Chattermarks

Notes from Disappearing Lake: The River Journals of Robert Sund
A reading by Tim McNulty
May 15, 2012; 7 pm
Readings Gallery at Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham

Join North Cascades Institute at Village Books’ Readings Gallery May 15 at 7 pm for a free reading from the new book Notes from Disappearing Lake: The River Journals of Robert Sund. Edited by Sund’s close friends Tim McNulty and Glenn Hughes, this volume assembles poem-like journal entries by the esteemed Pacific Northwest poet from his shack on the Skagit River estuary. With freshness and immediacy, these pieces reveal the poet’s ongoing artistic discipline based on close attention to the natural world, as well as his spiritual insight, humor, and love for all that illuminates the mind and lifts the heart. Notes from Disappearing Lake captures a creative spirit and an artistic moment in one of the Northwest’s most mystically beautiful landscapes.

Robert Sund and Fishtown fans will also be excited to know that the Institute is leading a canoe voyage to Robert’s shack and the lower Skagit River estuary on May 20 as part of the Skagit River Poetry Festival. There is also a special panel on Fishtown and barbeque celebration at Pioneer Park that night that the public is invited to. Details on all of these related events are on our Bulletin Board.

Robert Sund (1929 – 2001) grew up on a small farm in Washington’s Chehalis Valley and studied with poet Theodore Roethke at the University of Washington before settling in the Skagit Valley. His poetry reflects a deep, lifelong engagement with landscape and community. He is the author of Poems from Ish River Country: Collected Poems and Translations, and Taos Mountain.
Tim McNulty is a poet, essayist, and nature writer. He is the author of two poetry collections, In Blue Mountain Dusk, and Pawtracks, and ten poetry chapbooks including Cloud Studies, Some Ducks, and Through High Still Air. He is also the author of eleven books on natural history, including Olympic National Park: A Natural History.

July, 1973

Snipe walking through the

flowers & grasses

picking worms & bugs out of

the mud —
Wren on the front porch

tiny feet

tick tick.
Robin, swallow

crow, seagull, heron

goldfinch, duck

blackbird . . .

Who needs a radio?

Song at morning

song at evening

and all day long . . .
This is the real news:
   Local, regional, & world-wide.

Photos courtesy of Erik Ambjor.

Because of humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, we are warming our planet beneath a cloak of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Here in Washington State, rising temperatures and a warmer climate are causing our glaciers to melt faster than they can replenish themselves. This is leading us toward a future with less fresh water for agriculture and drinking and less resources for inexpensive hydroelectric generation.

More than 40 of our coastal communities are threatened by rising sea levels. Sagebrush-steppe and alpine ecosystems will disappear as the tree line shifts, and growing seasons are changing in unpredictable ways. The loss of several amphibian species, alterations in bird and butterfly migratory patterns and invasions of unchecked, voracious insect infestations are already underway. Ocean acidification is choking the abundant life in Puget Sound and bays of the outer coast. Eastside forests are drying up and wildland fires will become more prevalent. We humans will face a deadly spike in infectious, respiratory and heat-related illnesses as the natural world around us smolders.

Heard this laundry list of doom before? Most likely you have, and it’s because scientists have done an impressive job of both studying the phenomenon of global climate change and communicating the causes and effects to the public. The effort has been so heroic that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.”

While the data, interpretations and subsequent warnings from the scientific community are essential pieces of this puzzle, Kathleen Dean Moore, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University, recognized that something was missing.

Moore, the author of personal essay/nature writing books like Riverwalking, Holdfast, and Wild Comfort, teaches environmental ethics and moral reasoning to students and she soon realized that the scientists’ arguments, no matter how comprehensive, were not going to inspire us to act to save our world.

“Clearly, information is not enough,” she writes. “A piece is largely missing from the public discourse about climate change: namely an affirmation of our moral responsibilities in the world that the scientists describe. No amount of factual information will tell us what we ought to do. For that, we need moral convictions.”

In Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Moore and co-editor Michael Nelson assemble 80 of the world’s leading visionaries, leaders and writers to create a compelling call to action. The goal of the anthology is to confront the challenges of climate change based on moral and ethical grounds. It is a chorus featuring the sterling voices of the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Desmond Tutu, John Paul II, Barbara Kingsolver, Paul Hawken, Thich Naht Hanh, E.O. Wilson, Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, Terry Tempest Williams, Gary Snyder, and many others from cultures and countries around the globe.
“Do we have a moral obligation to take action to protect the future of a planet in peril?” the editors asked of their contributors, “and if so, why?”

The answers—inspiring, creative, sobering and grounded in reason—are presented in thematic clusters, including “Yes, for the survival of humankind,” “Yes, to honor our duties of gratitude and reciprocity, “Yes, for the stewardship of God’s creation, “Yes, because justice demands it,” “Yes, because the world is beautiful.”

Moral Ground strives to start the conversation about “who we are when we are at out best, what we must do to be worthy of our gifts” and how we might live on Earth “respectfully, responsibly and joyously.” These are essential questions to ponder here at the most crucial turning point our planet has ever faced.

Hear Dr. Moore speak on the issues raised in Moral Ground at a free presentation at 3 pm on Sunday, March 18, at Skagit Valley College.

In Thor Hanson’s book FEATHERS: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle (Basic Books; June 1, 2011) – recently awarded a Pacific Northwest Booksellers “Book of the Year” award — the San Juan Island-based conservation biologist blends his own field ornithology experiences from Africa to Antarctica with the work of paleontologists, biologists, engineers, art historians and even fashion designers to offer an engaging narrative of the natural and cultural history of feathers.

Feathers are an evolutionary marvel: aerodynamic, insulating, beguiling. Their story begins in the Jurassic and leads through the development of flight to high fashion, from leaping dinosaurs to showgirls on the Las Vegas strip. They’ve given us the word “pen” and inked documents from the Magna Carta to the Constitution. They’ve decorated queens, Aztec priests, and Victorian women’s hats. They silence the flight of owls, give shimmer to hummingbirds, and keep penguins dry below the ice. Yet their story has never been fully told.

“The human fascination with feathers runs much deeper than science, touching art, folklore, commerce, romance, religion, and the rhythms of daily life,” writes Hanson. “From tribal clans to modern technocracies, cultures across the globe have adopted feathers as symbols, tools, and ornaments in an array of uses as varied and surprising as anything in nature.”

We are delighted to be hosting Thor Hanson at our first 2012 Sourdough Speaker Series on March 24-25th. Please join us in welcoming him to the Environmental Learning Center to learn about feathers, birds, evolution, and stories of wonder and insight from the field of conservation biology.

In anticipation of Thor’s upcoming visit, I struck up a conversation with him over email about his captivating explorations of this remarkable subject.

» Continue reading Thor Hanson Talks About “FEATHERS”

North Cascades Institute is very excited to finally share with you a multimedia piece made in celebration of our 25th anniversary. “The High Ridge: Celebrating 25 Years in the North Cascades” was created by three staff members from our marketing/communications department — Christian Martin, Jessica Haag and Amy Wilcox — in partnership with Benj Drummond and Sara Joy Steele of bdsjs.com. It aims to tell the story of where the Institute originated from, how it has evolved over the past quarter-century, what we hope to accomplish in our teaching and natural history work and where we’re going next. Not an easy task, especially in only 11 minutes!

The piece features interviews with Institute founders, instructors, board members and friends, including Tom Fleischner, Saul Weisberg, Jonathan Jarvis, Robert Michael Pyle, Libby Mills, Chuck Robinson, John Miles, Jeanne Muir and Brian Scheuch. Special thanks to Bill Frisell and John Reischman for providing the music, and countless photographers for sharing their work.

Watch it now in high definition — full screen viewing essentail!

We’d really love it if you helped spread this story around — you can share this link: http://ncascades.org/discover/multimedia/high-ridge

Sara wrote up a blog post outlining some of the creative process it took to produce this piece:

When the Institute first approached us about creating a story for their 25th anniversary, they didn’t necessarily have a workshop in mind. But the more we discussed the project – along with the organization’s expanding needs, staff interest and new website – building in-house capacity to produce videos and multimedia made the most sense.

The workshop took place over five days on Canoe Island in the San Juans. In the months leading up to our week together, three Institute staff members – Amy, Christian and Jessica – purchased a video camera and learned how to use it, conducted a dozen interviews, transcribed them into more than 60,000 words, and sorted through archival footage.

Read more at http://bdsjs.com/blog/2012/01/multimedia-workshop-the-high-ridge/

Written by former NC Wild Student and Remarkable Young Leader, Kassandra Barnedt

The North Cascades – untouched, wild, remarkable, friendship, beauty, but most importantly life changing. Every trip to this mystical place is unique, but somehow these trips bring each one of us back to the same place. My journey with the North Cascades National Park began with family outings as a small child to the Newhalem Visitor Center. As I grew, so did my interest, and I began participating in youth programs. The North Cascades Wild Summer Youth Program was my first experience enjoying the wilderness of the North Cascades.

North Cascades Wild 2009 was two weeks of backpacking, canoeing, and hiking amongst breathtaking mountains and refreshing waterfalls. We also summited Desolation Peak at the north end of Ross Lake. The scenery was inspiring and the learning opportunities were great, but the thing that keeps everyone coming back were the relationships we formed while out in the wilderness. Something about the wild brings everyone together. Barriers are broken down and people learn to work together despite their differences. After this amazing two week journey I was left craving more of the North Cascades.

North Cascades Wild 2009 trip at lighting stock camp.

Searching for more opportunities to be involved with the North Cascades, I applied for an eight week job with the Youth Conservation Corps at the North Cascades National Park Nursery. We worked with National Park employees Mike Brondi and Cheryl Cunningham in the Marblemount  Nursery. I learned about seed collection, invasive species, revegetation, and how to clear roads. We even cleaned campsites and had the chance to work with staff in other maintenance areas. The summer was well worth the hard work. Again the next summer I could not resist and I applied to work as the Youth Conservation Corps Crew Leader.

» Continue reading Sharing My Love of the North Cascades

EVENT INFO:
Join North Cascades Institute for a book release celebration for John Scurlock’s Snow & Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range. November 30, 2011 7-9 pm. Skagit Station Meeting Room, 105 E. Kincaid St, Mt Vernon. Free!

John Scurlock makes his living working as a paramedic for the Bellingham Fire Department, but finds his soulful calling soaring high above the North Cascades in a small yellow aircraft that he built with his own hands. Flying in all varieties of unpredictable weather above the raggedy peaks and yawning glaciers of our American Alps, he leans out the window, does his best to focus his digital camera and snaps photos.

The results reveal a vast landscape buried in snow and encrusted in ice, a wintery terra incognito of terrifying beauty and austere grace: the frost-bound North Face of Mt. Triumph, impossible cornices on Cloudcap Peak, fire lookouts encased in rime, the Pickett Range hidden in mist, Mount Baker’s shining snowfields, Ripsaw Ridge and Skagit Queen Creek and Park Creek Pass in snowy, silent repose. This is the terrain that holds the world’s record for most snowfall ever recorded in a single winter, and Scurlock’s photography unveils the artistic potential of this seldom-seen northern range: something primitive, forbidden and inaccessible, yet also profoundly and exquisitely beautiful, according to Scurlock.

Cornices on the Southeast Ridge of Cloudcap Peak

» Continue reading Snow & Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range

Gerry Cook caps 44 years of service with the US National Park Service with a beautiful retirement party at Eagle Haven winery

Story by special guest Elisabeth Keating.

On a sparkling October evening at a winery in the foothills of the North Cascades, over 300 friends and family members gathered to celebrate Gerry Cook’s 44 years of service to North Cascades National Park and to wish him well in his future adventures. Gerry has served the park in many roles since 1967, working initially as a ranger and a fire lookout in 1970 at Desolation Peak, 1971 at Sourdough, and 1972 at Copper.

And as a designer, Gerry’s buildings and shelters grace many campgrounds and gathering places throughout the Park, including the viewing platform and Goat Shelter at the Visitor Center, shelters at the Environmental Learning Center trails, the Hozomeen Shelter at the north end of Ross Lake, and many accessible campsites. He’s currently designing and building the Park’s West Portal Entrance, a beautiful and unique sculpture that will be completed in the spring of 2012 and will evoke the mountains, rocks, water and glaciers that set the North Cascades apart from other wild regions of the country.

I recently asked Gerry which creation was his favorite. “Of all my design projects, I enjoy the Rock Shelter at the North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem the most as it feels the most creative. The “West Entrance Portal” has been fun and different.” The Rock Shelter is also where Gerry and his wife Hannah were married.

Climate Challenge students explore Native American history at Gerry’s Rock Shelter. Photo by Elisabeth Keating.

The Hozomeen Shelter is another beautiful creation of Gerry’s. Photo by Elisabeth Keating.

» Continue reading Rock On, Gerry!

Pacific Crest Trailside Reader series Co-Editor Rees Hughes will be doing a reading from his new book Saturday, November 12 beginning at 7 p.m. at Village Books in downtown Fairhaven.

Exploring the people, places, and history of the Pacific Crest Trail as it ranges 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada, The Pacific Crest Trailside Readers bring together short excerpts from classic works of regional writing with boot-tested stories from the trail. Be sure and join Rees on Saturday evening to support this great work! 100% of author proceeds go to benefit the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Read below for a summary of the anthology, as well as a wonderful excerpt from the book by Rees.

At the heart of these anthologies are modern day trail tales, stories taken from PCT hikers that recount trailside humor and traditions, “trail angels” and “trail magic,” encounters with wildlife and wild weather, stories of being lost and found, and unusual incidents. Revealing a larger context are historical accounts of events such as Moses Schallenberger’s winter on Donner Pass and pioneer efforts like the old Naches Road that ended up creating access to today’s trails; Native American myths and legends such as that of Lost Lake near Mount St. Helens; and selections from highly-regarded environmental writers who have captured the region in print, including Mary Austin in The Land of Little Rain; John Muir in The Mountains of California; and Barry Lopez in Crossing Open Ground. Readers will also enjoy a few more surprising contributions from the likes of Mark Twain and Ursula LeGuin.

Organized parallel to the geographic sections of the Pacific Crest Trail and presented in two regional volumes, The Pacific Crest Trailside Readers will entertain everyone from dedicated thru-hikers to lovers of regional lore.

- Trailside Press Release, October 2011

» Continue reading The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader

Sunday August 21^st was the last Mule trip for the 2011 season of North Cascades Wild. The Mule was buzzing with the noise of old and new friends swapping stories and sharing laughs. This day was especially significant because it was also Captain Gerry Cook’s last official day on the Mule with summer youth. Ending the season in style, Gerry was accompanied by his beautiful ladies: wife Hannah and daughter Kerri.

“Another day of  a lifetime” – Hannah Cook

A fulfilling career spanning over four decades, Gerry Cook has enriched the lives of many; including Tasha Lexin, host for the day and a lead instructor for North Cascades Institute.

Emotions ran high as Tasha eloquently announced Gerry’s retirement. “You are a light and have touched so many hearts and I don’t have words to express how much you mean to the park, this program and our community.”

Gerry has worked with Tasha and many other NCI staff for several years and asserted how inspirational they have been in his life as well.

Students discussing job opportunities with rangers Sarah Faubion and Kerri Cook.

One of the highlights of riding on the Mule with Gerry is getting to hear some of his experiences during his 44-year career with the National Park Service. The classics involve mishaps with transporting bears, removing pack animals that die in the backcountry, and the fascinating individuals that you meet manning the fire lookouts. What tops it all for Gerry, is the education that takes place on the Mule with summer youth participants.

“I truly believe that these kids will be stewards of this planet for the rest of their lives. Once you take a turn down that path, you cannot turn back,” says Gerry. Hannah and Gerry later described it is a “path of service and path of knowledge.”

The Cooks have shared some amazing and unique experiences together on Ross Lake.

Although it was his last official Mule trip with summer youth, Gerry has a hard time grasping not working in this capacity. “Everyone of these students are smart, motivated, great young people,” he remarked. “They are changing the face of the park… this work has too much meaning to me and I think we’re on the brink of bigger things.”

We’ll just have to wait and see what is next for Gerry in his path of service and knowledge.

» Continue reading Captain Gerry Cook’s message of hope

By Debra Daniels-Zeller, author of The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook — Join us for a special vegetarian harvest celebration at the Learning Center when Debra is the guest presenter for our September 24-25 Sourdough Speaker Series event!

This tray of fall fruit from Grouse Mountain Farm at the University District farmers market is a rainbow of culinary possibilities that can fill fall kitchens with sweet scents of the season. Decades ago friend Margie made this cake.  It’s so simple a child could make it.

Margie’s Raw Apple Cake
(Makes one 8-inch cake)
2 cups raw diced apples (use your favorite sweet-tart local apples)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup flour (use Nash’s whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, blend egg with raw apples. Then add oil, cinnamon, soda, sugar and salt. Mix well. Stir in flour and nuts, leaving some out to decorate the top of the cake. Place mixture in baking pan. And bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Test with toothpick. Cool on cooling rack before slicing.

Here’s another easy recipe perfect for the end of summer!

Coleslaw with Apples and Carrots
(Make 6 servings)
Cabbage and carrot lovers in the Northwest can rejoice because these are available most of the year. For this recipe, I use traditionally made apple cider vinegar from Rockridge Orchards in Enumclaw, Washington. For ginger flavor variation, add ginger juice (squeezed from 1 tablespoon of grated ginger.)

1/2 cup aioli or mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 tablespoon chopped bottled hot peppers (optional)
Pinch of salt
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and shredded
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 medium carrot, grated
4 to 4 1/2 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
1/4 cup chopped dried fruit such as apricots, figs, or sour cherries

1. Whisk together the aioli or mayonnaise, vinegar, ketchup, hot peppers if desired, and salt in a small bowl. Toss the shredded apples with the lemon juice.
2. Combine the apples, carrots, cabbage, and dried fruit in a large bowl. Toss and mix well, and blend in the dressing.

To find more of Debra’s recipes, visit her blog Food Connections at http://foodconnections.blogspot.com.