Adventurers` Club News Nov 2010

Transcription

The
Adventurers’ Club News
©
Volume 54
November 2010
Number 10
Photo by Rick Flores
Photo by Shane Berry
Climbing Cucamonga Peak
The Adventurers' Club News
The Official Publication of the Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®, California
November 2010
Volume 54
Publisher
Editor
Number 10
ACLA President, Allan Smith #1069
Robert G. Williscroft #1116,
Clarkston, WA 99403
Cell (818) 613-9445; [email protected]
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Asst. Editor .. Marc Weitz #1144;
(323) 600-4805; [email protected]
Club
ia
Phone (323) 223-3948 (24 Hrs)
www.adventurersclub.org
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DIRECTORY
PRESIDENT'S PAGE
ARTICLES
CLIMBING CUCAMONGA PEAK
BISMARK TO THE RESCUE!
A HIGH-TECH TRAVELING COMPANION
WHAT'S HAPPENING
THRAWN RICKLE
BOOK REVIEW: TIGRERO!
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB
FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS
NIGHT OF HIGH ADVENTURE
1
—
Allan Smith
PRESIDENT
INSIDE FRONT COVER
1
2
4
5
8
10
11
13
14
21
21
SECRETARY
ADDRESS
Mike Gwaltney
Alan Feldstein
2433 N Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90086
1sT VICE PRES
TREASURER
Vince Weatherby
Rick Flores
DINNER
RESERVATIONS
MAILING
ADDRESS
2ND VICE
PRES
PO Box 31226
(323)-223-3948
Deadline: Tuesday Noon Los Angeles, CA 90031
The
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
©
Volume 54
November 2010
Number 10
THE PRESIDENT’S PAGE
Allan R. Smith #1069 - President
T
It is with great pleasure that I inhe weather is chang- troduce your new president – Larry
ing, and this Schutte. Next month I will be speaking more about Larry, and giving you
month so is our
prestigious Ad- his incredible background, It is a
pleasure to hand over the gavel to
venturers Club.
Greeting broth- such a worthy candidate.
On October 7, we had the 1st busier adventurers.
It is a busy ness session, and secretary Alan
time for our
Feldstein stated a quorum was
Club, as this month brings the elec- present. Per the by-laws Article 7,
Section 11 (a), Larry Schutte (Presition ballots to your mailbox, and your
new officers and Congratulations to new Club dent), Manny
board of directors
Gomez (1st VP),
President,
Larry
Schutte!
Robert Demott
are elected.
This is extremely important as we (Secretary) and Jeffery Goddard
elect members that believe in our by- (Treasurer) were nominated by aclaws and follow the direction that our climation. Please give them your
founding fathers had for our club. To support and assistance.
often our club has seen members
We had excellent members nomicome in with an agenda and a goal
nated for positions on the board of
only to help their own personal busidirectors. All of them worthy of the
ness or a fascination with meeting position and I am happy to say the
their hero’s or famous people. This is club will be in good hands next year.
not the purpose of the club, and Remember to vote and never forget
something that is always a challenge. that your board is here for you!
I must say, however, that the past
two years serving as your present have
been a challenge. It is, in fact, the
highest of honors that could be bestowed upon someone, and I am so
grateful to have had the opportunity
to serve.
1
November 2010
Climbing Cucamonga
Climbing Cucamonga Peak – 3rd time is a charm
Rick Flores (#1120)
I
t was on our third attempt to get to peak that you see when driving east
the top of Cucamonga Peak that toward the 15 freeway on the I-10 or
we finally made it. It is not the most 210 freeways. It is this location that
difficult peak to hike in Southern Cal- makes it such a desirable hike. You
ifornia, but it is
get a fantastic
more remote
view of San
than some betB e r n a r d i n o,
ter
known
Orange, and
higher sumLos Angeles
mits.
counties if the
It is easier to
weather
is
hike to the
good.
summits of San
The peak is
Antonio (a.k.a.
in the middle
Mt.
Baldy,
of the Cu10,064’), San
camonga WilJ a c i n t o
derness, a fedOverview of Cucamonga Peak location
(10,804’), and
erally designatBaden Powell (9,399’), than it is to get ed wilderness area. The most poputo the top of Cucamonga Peak (8,859’). lar and easiest way to enter this wilThe hiking disderness
is
tance to Cuthrough Ice
camonga Peak
House Canis about six
yon. The trailmiles one way
head for Ice
and the total elHouse Canyon
evation gain is
is just off of
about 4,300
Mt.
Baldy
feet. It has been
Road and just
on my personal
past Mt. Baldy
list of must-do
Village.
hikes for years,
This year I
Cucamonga
–
Trailhead
to
peak
but I just never
was determined
seemed to find the time to do it. It would to take the time to hike to the summit,
be the longest day hike with the most ele- and I convinced fellow ACLA member
vation gain that I had ever attempted.
Shane Berry (#1093) to make the trip
Cucamonga Peak is southeast of as well. We had been hiking together
Mount Baldy. It is the last prominent for the past three years, and when I had
November 2010
2
Climbing Cucamonga
previously mentioned doing the hike
Shane rightly pointed out that it would
be an all-day affair and we would have
Shane at Trail’s End
over the mounds with our hands and
our trekking poles. We reached a second saddle between Bighorn Peak and
Cucamonga Peak where the wind was
blowing hard enough to knock you
off your feet. We traveled another
three-quarter miles before the snow
mounds got so large that they completely obliterated the trail. It was
getting very dangerous and Shane
didn’t want to go any further. I completely agreed with him. We stopped
about 800 feet short of the peak.
Our second attempt was on September 18. Three of us would be on
this trip, myself, Shane, and one of
our newer Club members Ralph Perez
(#1150). Ralph started hiking with
us several months earlier. He is plan-
Photo Rick Flores
to get to the trailhead very early. It just
never seemed to work out for either of
us until Saturday May 29 of this year,
when we finally arranged the hike.
At that time the snow had visibly
receded from nearby Mount Baldy
and was not visible at all on the south
face of Cucamonga. Spring seemed a
good season to hike, because we
would have cool temperatures and
lots of water in the stream that flows
year round through Icehouse Canyon.
We were right on both those counts,
but as we neared Icehouse saddle, 3.5
miles from the trailhead, we encountered something we had not expected – snow and ice. There were large
patches just beyond the saddle on the
north faces of Bighorn Peak and
Cucamonga Peak. We hadn’t brought
any crampons or ice picks to help us
pass over these mounds. This was an
issue because the drop-offs on some
sections of the trail were daunting. One
slip could drop you hundreds of feet.
We very carefully made our way
Photo Shane Berry
Rick arriving at the summit
ning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
after he retires sometime next year as
a Postal Inspector. We met at 6:00
AM in Cerritos at Shane’s house. We
ate breakfast and headed off in
Shane’s van. Many early morning
(Cucamonga continued on page 6)
3
November 2010
Bismark
Bismark to the Rescue!
Bob Walters (#1047)
S
cientists have long recognized a years of age, in the water. The older
predilection for species to exhibit boy was in about chest deep and the
some form of behavior that is innate younger was in to his thighs.
Immediately upon seeing the boys,
as opposed to learned. For instance,
a chicken hatched in a brooder with- Bismarck “galumphed” down the
out ever observing any other chick- bank and into the river. He swam rapen knows to eat and drink without idly to the farthest boy who was
assistance. There have recently been amused to see the puppy. Bismarck
circled behind the
articles suggesting
boy, ducked his
more advanced behead into the water
havior that cannot
and latched onto the
be attributed to inboy’s trunks. With
struction.
the boy laughing the
We recently acwhole way, Bisquired a 3-month
marck towed him to
old Newfoundland
the shore. He then
puppy, Bismarck. In
returned for the secour first month toond boy who was
gether, he has been
also laughing but
introduced to varinow exiting the waous bodies of water on his own. The
ter—beaches, rivers
mother, who was
and lakes—and has
witnessing the envoluntarily swum in
tire scene, was also,
all of these. He was
Photo
Bob
Walters
fortunately, laughable to obser ve Newfoundland puppy – Bismark
ing. Soon, a happy
dogs swimming but
had seen humans only wading. None Bismarck was roughhousing with the
of these images elicited any particu- boys at the water’s edge.
We are certain that Bismarck has
lar reaction other than friendly play.
Just a day short of his being four never had any “rescue” training. We
have known that Newfoundlands are
months of age, and already having
achieved about one-third of his antici- famed for their water rescue capabilpated adult weight of 165 pounds, Bis- ities, but we never expected a puppy,
marck was taken to a tributary of the with no experience, to instinctively
Columbia River in Washington state. be driven to the task.
Now, if only I can teach him which
There, a mother sat on shore watching
particular
girls need rescuing…
her sons, probably about six and eight
November 2010
4
Magellan
A High-tech Traveling Companion
Pierre Odier (#988)
M
y annual summer travels take me
to some of the most remote
places on this planet in search of people who are largely untouched by the
progress and the problems of the
present century. Reaching such places as the Amazon rain forest, the interior of China, mountain ranges of
Bhutan and the Altai Gobi Desert of
Mongolia is difficult at best, and
sometimes risky. Many locales are
only reachable by ways not marked
on any map. And once you arrive, it’s
a challenge to make a connection
with the people you are seeking.
As I prepared for my most recent
trip, little did I realize my new traveling companion was about to change
all that.
For last summer’s trip into the western Gobi Desert of Mongolia, my
constant companion was Magellan.
This explorer, however, is the Magellan NAV 5000 Global Positioning
System receiver. The latest in navigation and location equipment, this
piece of high-tech electronics can tell
me my location any place on earth.
The hand-held Global Positioning
System (GPS) receiver provided me
with instantaneous link-up with the
eighteen satellites orbiting the earth,
giving me an unfailingly accurate fix
on my position and tracking my
course regardless of where on earth I
might be.
This was the addition to my traveling gear I had been missing!
As the far corners of our world
draw closer together, it’s difficult for
us to imagine that there exist people,
even whole societies, who have maintained their isolation. In truth however, there are many such people who live
from generation to generation much as
their ancestors did centuries ago.
Such are the nomads of Mongolia’s
Altai Gobi Desert whom I recently
had the honor of visiting. These remote people are self-sufficient, living in a symbiotic relationship with
their environment. The need to somehow improve their life has not, for
the most part, occurred to them. And
it inevitably causes intense curiosity
(usually turning to amusement) when
an outsider like myself tries to adapt
to their ways.
I, too, try to maintain a harmonious relationship to my environment.
But I must confess that I feel more
primitive in their world than those
people whom we label “primitive.”
For example, without the benefit of
clocks or calendars, these nomads
always know the time of day and the
time of year. They gather this infor-
Photo Pierre Odier
Pierre’s solar powered Magellan 5000 GPS
(Magellan continued on page 12)
5
November 2010
Cucamonga
(Cucamonga continued from page 3)
clouds blanketed the city so the views
would be limited, but you have to take
what the hiking gods give you.
We traveled north on the 605 freeway, made the transition to the 210
freeway, where everything seemed
fine until we hit some traffic. We
searched the radio for some traffic
news and found none, but it soon
became apparent that we were being
diverted off the freeway. We found
out later that there was a huge fuel
spill on the freeway, and it would remain closed for many hours. So we
made a detour via Foothill Boulevard
and lost a lot of time. The whole ordeal cost us close to an hour.
I decided to call my wife because it
was now past 7:00 AM. She arises at
that time, and I knew we would be
home much later than I had predicted; I didn’t want her to worry. She
had a knee replacement surgery procedure performed three weeks previous, and was still in a lot of pain. I
had made arrangements to have a care
worker spend this Saturday with her
so I could go hiking. I contacted her
just as we got onto Mt. Baldy Road.
The reception was spotty at best. I
heard her say something about having to go back to the hospital because
her incision was infected. I yelled “oh
shit” as we were disconnected, and
told the guys that I had to go back
home. An infection was serious business, and I didn’t want to spend the
day worrying about Doris. They graciously agreed that going back was
November 2010
the right thing to do, and that ended
the second attempt. The infection
ended up being nothing more than an
allergic reaction to the adhesive tape
covering the knee. I was starting to
feel snake bit.
We made the last attempt one week
Photo SHane Berry
Shane, Rick & Ralph at the summit
later on September 25. Ralph and I
met Shane at his house, and we headed off to the trailhead. We made it
by 7:20 AM. I noticed on the drive
there that the winds were blowing,
so it appeared we would summit on a
clear day.
We headed straight up Ice House
Canyon, and Shane and I made the
first saddle by 11:00 AM. Good time
for the old men! Ralph is a very strong
hiker and had raced up the mountain
ahead of us. We thought we had
agreed to meet at the first saddle, but
he wasn’t there when we arrived. Five
trails meet at this saddle, and we had
to consider the possibility that Ralph
had taken the wrong trail. Ice House
Canyon is a popular trail with a lot
of foot traffic, so if Ralph had taken
the wrong trail he would not be alone,
6
Cucamonga
but he was the driver and we had no
way to contact him. I was starting to
feel snake bit again.
We talked it over and decided to
continue toward the summit. The trail
to Cucamonga Peak was not well
marked, but we figured Ralph had a
GPS, and he should be able to make
it to the top. Once past the saddle,
the majority of hikers disappeared.
Only the well-conditioned or misinformed hike up to Cucamonga. We
made the second saddle where the
winds were milder than on the first
attempt. We started the last steep one-
nated most of the smog and haze that
hangs perpetually over the area.
Some other hikers told me that my
two buddies were already at the nearby summit. Two buddies! Great,
Ralph made it. We ate lunch, took
some photographs, and admired the
far reaching views. To the east San
Bernardino County and the mammoth peaks of San Gorgonio and San
Jacinto were visible; to the far south
Orange County with Santiago and
Modjeska Peaks (Saddleback Mountain) peaking up from the distant light
haze; and to the west Los Angeles
County and the distant ghostly visions
of Palos Verde and Santa Catalina Island over 50 miles away. Beautiful!
Sometimes things work out just fine.
After a short time at the summit,
we made our way back down, stopping once at Icehouse Saddle and
once at a natural spring to splash
some cold water on our bodies. We
ended the hike at 4:20 PM, exhausted and satisfied. We had gained 4,300
feet of elevation, walked twelve
miles, and successfully made Cucamonga Peak on the third try.
Photo Rick Flores
Shane, Rick & Ralph at the summit
(what it really looked like)
and-a-half miles from there, and
Shane started to move ahead of me.
Of the three of us I am the slowest
hiker, and I am used to being the last
to arrive. I found the short side trail
that covers the last 200 feet of ascent. I laboriously climbed up the
steepest part of the hike, and finally
reached the top. As I approached the
shear south face of the mountain and
caught my first glimpse of the view, I
was delighted. The wind had elimiADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
View from the summit
7
Photo Rick Flores
November 2010
What’s Happening...
Russian expedition finds diary of
Georgy Brusilov’s lost expedition.
the perilous Vilkitsky Strait into the
Kara Sea, the expedition ran aground
on thick ice floes.
One of its only two survivors, navigator Valerian Albanov, described in
his memoirs two gruelling winters
clinging to the doomed ship and floating ever closer to the North Pole. Albanov was one of eleven of the twenty-four-member crew who abandoned
the ice-locked vessel and set out
across the snow drifts seeking firm
land in a desperate trek romanced in
Soviet author Veniamin Kaverin’s
popular novel Two Captains.
Until now, the Saint Anna and the
rest of its crew had vanished without a trace. But pages of the sailor’s
log, found well-preserved in the frigid north, offer glimpses into the lingering fight for survival aboard the
ship.
“Today we got our last brick of tobacco; the matches ran out long ago,”
it reads, adding the crew hunted polar bear as they struggled on low supplies.
Other traces of the ill-fated expedition were found nearby: a watch,
snowshoes, a knife, a spoon engraved
with a sailor’s initials and sunglasses
made from the glass of empty rum
bottles. “It was so overwhelming to
find those sunglasses, which we had
all been able to imagine so well after
Albanov’s description,” missionmember Vladimir Melnikov said at a
press conference in Moscow.
Photo physorg.com
A
picture taken on July 27, 2010,
shows members of an expedition
digging on the coast of Franz Josef
Land in Russia. Russian explorers said
they had found a sailor’s log from
aboard the legendary RV Saint Anna
Arctic expedition under the command of Georgy Brusilov that vanished as it sought to forge through the
ice-choked Northeast Passage in
1912.
For decades mystery clouded the
fate of the adventurer Georgy Brusilov -- captain of the first Russian
crew to seek the elusive Arctic trade
route from Asia to the West -- inspiring a generation of books and films.
“There is no doubt that the skeletons
and notebook pages we found at the
end of July on Franz Josef Land are
the remains of Georgy Brusilov’s expedition – which were thought forever
lost,” Oleg Prodan, who led the mission in the expedition’s footsteps, said.
Midway into its epic journey along
the Siberian coast, after navigating
November 2010
8
When I first saw the snake I believed it was a garter snake. When I
checked out the photo later, I saw
enough detail in the face to identify
it as a striped racer. This one was particularly patient and allowed me to
get very close.
Rick hikes on...and on...and on...
Rick Flores (#1120)
I
(Photos Rick Flores)
haven’t been hiking much lately,
been busy helping Doris rehabilitate from her knee operation. She has
made amazing progress in five weeks
and no longer needs a walker or a cane
to get around. Her doctor was very
impressed with her progress and I am
very proud of her.
I have managed to sneak away a few
times, I am lucky to live in an area
where you can hike year-round.
The butterflies have been fantastic
this year. I have seen a greater variety this year than in all the previous
years that I have been trying to identify them. Identification is always
tricky (particularly with the blues);
but if you pay attention to the minor
details, it becomes easier. I think that
I am right about 80% of the time!
I had seen this type of spider before in Catalina about three years ago.
At that time I only shot the underside and was able to identify it even
though it had very distinct markings.
It has bothered me ever since that I
couldn’t identify it!. This one was had
built its web across our trail in San
Mateo Canyon and was much easier
to photograph. I can now say with full
confidence that it is a Silver Garden
Spider. A mundane name for a
beautiful spider!
Woodland Skipper
High Mtn Blue
Ringlet
Editor’s Note:
Each month we will feature recent activities of
members and friends on this page. Please send
your material along with any photos to the Editor
by email or snail mail. Designate it for “What’s
Happening....”
Marine Blue
Gray Hairstreak
9
November 2010
Thrawn Rickle
THE THRAWN RICKLE
From the Ancient Scottish: thrawn = stubborn; rickle = loose, dilapidated heap
Robert G. Williscroft #1116 – Editor
C
ongratulations, Larry Schutte, on
your election at the 80th President of the Los Angeles Adventurers’ Club! I anticipate a continuation
of Allan Smith’s excellent work, with
some innovations of your own that
will keep our fine Club moving into
the future.
Don’t forget NOHA on October
30. The tickets are now $75, but they
are worth every penny. NOHA will
be in The Hacienda Hotel in El Secundo. (See page 21 for the full address.) Brian Binny, pilot of Spacecraft
One, Zac Sunderland, the first under18 person to circumnavigate the
globe, and fellow member Don
Walsh (#1042), who piloted the Triest to the bottom of the Challenger
Deep, the dee pest spot in the
world’s oceans, will regale us with
their exploits.
It will be a wonderful evening. You
won’t want to miss it!
We are trying to update our membership book. This is the loose-leaf
handbook that contains all the members’ photos and bios. Strange as it
might seem, without your cooperation, we cannot do the job very well.
PLEASE send any updates directly
to me at my official email address:
[email protected]. Include a new
photo if you wish, and update your
bio to reflect what has happened since
your original bio. If you are a new
Club member with no bio page in the
handbook, then be sure to look over
November 2010
some of the
earlier ones
and then write
up something
about you that
we can include
in the new edition.
Thanks to everybody who took up
the challenge and wrote a letter to the
editor this month. It really makes the
News more interesting for all of us.
Now, don’t be shy. Keep those letters coming!
Remember that every month I need
fresh material for the News. I have
personal material that I can use to fill
in occasional gaps, but without your
regular story submissions, the News
loses some of its luster. And stories
need photos to come alive. Just email
me the highest resolution photos you
can. I’ll take it from there. Also, be
sure to tell me who did the photography. I want to be sure to credit the
proper person.
I regret having to miss NOHA this
year, but the distance is just too far. I
trust several of you will send me photos so I can run a feature in next
month’s News. Perhaps I can also get
one or two letters describing the event
from your personal perspective. This
would enliven the reading for members who, like me, were unable to
make the festivities.
The password for the online fullcolor edition is “acla1011”.
10
Book Review - Tigrero!
BOOK REVIEW –
TIGRERO!
Author: Sasha Siemel, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York, NY, 1953 (266p; 8 x 5.5 hardcover), ASIN:
B0006ATIQQ. Review adapted by Robert G. Williscroft (#1116 – Editor) from an online review by
Ron Braithwaite, author of Hummingbird God, and a 1953 review in the Nashville Tennesseean
I
n Brazil the jaguar is called a tigre,
and in the jungles of that country
Sasha Siemel was known as Tigrero –
the man who kills tigres with a spear.
Siemel spent thirty years in the Brazilian jungles where
both men and
beasts live much as
they existed for
thousands of years.
Tigrero! is not only
the great personal
adventure of Siemel’s hunting, but
swift, stark narratives of strange jungle characters,
feuds, and love triangles.
Siemel describes
his training at the
side of an Indian
tigrero from which he learns the tactics of killing a jaguar with only a
spear. He describes his killing of a
man-eating tigre with nothing between
him and the lethal animal but a stick
tipped with iron. Siemel went on to
kill a number of tigres with a variety
of weapons, but he is most famous
for his use of the spear.
Siemel reports that a tigre, when pursued with hounds, does not usually
climb a tree, as does a puma; ordinarily, it bays up on the ground and
fights. It also frequently charges
through the pack to get at the hunter.
This is the instinct
that Siemel relied
on when spearing
tigres. The animal
would charge and
Siemel would catch
it, frontally, on the
tip of his spear. Fortunately, Siemel
was a large, unusually powerful man,
and could drive the
spear through the
beast and pin it to
the ground, eventually killing it.
In his forward,
Siemel acknowledges the help of
the New York Adventurers’ Club and
the Explorers’ Club, and specifically
thanks “Theon Wright, Past-President
of The Adventurers’ Club,” who assisted him in assembling and preparing the material, and in the editing of
the book.
Although out of print, Tigrero! is
available in hardback and paperback
online at Amazon.com, and in many
used book stores.
11
November 2010
Magellan
(Magellan continued from page 5)
mation by observing and understanding what is happening around them.
The position of the sun, the movement of the animals, the changes in
the landscape – all the signals given
by Mother Nature – these are their
time pieces. And they have worked
beautifully for millennia.
Year in and year out, these nomads
navigate around the vast Mongolian
plains, traversing distances inconceivable to a city person. There are no
roads, no maps, no signs to show the
way or to pinpoint the correct location
to set up camp – none are needed.
When visiting with one family
group, I asked one of the older herders how many times he had made
camp at this particular spot. He
looked at me, then fixed his gaze on
some distant point and said, “This is
my first time here as a father.”
Seeing my puzzlement, he quickly
explained that once, long ago, as a little boy, he had camped on this spot.
He said he remembered it well, pointing toward an outcropping of rocks
and calling my attention to an eagle’s
nest.
Looking in that direction and hoping to see it, I saw no nest. What I
did see were faint, white streaks on
the rocks where he pointed, evidence
of large bird droppings marking the
rim of a former nesting place.
The next morning, I walked up to
the nesting place, turned on my GPS
locating device, waited, and realized
as the numbers appeared on my
November 2010
screen, that I was creating a permanent record of this spot on earth. I
entered 47 degrees 20’51 North, 95
degrees 46’71 East into my log. Now,
I too, could return to this spot – days,
weeks or even years from today, long
after my Altai friend has become a
grandfather.
I scrolled down on the display
screen of my “traveling companion”
to obtain other information. To my
surprise, the date was July 4, 1992.
This eagle’s nest was empty, but my
thoughts quickly connected with another eagle, that which represents the
United States. After all, July 4th
marks the day of independence for
the American Eagle, whose satellites
now give me the independence to
move about the globe, secure in
knowing that I will never be lost.
Though still bathed in daylight, it
was 10:20 PM when I arrived back in
camp that evening, Magellan leading
the way. A Mongolian boy on his
horse greeted me and, pointing to the
GPS receiver, asked what I had in my
hand.
Being a teacher, I can never turn
Photo Pierre Odier
Pierre with the Mongolian nomad
12
Magellan / Letters
down a learning opportunity, so I sat
down with him and was immediately
surrounded by everybody in the camp.
People of all ages were listening to
me as I attempted to explain how the
space-age navigation device worked.
“When I push this button,” I said,
“it begins to receive signals from satellites in the sky.”
And on cue, five satellite numbers
appeared on the screen. I told my
audience that I was making contact
on five different channels and that I
needed signals from four satellites to
give me my location in longitude, latitude and altitude. The machine informed us that satellites 2, 7, 13 and
24 were in view.
Being gracious people, my hosts let
me continue to ramble about the satellites and signals and atomic clocks
and position location. As we watched
the numbers and symbols flash upon
the small display screen of the locator, I realized that my audience was
lost – none of us really seemed to
comprehend the other’s world.
It was dark now and the mood was
soft, gentle and warm. It was a moment of quiet and reflection, broken
only when the father of the boy pointed to the heavens. I looked up and,
following his gaze, saw something
streaking across the sky. A wide smile
spread across his face and he reached
for my hand and said, “There goes
number 24.”
We smiled and laughed together.
The connection was made.
I will forever be grateful and
amazed at what my new traveling
companion helped me find.
Photo Pierre Odier
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor:
Ralph recently joined me on a trip on the
Sepik River in New Guinea. The cowboys from
Calgary on board added to the fun of the trip.
Ralph also visited New Britain and studied
some Japanese WWII wrecks in Rabaul, the
capital. – Roger Haft #1098
tang Island in a place where FDR, Wrong-WayCorrigan, and Oppenheimer have stayed. An old
but charming two-story place with rocking chairs
and overhead fans on the verandas. On the way
back Marie wanted to see a large reservoir
so we detoured. She is always looking for
a place to swim. While on the shore watching a couple of Caracaras devouring a fish, we
heard a thrashing commotion and turned to see a
8-10 foot alligator devouring a blue heron while its
mate stood by scolding. Two more gators appeared.
Marie has second thoughts. – Bob Walters #1047
Ralph may become the most traveled Club
member ever. – Editor
To the Editor:
Just returned from a fighter pilots reunion in San Antonio. Took a side trip
to Corpus Christi and stayed on Mus-
Maybe even third thoughts! – Editor
(Letters continued on page 20)
13
November 2010
Minutes – September 9, 2010
THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB
It all started when Ms Westmorland
discovered the books Headhunting in
the Solomon Islands and New Guinea
Headhunt by Caroline Mytinger. Ms
Westmorland had visited Papua New
Guinea in 1991 and realized how diverse the culture was. But it was the
discovery of the amazing Ms Mytinger and her works the drove her pasPhoto Headhunt Revisited sion for this
project.
Caroline Mytinger was born in
1897 in Sacramento, California. A beautiful
woman, she became a model
and a Gibson
Girl. She got
Caroline Mytinger
married young to
a Dr. Stober, but wanted to do something more with her life. Reluctantly,
her loving husband knew she needed
to be free and let her go. In 1926, she
and her friend Margaret Warner began a four-year journey to Papua New
Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In
an age of manly explorers, two women making such a trek was novel and
bold. At one point another explorer
arrived, with much ado, hoping to be
the first white man to reach the source
of the Fly River. To his annoyance,
he arrived and found the demure Ms
Mytinger already there, sketching
away.
In a short time she was left with
nothing but her pith helmet and
September 9, 2010
Marc Weitz (#1144)
T
he meeting commenced with a
welcome from Vice Weatherby,
who was standing in for President Allan Smith.
Those Returning from Adventure:
S
hane Berry #1093 – Returned
from Burning Man with his son.
Called it an amazing experience and
recommended it highly. He reported
that there were many people his age.
Those Leaving on Adventure:
none
Israel Gursky – LA Opera
efore the main speaker we were
treated to some opera by a guest
to the club, Israel Gurksy, a member
of the LA Opera. Not needing a microphone, he sang a wonderful aria –
filling the main hall with his voice.
He directed his song towards Vince
Weatherby’s young guest, Alyssa,
sending her into shy wriggling. It was
an amazing performance.
B
Headhunt Revisited
he Headhunt Revisited project is
for the preservation and recording the native cultures of Papua New
Guinea and Solomon Island through
photography, sound, and painting.
Started by the speaker, Michele Westmorland, and her partner Karen Huntt,
the project picks up on the work started by author and artist, Caroline Mytinger, in the 1920s and 1930s.
T
November 2010
14
pearls. She lived with natives and
worked on her portrayals of their life
and culture, took notes, and made
scrap books. She depicted them in
both drawings and oil paintings. The
twenty-five oils she brought back
show, with magnificent color, their
head dresses and body art. When she
returned to America, she wrote her
two books and spent the remainder
of her life exhibiting and promoting
her Polynesian paintings and drawings.
Headhunt Revisited picks up eighty
years later where Ms Mytinger left off,
Mytinger painting
Ms Mytinger’s portraits and accounts
created a record for these tribes to
rediscover their culture. A color portrait of a man with a live butterfly in
his hair demonstrated the use of live
insects as body art. Other paintings
portray a canoe builder, a headhunter, and a traditional headdress. From
the painting of the headdress, tribesmen were able to recreate a modern
replica using old traditions.
Comparing the then and now, using Ms Mytinger’s work, has restored
credibility to such traditions as head
binding, tattooing, and scarring. A
man who had his head reshaped
through binding spent his life being
ashamed and called ugly. Now,
through the project’s raising of
awareness of past traditions, he
walks proudly knowing that the head
binding was done because of his family’s stature in the community.
Much of the traditions of tattooing and scarring remain underground.
A lot of these traditions are illegal
because some of the methods are
dangerous and have resulted in
deaths. Because these traditions were
driven underground, the use of dirty
tools has raised the risk of infection
and AIDS. Tribal sorcery still remains
part of their tradition; that too is illegal and has been pushed underground.
The project hopes to help native
Papua New Guineans out of their
impoverished state. Their lives are far
from the idyllic, tropical paradise that
existed when Ms Mytinger visited.
Photo Vince Weatherby
by preserving the amazing culture of
this area. Ms Mytinger had said, “For
this is the twilight hour for the earth’s
exclusive tribes.” Headhunt Revisited hopes to prevent the tribal cultures
of the Solomon Islands and Papua
New Guinea from disappearing by
raising awareness and giving back to
the community.
Much of the culture of these islands was destroyed by Christian missionaries imposing their religion and
society. By “civilizing” these “savages” much of their tribal history and
tradition was banned or made taboo.
(Minutes continued on page 16)
15
November 2010
Minutes – September 9 & 16, 2010
(Minutes continued from page 15)
Roger Haft is going to New Guinea on Friday the 24th for three weeks.
He has all of his plane flight tickets
confirmed except one – the flight
from Los Angeles to Brisbane. Good
luck Roger.
John Goddard received a spear
thrower years ago during his travels
in northwestern Australia. It has detailed carvings and could bring down
a kangaroo. John donated the spear
thrower to the list of auction items
for Night of High Adventure.
He obtained it from an Aborigine
who lived close to nature and taught
John how to do so. When walking in
the Outback John saw pools and rivers that looked inviting. He was discouraged to take a dip because of the
danger of sharks. Finally he saw water and his guide assured him of no
sharks. John jumped in. The guide
then told him that the reason for no
sharks there was because of the crocodiles.
John also donated a small carved
figure of a shaman with an apothecary calabash to NOHA. He obtained
this from a shaman of the Konga tribe
in the Belgian Congo.
Steve Lawson urged all to buy their
tickets for the October 30th Night of
High Adventure.
Bob Zeman related a phone call
from Bob Gilliland. Annie Jacobsen
is writing a book on Area 51 and is
interviewing persons with knowledge
of it. Of five persons that Annie has
interviewed Bob Gilliland knew
Destruction from World War II and
environmental degradation from industrialization have resulted in many
natives living in poor conditions.
Headhunt Revisited has grown in
notoriety. They are producing a onehour documentary narrated by Lauren Hutton. In addition, they continue to raise money and awareness for
their project. They benefit greatly
from Ms Mytinger’s work. Ms. Westmorland showed off some gorgeous
paintings done by Ms Mytinger. Many
of these paintings can be found at the
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. A large crowed attended
this Ladies’ Night. The lecture was
well-presented and interesting. The
accompanying Power Point presentation was fascinating and made great
use of Ms
M y t i n g e r ’s
p a i n t i n g s.
More information can
be found on
the project’s
website:
www.headhuntrevisited.org.
September 16, 2010
Bob Zeman (#878)
W
e enjoyed Lebanese food tonight
as Vince Weatherby presided.
Paul Isley told of traveling to Europe
on business and pleasure. He drove
through the Bavarian Alps into Germany
where he drank some good beer.
November 2010
16
three of them. How much does Bob
know?
It was good to see David Glackin.
He left California a few years ago to
work in the Washington DC area for
NOAA and the US Geodetic Survey.
He has now returned.
ing. Unfortunately, Sudan is a divided country with the north inhabited
by Moslems in what is mostly desert.
The south is marshy and inhabited by
blacks who are mostly Christian.
When the general wanted to strafe
Juba in the south, Roy went back to
California. The F-5 crashed and the
general died. Later the other F-5s all
crashed So much for the blood of the
bull.
NASA is in charge of civilian development of the space program and
DARPA is in charge of military development. Currently, aircraft are prohibited from flying overland faster
than .92
mach because of the
s o n i c
boom. Both
agencies were interested and came up
with money to reduce the impact of
the sonic boom when the sound barrier is broken. Northrop was awarded the contract over Boeing and
Lockheed.
Designers using computational fluid dynamics came up with a design
that lengthened the nose of the F-5
and also added a bump on the lower
fuselage. A model was built, tested
in a simulator and it worked.
Northrop then got an old F-5 from
the Navy and modified it for use in a
wind tunnel.
Roy said that every molecule of air
is tracked in a wind tunnel. Here again
the plane performed according to the
Fixing the Sound Barrier
Charles Carmona met Gene Yano
who worked in photography at
Northrop. Charles asked Gene to put
on a program for the Club. Gene said
the guy we really needed to hear is
Roy Martin. Roy is the chief test pilot of Northrop Grumman having
worked
there for 32
years.
Roy told
the F-5 story. Between 1974 and the 1990s
1,100 F-5s were sold to thirty-five
countries. They were delivered from
Palmdale via Canada to Greenland
and then to Europe.
Even the Sudan ordered four of the
aircraft to an airfield across the Nile
from Khartoum. As Roy flew in he
saw natives dragging a Brahma bull
to the plane. The throat of the bull
was cut and blood was smeared on
the new planes supposedly giving
long life to the weapon and to the
holder of the weapon – similar to a
sword.
Roy stayed around for a month to
give guidance to the Sudanese pilots.
A general wanted to practice straf-
17
November 2010
Minutes – September 16 & 23, 2010
designed projections in reducing the
effect of the sonic boom.
Now the plane was ready for actual flight tests which Roy flew. A corridor was laid out in California, and
Boeing and Lockheed contributed to
the tracking system.
Based on the fights, a properly designed plane could fly at mach 1.6 and
not create a sonic boom. There were
no problems on the 21 flight tests.
Gulfstream and Cessna are both
extremely excited about the results.
But NASA said that the results do
not contribute to a mission to the
moon or to Mars and pulled the $150
million funding.
Interestingly, Roy said that pilots do
not feel a thing when they break the
sound barrier. He has never refused
to fly a plane because we have top
notch people
who design and
test equipment
thoroughly before there is a
need for a test
pilot.
tion Conference (JCOC). He was one
of one of 49 selected and beat out
seven applicants submitted by General David Petraeus.
The JCOC is a program sponsored
by the Secretary of Defense for civilian public opinion leaders interested
in growing their knowledge of the
military and national defense issues.
Allan flew to Washington DC for a
tour of the Pentagon in which 20,000
employees work. While there he received the honorary order of the spur
for his interest in the military. Allan
had spent six years in the Marine
Corps.
This year’s group then flew to San
Diego in a C-17 for carrier operations.
Then they flew to Alaska, back to
Pendleton and back to DC. He spent
time on the shooting range with a 50
caliber, M-4 and M-16. He shot thirty rounds with the first eight being
outside the target and the remaining
22 in the black.
He also entered a building for immersion training. Inside is a replica
of an Arab village with sights, sounds,
smells and persons designed to distract the soldier while looking for
snipers.
Allan also received the John Muir
Award for his entry in the Yosemite
Film Festival.
And he also designed the logo for
the USS Richard Etheridge, the newest
Coast Guard Cutter due to be
launched in early 2011. Richard
Etheridge was the leader of the Pea
September 23, 2010
Bob Zeman (#878)
P
resident Allan Smith welcomed
a good crowd including many
guests of Ramona Cox. He called out
for those returning from an adventure
to tell us where they have been.
Hearing none Allan told of his return from the Joint Civilian OrientaNovember 2010
18
Island sailors, and Allan recently produced a movie on them.
On behalf of Bill Morse, Allan
Feldstein announced that Aki Ra has
been selected as one of ten finalists
for the CNN Hero of the Year award.
You can vote for him at hero.cnn.com.
Aki Ra is the leader of the de-mining
in Cambodia.
Bob Zeman presented a kepi blanc
(military hat) of the French Foreign
Legion to Mike Gwaltney for his
museum. There has been a question
of whether Cole Porter ever served
in the Legion. So Bob wrote to
Aubagne, France and in reply received
a copy of Cole Porter’s membership
card.
moved to the desert. In 1993, participants wore costumes. The artwork
has increased dramatically over the
years. This year’s theme was Metropolis.
Among the attractions are a maze,
high-tech robotics, a gigantic temple,
a ghost pirate ship, and huge statues.
There is a choo-choo train, a kitty
car, a car with a big mouth that opens
and closes, a snail car, and a warthog
car.
Everyone wears a way-out costume.
One woman even wears a snake.
There are two naughty Santas. And
there are the stilt people.
Burning Man – the Olympics of
Desert Flying
amona Cox has been to the Burning Man event fourteen times and
told of the history and this year’s colorful events.
Once a year around Labor Day tens
of thousands of participants gather
in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to
create Black Rock City, dedicated to
community, art, self-expression and
self-reliance. They depart one week
later, having left no trace whatsoever.
It is also a seven-day and night costume party occasionally marred by
wind, dust, sand storms, and rain.
The event started on a beach in
1987 with eight men burning a wooden man. In 1990, the event was
R
Costumed girls at Burning Man
Some have described Burning Man
as a giant adult-kid land. Creativity
is beyond your wildest expectations.
There are also hundreds of lectures.
Ramona flies in and hangs around
with other pilots including the Baja
Bush Pilots.
Nothing is offered for sale. Many
bring gifts to exchange. But attendees are charged a fee of about $300.
One needs to bring goggles, ear
plugs and all of your food and water.
At the close, there is a massive
19
November 2010
clean-up with the goal of “leave no
trace.”
Gary Mortimer, and his friend
Vance. Shane wore a lizard costume.
The downside is that it takes about
four hours to leave the area and get
on the main road for home.
The big highlight is the actual burning of the
wooden man.
The man is about
thirty-five feet
tall standing on a
four story wooden structure.
The Burning Man
Shane Berry attended Burning
Man for the first time this year.
He joined his oldest son Scott,
(Letters continued from page 13)
To the Editor:
Thought you would enjoy - the cams back
up for the South Pole summer!
– Larry Schutte #1121
To the Editor:
I finally had some time to sit down and write
a short story about a recent memorable hike. If
you need any other info or photos let me know.
I haven’t been to a weekly meeting or a board
meeting for a month. I have been busy nursing
my wife back to health; her knee replacement
operation was successful but the rehabilitation
has been long and painful. I have snuck away for
a couple of hikes since the operation, more for
my mental than physical health.
I don’t know how well you got to know Ralph
Perez before you left but he has been a great
addition to the Club, very healthy and active. I
have had other people tell me that they are planning to hike the Pacific Crest Trail but Ralph is
the first guy I have met that I think will make it.
I will try my best to provide you with material for the newsletter, we are lucky to have you
doing it and supporting your efforts is the
least we all can do. – Rick Flores #1120
Thanks. It’s a fascinating place - and how things
have changed. When I was there in 1981/2, we
explored the “old pole station” constructed in
1959 that was buried under thirty feet of snow
and ice and partially crushed in 1981/2. I presume
it is now entirely crushed and gone. That was an
incredible contrast to our life style twenty-two
years later, but the transformation that has
happened during the last thirty years boggles the
mind. Now anyone can watch the happenings at
the pole! We were 17 people isolated from the
entire world for nine months (except for
occasional ham operator contact).
The only place left is outer space. If they ever
decide to include “old timers” I’ll be first on the
list! – Editor
I’m sure every active Club member agrees with
your assessment of Ralph’s abilities. Thank you
for all your contributions to the Club. – Editor
November 2010
20
Programs / NOHA
Forthcoming Programs
October 7, 2010
October 14, 2010
October 17, 2010
October 21, 2010
October 30, 2010
November 4, 2010
November 11, 2010
November 14, 2010
November 18, 2010
November 25, 2010
– First General Business Meeting followed by Minister Frank
Orzio, Sergeant Retired USMC
– Dave Banks – The Virtue of Risk
– Survival Skills Seminar – OUTSIDE ACTIVITY
(non Club sponsored trip advisory)
– Bill Altaffer - Trip to the 5-Stans
– NOHA – Night of High Adventure
– Justin Taylan - Preserving the Living Legacy of World War II
– LADIES NIGHT – Pierre Odier – Kashmir Ladakh and
Pakistan
– Allan Smith and Chris Nyerges – Survival Skills Seminar
– Larry Schutte – Mi Vida Loca
– Thanksgiving – Club Dark
October 30, 2010
Location
Hacienda Hotel
525 N Sepulveda Blvd
El Segundo CA 90245
Auction
Many exotic items
Raffle
Many winners
Several valuable &
desirable items
Speakers
Cost
$65 mem advance purch
$75 non-mem
$75 for all after Oct 7
$75 online purch (PayPal)
$40 Speakers only (no meal)
Dress
Black Tie
Military Dinner Dress
Ethnic
Brian Binnie: Pilot of Spacecraft One, who won the X-Prize for
piloting a commercial craft into space. Set a winged aircraft altitude record.
Zac Sunderland: First person, under the age of 18, to solo circumnavigate the world on his sailboat Intrepid. Completed voyage on July 16, 2009.
Don Walsh: Don Walsh piloted the bathyscaphe Trieste to the
Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench off Guam, the
deepest part of the ocean, on January 23, 1960. We will be celebrating
the 50th anniversary of this event, which has not been accomplished since.
Dinner is Prime Rib or Chicken Piccata
Night of High Adventure
Above, Below & Around
21
November 2010
PO Box 31226
Los Angeles CA 90031
Adventurers’ Club News©
The
November 2010
FIRST CLASS MAIL

Adventurers` Club News Nov 2010

Transcription

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