Forums Forums Public High Lakes Forum Trail Blazers interest in trailblazers and highlakers

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    • #81235
      jackchinook
      Participant

        “So, I’m sure many of you guys are both highlakers as well as trailblazers so I thought it’d be a good place to ask:^^^^What does a guy who’s got huge amounts of interest in backpacking and fishing highlakes as well as a ton of experience in the Cascades and a couple degrees in fishy-type sciences have to do to become officially involved in these two clubs. I have been to a highlakers meeting once with a friend but it was a couple years ago now and I’ve been away at Grad school. Now I’m back and have no excuses why I shouldn’t become an active contributor. What, Who, When, Where, How?^^^^Michael”

      • #84600
        Brian Curtis
        Keymaster

          The two clubs are quite different and complimentary. The Hi-Lakers are more of a social club. There are guest speakers during most of the year. The club emphasizes collecting high lake angling surveys which are collected and given to the WDFW. There are no membership requirements beyond the yearly dues which don’t quite cover the cost of the meeting space and a bimonthly newsletter. Meetings are the third Wednesday of every month from 7:30 to 10:00 PM at the Community Center at Mercerview on Mercer Island. Driving directions here.^^^^Trail Blazers’ meetings are much more business oriented. They do not feature guest speakers. To be considered for membership prospective members are expected to attend meetings regularly and go along on several stocking trips. Meetings are the first Thursday of the month (that’s coming up this next Thursday) at 7:30 at the community center in Lake City. I don’t have a ready link to driving directions at hand. E-mail me at trailblazer@mac.com and I’ll dig some up.

        • #84601
          Brian Curtis
          Keymaster

            “I guess when I gained an hour with daylight savings time I lost a week. The TB meeting isn’t this Thursday like I said, but next Thursday, November 7.”

          • #84603
            Keith Peter
            Participant

              Where and when does the Trailblazers meet at these day? Thanks KP

            • #84604
              allison
              Participant

                Tonight, 7:30, second floor of Lake City Community Center. Come on over!

              • #84605
                Keith Peter
                Participant

                  Sorry I didn’t get the message in time is there directions to this place? Thanks Keith

                • #84606
                  Brian Curtis
                  Keymaster

                    I’ll send you an email.

                  • #84611
                    Steve Bucher
                    Participant
                    • #84602
                      Sandy McKean
                      Participant

                        We respond around here. It might take 3 years, but respond we will!!

                        😆 😆 😆

                      • #84607
                        Keith Peter
                        Participant

                          Thats tooo funny!!

                        • #84608
                          Dave Weyrick
                          Participant

                            Did jack chinook ever attend a HL’er or TB’er meeting?

                          • #84609
                            Brian Curtis
                            Keymaster

                              He never came to a meeting that I’m aware of, but he came to a Winter Social. He lives in Eastern Washington.

                            • #84610
                              allison
                              Participant

                                Michael is also an FS fish biologist for what that’s worth.

                              • #84612
                                jackchinook
                                Participant

                                  What a coincidence! I log on to find this thread has very recently been resurrected!

                                  A lot has happened since 2002….a couple cross-country moves, a few different jobs, couple kids.

                                  Brian is right, I never did make it to a meeting but did manage to make it to a winter social (with Angus).

                                  I’m now in the doldrums of having kids too young to hike with me, but too large to carry! I get a couple trips per summer, including what was an epic week in the Pasayten this summer. And I occasionally get a chance to drop some fry off for our local DFW bio in some Okanogan Co. lakes.

                                  I hope to make it to a meeting at some point and have enjoyed PM’ing and corresponding with a few of you folks every now and again.

                                  Here’s a few from our last trip:


                                • #84613
                                  Brian Curtis
                                  Keymaster

                                    Those are stunning pictures. If you ever feel like posting any more, don’t hesitate! 😀

                                  • #84614
                                    Bob Burnell
                                    Participant

                                      Jack

                                      Those are indeed great photos. I love the Pasayten and the one of the lake and golden larches is beautiful.
                                      I thought I’d been over much of that area over the years but don’t recognize that lake. Which lake is it?

                                      Thanks for sharing

                                      Bob

                                    • #84615
                                      Sandy McKean
                                      Participant

                                        Bob,

                                        I think “Jack’s” real name is Michael.

                                        P.S. This is not a slam on you Michael since the vast majority of folks seem to be in your camp, but frankly I get very tired of folks using all these pseudonyms on the internet. I almost always use my real name since I think the communication is degraded when folks “hide” behind pseudonyms. I am VERY glad that in the TB’er and HL’er forums we all use our real names. I LIKE knowing I’m talking to Bob Burnell and not to TheBigGuyUpATree :D.

                                      • #84616
                                        Art Jackson
                                        Participant

                                          Bob,

                                          Dot Mt, Ptarmigan Pk & Tamarack Ridge have received extra attention recently on NWHikers with a couple TRs on the area.
                                          The first pic with golden larches is of the Dot Lks. The second pic is Lease Pot #1 (Lake 6393, the N’most of two on the W side of Lease Cr) which is surrounded by charcoal larches. 🙂

                                        • #84617
                                          jackchinook
                                          Participant

                                            Thanks guys for the compliments on the photos. It was a gorgeous week in the Pasayten and we had good weather, plus a little smoke to make the sunsets that much more dramatic.

                                            Yep, Dot Lakes as well as one of the pots up above Lease Creek….though only one of our party made it down to actually fish and swim in the Dots. That would be Angus (I believe he goes by the name Sooperfly here and elsewhere). I stopped at the shoulder on Dot Peak to look down on them. We wasted too much time soaking in the glory on Ptarmigan Peak.

                                            That cutthroat wasn’t from either lake and we didn’t get the chance to make it over to any of those pots above Lease Creek….or even down to Dot Mtn Lake, which looked interesting.

                                            Pseudonyms: Sandy, no offense taken. I came up with that silly name back in my college days in the early 90’s….before online personas became the norm they are today. My college roommate and I were doing a lot of hiking and tramping around the Chuckanuts and the Mt Baker Highway areas. We thought we were pretty incredible and that we needed backcountry alter egos. Thus Jack Chinook and Buck Leatherman were born. Shortly thereafter, I found myself setting up a free email address and the name continued to live on. I think ol’ Buck Leatherman had the sense to leave his pseudonym in Bellingham!

                                            and yes, my real name is Michael

                                          • #84618
                                            Sandy McKean
                                            Participant

                                              @jackchinook wrote:

                                              We thought we were pretty incredible and that we needed backcountry alter egos.

                                              😆 😆 😆

                                              I recently acquired such a “macho” name from a friend from Mexico with whom I was doing some physical work. This was up in the San Juan Islands where I have a place (and to which I am moving permanently soon). There had been some coyotes in area about which we were all worried (considering our small pets). Anyway, here we were: this aging white guy (me), and this aging brown guy (my Mexican friend), when suddenly he started laughing uncontrollably……he had invented a pseudonym for me: Coyote Blanco.

                                              I was a brilliant stroke. If you knew my personality, and saw the paleness of my skin compared to his bronze body, you would have joined me and he in the resulting sustained belly laugh. He and I have been joking about it ever since. For days after that one would hear the occasional yell at my secluded island retreat of Coyote Blancoooooo coming from him, to which I would dutifully howl at the sky.

                                            • #84619
                                              Keith Peter
                                              Participant

                                                From this point forward let it be known that Sandy is now “Coyote Blanco” 😆

                                              • #84620
                                                Jon Terhaar
                                                Participant

                                                  So, if I can’t attend “regularly”, I won’t be considered for membership? Seems unfair. I live in Lyle and fish lakes near Mt. Adams, oh, probably twice every week.

                                                • #84621
                                                  Keith Peter
                                                  Participant

                                                    Jon,
                                                    Don’t feel like you can’t kick in the membership fee and become a member of the HiLakers. You will love the group, I encourage you!!

                                                  • #84622
                                                    scottchristiani71
                                                    Participant

                                                      Hi guys. I see that this is an old thread, I am hoping it might come back to life.

                                                      I came to a Trailblazers meeting in November, and have intended to come back and get involved, but my wife has brain cancer and another tumor has presented itself. This one is inoperable. She is hanging tough, and we are hopeful that chemo will stun it into silence. Unfortunately, her chemo weeks have coincided with the first of the month, and I pretty much just need to take care of her during the evening, as it is a nightly regimen of dinner – medications – chemo – going to bed. It really knocks it out of her. If anyone could keep me in the loop until I can get back to meetings that would be great. The chemo is tentatively scheduled to end in June.

                                                      On another note, I have kind of a neat small world story. I was talking to a co-worker the other day about going hiking and getting into fishing, and that I wanted to stock some lakes along the way, and it turns out that his dad was an early Trailblazer. His name was Con Mattson and he joined in 1939, and named a couple of lakes after his daughters, Judy and Carole. Gerald (known back then as Jerry) is pictured in the old black and white photo shown on the history page on this website. He was about 12 in that photo. Learning this has made me want to join up even more!

                                                    • #84623
                                                      Brian Curtis
                                                      Keymaster

                                                        Scott, taking care of your wife is the most important thing. I hope the chemo is successful and she starts feeling better soon.

                                                        Con Mattson was, without a doubt, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. If Gerald is anything at all like is dad you are lucky to have a great co-worker.

                                                        Feel free to email or PM me and I can fill you in on what you’ve missed at the meetings.

                                                      • #84624
                                                        scottchristiani71
                                                        Participant

                                                          Very cool Brian, I will shoot you an email this week and we can touch base:)

                                                          And yes, Gerald is a great guy. He is very smart, extremely knowledgeable and, maybe most importantly, he loves to share his knowledge and listen to what others have to share.

                                                        • #84625
                                                          scottchristiani71
                                                          Participant

                                                            Hey Brian, I sent you an email, but from a different email address than the one I used previously. Please let me know if you didn’t get it 🙂

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