ALBANY CHAPTER of the ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB
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The Cloudsplitter Vol. 74 No. 4 October-December 2011 published by the ALBANY CHAPTER of the ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB The Cloudsplitter is published quarterly by the Albany Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and is distributed to the membership. All issues (January, April, July, and October) feature activities schedules, trip reports, and other articles of interest to the outdoor enthusiast. All outings should now be entered on the web site www.adk-albany.org . Echoes should be entered on the web site www.adk-albany.org with your login information. The Albany Chapter may be Please send your address and For Club orders & membership For Cloudsplitter related issues, reached at: phone number changes to: call (800) 395-8080 or contact the Editor at: Albany Chapter ADK Adirondack Mountain Club e-mail: [email protected] The Cloudsplitter Empire State Plaza 814 Goggins Road home page: www.adk.org c/o Karen Ross P.O. Box 2116 Lake George, NY 12845-4117 7 Bird Road Albany, NY 12220 phone: (518) 668-4447 Lebanon Spgs., NY 12125 home page: fax: (518) 668-3746 e-mail: [email protected] www.adk-albany.org Submission deadline for the next issue of The Cloudsplitter is November 15, 2011 and will be for the months of January, February, and March, 2012. Many thanks to Gail Carr for the dynamic Fall cover sketch. October 5, November 2, and December 7 (1st Wednesdays) Business Meeting of Chapter Officers and Committees 6:00 p.m. at Little‘s Lake in Menands Chapter members are encouraged to attend - please call Phil Seward at 527-1851 Chapter Meetings are held at the West Albany Fire House (Station #1), 113 Sand Creek Road, Albany. Education Sessions start at 6:30 prior to the membership meeting. Programs begin following the Chapter business meeting. Refreshments are served after the meetings. October 11 (2nd Tuesday) MONTHLY CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP MEETING 7:30 P.M. Education Session: Outfitting a Canoe--Some of the more experienced canoeists in the area will give tips on improving the comfort, safety and function of a canoe. Both flat water and whitewater canoeing will be considered. Program: Adirondack Sky Pilots. Albany Chapter member Bill Gordon will show early movies of logging in the Adirondacks taken by Frank Reed, the last of the Adirondack Sky Pilots, the traveling ministers who walked from logging camp to logging camp. Rev. Reed carried an 8 mm wind-up movie camera between 1938 and 1952 when the camps closed for good. These are probably the only movies from that era of felling trees, skidding logs, river drives and building dams such as that at Duck Hole. Rev. Reed‘s predecessor sky pilot was Bill Gordon‘s grandfather. November 8 (2nd Tuesday) MONTHLY CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP MEETING 7:30 P.M. Education Session: Backcountry Ski Forecast--Rich Macha, owner of Adirondack Paddle'n'Pole, will give us some tips on skiing equipment and some of his favorite outing locations for the coming season. Program: The Catskills’ Highest 100. Albany Chapter member and former Outings Chair, Alan Via, will present photos and tell stories about places and people he has seen in his ascents and ramblings in the Catskills. The ADK is publishing his new book, The Catskill 67—-A Hiker‘s Guide to the Catskill 100 Highest Peaks under 3,500‘. He figures he is one of a small group of folks who have climbed the highest 100 peaks in both the ‗Daks‘ and the Catskills. December 13 (2nd Tuesday) MONTHLY CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP MEETING 7:30 P.M. Education Session: GPS Basics--This session will be a "GPS For Dummies", offering some practical tips for using the device while hiking and paddling. Program: The Other 54 High Peaks: Spencer Morrissey, a native of Long Lake, proprietor of Inca-Pah- Cho Wilderness Guides and author of The Other 54: A Hikers Guide to the Lower 54 Peaks of the Adirondack 100 Highest, will take us on a tour of the Adirondack high peaks that don't grab all the attention and glory--those ranked as 47 to 100 to be more exact. Just as beautiful and quite possibly more challenging? Come and see what all the fuss is all about. 2 ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE PARTICIPANTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES FITNESS: Know your level of fitness and limitations. The trip leader will ask questions about your experience, fitness, equipment, medical condition, expectations, etc. Be Honest! TRIP RATINGS: Understand that the level of effort is not the same as the level of difficulty. Trip ratings are for level of effort. Realize that ―moderate‖ for a physically fit person may mean outrageously strenuous for a novice and/or unconditioned person. HIKERS EFFORT ELEVATION MILES TIME RATING LEVEL GAIN (FEET) (HOURS) A+ Very Strenuous 4,000+ 10+ 10+ A Strenuous 3,000+ 5 – 10 8 – 10 B+ Moderately Strenuous 2,000+ 5 – 10 6 – 8 B Moderate 1,000+ 8 – 10 5 – 7 C+ Fairly Easy 1,000+ 5 – 8 4 – 6 C Easy Under 1,000 Under 5 Under 5 Not all trips fit cleanly into one of these categories. Some leaders may use A- or B- designations. Whenever you are unclear about a rating for a trip, leaders will be happy to explain what their designated rating means. PADDLERS MILES PORTAGES WATER CLASS A 12+ Long (½ mile+) II – Whitewater B 6 – 12 Short I – Moving C Under 6 None Flat BIKERS MILES TERRAIN A 30+ Moderate to steep B 15-30 Moderate C Less than 15 Flat to Moderate Please Note: Unless otherwise stated, please sign up with the leader for all Chapter activities. Do not simply show up at the designated meeting place. Arrive at the carpooling site before the stated departure time. Please pay the driver to offset the costs of driving. Do not bring a pet unless the trip leader agrees that it is okay, and bring a leash. Please stay with the group or ask to proceed and stop at the first intersection and wait for the entire group to re-assemble. You are expected to carry adequate equipment, water and food. If in doubt about what to bring, ask the trip leader! Suggestions for all seasons: Water: 2 - 3 Quarts Layered Clothing (NO cotton) Extra Socks Hat Shell (wind & rain) Extra Sweater or Jacket Headlamp Gloves Sturdy Boots Sun Glasses/Screen (SPF 15) First Aid Kit Food Map & Compass Waterproof Matches Emergency Blanket Winter Add-ons: Skis or Snowshoes Crampons Ski Pole or Ice Axe Extra Food Warm liquids Extra layers 3 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN Although the weather is still very summer-like, I noticed recently that I needed a headlamp just to take the dog for an evening walk. That means that the summer sun is waning and the beautiful but sometimes unpredictable season of autumn is just around the corner. The fall issue of the Cloudsplitter is full of opportunities to get out in the woods and play. Along with this playtime however comes a little work. The chapter runs on volunteerism and I am happy to announce that we have filled three of the positions that were open as of last spring. Marie Rosenblatt has volunteered to be the Membership Chair, Karen Zanni the Banquet Chair and Mike Geroux, the Trails Chair. I would like to thank Marie, Karen and Mike for jumping in and volunteering their time and effort. The chapter has a number of membership drives lined up for the fall and we are coordinating efforts with the Club's trails crew to do some trail work in the Heart Lake area; so the new volunteers are already hard at work making things work for the general membership. And of course, the Banquet is always a significant undertaking by the committee, and we are happy to have Karen to coordinate the effort. The Albany chapter has also been very active in the club's support of the legislation the State is enacting to place strict controls on hydraulic fracturing (Hydrofracking) of the Marcellus shale to extract natural gas. A bill to control withdrawal of water from surface waters has passed both houses and has been signed by the governor. The bill to control the drilling and hydrofracking itself is still under review. Many of our favorite hiking areas may be affected by this activity, so we encourage club members to write to your state legislators in support of the Club's position. More information can be found on the Conservation Notes section of the Albany Chapter website and here in this issue. We will again be holding our monthly chapter meetings at the West Albany Firehouse at 113 Sandcreek Rd. in the town of Colonie. There are a number of great informational sessions and presentations planned so it‘s a fun and informative way to spend the one Tuesday evening a month. New members especially would benefit from these meetings. It‘s a nice informal way to meet people and learn what the club is all about. I hope to see you there. John Sheehan Fall 2011 THE CLOUDSPLITTER October-December 2011 Vol. 74 No. 4 ALBANY CHAPTER - ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB October-December 2011 COMBINED ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE Month Day Destination or Event Leader Rating Oct 1 Sat Hunter & SW Hunter B+ Mueller 1 Sat East Dix (Grace) via Spotted Mtn. A+ Scaife 1 Sat Storm King Mtn. B Prewencki 3 Mon Goodnow Mtn. & Interpretive Ctr.-Newcomb C+ Breslin 4 Tue Evening Paddle – Hudson River Albany B/C Murray/McGuire 4 Tue Cascade & Porter B+ Antonio 5 Wed Alander Mtn. C+ Traver 6 Thu Club Day at Adirondack Paddle 'N Pole 10 Mon Vanderwhacker Mtn. B Henrikson 11 Tue MONTHLY CHAPTER MEETING-Adirondack Sky Pilots 12 Wed Brace & Frissel Mtns.