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Meanderings from the Southwest
In Search of a new Gazette Editor
My big trip of the summer was in the Pacific Northwest: the climb of Mount Olympus. The inspiration of this goal preceded even my PCT thru-hike. Easter morning in 1988 this range shown radiantly as the morning sun illuminated it from the east. It was a beautiful sight from the deck of my ship in Carr Inlet that illustrious morning.
My two partners found the long required hike through the rain forest an arduous obstacle to the peak. Day Two: the crossing of Blue Glacier, the view of which many backpackers set as their destination, was new in the sense that this was a bare glacier, which exposed its blue ice and its crevasses for open inspection. The snow work up Snow Dome and on the flanks of the mountain were more customary. Mt. Olympus is the third most glaciated peak in the continental U.S., though its elevation is slightly under 8,000 feet.
The climb entailed not only a long approach hike, bare glacial ice, and snow work, but also a small bit of rock climbing. The full repertoire of skills called upon made for a most rewarding trip.
Outdoor activities are not the only item which has demanded the resources of my time. Other things have impinged on it as well. Since the outlook for this situation looks even more demanding going forward, it is apparent that it is time to pass on the baton of editing ALDHA-West’s Gazette.
I have enjoyed this task these past two years, and have tried to maintain some consistency in our publication. Though I have been able to bring the elegance of page-layout software to our publication, word-processing skills should prove adequate to the task.
Your board is most likely looking for someone who can provide two or (hopefully) more years of effort to this task. You will work closely with the Secretary-Treasurer.
For general information to the membership, next year, the labeling of the issues (Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec) should probably shift from Winter thru Autumn to Spring thru Winter, so that the label is in anticipation of the issue rather than during the particular season.
In any case, I will remain with the organization in concept, just as I was on the trail like Ray & Jenny Jardine in ‘91 during our PCT thru-hikes, and in the background of their initial PCT Thru-Hiker’s Handbook. Next issue will be my last as full-fledged editor of the Distance Hiker’s Gazette.
Most of all, it has been a pleasure coming to know you, as fellow distance hikers and stewards of our great trails.
-Karl Diederich