Chattermarks

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

Recently I have been experimenting with new outdoor activities.  Well, new to me.  Over spring break Ian and I spent four days hiking along the Olympic Coast, from Rialto Beach to Shi-Shi, and this weekend we spent two days canoeing on Diablo and Ross Lakes.  You see we are primarily mountain people.  We like the alpine, climbing, backpacking, huge vistas; I like the way the world looks when I’m above tree line.  We wanted to try something new, and along the way realized that this mode of travel has its own highlights.

» Continue reading Paddling on Ross Lake