VOLUME 66 MARCH 2006 NUMBER 3 Inside This Issue Summer Trips Committee Schedules Membership Updates 2 More Than 200 Outings for 2006 March Interim Potluck 3 The Right Gaiters 4 By Janet Jacobsen Construction Progress 4 OLISH THOSE HIKING BOOTS, pump Board Notes 8 P up those bicycle tires, search for those Trip Reports 9-14 binoculars…and sign up for an Obsidian Upcoming Events 15-19 trip! Obsidian Trips Schedule 17-18 This year’s summer schedule invites Features by Members every Obsidian to exclaim, “That looks interesting; I would like to go on that Over 200 Outings 1 trip.” Reward 3 Margaret Prentice and the 19 people on Gray Whale Encounters 5 the Summer Trips Committee have been Hikes at Camp Deetour 7 working since January, calling and Trip Sampler 15 emailing potential leaders. Their hard Insert work paid off with 102 leaders leading 202 trips (as the Bulletin went to press). Obsidian Membership Directory There are 169 hikes, 3 backpacks, 1 canoe trip, 4 nature walks, 2 field trips, trail maintenance outings and 22 bike trips, Dates to Remember some of which include birding, camping and hiking. The Summer Trips Committee Mar 18 Lodge Work Party has also facilitated activities sponsored by Mar 24 Program - Reuls - Spain the Conservation and the Science & Edu- Apr 5 Obsidian Board Meeting Margaret Prentice, Sullivan in hand, map at cation Committees, such as Beach Clean the ready, who along with her dedicated Apr 10 Trip Leaders Meeting Up Day on March 25. committee, put together a record setting IT IS NOT EASY calling an Obsidian in trips schedule. Detailed trip schedules at: January or February to ask for a commit- www.obsidians.org or ment to lead a trip in September. When I called Pat Adams, he responded cheerfully Register-Guard – Outdoors – Tuesday with, “Just tell me the date and what to lead.” After Bill Montgomery gave me the date for his trip and I was just going to hang up, he said, “Oh, I will also lead another (Continued on page 6) Lodge Work Party Margaret Offers Kudos Details Page 19 UMMER TRIPS CHAIR Margaret Prentice says a huge “thank you” is due all Trip Leaders Meeting S the callers for “their diligence in making the many, many calls, callbacks and Details Page 19 emails needed to produce the record 202 trips for 2006. It’s going to be a fabu- lous year!” Thanks, too, to Janet Jacobsen for carefully preparing the calling lists and bal- Summer Trips Schedule ancing the schedule and to Wayne Deeter for keeping the online preliminary Pages 17-18 schedule updated daily. Callers were: Sue Archbold, Anne Bonine, Jean Coberly, Julie Dorland, Larry Dunlap, Joella Ewing, Jane Hackett, Janet Hall, Janet Jacobsen, Diane Jeffcott, Sherwood Jefferies, Sandra Larsen, Joanne Ledet, Becky Lipton, Helen Martz, Barb & Tom Revere, Ruth Romoser and Barbara Shomaker. Obsidian Gets OBSIDIANS, INC Welcome! P.O. Box 322 Eugene, OR 97440 Scouting’s Highest New Members Website: www.obsidians.org EATON, ROBERT (Associate) Volunteer Honor Board of Directors 4521 SE High School Drive President - Wayne Deeter Lincoln City, OR 97367 BSIDIAN REBECCA HANSEN re- Vice President - John Pegg 541-994-3094 [email protected] O cently received the Silver Beaver Secretary - Laurie Funkhouser Award, highest honor the Boy Scouts Treasurer - Sheila Ward JENSEN, DAVE (Active) Mary Croson Jim Duncan 710 West 27th Ave. of America give to adult volunteers. Brian Hamilton Stewart Hoeg Eugene, OR 97405 She began her volunteer work with the Anne Dhu McLucas Sandra Larsen 344-1363 [email protected] Boy Scouts in 1978. She’s been a Cub Board meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. on MUSSELWHITE, TOM (Active) Scout leader, a scoutmaster, a unit com- missioner, a Cub Scout day camp direc- the first Wednesday of each month, except 419 Wilkie August, at the Obsidian Lodge. Eugene, OR 97402 New tor, a member of the Pow Wow and 461-3296 Wood Badge staffs, outdoor program Committee Chairpersons By-Ways By Bus......................Liz Reanier RICE, VIRGINIA (Active) instructor and commissioner at Phil- mont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. Climbs ....................................Doug Nelson 2941 Yolanda Concessions...................Laurie Funkhouser Springfield, OR 97433 New Over the years, Becky’s received Conservation.........................Judy Newman 747-9466 [email protected] Entertainment .......................... Kathy Hoeg numerous other awards. Outside of Extended Trips .................. Lana Lindstrom Reinstated Members scouting, Rebecca has been head custo- Finance ..................................Stewart Hoeg dian at Springfield Middle School for Lodge Building..................Rob Castleberry COX, WILLIAM (A) over 13 years and was the 1989 Classi- Lodge Grounds.........................Max Brown 3095 Metolius, Eugene, OR 97408 Librarian/Historian .......Lenore McManigal 686-8273 [email protected] fied Employee of the Year for Spring- Membership.........................Sharon Ritchie field School District. A member of Mo- Online...................................Wayne Deeter hawk Community Church, she’s also Publications .....................Marshall Kandell Directory Changes Publicity ............................Marianne Camp served as a Sunday school teacher, Safety.......................................... John Pegg FREED, ROBERT scorekeeper, Home Extension member Science & Education ............John Jacobsen P.O. Box 71594 and Pacific Crest Trail Association Summer Camp..........................Jim Duncan Eugene, OR 97401 Summer Trips................. Margaret Prentice member. HUSTON, MARGARET Trail Maintenance....................... Peter Asai Winter Trips ............................Bill Johnson 2525 Cal Young Rd., Apt. 318 Becky’s been on 90 Obsidian hikes Youth....................................Andy Jobanek Eugene, OR 97401-6475 and 3 climbs and got her 25-trip leader KNUDSEN, CHRISTINE patch at October’s annual meeting. She P.O. Box 5799 became a princess in 1986 when she Eugene, OR 97405 was given the name, Princess Pine The OBSIDIAN Bulletin Cone. WADDELL, CAROL Published monthly, except August. Articles, 118 Merry Lane story ideas, letters to the editor and other Eugene, OR 97404-2624 editorial submissions may be emailed to: KANDELL, MARSHALL [email protected] [email protected] Princesses Convene Although email is preferred, PRENTICE, MARGARET submissions can also be sent to: [email protected] Tuesday March 21 The Obsidian Bulletin P.O. Box 51424, Eugene, OR 97405 HE OBSIDIAN PRINCESSES will T meet on Tuesday, March 21st, at Deadline February 2006 11:15 a.m. at Blooming Branch Bis- for April Bulletin tro (49 W. 29th St….the old Grape & Saturday, April 1 Member Stats Grain) in Willamette Shopping Cen- Editorial Team Active Member 469 ter. The discussion topic, according Marshall Kandell, Barb Revere, Associate Member 31 to Janet Jacobsen, will be “closing Janet and John Jacobsen Honorary Member 3 our checking account and donating Junior Member 18 the money to the building fund.” Assembly/Mailing Team Life Member 21 Princesses with questions should call For February Bulletin Yuan Hopkins, Don Baldwin, Marshall Total 542 Lenore McManigal at 345-2036. Kandell, John and Lenore McManigal, Tom Revere, Vera Woolley and Crew Chief Barb Revere Page 2 The Obsidian Bulletin POTLUCKS: In the Interim COMING THIS MONTH Sip a Little Vino with Chuck and Sandy Reul OIN US ON FRIDAY, March 24, for J our monthly program in the large community meeting room at EWEB. Socializing and light refreshments will be offered starting at 7 p.m., with the presentation beginning at 7:30. This month, Obsidian members Chuck and Sandy Reul will take us on a trip to Spain. Last June, they traveled to Haro in the Rioja area for two weeks of cycling and hiking with a British adventure company called Headwater, which markets self- guided walking and cycling trips in Europe. They found Rioja to be a beautiful unspoiled valley, sur- rounded by mountains. The area had few tourists, but did have 1,200 bodegas (Spanish for win- eries). It is a historic region with many old monasteries and is the birthplace of the Spanish language, Sandy and Chuck along with Kim and Becky Woodard they say. Their trip included eight of Eugene as they begin their adventure days of cycling, followed by six days of hiking. REWARD! For Missing Half-Person N THE PRINT VERSION of last reward has been established and will be I month’s Obsidian Bulletin, the up- presented to anyone who can provide per half of John McManigal’s body information leading to the recovery of disappeared from the photo in the story John’s better half (no offense meant to about his model wagons. Lenore) or to the answer to this myste- rious disappearance. All preliminary proofs, the website Anyone qualifying for the reward color version of the publication and the will receive a one-year FREE subscrip- PDF email sent to the printer were tion to The Bulletin and an opportunity OK…nothing missing. Theories range to serve on our staff as a senior proof- from a so far unidentified technical reader. glitch to alien abduction. If you have any information relating While half a John might be better to this case or have seen half a than none at all, we would very much McManigal anywhere, please contact like to have the other half back…or, at John Jacobsen at bulle- least, know where it is. A generous [email protected]. March 2006 Page 3 Gearing Up: By Kristin Hostetter Getting the Right Gaiters Special to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer HE TIDE WAS RISING QUICKLY. We had about In my experience, they're overkill in a gaiter application. T five minutes to get around the headland before the beach • CLOSURES: First, consider the placement of the closure. was swallowed up by the surf, and our intended campsite was I've found the most convenient closures are in the front, up on the other side. Waves sloshed around our ankles, sneaked the crest of your shin. Backside closures are sometimes tough up our legs and saturated our boots as we hurried around the to adjust. Second, look at the type of closure.