www.greatoutdoors.org/ps

The Oasis Volume 6, Issue 10 October 2005

1The General Meeting is at Desert Pride Center, Palm Springs 760- 327-2313. The meeting is the first Tuesday of the month, October 4, from 7:30-8:00 PM for social hour, and member’s meeting from 8:00-9:00 PM. The Core Group meets from 6:30-7:30 PM. The Center’s ad-dress is 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Unit A., Palms Springs, CA.

LOOK FOR THE ANNUAL HIKE SCHEDULE NEXT ISSUE

October 23, 2005 Save the Date John Malcolm Penn Creating Music from California’s History On Sunday, October 23, John Malcolm Penn will give a free performance for members of the Great Outdoors. Mr. Penn is a singer/songwriter and California history buff. He will perform songs from his CD “Folk Songs of the Coachella Valley” a musical tour of some of the unique people, places, things and events from the past. Light refreshments will be served following his performance. If you are in-

terested in attending, Call: Doug Quigley @ 760.202.4936 no later than October 15, 2005. Event: John Malcolm Penn Performance Date: Sunday, October 23, 2005 Time: 3:00 PM Directions: Palm Springs View Estates Club House (\Thank you, Robin Ptacek) From Palm Springs, go east on Hwy. 111 Turn left on Golf Club Drive. Go 2 blocks and make a right on Bolero to the guard house. Continue until you reach the club house on the right.

Desert Aids Project ( D.A.P.) has set the date for the 18th annual Desert AIDS WalkÑ Saturday, October 29, 2005 @ Francis Stevens Park. The last DE-SERT AIDS WALK in March, 2005 raised more than $225,000 for the De-sert AIDS Project.

The Palm Springs Chapter of the Great Outdoors is now forming a team to walk. For information please contact: Craig Courtright @ 760.318.8957 or Gpsgocraig@aol.com

GREAT OUTDOORS MEMBERS

We need volunteers at our Gay Pride Booth on Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6. Your admission will be paid. Please contact: Craig Courtright @ 760.318.8957 or Gpsgocraig@aol.com

Up Coming Speaker, November 1, 2005…….DEE AND BETTY ZELLER Dee and Betty Zeller, Volunteer Managers of the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve for the past 9 years, will speak at our November General Meeting. Their discussion will include the importance of protecting the wetlands in the Preserve, the special adaptation of desert plants in the area and the effects of the Paradise Fire of June 22, 2005 which covered over 2000 acres in the Preserve.

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: Most hikes meet in front of HUNTER’S Video Bar on Arenas Rd., Palm Springs, unless other-wise specified. Bring plenty of water and a snack or lunch.

Non-Members We will add you to our news-letter mailing list free of charge for 3 months. Please note, however, that a two dollar fee will be charged on day hikes, 4x4 outings, and moonlight hikes.

PRESIDENT BRUCE SAYS:

GREAT OUTDOORS PAL M SPRINGS

“ GO TAKE A HIKE! ”

Barker Dam/Wall Street Mill, Wednesday, October 19 @ 9 AM This outing combines two terrific trails within the Wonderland of Rocks area of the Joshua Tree National Park. The Barker Dam trail goes past spectacular rock formations, Indian grinding holes and petroglyphs. After completing the Barker Dam loop we will hike the adjacent Wall Street Mill loop, an area of min-ing activity from the 1930’s.

Length: 3 miles Hiking Time: 3.5 hours Elevation Gain: 50 feet Difficulty: easy Return: 3 PM Hike Leader: Doug Quigley @ 760.202.4936 Note: There is a $10.00 per vehicle admission charge into Joshua Tree National Park.

GLEN OCHOA

is the founder of Perfect Pace, an outdoors hiking,

backpacking, camping club based in San

Diego, CA

Apple Time is here……. Great Outdoors Palm Springs has been participating in The Wildlands Conservancy “Save an Apple TreeÑPreserve a Rural Heritage”. Under the program we have adopted an apple tree from January through December, 2005, which entitles us to exclusive rights to the apples on the tree.

We will be picking apples for the November meeting. Every one on the hike will get apples to take home. We will pick the apples, hike the trails and have lunch at the historic Los Rios Rancho store. After the hike we will shake, rattle and roll the tree and get them showroom ready for all our members who show up at the November meeting. Meet in front of Hunter’s @ 9:00 AM on Sunday, October 2

Cactus to Clouds, Saturday, October 22 This hike goes from the valley floor of Palm Springs to the top of Mt. San Jacinto and back to the tram. It is rated as one of the most difficult hikes in the United States. For those who are prepared for the rigors of the hike, this is a great opportunity to accom-plish the ultimate Southern California challenge. After hiking from the valley floor to the tram, the hike will end at Long Valley for those who wish to save the summit for another day. The hike will be co-sponsored by Perfect Pace, a San Diego-based hiking group. To sign up for this hike, you need to contact the hike leaders. Please note, we will not meet at Hunter’s in Palm Springs @ 9:00 AM

Length: 22 miles if you do the full hike Hiking time: 12-15 hours if you do the full hike Elevation gain: 10,400 feet if you do the full hike Difficulty: Very strenuous Return at: Undetermined Hike Leaders: Bruce Maughan @ 760.327.1789 and Glen Ochoa @ gochoa@cox.net Go to www.perfectpace.com to sign-up. Click on: I need a user name to register. Note: There is a $10.00 charge to ride the tram down at the con-clusion of the hike for those who do not have passes.

Wellman Divide, Sunday, October 30 @ 9:25 AM Let’s visit the divide once more before the snow sets upon the mountain. We will take the tram to the upper valley station. Long Valley to Round Valley, then one more mile-the steepest of the hike- to Wellman Divide. There are panoramic views as we rest and eat lunch.

Length: 2 miles Hiking Time: 2 miles Elevation Gain: 1700 feet Difficulty: moderately strenuous Return: 2:30 PM Hike Leader: Tim Carey @ 760.416.3102 Note: There is a $21.00 charge for the Tram.

BLM-Morongo Canyon Clean-up

GREAT OUTDOORS PALM SPRINGS

End of Summer BBQ Saturday, October 1

3 to 5 SOCIAL - 5 PM BBQ The free members’ BBQ pool party will be Saturday,

October 1. Tom Fudacz is hosting the event at his home in the Avondale Country Club, Palm Desert.

Members may bring a guest at $5.00 Location: Tom Fudacz (Avondale Country Club) 75701 Heritage West, Rancho Mirage, CA 92211 Directions: Take Frank Sinatra off Hwy 111 to R El Do-rado Drive or E. Freeway 10 exit R on Cook L on Frank Sinatra on El Dorado Drive. Either way stop at Avondale guard entry gate. Once guard lets you in proceed as follows. Right on Tandika Trail North to right on Mozanbique then left on Heritage West. Tom has a cul de sac home. Park, but please do not block driveways. RSVP: For reservations or further information contact: Bruce Maughan @ 760.327.1789 or Brmaughan@dc.rr.com

EXCITING NEW MENU

Palm Springs Chapter Newly Elected Members for

PRESIDENT: Bruce Maughan V.P. Outings: Doug Quigley Treasurer: Craig Courtright An elite group of GO/PS members met at 6:00

AM on Saturday, September 17, 2005 at the en-trance of Morongo Canyon to help the Bureau of Land Management clean up accumulated trash. Palm Springs Disposal Services delivered a very large dumpster and after 4+ hours of work filling this dumpster the group was gratified to view a cleaner, more natural landscape.

4x4

NEWS

GREAT OUTDOORS PALM SPRINGS

PET SITTING

BY BILL CROCKETT

760.320.5522 BILL4545_98@YAHOO.

Meeting Information

Date: Notified by e-mail Time: 9:00 AM Place: Arranged By Phone/E-Mail Contact: Ed Emond at: 760. 202.7413 Ed@dc.rr.com

Description: Join the Great Outdoors for another 4x4 (4 wheel drive) off road adventure. Let's drive west and then north along Highway 74 to the cooler San Bernardino National Forest. We'll go through Bee Canyon with views looking back towards the San Jacinto River Valley and the citrus groves to Hemet, CA. The trail is a dirt shelf road and is easy to traverse. We'll climb towards Indian Mountain and end up in Pine Cove (SH-243) which is only 3 miles down the road from Idyllwild and all it has to offer. We'll encounter pine, oak and cypress trees.

This trail is approximately 15.5 miles of off-roading. Pack your lunch and we'll stop along the trail to eat by the North Fork of the San Jacinto River. On your way home, you can try and convince your driver to stop in Idyllwild for another excursion if you like. If you have the book "Backcountry Adventures, Southern California" (2002 Edition), this trail is "South Coast #19" and found on page 353. It's rated an easy 2 out of 10 in difficulty. There are no rocks to climb over on this dirt trail, so, stock SUVs with 4x4 transmissions will have no difficulty on this trip.

In November we will 4x4 to the top of Santa Rosa Mountain off Hwy. 74 just past the Sugar Loaf Cafe. ( all photos on this page are of the Bee Canyon scouting trip)

NEXT TRIP

BEE CANYON TO PINE COVE ROAD SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2005

Following a lunch at the saddle, we continued down past Dry Lake (9,000’), which is completely full this year due to the record snows. Another set of switchbacks returned us to the refreshing upper reaches of South Fork Meadows, which afforded us our last chance to soak our tired feet, and fill up any depleted water sources. Then it was back onto the South Fork Trail, and a return via our earlier route to the trailhead, that we had departed some 20 plus miles and over a day ago. I want to thank my four great team members for joining me on a hike that has been teasing me ever since moving to Palm Springs over three years ago. And to Chris Teseo who had never camped overnight until this past summer, and who accompanied me on all of our pre-hikes that led to this adventure. Thanks Guys! Chris Porter

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS As Of September 23, 2005

GREAT OUTDOORS PALM SPRINGS

Mario Gonzalez Jr. Cory R. Lepage

Keith Miller “Glen” John Ochoa

Gene Ware

Bill’s Notes

GREAT OUTDOORS PALM SPRI NGS

BILL COOKSLEY

Articles for this newsletter should be submitted as Microsoft Word attachments via e-mail by the 15th of the month to: newsletter@dc.rr.com If you wish to purchase advertising space in “The Oasis” please submit your inquiries to the above e-mail address. Ads should be submitted in jpg format if possible.

Twenty-eight eager art lovers joined Pat-rick Hinrichsen, our esteemed leader of this event, at the newly renamed Art Mu-seum of Palm Springs. The planned 2 1/2 hour tour with docent Vinnie Stopia be-

came over 3 hours because of the many questions and informed an-swers during the tour. Vinnie is, in-deed, a most informed docent. His knowledge of European masters as well as local artists is unparalleled. All members and guests enjoying this most educational exhibit/tour received free admission, thanks to the accumulation of Film Festival tickets with free admissions to the museum on the back. The usual cost for entrance into the museum is $13.00. Quite a bargain. All the par-ticipants appeared to enjoy the event very much.

Another trek through the Indian Canyons While only 8 participants showed up for this hike in the Indian Canyons, and 7 of those participants nearly lost their way, this was a most enjoyable way to spend a beautiful "cooler" afternoon in September. Hike leader Doug Quigley lead the way through the coolness of the palm oasis below the Indian Trading Post. While one participant decided the upward climb out of the oasis was a bit too much after a summer of non-activity in the heated desert, 7 stalwart hikers made their way up the ridge from the oasis and found many jackrabbits and lizards inhabiting the hiking area. The group stopped for lunch at a small watering hole in one of the canyon areas. Hikers noted that this lunch group was the most talkative of

any they experi-enced recently on hikes. The con-versation was in-deed stimulat-ing.

Photos above and below

Kenny Irwin guest speaker at our General Meeting

September 6, 2005

Cooling Off at the “new” Art Museum

Great Outdoors SB/VC Chapter Presents: All Chapter Jamboree/Conference at Lake Cachuma

October 7– 9, 2005 Get your boots and hats out, time to dance and have a good 'ol time! It's the October annual conference and your host (Santa Bar-bara/Ventura County) want to welcome you to Cachuma Lake. It's our special place in the heart of the Los Padres National Forest, and we think you'll agree, it's mighty purdy up here!Now for the particulars: Arrive Friday around noon to check in and get acquainted with all the nice folks and surround'ns. At about 8PM the outgoing Board members are gonna have a special meet'n. All the

rest of you folks will mosey by the campfire to get your toes warm and share your tales of the wild west. We may even have some goodies for ya to munch on by the fire! Saturday: Rise and shine around 8AM as we will serve the morning breakfast vittles, corporate elections and work shops at 9AM, Calendar planning at 10AM. The rest of you folks get to go hike and sight see and just plain have fun! Now for those of you with an adventurous spirit there will be a chili cook off start-ing at 12 noon. The rest of us get to sample their hard work around 1:30PM.

5PM will be our sarsaparilla hour (formerly tea) followed by corporate awards at 6:30 PM. 7PM we feast on a genuine Santa Maria Style Bar-B-Que, tri-tip, chicken, salad and all the fix'ns. 8PM time off to the dance area and do a little jig!...square dancing, now don't you worry none, for those of you who cain't remember or just plain too shy to dance, we'll go real slow for ya at first till you pick up the steps real good -you'll be kick-ing your heels in no time! Sunday morning light breakfast, pack up, then say our goodbyes to all the neat folks we met. Then it's off to another great year with the GREAT OUTDOORS! Directions: From the South - Take the 101 freeway north to Santa Barbara (About 98 miles from LA). Exit at Hwy 154 - Cachuma Lake turn off (San Marcos Pass). Follow the signs to Ca-chuma lake (about 20 miles). Turn right into the park, we will be at the Lanford Memorial Grove group site. From the North- take 101 South to the 154 exit. Stay on 154 until you get to the Lake en-trance (about 25 miles). Turn left into the park, we are at the Lanford Memorial Grove group site. Registration is required. Go to www.greatoutdoors.org scroll down to, “All Chapter Jamboree/Conference” Click on Registration and Print

Nearby Solvang

11.499 Elevation Mount San Gorgonio Ascent Challenge Were we ready? Yes, we were Along with my fellow hikers, Bruce Maughan, Patrick McNeil, Chris Rosendall, and Chris Teseo, we set off for the summit of “Old Grayback” via the South Fork Trail, Saturday, August 27th, following an overnight at Bar-ton Flats campground. We broke camp early, and were at the trailhead (6,900’), and walking onward and up-ward, at 8:30 AM. Quickly we made our way up to Horse Meadows, and had a photo op, with our goal insight, at Poop-Out Hill. Next stop was South Fork Meadows, and the last water source we would could utilize until the following af-ternoon. Filtering the plentiful source, thanks to Patrick’s water filtration pump system, we capped our requi-site 4-6 liters of water, and were off again. The next section of trail, up to the Dollar Lake Saddle, at approximately 10,000’, was where we made our greatest elevation gain. We opted to skip a side trip down to diminutive Dollar Lake, which was barely visible between stands of trees, due to the elevation gain that would have been lost. We did however take a quick lunch, at the shady spur trailhead that leads to that lake’s adjacent camp (another future day hike?). Then pushed up the last remaining steep pitch of the trail to the saddle. Following a brief photo op at the saddle, and a welcome respite to ditch those heavy overnight packs, we made our final push to our overnight stop, Dry Lake View, at 10,400’. This was a truly incredible campsite, on a saddle between Little Charleston Peak (10,646’) and Jepson Peak (11,205’). Clearly visible was Riverside and San Bernardino to our south, Dry Lake (hence the camp’s name) directly below and to our north, and the San Gorgonio summit, plus a few remaining snowfields on the flanks of Jepson Peak directly to the east of us. Quickly we pitched our tents, and Bruce “engineered” our bear line for storage of our food goods for the night. Twilight and the sunset were incredible from this viewpoint. And Chris T. and I managed to bag the summit of Little Charlton Peak before we lost our light ( seven down in the nine peaks challenge!), just a few hundred feet above our campsite. Besides the incredible sunset, I was treated to an uninterrupted blanket of stars later that night, while searching for a spot to dig my requisite 6” deep hole. I believe Lucerne Valley was the small town I could see “lit up,” way off beyond the mountain ridges to our north, and of course the beginning lights of the LA basin sprawl below us to our south. The next morning sunrise, again a visual spectrum of colors, had us quickly eating our rations, and packing up camp, to hit the trail by 7:30 AM! Gee, life is simple when there is no need for hair gunk and concealer…. Onward we worked our way around the south side of Jepson Peak, and within two miles were at the conflu-ence with the upper Vivian Creek Trail. Here a couple was making their way up from that trail’s High Camp, whom we joined for the summit push. This section of trail I had traversed two weeks earlier with the LA Chapter on a summit day hike, via the much steeper Vivian Creek Trail. San Gorgonio, unlike the summit apex of Mount San Jacinto, and the notch like crown of Mount Baldy, is an undulating lunar landscape that is almost reminiscent of what one would consider a golf course on the moon. A few remaining snowfields ap-pear as bunkers, and hearty low lying scrub brush serve as the only greenery. Ditching our packs at the summit trail marker, we climbed the final half-mile to the true summit, (11,499) arriving between 9:10 and 9:30 AM respectively. The summit views are really impressive, especially to the north, with Big Bear Lake in the background and Dry Lake directly below. From fellow summiteers, we learned of the extent of the fires that we could clearly see burning on Mount San Jacinto. And also, that the 111 was closed. Again, after the requisite photo ops, it was time to begin our long traipse back down. From the summit spur trail, we began our descent down the Sky High Trail. This rounds the south side of the San Gorgonio massive, and overlooks the tarn between it and the Ten Thousand Foot Ridge. Earlier, this trail also afforded great views of the north face of Mount San Jacinto, and front and center views of occasional flare-ups of the ongoing fire. Rounding the east shoulder, we began down a series of steep switchbacks, en-route to Mineshaft Saddle (9,700’). Just at the base of the switchbacks is the remaining wreckage of a C-47 transport plane, which crashed in 1952, killing 13 people. Additional information on the crash, and the subsequent crash of a later retrieval helicopter and the surviving three’s rescue of that mission, can be viewed at www.sgwa.org, the Wil-derness’s informative website. (CONTINUED NEXT PAGE)

Web Site Administrator Ed Emond

760.202.7413 ED@dc.rr.com

Palm Springs Core Group http://greatoutdoors.org/ps

President Bruce Maughan 760.327.1789

Brmaughan@dc.rr.com V.P. Outings Doug Quigley 760.202.4936

GrtOtdrsDoug@aol.com Treasurer

Craig Courtright 760.318.8957

Gpsgocraig@aol.com Secretary

Chris Waasdorp 760.416.4281

Thinkd6zis@aol.com Newsletter Designer/Publisher

Patrick McNeil 760.770.6040

newsletter@dc.rr.com Copy Editor

Richard Cabitto 760.770.6040

rcabitto@dc.rr.com Board Representative

Dar Bjork 760.328.6916

FAX 760.328.5590 Membership Coordinator

Bill Bulger 760.202.0457

Gobillb@msn.com Game Night Coordinator

Rick Opler 760.674.9409

Rqopler@msn.com

MINIATURE GOLF Monday, October 31

GREAT OUTDOORS PAL M SPRINGS

Location: Boomers 67-700 East Palm Canyon Cathedral City Time: 1:00 PM Cost: $7:00 Per Person Contact: Doug Quigley @ 760.202.4936

1 BBQ 3:00 PM

2 Apple Picking 9:00 AM

7-9 Jamboree

16 4x4 9:00 AM

16 Moonlight Hike 7:00 PM

19 Barker Dam 9:00 AM

22 Cactus to Clouds Call hike leaders

23 John Malcom Penn

3:00 PM

29 Aids Walk Call Craig @ 760.318.8957

30 Wellman Divide 9:25 AM

31 Miniature Golf I:00 PM

MOONLIGHT HIKE Sunday, October 16 @ 7:00 PM

GREAT OUTDOORS PALM SPRINGS

GAME NIGHT

GREAT OUTDOORS PAL M SPRINGS

We will hike the Museum Trail to the picnic tables. A fine view of the downtown of Palm Springs with its light all aglow will be seen. Meet in the north parking lot of the Palm Springs Art Museum. .Length: 2 miles Hiking time: 2 hours Elevation Gain: 600 feet Difficulty: Moderate Return: 9:00 PM Hike leader Tim Carey@ 760.416.3102 Note: Meeting place-North parking lot of the Palm Springs Art Museum. Bring flash light and water.

OC

TOB

ER

NO GAME NIGHT FOR OCTOBER

Great Outdoors Palm Springs PO BOX 361 Palm Springs, CA 92263 October, 2005 Address Correction Requested

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