Foothills Branch home page (Mountaineers)

The Mountaineers Foothills Branch

Last modified Feb. 7, 2010

Foothills Branch is the newest branch of The Mountaineers, serving members and the general public in cities, towns, and communities on the east side of Lake Washington, from Bellevue eastward to Ellensburg, WA. We provide opportunities for advocacy, conservation, and environmental education, and support access to our natural resources while teaching important skills for safe and enjoyable all-season outdoor recreation.

Sea Kayaking!
Foothills Branch has added a new activity for its members and the public: a series of sea kayaking courses scheduled for this spring. Following the requirements of The Mountaineers Sea Kayaking Standards, successful course graduates qualify for equivalence to go on Mountaineers' Sea Kayaking trips. More information

Olallie State Park

If you are a hiker, camper, backpacker, scrambler, climber, bicyclist, or enjoy any form of non-motorized recreation, you are invited to help select a management plan for Olallie State Park. Three alternatives are being considered from which a preferred alternative will be developed, based on input from user-group meetings. Map

Thurs. February 11, 2010

7:00 pm

King County Library Systems (KCLS) Service Center (Same location as Foothills Branch monthly meetings)

960 Newport Way NW Free program and parking

Issaquah, WA 98027 Directions and map

Sign-up not required but, to ensure that enough handouts are available, click here to notify Fran Troje of your intent to participate.
Questions? Click here to ask Fran Troje, Foothills Branch Chair and Recreation Access Committee Chair, The Mountaineers

Next Branch Meeting and Program

Wed. February 24, 2010

Open to the public. No charge. All are welcome!

Doors open at 6:30 for socializing.

Branch up-dates at 7:00 pm, program starts at 7:15 pm.

Alan Bauer, author/photographer, presenting his book Best Desert Hikes in Washington.

If your hiking experience is limited to summer excursions on tight, tree-lined trails through often-dripping evergreens, it’s time to enter an entirely different world: the high desert of central and eastern Washington.

BEST DESERT HIKES: WASHINGTON by Alan L. Bauer and Dan A. Nelson (The Mountaineers Books, October 20, 2004; $16.95 trade paperback original) features 100 of the best trails on the dry side of the Cascades. It’s a great way to extend your outdoor adventures through three seasons.

• Year-round excursions on the dry side of the Cascades
• Organized by quick access from Spokane, Tri-Cities, Yakima-Ellensburg, and Wenatchee-Chelan
• 100 hikes, from short half-day trips (1-5 miles) to overnighters
• Most trails rated “easy” or “moderate”
• “Hikes at a Glance” chart lists trails by best months to go
• Tips on hiking in desert conditions

King County Library Systems (KCLS) Service Center

960 Newport Way NW Free program and parking

Issaquah, WA 98027 Directions and map

_____________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Foothills Branch of the Mountaineer's & Bellevue Parks present:

Eastside Swing, Latin & Boogie

--A Rockin’ Swing, Latin, Waltz and Ballroom Mixed Dance—

The Third Friday of each Month

Feb. 19, Mar. 19, Apr. 16

Cost: $10.00 (cash payable at door)

South Bellevue Community 7:30-8:30 pm: Dance Lesson

Center, 14509 SE with Ari Levitt (Level: Beg/Int)

Newport Way, Bellevue, WA 8:30-11:00 pm: Dance to a

wonderful mix of Swing, Waltz, Latin,

Ballroom, Blues, and more, spun by

the fabulous Dr. Dance himself.

For more information on this and other Eastside dances or classes, go to: www.rolluptherug.com

Great Eastside location just off 1-90! Beautiful wooden dance floor! Fantastic dance music!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you interested in helping to coordinate Mountaineer dances? Contact foothills.branch@gmail.com

New Program

Mt Rainier - photo by Dane Williams Second Monday of each month
7 PM, Highland Community Center, 14224 NE Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA

Dane Williams

There is interest among Foothills Branch members to start a photography program on the Eastside. The branch will partner with Bellevue Parks and Recreation. Meetings are free, and available to members, and the general public. Family, friends, and neighbors are welcome. Monday, Nov. 9th is the first meeting. We will share our interests, show some of our photographs, discuss technique, and make plans for picture-taking field trips. As interest grows, we will sponsor teaching opportunities on the various aspects of photography. Dane Williams is the chair of this new committee. Meeting dates are scheduled for the second Monday of each month, starting with Mon. Nov. 9th. at 7 pm in the Highland Community Center, 14224 NE Bel-Red Road, Bellevue.
Mt Rainier - photo by Dane Williams

Meany Lodge Events

First-time Meany Lodge visitors are encouraged to review the site for information.

Online activity signup for Meany Lodge.

Why you should visit Meany Lodge. Contacts: Chuck, Joan, or Ed Welter at 253-926-0867, or MeanyLodge@hotmail.com.

Snoqualmie Campus

The Snoqualmie Campus is available by reservation only for members and small group for summer camping ($10 per person, $25 per family user fee). Because the Snoqualmie Lodge was burned in May 2006, the Snoqualmie Campus is not equipped to handle large group events that need lodging or full-service facilities. If you are interested in becoming a Campus Host or are willing to volunteer some labor, you can earn points toward some free ski-area tickets. For more information or to sign up, contact snoqualmieproperty@yahoo.com or 425-434-6177, or visit www.snoqualmiecampus.org.

Activities and Outings Search for your favorite activity.

Activities will be added here or announced by e-mail to Foothills Branch members.

Alpine Scramble Course Announcement: Foothills Branch does not at this time offer a scramble program. We have been invited to announce the upcoming Everett Branch Scrambling Course. More information

Volunteering

Foothills Branch Hiking Committee

The Foothills Branch Hiking Committee is looking for volunteers to be a part of our committee! We are also looking for hike leaders, including backpacking leaders. For more information, please contact co-chair of the Hiking Committee, Chris Caviezel at chris@snoqualmienordic.org or 425-434-0899.

Volunteers are invited for trail work events along the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway, I-90. See dates above and:

Mountains to Sound (MTS) calendar of stewardship events.

Winter Trails stewardship events along winter snowshoe and cross-country ski trails, for example, with local ski clubs.

Leave No Trace (LNT) training and backpacking field trips. Dates to be announced as Foothill leaders are trained to lead LNT events at the Snoqualmie Campus. To schedule a training event, send e-mail to snoqualmieproperty@yahoo.com.

Tinkham/Discovery Trail work parties.
For more information about future work parties or to be added to the work party e-mail alert list, send your contact information to Annik Wolfe, Trail Maintenance chairperson at annikw@gmail.com or call (206) 368-2688.

Volunteers for Outdoor Washington (VOW)/Mountaineers trail building on the Discovery Trail near Tinkham Campground in the I-90 corridor. A flat, fun, and historic trail! We’ll focus on constructing a wildlife-viewing platform to provide a great vantage point for the beaver pond. Volunteers meet at 8:30 a.m. and finish by 4:00 p.m. No experience required; VOW supplies all tools and training.

· VOW work parties are a great way to have a fun, learn a skill, and dig into some rewarding work. One day on this project earns you a one-day NW Forest Pass. A second day of work gets you the Annual NW Forest Pass, a $30 value!

· The Tinkham Discovery Trail is located east of Seattle on I-90 (exit 42). For directions, and to register for this work party, visit the VOW web site or contact info@trailvolunteers.org or 206-517-3019.

· Volunteer Trail Work training on the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Trails. To join in, contact Katlin Hanson, team leader, at novaerupta@yahoo.com.

Define your own role

As our membership grows, requests for new programs and activities create leadership and support needs. These needs are opportunities for you to develop skills in leading, teaching, organizing, or facilitating events and activities. They are opportunities to make new friends, work on issues that you care about, and experience adventures with like-minded people.

We need trip leaders and co-leaders, mentors, writers, and photographers. We need people to help with administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, publicity, scheduling, and managing the web site. We need you--and whatever skills you bring!

If you have a skill and some time, consider volunteering. You are invited! Inquiries about Leadership Training are also welcomed. Send e-mail to foothills.branch@gmail.com or call Fran Troje, chair, at 425-746-6726.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Foothills branch questions, requests, ideas? Send e-mail to join or unsubscribe from our e-mail alert list.

foothills.branch@gmail.com

To contact a Mountaineers Membership Service staff person, call 206-521-6000

The Mountaineers
300 Third Ave West
Seattle, WA 98119
USA