May, 2009

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

May Meeting

The San Juan Outdoor Club meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7 at the Community Center on Hot Springs Blvd. with the social hour starting at 6:30 PM. Refreshments will be provided by Jean Carson, Sue Lomperis, Joyce Ramberg, and Marsha Baker. The speakers for the evening will be Dr. Timothy Mazzola, MD with a subspecialty in sports medicine, and Nathan Trout who has a Masters in Physical Therapy. The presentation is "Preventing Injury and Illness". Nathan will be speaking on the key exercises one can do to help prevent injury. Dr. Mazzola will address the latest research showing the relationship between exercise, nutrition and illness. Their goal for the talk is "how to keep active people active" or alternatively "how to maintain an active lifestyle" by preventing injury and illness. Just a reminder, the June meeting will be a pot luck dinner.


Don't forget money for the Education Fund Raffle.
Tickets are $5 for seven or $1 for one.
Proceeds benefit Pagosa senior students going to college as well as younger students studying nature and conservation and learning outdoor sports and skills.

******************************

Message From Our President

Howdy,

At the moment we are rafting through the Grand Canyon on an eight day trip. It has been quite a change from the end of a really terrific ski season into spring. The skis are waxed and shelved and the bike is now out. These were the best end of season snow conditions imaginable, but I'm sure everyone is happy for the warm days. Mike Schneider will be hosting the May meeting in my absence, again if you have some great photos from the first half of the year please email them to him to include in the show at the June potluck.The Ski Swap committee had their first organizational meeting and is enthusiastically planning for an even bigger and more successful swap this October. Bob Harrington has begun preparations for the Relay for Life and needs two volunteers to bring a pot of chili on June 19 for the midnight snack-you can leave the food with him any time. Please contact Bob if you can help.The Wounded Warrior project is sponsoring the visit of some vets to Pagosa from June 1-5. If anyone would be interested in spending a couple hours kayaking with one of the Vets during that week please contact me. Also we have about eight Vets who will be hiking on June 5 with us. One group will go in the morning and one in the afternoon, these will be mostly short, rather easy hikes. We need about 8-10 volunteers to go along on the hikes to help ensure everyone has a good time and stays safe. Please contact me if you're interested in helping.

Barry

******************************

April Meeting

Stacia Kemp and Terri House from Big Brothers - Big Sisters, got into the spirit, dressed as a bowling ball and pin to promote the upcoming Bowling For Kid's Sake event.

Why are these people so happy?
They won the raffle, that's why!


******************************

Upcoming Activities

So far for May, we have Thursday morning ladies walks and coffee, a trash pick-up day, and the fly fishing lessons. Check the calendar often for updates. It is located in the sidebar under Useful Links.

Annual Relay For Life

It's that time again. This year's Pagosa Springs American Cancer Society's Annual Relay For Life event is being held on June 19 and 20. Last year your SJOC Team collected $5,935 and came in third place. This was another record increase from previous years' donations. We have been able to exceed our donation every year for at least the past five years. Despite the global economy problems, I hope we can continue this trend. Our team is once again looking for Walkers to fill in the time slots from 07:00pm Friday night until 07:00am Saturday morning. Please contact Team Captain Bob Harrington at 264-4145 or e-mail him at http://us.mc1101.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bobjharrington@centurytel.net if you would like to participate. And for the rest of you club members please be ready to support our Walkers with your donations. The best way to do that is to bring your donation to the June SJOC monthly meeting.

Thanks in advance for your support. The San Juan Outdoor Club makes me proud every year with their support for this worthy cause.

Bob Harrington

Interested in Fly Fishing?

Beginning Fly Fishing Clinic
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. – Noon
Location: Town of Pagosa Springs Sports Park, 710 South 5th St.
Cost: $12 in advance
Sponsor: Mike Schneider 731-2361
Need Fly Rod: email me at mschneid@skywerx.com

Intermediate Fly Fishing Clinic
Date: Saturday, June 6, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. – Noon
Location: Town of Pagosa Springs Sports Park, 710 South 5th St.
Cost: $12 in advance
Sponsor: Mike Schneider 731-2361
Need Fly Rod: email me at mschneid@skywerx.com

*****************************

April Outings

Grand Canyon Backpack

March 30-April 4

David and Shirley Hunter led Bob and Susan Milford and Sid and Joan Harris on a wonderful backpacking trip into the Canyon. They entered on the Hermit Trail, headed east on the Tonto Trail and exited on the Bright Angel Trail. Two nights were spent camping on Hermit Creek, two nights on Monument Creek and one night at Indian Gardens. There was snow on the rim at the beginning of the trip, and snow on the trail (towards the top) at the end of the trip. It was much colder and windier than expected. But, a good time was had by all. The scenery was FANTASTIC as you can see below.

This is a shot of the campsite on Hermit Creek. Look hard and you can see tents and people.



The group, minus Shirley. What a backdrop!

Shirley and Susan gazing down into the Monument Creek drainage.

Shirley cruising right along.

Break time on the Tonto Trail. Great view of the river and inner canyon.

The three canyoneering women.

Shirley, Susan, and Joan

Whew, Sid looks worn out.
He knows how to take a break, gotta have those feet propped up.

Group shot: David, Sid, Susan, Joan and Bob

Lake Heron State Park

April 6 - 8
by Betsy Cotton

We didn't know when we arrived that the entire park would be ours, ours, ours! Why people aren't out there taking advantage of that lovely park is beyond me. With great views, two lakes, a river canyon, hike and bike trail, and tables at every site, it is a little gem so close to us. Oh well, their loss cuz we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Abby and I had perfect weather during our two night outing at Lake Heron State Park. Crystal blue skies and only a bit of wind for a few hours one afternoon. Of course, that wind was trying to blow us up river as we were trying to paddle down river but let's not dwell on details. It was otherwise calm and lovely.
We were able to enjoy a full moon paddle on the lake Tuesday night. I don't think I've ever worn so many clothes in a kayak before! With the clear, starlit sky it was a bit nippy but no less enjoyable. We mountain biked two days. I managed to stay upright one of those days. Those uphills were somewhat challenging! 50% success rate. Hmmm. Need to work on getting unclipped from those pedals a skosh quicker.
All in all, a restful and active couple of days. AND, of course, we had our coming home lunch at the coffee shop in Chama. Oh Yeah. Gotta have those veggie 'dillas!

Abby kayaking up the Rio Chama.

Abby in full mountain bike regalia.

Betsy trying to look MTB cool. (It's not really working. hehe)

That's it folks.......