VolunteerMatch (www.volunteermatch.com) works to link enthusiastic volunteers with organizations who would love to have their help. You can search by location, keywords, or organization and fill your calendar with opportunities great and small. This is a wonderful way to get both outdoors contacts and general volunteering contacts.

From their website: “VolunteerMatch is a leader in the nonprofit world dedicated to helping everyone find a great place to volunteer. The organization offers a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Our popular service welcomes millions of visitors a year and has become the preferred internet recruiting tool for more than 60,000 nonprofit organizations.”

Washington Trails Association (www.wta.org) protects and maintains the hiking trails of this beautiful region. They are the largest volunteer trail maintenance program in the state, and host a variety of projects, including:
- 1 or 2 day work parties
- Backcountry trips (3-4 day) to maintain more remote sites
- Week-long volunteer vacations that combine travel and service
- Youth volunteer vacations for high schoolers aged 14-18
Their website also contains backcountry meal ideas, photos, and trail reviews for those seeking even more inspiration.

Groundswell NW (www.groundswellnw.org) focuses mainly on the area around Ballard/Fremont/Crown Hill, but their dedication to caring for Seattle is inspirational and they have worked hard to clean up some areas that others have feared to enter and have made a big difference over their history. Over the years I have worked with them to clean city parks, build and restore salmon habitat, clean up streets, and more.

Outdoors for All Foundation (www.outdoorsforall.org) brings children with disabilities outside and encourages them in activities such as snowboarding, snowshoeing, cycling, hiking, kayaking, water skiing, and much more. They have a need for instructors, chaperones, drivers, general volunteers, and interns to help them enrich the lives of as many kids as possible.

I used to only coordinate activities, thinking that it was rude to just go along as an assistant or as a participant when I could be doing the heavy lifting myself. But a borderline burnout made me realize that spreading the load is perfectly wise (and admirable, and necessary), and that reminding myself of what it’s like to just be a participant can not only strengthen the events I coordinate but give my brain a chance to remember how fun it is to just go out and enjoy the world.

As a participant, you get to sit back and know that your coordinator has taken care of many of the possible worries. On a hike, you know that they have a good First Aid kit and have been trained to use it. On a SCUBA dive, you can rest easy knowing that during your chilly interval between dives, they will give you hot chocolate and warm water to dunk your gloves. On a kayak trip, if you tire you can trust that they will not only have a tow rope, but they will make sure you get towed back to shore. It’s like the difference between driving a car in rush hour traffic and riding as a passenger – while the driver is signaling, changing lanes, and swearing at the other drivers, you get to smile and look at the scenery. Maybe that’s not the best analogy… my point is that when I know someone has taken care of the details, I notice more on the trails, have longer conversations with new friends and generally have a lovely time.

Trips where I’ve co-coordinated have also been lovely, but there is an added level of awareness that is present. At any moment, you could be called upon to help out with an emergency, or lead a smaller group within the whole, or follow up behind the pack and make sure nobody is left behind. You are still free of the burden of major decision-making, but you are also no longer one of the pack.

Coordinating the whole thing brings its own joys, but is also quite a lot of responsibility. From the first day of planning, you are in charge of choosing the location, time, and style of the outing, and though other opinions are often solicited and heeded, the final call is up to you. On the trip, you choose routes and make a constant stream of quick judgments about group safety, timing, and pace. You have to inspire confidence and respect by knowing your activity inside and out, and in case of an emergency you have to act decisively and quickly. Bad days are not allowed, and unfortunately you also don’t often have time to get into long conversations or to hang out with friends. I remember one dive in particular where I was spending so much time looking after a fellow diver that I almost ran head-first into the beautiful pilings we were there to explore.

All of this is to say that each level of responsibility can be wonderful, but as with everything moderation is important and for each round of trips coordinators take charge of, they need to make sure they mix in a chance to follow as well. It brings out the best in all of us, and makes our community all the stronger.

So you’ve heard the term but what is a carbon footprint?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of green house gasses produced as a result of your activities.  This can be the things you do (drive verses ride your bike), consume (buying local verses imported) and buy (gear made from recycled materials) measured in units of carbon

Visit this site to calculate your carbon footprint

http://www.becomeafriend.org/index.php

or for a more detailed calculation:

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

What can you do to help reduce your carbon footprint?

Recycle Fuel Canisters

Most fuel canisters are made of steel and can be recycled.   Simply burn off any residual fuel and place in your curb side recycle bin.

Buy Smart Gear

Buy gear made from recycled or recyclable materials.

Bamboo – This rapidly growing plant can be made into rayon.  It prevents the clearing of our forests.

Cocona – Made from discarded coconut shells and used to make wicking, UV protecting anti-odor fabrics.

PET – Polyethlyne terephthalate is a polyester material generally made from soda bottles and can again be recycled.

Organic Cotton and Soy are natural products that are also used to produce fabric.

Look for upgrades in tents such as DAC featherlite NSL poles which are produced without harsh chemicals and white tent canopies that are produced without dyes which create pollutants during manufacturing.

Make Smart Purchases

Buy only the necessary gear you need and think of clever ways to extend your gear’s use and life.

Use a liner in your bag to increase its rating by up to 10 degrees instead of buying another sleeping bag.

Extend the life of your gear

Always follow the manufactures instructions for care.

Wash only when needed and hang dry.

Treat water proof gear with Nikwax after it is clean when performance starts to fade.

Make easy repairs to gear instead of buying new stuff.

Roll your tent don’t stuff it in its sack to prevent break down of it’s materials.

Never wash your bag in a top load machine.  The agitator destroys the baffles.  Hang Dry of in an extra large dryer if appropriate. 

If you have a down bag add a few clean tennis balls in the dryer to help it dry evenly and break up clumps of down.

Don’t store your bag in a stuff sack over long periods of time.  To optimize loft, store hanging.  If you lack space store in a large breathable cotton or mesh sack.

Store water bladders empty in the freezer to prevent bacteria growth.

I woke up at 6am to get ready to put some last minute things together before I headed out to meet the group at our usual rendezvous location.  I turned on the news while I was dressing only to hear about another winter storm that had taken our very reliable weather forecast by surprise overnight. Hmm… I wondered if this would this impact our planned route to Panorama Point?  Hurrying along, I decided to use a new moisturizer with an SPF in it to prevent any sunburns from the suns reflection off the snow.   I slathered it on well and continued to get dressed.  It wasn’t before I had my left sock on that I felt the burning.  Ouch!  This great new $60 moisturizer with SPF 30 was burning my face.  Wasn’t the whole point to prevent burns?  I washed it off quickly but not before my face turned blotchy red.  I finished getting myself together and headed downstairs to put some last minute things in my pack.

I needed to grab my previously prepared food and get water for the trip.  I began to fill up my bladder from the water dispenser on the door of my fridge and grab a bite to eat to fuel myself (for those of you who don’t know a “bladder” is a bag you put in your backpack that holds water;  It has a tube for drinking while you are hiking).  It was 7:00 am and I had to get out the door, my bladder was almost full with 2 liters of water when …oops I dropped it and splash all over the floor.  Doh!  I grabbed every towel I could find and begin feverishly mopping up the floor and under the fridge while my two kittens thinking it was some kind of fun new game attack my hands as I run them across the floor.  Never mind them and the gashes in my hands, I was late!  I proceeded to clean it up shove a whole hard boiled egg in my mouth and scamper out the door.

We took two cars up to the mountain full of passengers.  We’ll call my group the “A Team” and the other group the “B Team” because it makes me laugh.  We got separated along the drive because the B team was following me and I really didn’t know where I was going.  I took a last minute Mario Andretti turn off an exit labeled EXIT Mt. Rainier!  The B team, being the “B team” chooses not to drive like a race car driver and missed the exit even though they were behind us. 

We called the B team to let them know to meet up with us in a one horse town called Elbe just outside of Rainier where the Post office is also the Dr’s office, local saloon, barber shop and grocery store.  Once we got there we had no cell phone reception (I don’t think they even had LAN lines) so we hung around for 10 or so minutes then left because we never saw them.  We headed on and figured we’d catch up with them at Paradise, the base area for the route we had planned out. 

Apparently everyone else thought Paradise was a good idea this day because it took us about 30 minutes to find a parking spot.  But it wasn’t until we got out of our car at Paradise to go in to the visitors center to get our permits that the winter storm became real.  I instantly wished I had brought my ski goggles and the face mask I threw aside earlier thinking I wouldn’t need as the snow hit my face so hard I thought it was drawing blood.  We quickly covered our faces with our jackets and ran for the door.

The good news was that the B team was cozy inside the center waiting for our arrival.  The bad news was that they got the last parking permit for the day.  Never mind our parking conundrum.  Since it felt like we were in the middle of the same blizzard poor Rudolph endured trying to dodge the abominable snow beast, we opted to drive part way back down the mountain to the 4500 foot level and hike from Narada falls to Reflection lakes.  Sounds great!   We pack out and find parking at Narada.  We get all of our gear out and on and head out for the trail to find that we can’t find the trail.  We could ascend a 200 foot hill with a very steep slope but I don’t think anyone was feeling any love there at this point.  Now to Plan C… We take off on a lower elevation route in to the back country.  It’s a killer as we try an easier way to get to the upper road that would take us to some lakes.  It’s now 3pm and we had been climbing uphill through the forest without trail in deep stuff for quite some time.  We are all tired and it’s going to get dark soon.  We can see the road but it’s about 500 vertical feet above us.  We are not going to make it by 4pm and still need time to set up camp.  I see a small clearing in the flocked 50 foot trees and declare that to be “camp-able”.

We dropped our gear and began digging out for our tents.  Ahhh, Tents up and the guys are constructing the kitchen which consists of a 3 ½ foot tall shelf so you can stand and cook.  We eat, and hang out for a while because you can’t possibly go to bed at 7:15pm!  I boil water to put in my nalgene bottle for bed time.  With my always cold hands and feet I’m ready to cuddle with my water bottle and say good night at 7:45pm.  Everyone else followed suite. 

Here’s where it gets good.  I borrowed a zero degree bag because mine at the time was only rated for 20.  This was a different style of bag where you slide your pad in the bottom of the bag and that provides for your cushion and alleged warmth.  Well, it was a nice idea but did the designer actually test it on snow?  The cold went right through the pad.  The bag and I were freezing!  I put on 3 pairs of pants, 2 undershirts, a wool sweater and my outer shell jacket, wool hat, scarf and ear warmers and cuddled my nalgene like it was a bottle.  Anything you don’t want to freeze should go in your bag with you so my boots were in a plastic bag at the bottom as was any remaining clothes I wasn’t wearing, my food and my bladder. 

I lay awake most of the night conversing with God because he’s the only one who was awake to listen.  At about 2:00am I felt something wet behind my head.  What the heck!  I feel around for my head lamp and turn it on to find the bite valve on my bladder popped off and I was lying in over a liter of water.  Doh!  I frantically unzip my bag only to have the zipper get caught in the lining and stick so it wouldn’t unzip.  I reach for the lower zipper and unzip it from the bottom and scooch out from inside the bag.  Then quickly start pulling out all of my gear and throwing it about the tent just as, Oh No! My keys with the keyless door opener are lying in a puddle of water!  

Because the Pad is inside the bottom pocket the bag was stiff as a board.   I couldn’t just pool all the water to one end with gravity so I unzipped the tent and flung one end of the bag out shook the water out.  I used the remaining shirt and socks I had to dry the bag and laid my waterproof rain jacket under myself.  I put the wet clothes back in my bag to help dry and started looking for my keys.  Hmm I know I threw them over here somewhere????? I looked in my bag, under it, around it all the while Joanna, the girl sharing the tent is sound asleep.  I start thinking Ashton Kusher was going to pop out anytime as I was certain I was being punked.

To no avail, no Ashton and no keys but that gave me something else to pray about.  My nalgene had cooled down to body temperature so it was no longer help.  Joanna, had some foot warmers like the ones for your gloves.  Finally at 3:30am I grabbed a package of her foot warmers ripped them open and stuck them across my stomach.  It only took about 10 minutes for them to warm my whole body and I was able to sleep for the first time.  That is until 6:30am when I woke my self up from a bad dream.  I laid there until 8am and decided everyone else needed to be up with me so I started the stoves and began boiling water discreetly making as much noise as I could to wake everyone else up.

People did start getting up at that point and we ate breakfast, packed up our things (I found my keys) and found an incredibly easy parallel line across an avalanche shoot out that cut about 30 minutes off our hike out of the forest.  Although a very treacherous route, I have to admit it was a little bit of an adrenaline rush watching little snowballs tumble down as we quietly crossed the shoot. 

The great news was we made it out in one piece and it’s just down right glorious to be out enjoying such beautiful creation even when there are challenges.

All in all it was actually a great time and I am looking forward to doing it again with the exception that there’ll be a few minor adjustments in my gear.  Lesson learned – use your own bag that you know and trust and bladders leak!

1. Navigation (map and compass)
2. Sun protection (sunscreen and sunglasses)
3. Insulation (extra clothing)
4. Illumination (headlamp)
5. First-aid supplies
6. Fire (fire starter and or matches)
7. Repair kit and tools
8. Nutrition (extra food)
9. Hydration (extra water)
10. Emergency shelter

Classic Ten Essentials

1. Map
2. Compass
3. Sunglasses and sunscreen
4. Extra clothing
5. Headlamp/flashlight
6. First-aid supplies
7. Firestarter
8. Matches
9. Knife
10. Extra food

We weren’t really sure it would happen, based on the previous few weekend’s worth of unpredictable snow pack and cancellations. When the weekend dawned with dry roads and decent temperatures, we leapt at the chance and ran to the pass to experience what might be one of the last snowshoe trips of the season.

The group was made up of experienced, novice, and every level in between. We had daily runners and those who were on their first hike after a major surgery. As with any large, varied group of hikers (though really, is there any other kind?), I prayed that we would all experience divine patience and heightened appreciation for slowing/speeding their personal pace and viewing vistas that may not be exactly what was expected.

One of the things about snowshoeing that can be either wonderful or frustrating is the truth that you are generally following the path of a complete stranger. Sure, the park ranger could have broken trail that morning in a sweep towards your goal that is nothing but true, right, and arrow-straight. Or (more likely) you could be following in the footsteps of whatever crazy snow-head woke up at 6 in the morning to be the first on the trail, and who entertains themselves by leading others astray in the most convoluted way possible. Maps don’t really help, since all they show is what the bare ground would look like if you could see it under all those feet of snow. Sometimes there are clear indicators, such as markers (usually just peeping above a drift) or breaks in the forest, but much of the time you are trusting in either a GPS system or the kindness of a person who is known only for their early-birdness.

I often trust the early bird.

At Gold Creek, we set off on a clearly-used trail deep into the forest, enjoying the ability to walk side-by-side and talk to new people. The trail eventually narrowed and became slightly more difficult, but we kept up our spirit of adventure and plowed along. Then the trail decided to cross a river, and we had to set up a system where an intrepid helper and I (thanks, Matt!) stationed ourselves at the worst sections and helped everyone across. Then the trail kind of split into 3 or 4 different directions, and we had to go single file. Then I took a turn down a steep slope that the group that was only slightly separated missed, and half of our group took another direction. Thanks to walkie-talkies, we combined ourselves again (classic line from NJ: “Are we supposed to be following the animal tracks?”), but the “official” trail was long gone. We ended up finding a very lovely riverbank in the sunshine for our lunch, and were able to linger in the warmth for far longer than the traditional 5-minute snowshoeing meal break (which is about as long as you can stop normally before someone gets cold). The hike back somehow managed to miss the treacherous river crossing while still returning us to the same trailhead, which I consider to be an act of God.

Overall, it was a lovely wander and I enjoyed the chance to chat with many different people as we explored the creek banks and valley. The sun blessed our journey and everyone made it through, and the photos show just exactly how scenic the views were. My prayers were definitely answered!

Which is really better communicated by actually showing than telling.

(I just have to say of that last image: Rocks with hats are funny to me, particularly the hats that look like badly rendered toupees)

I wanted to share with you the events from the snowshoeing/backpacking/snow camping trip to Mt. Rainier I took this past weekend.

I woke up at 6am to get ready to put some last minute things together before I headed out to meet the group. I turned on the news while I was dressing only to hear about this winter storm that has taken us a bit by surprise. Hmm, I wondered. Would this impact our route? I finished getting myself together and headed downstairs to fill up my bladder and grab a bite to eat to fuel myself (for those of you wondering a “bladder” is a bag you put in your backpack that holds water. It has a hose for drinking while you are hiking). It was 7:00 am and I had to get out the door, my bladder was almost full with 2 liters of water when …oops I dropped it and splash all over the floor. Dread! I grabbed every towel I could find and begin feverishly mopping up the floor and under the fridge while the cat’s thinking this is some kind of fun new game attacks my hands as I run them across the floor. I proceeded to clean it up shove a whole hard boiled egg in my mouth and scamper out the door.

We took two cars up to the mountain full of passengers. We’ll call my group the “A Team” and the other group the “B Team” because it makes me laugh. We got separated along the drive because the B team was following me and I really didn’t know where I was going. I took a last minute Mario Andretti turn off an exit labeled EXIT Mt. Rainier ! The B team, being the “B team” chooses not to drive like a NASCAR fan and missed the exit even though they were behind us.

We called the B team to let them know to meet up with us in a one horse town called Elbe just outside of Rainier where the Post office is also the Dr’s office, local saloon, barber shop and grocery store. Once we got there we had no cell phone reception so we hung around for 10 or so minutes then left because we never saw the B team. We headed on and figured we’d catch up with them at Paradise , the base area for the route we had planned out.

It was when we got out of our car at Paradise to go in to the visitors center to get our permits that the winter storm became real. I instantly wished I had brought my ski goggles the face mask I threw aside earlier thinking I wouldn’t need as the snow hit my face so hard I thought it was drawing blood. We quickly covered our faces with our jackets and ran for the door.

Because it felt like we were in the middle of the blizzard poor Rudolph endured looking for the island of misfit toys we opted to drive back down the mountain to the 4500 foot level and hike from Narada falls to Reflection lakes. Sounds great! We pack out and find parking at Narada. We get all of our gear out and on and head out for the trail to find that we have to ascend a 200 foot hill with a 25 degree slope (that’s steep not to mention avalanche material). Now to Plan C… We take off on the lower elevation in to the back country. It’s a killer as we try an easier way to get to the upper road that would take us to the lakes. It’s now 3pm and we had been climbing uphill through the forest without trail in deep stuff for quite some time. We are all tired and it’s going to get dark soon. We can see the road but it’s about 500 vertical feet above us. We are not going to make it by 4pm and still need a few hours to set up camp. I see a small clearing in the flocked 50foot trees and declare that to be “campable”.

We dropped our gear and began digging out for our tents. Ahhh, Tents up and the guys are constructing the kitchen which consists of a 3 ½ foot tall shelf so you can stand and cook. We eat, and hang out for a while because you can’t possibly go to bed at 6:45pm! We then boil water to put in our nalgene bottles for bed time. With my always cold hands and feet I’m ready to cuddle with my water bottle and say good night at 7pm. Everyone else followed suite.

Here’s where it gets good. I borrowed a zero degree bag because mine is only rated for 20. This was some new kind of bag where you slide your pad in the bag and that provides for your cushion and alleged warmth. Well, it was a nice idea but the cold went right through and I was freezing! I put on 3 pairs of pants, 2 undershirts, a wool sweater and my outer shell jacket, wool hat, scarf and ear warmers and cuddled my nalgene like it was a bottle. Anything you don’t want to freeze has to go in your bag with you so my boots were in a plastic bag at the bottom as was any remaining clothes I wasn’t wearing, my food and my bladder.

I lay awake most of the night conversing with God because he’s the only one who was awake to listen. At about 2:00am I felt something wet behind my head. What the heck! I feel around for my head lamp and turn it on to find the bite valve on my bladder popped off and I was lying in over a liter of water. D’oh! I quickly start pulling out all of my gear and throwing it about the tent, Oh No! My keys are lying in a puddle of water! I frantically unzip my bag only to have the zipper get caught in the lining and stick so it wouldn’t unzip. I reach for the lower zipper and unzip it from the bottom and scooch out from inside the bag. Because the Pad is inside the bottom pocket the bag was stiff as a board. I couldn’t just pool all the water to one end with gravity so I unzipped the tent and flung one end of the bag out shook the water out. I used the remaining shirt and socks I had to dry the bag and laid my waterproof rain jacket under myself. I put the wet clothes back in my bag to help dry and started looking for my keys. Hmm I know I threw them over here somewhere????? I looked in my bag, under it, around it all the while my tent buddy is sound asleep.

To no avail - I couldn’t find my keys but that gave me something else to pray about. My nalgene had cooled down to body temperature so it was no longer a help. Joanna, the girl who I shared a tent with had some foot warmers like the ones for your gloves. Finally at 3am I grabbed a package of Joanna’s foot warmers ripped them open and stuck them across my stomach. It only took about 10 minutes for them to warm my whole body and I was able to sleep for the first time. That is until 6:30am when I woke my self up from a bad dream. I laid there until 8am and decided everyone else needed to be up with me so I started the stoves and began boiling water.

People started getting up at that point and we ate breakfast, packed up our things and found an incredibly easy parallel line across an avalanche chute out that cut about 30 minutes off our hike out of the forest. Although a very treacherous route, I have to admit it was a little bit of an adrenaline rush.

All in all it was actually a great time and I am looking forward to doing it again. Lesson learned –use your own bag that you know and trust and bladders leak!