Chattermarks

Every North Cascades Wild trip is special, from the deep bonds formed in new communities of friends to the service projects to students’ self-discovery and leadership development to views of glacier-capped mountains seen from sweatily climbed mountain peaks to learning how to canoe to the close connections students feel to public lands by the end of their adventure.

But North Cascades Wild Trip 3 was something completely new and different. After completing twenty successful North Cascades Wild trips in the Ross Lake area of North Cascades National Park, Trip 3 ventured out July 19th through 30th for twelve days of canoe camping, backpacking and service projects in a new location for us in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

What was so special about our North Cascades Wild trip on Baker Lake and in the Mount Baker NRA? Here are some of our favorite moments:

» Continue reading Getting Wild with the US Forest Service

Summer has finally arrived at the Environmental Learning Center! Diablo Lake has regained its characteristic green color, peregrine falcon fledglings are learning to hunt near the dam, a new fawn is sporting spots around campus, and the tenth cohort of graduate students have begun their academic journey.

Cohort 10 at Diablo Lake.  Field journaling with Libby Mills (above).

Cohort 10 began classes in Bellingham on June 22nd. The eleven students who are enrolled in the graduate program come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from education to environmental science to multi-media studies. Their summer coursework consists of three classes: Introduction to Place-Based Education, Resource Issues in the North Cascades, and Cultural History in the North Cascades. These courses are interwoven into a series of field excursions in the region, supplemented by readings, projects, and discussions in classes at Western Washington University.

Students learn about mycorrhizae from Brandi Stewart, cohort 9

» Continue reading Welcome graduate cohort 10!

Oh, to be young and wild and free. That common saying, which most of us recognize, is wholly applicable to the wilderness of the North Cascades and of the youth adventures carried out by the first two trips of this summer’s North Cascades Wild program.

After spending 12 days exploring North Cascades National Park (NOCA) by boat and boot, through canoeing and backpacking, 17 students and six instructors, each divided into two trips, had quite the journey to recount.

(Title) Canoeing is a core component of the youth program North Cascades Wild (Above) Trip 1 dressed to impress at Ross Lake Resort

Trip 2 goes wild for NC Wild at Ross Lake Resort

» Continue reading Young, WILD and free

Summer is officially here, despite the gloomu weather’s persistence otherwise, and North Cascades Wild is near.  With training and packing behind us, this summer’s crew leaders embarked upon our recon trip giving us a taste of what adventures the future holds.

We set out Monday with the help of the Cascade Climate Challenge folks and a few happy NCI employees. Loaded down, we paddled all the gear and food – enough to feed one person for two years – to the base of Ross Dam.  After walking our canoes up the emerging replacement road we settled down for a snack while waiting for our friends at Ross Lake Resort to portage and taxi us up to Ross Lake.  Once our food was stored and tucked away we headed off in the direction of Big Beaver campground.  With help from the wind we made excellent time and arrived at camp for Gallo Pinto – a traditional Costa Rican meal – and our evening meeting before dusk.

» Continue reading North Cascades Wild Recon 2010

Spring’s presence is not the only thing that North Cascades Institute is welcoming at the Environmental Learning Center this season.

As the season continues to reveal itself more each day, whether it be through the scent of black cottonwood blossoms dancing on a wind from Diablo Lake or the more frequent blue skies serving as a backdrop for the steep, snow-coated hillsides of Pyramid and Colonial Peaks, an even newer welcoming has taken place in the North Cascades.

On March 16th, for the spring staff retreat, a plethora of Institute staff from both up river and down valley gathered on the shores of Diablo Lake to welcome the Institute’s newest family member—the big, BIG canoe. This 36-foot canoe—made by Clipper Canoe in Abbotsford, British Columbia—holds up to 18 paddlers on any given excursion. Its black exterior, red interior and wolf-like decorative bow are indicative of the traditional design and coloration of canoes in the Coast Salish culture.

(Title) The graduate students travel in the new big canoe, Photo by Saul Weisberg (Above) The new canoe tests the waters of Diablo Lake, Photo by Christian Martin

» Continue reading Welcoming the new canoe

Move over United States Postal Service, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the graduate program from connecting with this place.

Alumni and current students gathered November 6^th through the 8^th for the First Annual Graduate Program Alumni Reunion. Along with friends, family, and faculty of the graduate program, we enjoyed an energetic dinner filled with reminiscing and laughter. Known for our friendly competitive nature, we engaged in a battle of wits and strength—a trivia night to remember. From North Cascades knowledge to a raingear relay, from a campfire song sing-off to mystery granola identification, our wisdom and vigor was challenged. Conquering the final night-time scavenger hunt mission, the winning team received pennywhistles, which with they will attempt to master in the same fashion as our own Executive Director, Saul Weisberg.

The next morning, we headed out into the elements for a photo scavenger hunt. Given a list of tasks, each team gained points for photos that captured the completion of these tasks, awarding points for difficulty, creativity, and bribery. As typical Northwest torrents poured on us, cameras captured glimpses of team hugs, reenactments of the Davis family, nature art, and notable places from Mountain School in Newhalem. Also known for our determination and perseverance, many grads and alumni ventured into Diablo Lake in order to earn the most points. The winning team, relentlessly tough, achieved victory by swimming under the glacial waters of our green lake on a day where temperatures would drop and snow would fall.

» Continue reading Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail

The first two North Cascades Wild trips of 2009 have returned home after 12 days of backpacking, canoeing and service projects on Ross Lake.  Eighteen students and six instructors, divided into two groups, embarked on what has become an annual adventure at the North Cascades Institute.  The following is a chronicle of one of those adventures, North Cascades Wild Trip 1.

» Continue reading Twelve days on Ross Lake

The NC Wild crew headed to Ross Lake early last week for a five day recon trip.  The goals for the week were to transport food and gear to the Ross Lake Resort, scout out the camps, build up our canoeing muscles, use our camping gear, learn the curriculum, and have fun!  On all accounts the trip was a success.

» Continue reading North Cascades Wild Recon trip

“That’s a cougar!” Well, maybe… We saw a brown blur slink over the crest of the island. Whatever it was, this was a big, brown mammal. One might say it was tawny. We had been paddling around Diablo Lake for a few hours and were now fighting the wind to get back to the Learning Center and some much deserved lunch, but our curiosity demanded that we pursue the mysterious animal that had somehow appeared on an island in the middle of a frigid lake in the shadowless sunshine of mid day.

» Continue reading A coyote in Diablo Lake

Prys, draws, sculling, sweeps, posts and something called the Duffek, no these are not different ways to rid yourself of mosquitoes, they are just some of the 15 paddling strokes we learned to maneuver canoes safely and efficiently. Who knew there were so many?

» Continue reading Diablo Paddling Perfection