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Inter-Mountain Alpine Club Backpacking School

The Inter-Mountain Alpine Club is conducting its 2024 Backpacking School in April. The school will be conducted in two all-day sessions – a combination of indoor and outdoor classes designed to teach you what you need to know to get started backpacking on your own.

The purpose of the backpacking school is to prepare students for comfortable and safe multi-day backpacking trips. The classes introduce people with little-to-no outdoors experience to a new and exciting hobby. No prior experience in the outdoors is required.

Topics include: ten essentials, clothing, conditioning, packs, tents, sleeping systems, map and topography basics, compass and route planning, navigation strategy, navigation using smart phones, cooking and nutrition, hygiene and water purification, trip planning, children, pets, first aid, safety, and rescue techniques.

The first day, on Saturday April 13, 2024 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, consists of lecture-style presentations taught in the SWL 121 Lecture Hall at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

The second day, on Sunday April 14, 2024 from 9:00 AM to 2 :00 PM, includes outdoor field demonstrations of equipment and techniques at Leslie Groves Park in Richland.

The school culminates in overnight backpacking trips led by I-MAC trip leaders.

Each topic is taught by a dedicated I-MAC member with years of experience with the purpose of taking the mystery out of what they need to know to successfully complete a weekend backpack.

The school is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

To register and reserve your place in the class, please send an email to backpacking@imacnw.org and provide your name, phone number, and email address for class communications and materials. Please indicate your interests and experience with hiking and backpacking.

Before the course, we highly recommend you get the book The Backpacker’s Field Manual, by Rick Curtis, before the school, and read as much as you can. It is NOT available through REI.

An incident in Olympia

Something unforgettable happened during my PCT trip in 2021 that I chose not to write about at the time. A retelling of the incident today reminded me to share it with you, as it’s quite a story.

Sharon had picked me up at White Pass so we could attend a Human Relations Lab near Belfair for a week. We have a friend in Olympia, which is on the way to Belfair, so we arranged to have dinner with her, and to spend the night in a hotel in Olympia. I found a cheap hotel in Olympia, the Olympia Inn. A reviewer called it a diamond in the rough, so that was good enough for me.

After a delightful dinner with our friend, we went to the hotel office to check in. No one was there, so I looked for someone outside. I found a woman who was cleaning rooms. She came to check us in. We learned that she was the sole employee for a place with about 24 rooms, handling repairs as well as cleaning and check in.

I didn’t mind the toilet not flushing properly. But at 1 am, we were awakened by noise from next door. A woman was telling someone she was “going to bite your face off!” This yelling went on for hours, intermittently. By 4 am I decided to try to do something about it, so I got up, put my clothes on, and went outside. There was a man outside our neighbor’s unit. He was holding a large knife, knocking on her door. She screamed at him. I tried knocking on her window. She pulled the curtain open and yelled at me: “I’m going to bite your face off!” I decided to return to our room. We heard her praying to Jesus. Eventually the sun rose.

We packed up and stopped by the office to request a refund. The manager did not want to call the owner, fearing he would dock her. I asked to speak to him. She agreed, and I managed to get half of the room fee taken off. We did, after all, get a few hours of sleep.

I slept so much better on the trail!

Bicycling Film: The Engine Inside

7:00-8:30 pm Tuesday January 9

Richland Public Library

Thanks to support from Bike Tri-Cities and Wheelhouse Community Bike Shop, we’re pleased to screen The Engine Inside, a beautiful film that will inspire you to apply bicycles more fully to your life, improving your physical and mental health, reducing traffic congestion, saving your hard-earned cash, and reducing climate change. One hour and twenty minutes. Admission is free. Representatives from Bike Tri-Cities, Wheelhouse Community Bike Shop, Citizens Climate Lobby, and local bike shops will be present.

From Darcy Wittenburg, the Director: “We’re at a crux in human history. Never before have we experienced so many converging problems: the climate crisis, social and economic inequality, cultural trauma, and transportation issues. “The Engine Inside” is about unlocking the bicycle as a simple, and often overlooked, solution for many of our challenges. The timing and the message of this film has never been as poignant or as urgent as it is now. We hope this empowers people all over the world to ride their bikes and know that a better future is possible.”

https://www.engineinsidefilm.com

Wind River High Route recap

We had a big audience for the slideshow at the Richland Public Library last night: 100 people. Lots of oohs, aahs, and laughter as we recalled our various misadventures and showed the splendid scenery on the trip. So fun to see so many friends there, and to meet people who I only knew by name or social media.

Slides are available for viewing at

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ir21EudAkc_rZfYzYbBay8hX8pFbm5bxlIdtuUi4M3A/edit?usp=sharing

Reminder: Wind River High Route Slideshow

Richland Public Library, Gallery Room

Monday December 4, 2023, 7:00-8:30 pm

The Wind River High Route is considered one of the finest non-technical Alpine routes in North America. Last August, Steve Ghan, Susie Stenkamp, Jim Booker, John Serkowski and Jay Reinhardt trekked roughly 80 miles off trail and on along the Wind River Range in Wyoming over seven days, crossing seven passes above 11,000 feet. In this slideshow presentation, they will show images of spectacular alpine beauty, tell stories of adventure, mishap, and perseverance, and revel in the camaraderie of a shared test of their endurance and tenacity.

Reminder: Wind River High Route Slideshow

Richland Public Library, Gallery Room

Monday December 4, 2023, 7:00-8:30 pm

Wind River High Route Slideshow

Richland Public Library, Gallery Room

Monday December 4, 2023, 7:00-8:30 pm

Earth Day at The REACH

Friends, the Earth Day event at The REACH Museum in Richland is coming together, so mark your calendars for 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday April 22. https://visitthereach.us/event/earth-day/

We’ll have a variety of games and activities at tables by 30 local organizations, live music by three different bands, food trucks, a poetry slam, an EV and E-bike show, and six “Tri-Talks” on climate solutions, recycling and the Columbia River. And, thanks to Battelle, it’s all free to the public. Come celebrate Earth Day with us!

Inter-Mountain Alpine Club Registration Open for Backpacking School

The Inter-Mountain Alpine Club is conducting its annual Backpacking School. This year it will be conducted in two all-day sessions – a combination of indoor and outdoor classes designed to teach you what you need to know to get started backpacking on your own.

Topics include: the essentials, clothing, conditioning, packs, tents, sleeping systems, map and topography basics, compass and route planning, navigation strategy, digital navigation using smart phones, cooking and nutrition, hygiene and water purification, using the Internet, GPS, cell phones, stoves, other gear, first aid, safety, pets, children, and rescue techniques.

The first day, on Saturday May 6, 2023 from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, consists of lecture-style presentations taught in the L-102 Lecture Hall at the Student Center on the Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

The second day, on Sunday May 7, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 2 :00 PM, includes all-day outdoor, field You demonstrations of equipment and techniques at Leslie Groves Park in Richland.

The school culminates in overnight backpacking trips led by an I-MAC trip leader.

Each topic is taught by a dedicated I-MAC member with years of experience with the purpose of taking the mystery out of what they need to know to successfully complete a weekend backpack.

The school is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Before the course, we highly recommend you get the book The Backpacker’s Field Manual, by Rick Curtis, before the school, and read as much as you can. It is NOT available through REI.

We also recommend that you join the Inter-Mountain Alpine Club before the school. Membership will get you access to more information about our trips, both before and after, and about our community.

Earth Day at the REACH Museum

Earth Day reminds all of us of the essential role our environment on Earth plays in sustaining human existence. Since 1970, tens of millions of people gather every April 22 to acknowledge the wonders of the environment and call for its protection from pollution, overuse, and inadvertent impacts of accepting mitigation over restitution. Earth Day started in the U.S., and expanded worldwide in 1990.

In 1996, Gail Everett of Kennewick, who now works for the City of Richland started organizing annual Earth Month Mid-Columbia. Activities have included reuse and recycling campaigns, free saplings, alternative energy and transportation fairs, kids video and art contests, e-vehicle and e-bike shows, and ecology education. Some of these activities were extended year round by Go Green Tri-Cities.

In 2016, Earth Day was recognized in the Tri-Cities by a Celebration of Science, in which some of the many scientists in the Tri-Cities spoke about the essential role that science can play in mitigating environmental problems such as the ozone hole that opened the stratosphere to radiation that has induced climate change. The tradition continued until Covid-19 closed down public assembly across the world. In 2021 and 2022, Sustainable Tri-Cities and Drive Electric organized EV events at the REACH Museum.

It’s time to rekindle the Earth Day flame in the Tri-Cities, without burning more fossil fuels.

The 2023 Earth Day event in the Tri-Cities is a partnership including Battelle Memorial Institute, Ben-Franklin Transit, the Tri-Cities Chapter of Citizens Climate Education, Sustainable Tri-Cities, Life@PNNL, and the Reach Museum, which is offering free admission between 10am-2pm on April 22nd.

The theme will be HEALTHY PEOPLE, HAPPY PLANET. Our goals are to engage all ages (especially kids) in adopting ways of living that are healthy for themselves, for their local environment, and for the global climate, and to make the event accessible to those without motor vehicles. With grant support from WA Ecology, Ben Franklin Transit will declare a fare free day on April 22nd to ensure that people from all walks of life can attend the Earth Day celebration in Richland. The $0 fare applies to all the big buses so people can “Try Transit” rather than drive to any activity they have planned for this Saturday from 7am to 10pm. Plus, we encourage all forms of eco-friendly travel, like walking, biking, rolling and ridesharing, so that Earth Day participants actively reduce vehicle emissions on April 22nd and beyond to support a happy planet. Parking will be limited so extra bike racks will be available for secure bicycle parking.

We’ve invited local organizations with relevant missions to table at the REACH.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s STEM Ambassadors will present science demonstrations for kids and scientists from the lab will lead research-based discussions called “Tri-Talks”. Additional activities include a student poetry competition hosted by Urban Poets Society, games, surveys, service projects, and a climate simulator.

Taco and Thai Food trucks will be available to provide food, and entertainers will play Earth-care songs and traditional music.

The event hours will be 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.