Chattermarks

I have found that with the oncoming winter ushering in shorter days and enduring rains, I have needed a greater sense of initiative to spend time outdoors naturalizing and experiencing the North Cascades for what it has to offer. It has become increasingly easy to allow myself respite from the day’s bite by spending time indoors with a pot of tea and a growing pile of books and work.

On a recent, clear day, I jumped at the opportunity to don my naturalist gear and head off down the road toward Diablo Dam with the intention of photographing, bird watching, or journaling, whichever happened to catch my interest based on possible encounters. I quickly became engaged in photographing minute details, focusing and framing things that I’ve walked by too often without taking time to notice. The bracken ferns have turned brown and curled through the progression of autumn, and are actually quite beautiful in contrast with green moss and the deepening blue tint of Diablo Lake.

» Continue reading Encounter with a black bear

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

Backpacking in the North Cascades is great, but last weekend I wanted to do something different. I decided to try canoe camping. The Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake was the perfect starting point for my three-day trip.

» Continue reading A long weekend on Ross Lake

We here at Chattermarks are not the only people blogging about the North Cascades and our awe-inspiring wilderness campus on Diablo Lake; I stumbled upon this fine story at www.pacificnwseasons.blogspot.com recently:

After several months working toward a big project deadline, I’m in dire need of some downtime in a beautiful setting. Give me craggy, towering mountain peaks, expanses of water, or lush green forests and I’m happy. Give me all three together and I’m very happy. So I check out the schedule for my favorite Northwest place that combines them all—the North Cascades Institute (NCI) Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake, a 2+-hour drive northeast of Seattle.

Just a week after my deadline, NCI is offering a Diablo Downtime weekend of yoga, slow food, canoeing, hiking, and relaxing. I sign up immediately.

Read the rest of the authors adventures at the Learning Center here and sign up for your own Diablo Downtime adventure this summer at www.ncascades.org/downtime.

Last week the Cohort 8 graduate students headed to the islands of Diablo Lake for class.  The topic of the day: island biogeography, which is the study of the distribution and abundance of species on physical and habitat islands.  I won’t go into too many details, although I think the study of habitat islands is fascinating, what I want to share with you are pictures of what we discovered.

» Continue reading A day on the islands

“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

I woke this morning to what has become a common weather event at the learning center this spring, snow. Perhaps snow in April is “normal” and I’m simply not aware of what “normal” is here on the shores of Diablo Lake. What wasn’t normal however was the thin coat of snow-ice on the lake.

I have no explanation of why the lake was covered in a thin sheet of snow-ice this morning, just a handful of ideas.  So I’ve decided to share a few photos of this interesting event rather than speculating.  I would, however, love to hear readers stories of similar events and perhaps hear some of your speculations about why Diablo Lake was covered this morning in a slushy mix of snow and ice.

(Top photo) This is a view from the dam, note how much of the lake is covered.  (Above) An upclose look at the slushy mix of snow and ice.

Looking across Diablo Lake towards Highway 20.  The snow ice layer covered nearly the entire lake, aside from a few areas near the dam and around the islands.

It is easy in the rush of things to forget about this place. With assignments, time lines, deadlines, family and life this place, my place, slips away and I stop looking.  Perhaps I feel that it is all owed to me or, as with so many things, that which matters the most is usually the first to be taken for granted.

But then, I am reminded.  I stand on the dock and watch the sun sink slowly behind Pyramid Peak. I catch a fleeting glimpse of a small bat that has ventured out after a cold winter. I stand astonished before a small willow carrying tiny, white buds that are so close to bursting open. It is then that I remember, it is then that I stop and turn slowly, savoring it all. It is then that I ask myself, how did I forget? How did I stop looking, seeing, relishing the beauty and magic that surrounds me? The sunset, bat and willow remind me. This place is full of mystery and beauty and I must remember to always relish and savor these moments, this place, the powerful beauty of nature.

“Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day. But if we forget to savor the world, what possible reason do we have for saving it? In a way, the savoring must come first.”
E.B. White