November 7-11,
2008, Bike/Hike long weekend in Moab, UT
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Leader:
Bill Priedhorsky,
bill@priedhorsky.net. Please email me for more information, or
to join up. I will book a place to stay based on participation as
of approximately October 25.
We have an upcoming opportunity for a long weekend
adventure on the Veteran's Day weekend. For folks on an "A"
schedule at the Laboratory, it is possible to take five days off at the
cost of one day of vacation (Monday) in the stretch from Friday Nov. 7
to Tuesday Nov. 11. This will be a town-based trip, where we go
somewhere conducive to adventure, rent a comfortable place, and organize
a series of day outings. November is a cool dark time of year, so
having a warm bright place for our evenings is a plus.
Our destination will be Moab, Utah, which offers many
options for hiking in two national parks plus BLM backcountry, and is
also a national center for mountain biking. To get an idea of the
opportunities, click
here.
There appear to be many options for lodging at a reasonable cost this
time of year - I would suggest renting a multi- bedroom house or condo
so we could all stay together.
November
8-14, 2008, Grand Canyon Backpacking Trip
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Leader:
Rick Light,
ricklight.rxl@gmail.com, 505-662-7710. To reserve your spot on this
trip, please send a check for $50 to: Rick Light, 2571 36th Street, Los
Alamos, NM 87544.
(I-A/S)
It is a joy to announce the details of the 2008 Grand Canyon trek
for our 16th year. Our permit this year is for a beautiful and
rarely visited portion of the western Grand Canyon, a slot canyon called
150-Mile Canyon, not far from our trip a couple years ago to Tuckup
Canyon. 150-Mile is a gorgeous deep side canyon that promises to be
really fun, adventurous, and beautiful.
This email provides a summary of the trip, some details
about the rigors involved, and an outline of our preparatory events.
To reserve your spot on this trip, please send a check for $50 to: Rick
Light, 2571 36th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544. There are 11 spots
available. We expect this trip to fill, so the earlier Rick gets your
check, the more likely you are to have a place on the trip. Please
also send Rick an email indicating you are mailing the check. That way
he'll know to expect it. Thanks!
Trip Overview:
-
Sat Nov 8th: Drive from Los Alamos to
Kanab, UT (over night in hotel).
-
Sun Nov 9th: Drive to trail head,
hike to first camp.
-
Mon Nov 10th: Descend the narrows of
150-Mile Canyon.
-
Tues Nov 11th: Lay-over day --- play,
explore, relax.
-
Wed Nov 12th: Ascend the narrows,
camp at first camp again.
-
Thurs Nov 13th: Hike out, drive to
Flagstaff (dinner at Beaver Street Brewery, over night in hotel).
-
Fri Nov 14th: Drive home.
If we get serious weather just before or on Nov 8th, we
may consider an alternate route on the South Rim. In that case, we
will over night in Tusayan instead of Kanab. We hope we don't need
it, but we will plan for this contingency.
Details: The
more I read about this area, the more excited I get! This canyon
sounds fantastic! This trip is unusual for our GC treks in that it
includes 2 days of "slot canyoneering" rather than 2 more days of normal
GC trekking. So this trip will have both flavors of fun, normal GC
hiking/backpacking along with canyoneering.
The drive from the hotel to the trailhead should take
about 2 hours, and the hike from the car to first camp about 4-5 hours.
The camp is under an over-hang and includes good water nearby. It
is just above the narrows of the canyon. From there to the 2nd
camp (just above the Colo River) it is only 2.5 miles, but could take
7-8 hours to navigate. George Steck's description makes it sound
like a wonderful slot canyon, with pools, chock stones over which we
rappel (and later ascend), and deep beautiful canyon walls.
The descent will include at least 4 rappels - could be
more if there are new chock stones. The 4 known ones have been
bolted, and hence should be quicker to set up. Steck's description
indicates that the first 3 are about 15-25 feet and the last is longer,
maybe 40-50 feet. Depending on recent rainfall there may be pools
to wade or swim or navigate around. Each rappel is onto rock, not
into a pool. There are pools, of course, below some of the chock
stones, but luckily we don't rappel into them.
The ascent will be using ascenders/jumars. We'll
leave ropes in place at each chock stone so we can easily ascend without
having to reset the ropes.
The 2nd camp is not actually at the River, but just above
it. The descent to the River is also steep and Steck suggests a
100' hand line to make it easier. We can, but do not have to go to
the River, it's an option for our layover day, as is a nearby side
canyon that looks to be quite fun to explore.
In order to be sure everyone can handle the chock stones
in a fun way, we will have 2 "rock skills training" days in which we
practice rappelling on a single rope, and using our ascenders to climb
back up. We will also have a couple of fun hikes to give everyone
the opportunity to check out gear (and our fitness) appropriately.
Dates for these are shown below. If you feel you don't need these
practice days, just let Rick know. Their intent is just to ensure
the safety and fun the trip.
By the way, you do NOT need to own your own climbing
harness to come on this trip. We will be using 1" tubular webbing
to make "swamy" belt hip and chest harnesses. They are lighter and
easier to pack, and will work fine for rappelling and ascending.
Important Dates: The
following events will help make this trip easier, more enjoyable, and
more organized. Please mark them on your calendar. Details
for each will be sent out via email ahead of time.
-
Trip organizational meeting: pot-luck
dinner meeting at Rick's home, Thurs Oct 23rd, 6:30pm.
-
Rock skills training days (attend at
least one): Sunday Oct 12th and Saturday Oct 18th.
-
Training hikes (optional): Sun Sept
21st, Sun Oct 5th, and Sun Oct 26th.
(If you can't make any of these and want
to come on the trip please speak with Rick.)
Spring, 2009 - Bhutan and
India Commercial Adventure Travel
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Leaders:
Dick and Judy Opsahl, opsahl@losalamos.com
(B-I/E-M)
Consider a trip to Bhutan and India with Dick and Judy
Opsahl departing mid April 2009. This trip, with "Overseas
Adventure Travel", will have lots of emphasis on cultural interaction
with the local people. Trip limit is 16 people.
The India trip is 17 days in Northern
India, visiting the Taj Mahal, Agra, Old and New Delhi, the "pink city"
of Jaipur with its ancient palaces and forts, and Rathambhore National
Park, known for its wildlife viewing, among other places. The main
trip is preceded by an 8 day visit to Bhutan. The Himalayan
kingdom of Bhutan is slowly opening it's borders to foreign tourism
after being closed to foreigners until recent years. It is like
visiting Nepal 100 years ago, with spectacular Himalayan scenery,
centuries old customs and traditions, ancient forts, temples, and
monasteries. The main India trip is also followed by an optional 6
day post-trip to Southern India, visiting Bombay, Cochin, and cruising
the Cochin backwaters by houseboat. You can get more information
at "Overseas
Adventure Travel".
The exact departure date for our group
will be determined sometime during May of this year. The number of
departures to Bhutan is quite limited so we need trip deposits to help
secure our position. The deposit is $350 per person and we have 2
paid so far. Total cost (2008 prices; 2009 might be higher) is
about $5500/person for Bhutan and India, airfare included. The
optional South India extension is about $1300.
