Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385-3357
(661) 323-5569
E-mail: kern-kaweah.chapter@sierraclub.org
Cover Photo of John Harper
Every Thursday Evening Conditioning Hike. 4-5 miles in northeast Bakersfield area. Meet at 7 pm at the Casa Ramos (formerly Cadillac Ranch) parking lot just east of Mesa Marin on Hwy 178. Call Leaders Eva & Gordon Nipp (661) 872-2432 or Larry Wailes, (661) 861-1186 for details.
Sept. 11 (Mon) Min. King Gp. California Heritage Wilderness Campaign slide show and adopt-a-roadless-area meeting. Friends Meeting House, Visalia 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 (Sat.) Kearsarge Peak Area. Explore old mine structures and little seen mountain valley. Moderately strenuous hike. Meet at Ridgecrest Cinemas at 7 am. Leader: Dennis Burge (760) 375-7967.
Sept. 18 (Mon.) Owens Peak Gp. Supervisor Jon McQuiston will discuss Kern Co. environmental issues. Meet at Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores, Ridgecrest, at 7:30 pm. For details contact Dolph, 760-446-3104, or Dennis 760-375-7967.
Sept. 23 (Sat) Sunset and Stars "Hike." is the date for the Sunset and Stars Stroll on top of Cerro Noroeste (Mt. Abel) sponsored by the Condor Gp. All of our "hike" activities will revolve about a potluck supper shared around a campfire at the the top of the mountain. Please bring some goodies to share, your own picnic ware and drinks. 5 PM will be the meeting time on top of the mountain. Be sure to bring warm clothing, as it can turn cool at this time of year. Wood for a bonfire would be appreciated.Those of you who will need a ride should meet down at the Pine Mt. Club parking lot at 4:15. Call 24 hours beforehand to let us know you are coming if you need a ride, 661-242-0423 or 661- 242-8258.
Sept. 30 - Oct. 1 (Sat-Sun) Owens River Study Carcamp. The Owens River supplies L.A. with water, and this diversion left a dusty dry lake bed. Particulate dust is swept eastward by prevailing winds We will explore the riparian corridor and learn what is supposed to be done to alleviate this problem. Sun. may be a visit to Cerro Gordo, or an easy hike in the area. Birds and maybe Tule Elk may be seen. Improved campground may require fees. High clearance vehicles suggested. For more information, send SASE to Ldrs. Cal & Letty French, 14140 Chimney Rock Rd, Paso Robles, CA 03446-9793 (805) 239-7338
Oct. 14-15 (or 21-22) (Sat-Sun) Death Valley in the Fall car camp. A unique settlement with the Timbisha Indian tribe which will recognize traditional Indian use of part of the park is proposed. We will learn about the areas affected by the settlement as well as other concerns within the NP. Enjoy a weekend in this historic valley. Carcamping with a few amenities available, some moderate hiking, NP entry and camping fees. For reservations & information, send 2 SASEs to Ldr: Lois Snedden, 6093 Carriage House Way, Reno, NV 89509-7323 (775)827-2353. (Leader will be away for several months before trip, will check mail periodically).
Oct. 18 (Wed) Min King Gp. Picnic potluck, location TBA, 6:30p.m.
Oct. 28 - 29 (Sat-Sun) Red Rock Canyon SP Backcountry exploration weekend. We'll dry-camp in or adjacent to Last Chance Cyn in the colorful eastern part of the park added in the 1994 Calif. Desert Protection Act. Moderate hikes of 4-6 mi. rt each day to mines/geological/archaeological sites (lug soles required). High clearance vehicles required (4x4 preferred). Potluck Sat night. Send SASE or email with car pool info, H&W phones to Ldrs: Bob& Maureen Cates, 140 Healy Trail, Chatsworth 91311-7026 (818) 883-2165.
Nov. 13 (Mon) Min King Gp. Dinner meeting in Hanford, locationTBA. 6:30 p.m.
Nov 17 (Fri) Fall Kern-Kaweah Dinner at El Torito Restaurant. This is a fun opportunity to gather in the Fall for a delicious dinner, visit with friends, and enjoy a program of local interest. More detailed information coming in the October Roadrunner.
Carla Cloer will be receiving the Sierra Club's highest honor, the John Muir Award, at the Sierra Club Annual Banquet in San Francisco on September 23, 2000. This award is in recognition for Carla's 20 years of effort on behalf of the Giant Sequoias and Sequoia National Forest, culminating in the Giant Sequoia National Monument which was proclaimed last April! Three cheers for Carla, our Heroine of the Sequoias, who has at long last completed John Muir's dream of preserving the Giant Sequoias from the Kings River to the Kern River and their entire watersheds!
-Harold Wood
Check the Kern-Kaweah Chapter Website at http://www.sierraclub.org/chapters/kernkaweah for back issues of the Roadrunner and information on the Condor, Kaweah, Mineral King and Kaweah Groups. The Condor Group's Fall 2000 newsletter is out and is full of great information. If you wish to receive the current Roadrunner online, contact Arthur or Lorraine Unger at alunger@juno.com. Please specify whether you still wish to receive a paper copy of The Roadrunner by U.S. Mail.
Have you ever thought about serving on the Executive Committee? Our 9 hard-working Ex-Com members conduct the business of the Chapter, often taking on the important environmental issues that affect us all. Five Ex-Com positions are up for re-election this fall. Meetings are usually once a month on a Saturday afternoon, for 3 to 4 hours. If you are interested in running for a position on the Ex-Com, please call Georgette Theotig (661-822-4371), Mel Rubin (661-831-3333), or Monte Harper (661-872-2366), no later than October 15. We welcome your interest in this important Chapter event.
Sierra Club will sue on the 28,572 cow Borba Dairy planned for the southwest edge of Bakersfield. We emphasize that we must produce milk while protecting air and groundwater. The Environmental Impact Report does not state how much of a mixture of wash water and manure will leak from the lagoons that hold it; our hydro-geologist estimates significant leakage. We are not told how porous the land under the lagoons is. The few wells dug to monitor leakage may not reveal pollutants on the way to the groundwater soon enough to stop the pollutants from reaching the groundwater. The air pollutants from the dairies are Particulate Matter 10 microns in diameter (PM 10), ammonia which forms the more dangerous PM 2.5, hydrogen sulfide and Volatile Organic Compounds. We contend that Bacterial Digestion, probably with anaerobes, will mitigate these problems. The EIR should have considered a smaller dairy and a dairy elsewhere. - Arthur Unger alunger@juno.com (661) 323-5569.
My fears about
backpacking becoming an outdoor activity in decline were put to
rest on a recent summer morning. Saturday, July 29, Gordon and
Eva Nipp, Theresa Stump, and I were slogging our way up to 11,453
foot Piute Pass, carrying packs loaded with provisions for 7
days. Incredibly, we passed dozens of fellow hikers, young and
old, trudging up into the lovely John Muir Wilderness just as we
were. One young man coming down asked me "Are you with that
grizzled veteran up there?," referring to Gordon, our leader. For
the remainder of the week Gordon was elevated to Grizzled Veteran
status!
All backpackers experience some adversity, and for us it was too many mosquitoes, smoke from the Manter fire, and a daily dose of rain and hail. Unexpectedly, smoke poured over Piute Pass into the Humphreys Basin where we camped the first night. This didn't diminish the high country beauty of endless fields of purple lupine coloring the scenic lake basin. Marmots visited our camp, much to Theresa's dismay.
The next day, rain clouds replaced the smoke as we made our way through meadows of lush shooting stars and more lupine. We followed the forested Piute Creek Trail down to lovely Hutchinson Meadow, Land of the Mosquito. Here, we frantically began the constant flailing of arms and bandana to rid ourselves of the flying pests. In spite of this problem, our camp was next to a flowery meadow and the wide swift current of Piute Creek.
We quickly packed up the next morning and headed cross-country uphill through a lodgepole forest, ably led by our "Grizzled Veteran." Our goal was the East Pinnacles lake basin, 1500 feet above us. After struggling through boulder-strewn avalanche chutes and choking aspen stands, we were rewarded with spectacular wildflower displays and a grand vista of glaciated Piute Canyon. We counted 36 known species of flowering plants and many we couldn't identify.
Our campsite for the next 2 days and 3 nights was a perfect spot perched on a grassy little saddle with a most impressive view out the tent door. Spread out in front of us was all of Piute Canyon below, Glacier Divide to the south, Piute Pass to the east, and imposing Mt. Humphreys and other peaks to the northeast. Behind us the jagged ridgeline of the Pinnacles towered above our little camp. Magenta Indian paintbrush and lavender asters dotted the tiny meadow at the edge of our lakelet. The only way to access the West Pinnacles lake basin was a short cross-country jaunt to the other side of the ridge. The green hillside meadows and wildflower displays compensated for the challenging boulder field on our way. Gordon kept admonishing us, "Don't step on any flowers."
Eva and Gordon caught 8 fish and we headed back to camp under threatening skies. A different route back presented a choice: the boulder field or tromping through a willow thicket. Theresa chose willows and she disappeared into the greenery. We tracked her progress from the plainly audible cursing rising from the green mass. Thus, Theresa became"The Voice in the Willows."
On the sixth day we headed back down to Piute Canyon and camped near Upper Golden Trout Lake. Salmon-colored clouds blazed in the sunset for our last night in the wilderness. Hiking out the last day, we again encountered multitudes of hikers on the trail.
It's good to know both young and old alike are coming to the mountains to enjoy the good tidings John Muir talked about. I know that my 7 days in paradise with great friends will sustain me with high country memories until next summer.
- Georgette Theotig
There is a need to raise public awareness of the Sierra Club. We can do this by deeds and by visibility. Toward the goal of visibility , your Chapter now has available, for purchase, a forest-green, 100% cotton, polo shirt. Over the pocket is embroidered "Kern-Kaweah Chapter" and, on the right breast, is embroidered the Sierra Club logo. Because of the high quality of the material, embroidery and because we order in small quantities, this is an expensive shirt. However, when we attend important meetings or gatherings and want to be known as local Sierra Club members, this shirt will be seen as a powerful statement in and of itself. The polo shirt is accepted attire almost anywhere. When you want to quietly make a statement, this is the shirt to have. In this case, your money is buying more than a shirt. Be the first on your block to own one. Drive your anti-endangered species friends crazy. Price: $32.00 + $3 Shipping and handling = $35.00 Sizes: Medium Large X-Large 2X (Be sure to state size) Send check or money order to: Kern-Kaweah Chapter, Sierra Club c/o 5001 Surrey Lane Bakersfield, CA 93309-4744 Phone: 661-832-3382
I'm not a member [of the Sierra Club] , but I am all for the Monument, and am anti-tree harvesting, and anti-extensive roads on public lands.
As a resident of the Porterville area I'm tired of all the negative crap I hear about the local monument [Sequoia National Monument]. I don't like the idea of a bunch of big city tourists in these Giant Groves that have been a local secret for so many years, but I don't want "sap money" from Sequoia Forest Products trickling down through the local economy either. Tourist money is by far the lesser of the evils. Please encourage your members to visit the groves in, around, and near Balch Park, Camp Nelson, Sequoia Crest, and Ponderosa. X-country ski Ponderosa and Slate Mountain (7,200ft.-9,300ft.). Yes, it's open and plowed all winter! Hike Dome Rock, Needles, and The Trail of 100 Giants. Rent a local cabin or eat at a local restaurant. Please encourage your members to spend some time and money visiting their Sequoia National Monument. Tell the Porterville and Springville locals why you came here as you pass through. Spread the word with your friends and relatives in other parts of California to come see the rest of the Sequoias too.
Thanks,
Jon Innis
From Giant Sequoias to Death Valley Stunning photographs of our scenic national parks and monuments can be found in both Sierra Club calendars for sale this year. Both the Wilderness and Engagement calendars are filled with images of the wild places we love to visit. Once again, our Chapter is offering calendars for sale; however, this year you will save almost a dollar on each purchase. Engagement calendars are $12, and Wilderness calendars are $11. What to do with last year's calendar? Save it for a teacher or school to use. Contact the following to purchase your calendar: in Ridgecrest: Dennis Burge, 760-375-7967; in Bakersfield: Louann Nickerson, 661-833-1734; in Porterville, Pam Clark, 559-784-4643; and in Tehachapi: Georgette Theotig, 661-822-4371. This is an easy way to support our Chapter. If we sell all 120 calendars, we'll have over $1100 to use for local conservation efforts. Thanks for your suppport!
The latest issue of Sierra magazine contains a number of timely articles that I highly recommend you read.
One point this issue of the magazine makes is that it is so important that we vote. The Sierra Club may be best known for protecting wildlands and fighting pollution, but if the right people are not elected to public office, we lose.
I have heard some say, "I no longer like the Sierra Club because it is too political." Well, if you care about good public policy that protects our environment and enhances our quality of life, how do you avoid being concerned about who is elected to public office?
RU-486 is a drug which results in a safe and immediate abortion within hours following sexual intercourse. The FDA may approve the French drug RU-486 which will allow women to have a "morning after" means of birth control. Unwanted children can be avoided immediately after a sperm and ova unite. This is the woman's decision and well within her legal right. It is a timely way for her to rectify a mistake made in the throes of an overwhelming sexual passion or in response to an emotional or violent succumbing to domination by another. Over 3.5 million unwanted children have been avoided worldwide thus far through the use of the drug. Of course, in this country, family planning issues always seem to provoke a fight. The fact of 6 billion people on a finite planet or the terrible cost of unwanted and neglected children does not sway those who oppose abortion under any and all circumstances. Well, for those who value loving parents for every child, RU-486, works to that end. The FDA is to decide on the approval of the drug by September 30. It is now considering the possibility of a number of restrictions to make the drug more difficult to access.
In any case, George W. Bush has vowed to prevent the drug's use if he's elected President.
We were making good headway in cleaning up our cars with regard to better gas mileage and less emissions. Unfortunately, our elected officials in Washington left a loophole for the auto industry that you could literally drive a truck through. Emission and mileage standards did not apply to light trucks, so the auto industry has given us the sport utility vehicle (SUV), built on a truck chassis. These suburban behemoths, compared to an average car, waste the amount of energy equivalent to leaving a refrigerator door open for 6 years, or having your color TV on for 28 years, or letting a bathroom light burn for 30 years. (Statistics from Sierra, September/October issue)
So, you see, the people who represent us in Washington can make a big impact on our lives. They all too often cave to the powerful, but we can, at least, watch what they do and reward with our vote those that do the best for us and our environment. The Bakersfield Californian has suggested that people are asleep in this pre-election time. While there are extremely important issues that will affect our lives in the coming years, people seem to be unengaged. As I have said before, don't let this happen to you. Get involved. Work for a candidate. Call your political party organization and let them know you are available to help.
- Glenn Shellcross
You have the opportunity to rejoice in environmental activism at the Sierra Club table at the Good Neighbor Festival in Bakersfield's Martin Luther King Jr. Park (on East California at Beale) Sept 23 00, Saturday. You may work from 9 am till 4:30 PM, or any portion of that time. This would be a good place to wear your chapter T-shirt. We will have sun visors for kids to color, a quiz for older kids and colorful literature to read and give away. Our object is to engage people in conversation involving our issues, world wide or local, general or specific. If you do not have time to work, please visit the other booths and say hello to us. If you have old Sierra or Audubon Magazines, contact me so we can arrange to give them away. Some of the kids we meet at this festival may not have a lot to read at home.
- Arthur Unger alunger@juno.com 661-323 5569
"Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." (Galations 6:9) Not long after I began writing this column in l973, John Harper, scientist, economist and special friend of the environment, moved with his family to Arcata where, having obtained a Ph.D. in geology, he was invited to a professorship at Humboldt State University. The Harpers continued to subscribe to the Roadrunner, and from time to time I would get a pleasant note from him.
Before me is an inscribed copy of John's eloquent book, Mineral King, Public Concern With Government Policy, a chronicle of the long struggle which led at last to the abandonment by Walt Disney Enterprises of its plan for the development of a vast commercial entertainment facility in the area. I have re-read it, adding to my original underlinings, and am newly impressed with the skill in its composition.
Moreover, even though John had every excuse for boasting, he remained consistently humble, chastising himself at times for errors resulting from his early inexperience in the waging of such a colossal environmental battle. Reading the book is an education in strategy, and an inspiration to any student of the human spirit.
I have in my lexicon of heroes a man named John Harper, and I recommend his book to anyone, especially to those in the Kern-Kaweah Chapter looking for an example to follow in the unending effort to achieve preservation of natural values in the world.
It was in the late summer of l962 when John learned of Disney's plan for the construction of a monorail rapid transit system into Mineral King. By then he was a Kern-Kaweah member serving on the conservation committee and getting to know some very remarkable people in the history of the chapter, including Lanny Graff, Jim and Nedra Clark, and Joe Fontaine.
It was John who first sounded an alarm over Disney's designs for Mineral King to the Advanced Planning sub-committee of the Sierra Club. After that, he was totally committed to the compilation of data toward a full Mineral King report. Within the next sixteen years this "local" problem became a national drama that included Forest Service collusion and secrecy, National Park Service weaknesses and strengths, quarreling Sierra Club leaders with differing views of Mineral King, a giant entertainment empire, sure of its power to win, an avalanche that resulted in a shocking death, and a struggle between members of the Congress of the United States. As the conflict grew, new heroes, both local and national, joined in.
Finally, in l978, with the assistance of congressmen John Krebs, Alan Cranston and Phil Burton, and with the endorsements of other well-known public figures including the President of the United States and the Governor of California, Mineral King was included in the national park system.
In a sense, the ancient story of David and Goliath was played out again in California. And the man who sent the first stone flying across the field of battle was John Harper.
Bob Fisher, a fellow member of the Kern-Kaweah Chapter, said of him: "I first met John when he led a field trip to the Randsburg gold mines. I had never met a geologist with more enthusiasm for imparting wide knowledge, not just of mining, but also of economics, wildlife and the general environment. This was the essence of John Harper; he fired up interest in a wide range of subjects."
In a long hand-written letter, Jim Clark, now in his 90's, said, "On many occasions John called Nedra or wrote to her asking her to look up specifics at the local forest service office about the Mineral King proposal. He led many outings in the mountains and desert. One trip was from Mineral King to Clough Cave which he had written up as being all downhill. Part of my memory is of the many quips and jibes from the participants as they trudged up the ascent from Mineral King to Hockett Meadow, more than a thousand foot gain in elevation. No lullaby was needed to put us to sleep under the starlit heavens!"
Joe and Bugs Fontaine, who also worked hard in opposition to the Disney project, told some charming stories about John and his wife Joan. They liked to come to the Fontaine house in Tehachapi to escape the Arcata fog, and Bugs discovered that John had a master plan of his Volkswagon van with the location, recorded by scrupulous jot and tittle, of every item therein! The Harpers played tennis, collected rocks, and enjoyed a host of friends here and elsewhere. Humboldt University has named one of its seminar rooms for John, an unusual gesture which indicates the esteem in which they held him.
Nothing could have moved me more than Joan's telling me, after John's recent death, that during his final days she had read to him from "Midgebuzzings", taking one piece from the book each day, and that he had seemed to recognize scenes from their earlier life in Bakersfield. No writer could hear anything more gratifying. No writer could give another a greater compliment.
© Ann Williams, 2000
Officers and Committee Chairpeople
Executive Committee (All but noted codes are 661)
Chair: Glenn Shellcross, shellcrossg@earthlink.net 832-3382; Vice-Chair: Monte Harper; Secretary: Bonnie East, 832-9775; Treasurer: Gordon Nipp; Assistant Treasurer: Larry Wailes; Conservation: Ara Maderosian sfa@lightspeed.net; At Large: Arthur Unger, , Mary Ann Lockhart; Richard Garcia, Gordon Nipp.
RCC Delegates: Bonnie East, Glenn Shellcross;
Alternates: Neil Fernbaugh, Lorraine Unger
Committee Chairpeople: Conservation: Ara Maderosian; Membership: Lorraine Unger, 323-5569; Political and Compliance: Harry and Kathy Love; Council Rep: Arthur Unger; Outings: Theresa Stump, 559-781-0594; Publicity: Paul Gipe; State and Local Government: Neil Fernbaugh; Legal:Georgette Theotig; Fundraising: Richard Garcia; History: Michelle Hoffman and amp; Ann Williams; Environmental Ed.: Joe Fontaine, ; Phone Tree: Mary Ann Lockhart; Air Quality: Art Unger; Biodiversity: Harold Wood; Endangered Species: Art Unger: Energy: Paul Gipe; Environmental Justice: Art Powell; Forest Organizer: Ara Marderosian; Population Growth: Glenn Shellcross; Urban:Lorraine Unger; Wilderness/Parks/Refuges: Joe Fontaine and Gordon Nipp; Waste: Lorraine and Art Unger.
Kaweah Group (Porterville, area code 559)
Chair: Theresa Stump, 781-0594; VC: Diane Jetter; Conservation: Carla Cloer; Outings: Jim Clark
Mineral King Group: (Visalia & Hanford, 559)
Chair: Harold Wood harold.wood@sierraclub.orgOwens Peak Group (Desert Area Code 760)
Chair: Dennis Burge, 375-7967; V.C.: Steve Smith; Conservation: Jeanie Haye; Treasurer: Dolph Amster; At Large: Dororthy Vokolek; Outings: Don Peterson, 375-8599
Condor Group (Frazier Park & Pine Mountain)
Chair: Chester Arthur ches@frazmtn.com ; Membership: Barbara Matthews; Outings: Ray Albridge & Harry Nelson; Conservation: Kevin Royle; Hospitality: Elsbeth Feldman; Publicity; Karen Cotter: Treas: Jean & Ed Rustvold; Ast Treas: M Albridge; Newsletter: Mary Ann Lockhart; At Large: Marta Bigler
Editor: Andy Honig (661) 325-0026. Contributions of news, articles, press releases, opinion, art and photographs (black & white), letters to the editor, should be sent to: andym@lightspeed.net.
Want to submit an article for the Road Runner or express opinions?
Suggested length: 650 words or less. Thats
about a column or 2 12 pages double spaced.)
Deadline: 15th
of the month BEFORE desired month of publication-mail
Copyrighted articles, graphics and photos can only be reprinted with the owners permission.
Published 12 times per year by the Kern-Kaweah Chapter of the Sierra Club, Bakersfield, CA. All non-copyrighted material printed in the Roadrunner may be reprinted in any Sierra Club publications with acknowledgement.
The Kern-Kaweah Chapter newsletter is available at the Sierra Club website. You can save the Chapter mailing costs and save a tree by notifying us if you want your paper copy discontinued. Please e-mail Lorraine Unger at alunger@juno.com with your name and your membership number (found on the label). Any one who wants an extra hard copy anytime call (661) 323-5569.
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