She also reported on the re-opening of several shooting areas; that volunteers will be assisting in the removal of fire rings at wilderness campsites and that the yellow posts will be repainted brown.

Audrey Scranton reported on the causeway/boardwalk that was completed at Camp Oaks; that bulletin boards have been erected at several sites; and that the Mountain Top trail crew may be held over to do additional work at Deep Creek.

Business Manager John Flippin reported finances are stable and that Forest Festival merchandise sales were almost three times what they were last year. The Forest Festival showed a $330 profit this year. John also states his hours are from Friday p.m. to Sunday.

All volunteers are reminded to check the bulletin boards for updated information that is posted each time they sign in or out. The latest bulletin concerns the new firearm regulations.

Audrey Scranton organized the two trail crews and SGVA volunteers Bill Hedekin, Pete King, Vicki King, Bill Tibbitts, and Ted Schofield.

The boardwalk was assembled from pieces of lumber, all labeled and cut to size. Equestrians Val Silva, Ross Stark, and Earl Rider packed all of the parts to the work site. The horses were quite patient considering they carried 8-foot 4x4s, various sizes of peeler poles, random tools, and 4-foot boards for the decking on the two trips they made.

Audrey says it looks like a real sundeck and wouldn't be surprised to see hikers lounging there in comfortable chairs.

New equestrians this summer are Barbara and Steve Oshe, Sandy and Ron Perkins, and Gail Seymour. They are having the "I don't know what I'm doing" blues -- typical of new volunteers for the first few years. They have helped rebuild the bridge over the trail above Horse Meadows, hosted at Horse Meadows, removed trees from trails, trimmed trails, picked up trash, and, of course, checked for wilderness permits. They are having so much fun they feel they aren't doing this volunteer thing right. Probably another reason they are enjoying volunteering so much is they are all from the desert and the weather is certainly nicer in the forest!

Peggy Manning is back in the saddle again. She had her knee replaced in May and has made a fast recovery. Of course, those of you who know Peggy can't imagine she would have anything but a speedy recovery. She spent several days at Barton Flats helping Marcia and Glen. She also cleaned the residence while she was there; did you notice you no longer stick to the kitchen floor? I also understand that while at Barton Flats many card games were played. There is conflicting information as to who won.

Sheila McMahon, Ann Robinson, and Teri Cappuccio, non-horse volunteers, have enjoyed the facilities at Tulake Camp several times this summer. They say they understand why Mickey K. always stays there. It's great to have people come stay. We get tired of our old horse stories and welcome their new unhorsed stories. We would like to see more volunteers use the camp.

See you all on the trail.

Sheila reports that the flowers from Horse Meadow all the way to South Fork Meadow are almost like spring -- there are so many and lasting longer this year.

She says a gentleman reported to her that on a winter hike recently he and his party were caught in a snowstorm. They took shelter in the buildings at Horse Meadow and made it down the next day. He was glad to see the area was still there and being used again.

Horse Meadow will close the weekend of October 10-11. If you did not have a chance to volunteer this season, put it on your wish list for the next.

Ann and Jaimie said this was truly an event of a lifetime with great company, gorgeous weather, and awesome views where they could see for over 100 miles in all directions. While it was a real challenge, Ann said she will do it again and found nothing (other than too much food!) she would leave out of her 30-pound pack on the next trip.

The fourth annual Fish Festival at Jenks Lake was a wonderful day. The kids (190 of them) enjoyed displays and demonstrations of Indian crafts and living skills. They also listened to explanations of many mountain wildlife displays including live snakes and turtles. Of course, the kids had a lot of fun learning how to fish, with each having their own pole to try their luck. Everyone took a break for lunch provided and served by the SGVA. We served cookies, apples, soft drinks, chips, and 470 hot dogs.

Many fish were caught and everyone took home wonderful memories. We'll all remember a perfect day in the warm sun on a sparkling mountain lake nestled amongst tall pines with the laughter of children floating on the scent of pine in the cool air. I think we caught another glimpse of heaven.

For this wonderful day we owe much thanks to many people. There were many volunteers including 32 SGVA volunteers and even more Forest Service Personnel. Forest Service fire personnel, including Engines 34, 38, 39, Patrol 17, and the Del Rosa Hot Shots, showed up in large numbers to help the kids have a fantastic day. Very special thanks are due to the following: Sandy Vandenberg, Forest Service, who coordinates and directs the whole event in her own wonderful and very successful style; Alfredo Zarate, Forest Service, who handles logistics and gets all the volunteers in the right place at the right time with his usual good humor; Ben Matibag and Yvonne Guisa, Forest Service, in charge of fishing operations including over 200 fishing poles, bait, and tackle; Teddi Boston, SGVA volunteer, who arranged for the food, drink, and bus donations with her irresistible smile and enthusiasm; and Cindy and Joe McGregor, SGVA volunteers, who led the volunteer team preparing and serving lunch. Oh yes, our thanks also to Roger Gossett, SGVA President, for ordering the perfect weather.

We all appreciate the generosity of:

The Forest Service fire crews in our San Gorgonio area have had a busy season so far and have a couple more hot, dry months to still be on the alert. Many of the fire crew, as well as other Forest Service personnel, have also been sent to very large fires across the nation including fires in Florida, Texas, and Montana. From the Recreation staff with whom we usually work, Alfredo Zarate spent three weeks in Texas and Karen McKinley has just returned from several weeks in Montana.

Fortunately, the fires in our area have been relatively small. But there have been many, mostly from lightning strikes. The fire crews have put out at least six fires in and around the San Gorgonio Wilderness that is very special to us. A recent Wilderness fire, the Shields Fire, was spotted and reported by two of our equestrian volunteers, Kathy Greenway and Kirt Moore.

We seldom get to work directly with our Forest Service fire crews. But we do what we can to support their very excellent and important efforts in protecting our forests. They also do what they can in support of our volunteer patrols and other activities. They have presented programs at our training, set up and presented fire engine displays at our Forest Festivals, and provided various supplies and equipment for our forest patrols and interpretive programs.

The volunteer patrols along the Santa Ana River have had a lot of success this year. They've pulled out dozens of bags of trash not to mention several tires, bedsprings, mattresses, cabin doors, and tennis shoes. They've also cleaned up a dozen illegal fire rings. About 16 volunteers have done an excellent job of educating visitors (about 300 contacts so far). As a result, almost all visitors along the river now have required fishing licenses and Forest Adventure Passes as opposed to only about 50 percent at the beginning of the summer.

Our volunteer patrols seem to have a knack for finding some very strange visitors trying to do some very strange things in the Wilderness. On a recent Saturday, volunteer Howard Simpkinson was apparently having one of these strange encounters. Howard was very late coming down from Dry Lake on foot patrol. Val Silva, our assistant coordinator for equestrians was responsible for Howard since he was patrolling out of our Tulake Camp. Like the good coordinator she is, Val was getting very worried. She was having no luck getting Howard on the radio and it had become a very dark moonless night. Before saddling up to go searching, Val asked San Bernardino dispatch to try to get Howard on the radio. About that time, he finally came through on the radio. Howard radioed that he was about 20 minutes out escorting a young barefoot backpacker from South Africa.

Howard had met the young man on the lower South Fork Trail just before dark. The backpacker was heading, he hoped, for the Fish Creek Trail several hours away. Besides being barefoot and headed for a very rocky trace trail on a pitch black night, the young man had no flashlight, had never been on the trail before, and was not quite sure where he was going. Howard very wisely prevailed upon the gentleman's good sense and escorted him safely back to the South Fork Trailhead.

The Forest Service and the San Gorgonio Volunteer Association will be celebrating the successful completion of another fantastic season of volunteer activities in the San Gorgonio area on Saturday, October 24^th. This is a wonderful chance for us to look back over the season, have some fun, and say farewell before many of us part for the winter. The Forest Service will provide refreshments and will be proud to present various awards to our working volunteers.

All volunteers, Forest Service personnel, and significant others are welcome. Working volunteers have already let us know whether or not they are coming. Volunteers who are changing their plans, Forest Service personnel who are able to attend, and any others who would like to come should contact John Flippin, Volunteer Coordinator, at the return address on this newsletter or call John at 909-790-2157.

This year we have had the good fortune to have two trail crews working. On the Front Country, which covers our Wilderness, were Ann Barz and her one-man crew, Roger Kroeger; on the Mountain Top, Jeannette Granger and her crew, Lorian Brasher, Chris Loop, Chris Mason, and occasionally volunteer Gina Gomez.

The amount of work accomplished by these folks is astounding! At the date of this writing, the total number of trees taken out is 131 and miles walked is over 300!! (These totals will be much higher as the crews’ service may be extended into October.)

Some information about the team members. Chris Loop is from Southern California and is interested in fire prevention; has worked for the CCC; has learned to adapt to varied tasks and be a better problem solver this summer. He thinks his leader is a great role model!

Lorian Brasher says she wants to work in the field as a preservationist to help develop and extend public awareness of the need to preserve the environment. She has a 3-year-old son and lives in the Big Bear area. She says the most important thing she has learned this summer is that there is no "I" in team and that working together is the best solution to solve problems.

Chris Mason is from Texas and has a varied educational background. He has studied wildlife biology and criminal justice and wants to be a LEO (law enforcement officer) in the National Park Service. He is also an EMT. In January, he will attend a Federal law enforcement academy. He says this season has been great fun and feels that the team really supported each other when they needed a hand up!

Roger Kroeger, the lone ranger of the Front Country crew, says he found out about the job on the computer at an employment development program. He says the experience has been different, fun, and that he has learned a lot about himself, tools, and a lot about hard work! His supervisor is great, he says. He plans on attending UCR to study Spanish and medicine.

This season's accomplishments are the direct result of great leadership. Ann and Jeannette are long-time Forest personnel. Ann began in 1990 on the trail crew and Jeannette served from 1991-93 as a Wilderness ranger riding to far out camps taking photos, doing surveys, etc. In 1993 she joined Ann on the trail detail.

Both ladies are married with two children and Jeannette has three grand kids. Their hobbies are quite similar, hiking, mountain biking, photography, gardening, and horses. Jeannette is an accomplished trainer and rider.

Their dedication to their respective jobs and love of the forest has truly served as a wonderful example of positive leadership.

Both are extremely fit, both mentally and physically, as demonstrated by a recent activity. They decided to climb Mt. Whitney on one of their days off!! So, starting at the 8,360' trailhead, they hiked up to 14,497' in seven hours, mostly in the dark with one pen light between them as their head lamps had given out. Then, after an awesome view, some photos taken, signing the register, back down they went in five hours to return home to build a causeway, to take out more trees, etc. Oh well, what next… Perhaps Mt. Everest?

For backpackers, food hanging can be difficult and frustrating. Ideal trees with long, high, sturdy branches are often unavailable. The following method works with almost any trees. Bring at least two ropes, one 40 feet long, and the other at least 100-120 feet.

1. Select two trees with trunks at least 30 feet apart and no branches close above the area where the food will hang.

2. Stuff food into bags or stuff sacks. Tie the sacks in pairs.

3. Hang a rope from each tree over a limb, at least 15 feet above the ground and on the far side away from the other tree. Keep the rope close to the tree. To get the ropes over, tie a fist-sized rock to the end of a nylon throw line. When the throw has been made, tie the cord to the rope and use it to draw the rope over the limb. Tie the ropes to the trees. If the food is light enough, the throw line may function as the hanging rope itself.

4. Tie a figure-eight knot to attach a carabiner or small pulley at the end of the shorter rope. Drape pairs of food bags above the carabiner/pulley.

5. Tie a figure-eight knot in the long rope to attach another carabiner or pulley a bit below where the rope touches the ground. Drape pairs of food bags as in step 4.

6. Thread end of long rope through carabiner or pulley of shorter rope and then back through carabiner or pulley of long rope.

7. Pull on long rope. The two ropes will swing up with their loads. Raise as high as possible, at least 10 feet up. Depending on weight of food, this may take several people doing the pulling, but solo backpackers should have no problem. The bags will naturally slip towards the middle away from the trees.

8. Tie down long rope. Add noisemakers to alert campers in case a bear tests the tie-down rope or tries to climb one of the trees. Campers should aggressively throw rocks and make loud noises to shoo away the bear. Repeat as needed.

This method works with up to perhaps 100 pounds.

1. Load food in a bag.

2. Tie a rock at the end of a nylon cord and toss it over a tree limb.

3. Tie the bag to the end of the cord. Just above the bag, tie a loop. Pass the other end of the cord through the loop.

4. Hoist the bag to the limb. Without lowering the bag, tie a slipknot as high up as you can on the rope in hand. Insert a stick in the slipknot and tighten. Lower the bag. It will stop when the stick reaches the loop.

5. That's it. You can let the cord dangle. This method can also be used in a base camp when you want quick access to breakfast and lunch materials.