticaboo Canyon, Utah, on the 20th anniversary of our last Mountaineers
trip there. Ticaboo is a branching set of canyons, slots, and
slickrock, and is one of the wildest domains of canyon country that I
know.
Ticaboo Canyon lies beneath the granitic mass of the
Little Rockies, the rugged spires at the south end of the Henry
Mountains. It is a mass of slick rock and slot canyons. A
few photos from the 1988 trip can be seen
here. A trip log from a Ticaboo hike can be found
here.
The easiest way to reach Ticaboo is to take a boat ride
from Bullfrog Marina. We will go into the canyon on Saturday the
12th of October, and come out on the 18th. Our party will fill two
round trips for a Boston Whaler, at about 3 1/2 hours per round trip,
each day. 12 of us could fit on the two boat rides. However,
it would be helpful if a few trip members dayhike hike down a trail of
about 3 miles from the mesatop. The route follows an old stock
trail into the South Fork of Ticaboo. This will give us a vehicle
within hiking range in case of an emergency.
According to Kelsey's book, there is a good spring just
above the high water mark on Lake Power. As a backup, there is
flowing water upstream in both the South Fork and the main canyon.
I anticipate camping either near the lake or at most a mile up the
canyon. We should be prepared to shuttle our gear a short distance
from the lakeside, but I anticipate the same luxuries (loads of 65-70
pounds per person) as our recent pack trips.
The schedule will be as follows:
-
Saturday morning, 11 October: leave
Los Alamos and drive to Bullfrog, where we will stay at the same
trailers as October 07. I believe that the
last ferry from Hall's Crossing to Bullfrog is at 4 PM.
-
Sunday morning, 12 October: leave
Bullfrog, load the first wave onto the boat. Second wave hangs
around for a half-day, then takes the second trip to camp.
Part of the party will hike in overland.
-
Saturday morning, 18 October: after 6
nights in the canyon, we will pack up camp, meet the boat, and head
for Bullfrog. Some of the party will need to wait for the
second boat; others can walk out overland.
-
Sunday, 19 October: drive home to Los
Alamos, probably taking the 9 AM ferry.
I have reserved and paid for the three 3-bedroom trailers
("family units") at Bullfrog to stay over the two Saturday nights (details
on the units)
If we have 12 participants, I expect a per person cost,
including the two nights lodging, of about $275. This will be a
great trip to some my favorite country, and I'm looking forward to it.
Spring, 2009 - Bhutan and
India Commercial Adventure Travel
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Leaders:
Dick and Judy Opsahl, opsahl@losalamos.com
(B-I/E-M)
Consider a trip to Bhutan and India with Dick and Judy
Opsahl departing mid April 2009. This trip, with "Overseas
Adventure Travel", will have lots of emphasis on cultural interaction
with the local people. Trip limit is 16 people.
The India trip is 17 days in Northern
India, visiting the Taj Mahal, Agra, Old and New Delhi, the "pink city"
of Jaipur with its ancient palaces and forts, and Rathambhore National
Park, known for its wildlife viewing, among other places. The main
trip is preceded by an 8 day visit to Bhutan. The Himalayan
kingdom of Bhutan is slowly opening it's borders to foreign tourism
after being closed to foreigners until recent years. It is like
visiting Nepal 100 years ago, with spectacular Himalayan scenery,
centuries old customs and traditions, ancient forts, temples, and
monasteries. The main India trip is also followed by an optional 6
day post-trip to Southern India, visiting Bombay, Cochin, and cruising
the Cochin backwaters by houseboat. You can get more information
at "Overseas
Adventure Travel".
The exact departure date for our group
will be determined sometime during May of this year. The number of
departures to Bhutan is quite limited so we need trip deposits to help
secure our position. The deposit is $350 per person and we have 2
paid so far. Total cost (2008 prices; 2009 might be higher) is
about $5500/person for Bhutan and India, airfare included. The
optional South India extension is about $1300.
