Dallas Sierra Club News - February 2015
In This Issue. . .
Our New Location:
As many of you have heard, the REI store where we
held our General Meetings is moving to Northwest Highway just
east of Central Expressway. The new store will not have a
meeting room large enough for our General Meetings, so we
had to find a new location.
Our new meeting
location is at Brookhaven Community College, just about 1
mile west of our old location.
We meet in an auditorium in the Brookhaven College
Geotechnology Institute. This building is very easy to find
and is right next to lighted parking. We'll have signs
directing you to the new location and there is a
map on our website.
South America Trip Photos
 See Dale Edelbaum's video presentation of his 17 day trip
to South America in 2013. It includes slides from Los
Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego in
Chile, and Iguassu Falls from both the Argentine and Brazilian
sides. The pictures were taken during hikes, a 4 day cruise
though the Magellan Strait and Darwin Passage, and from Zodiak
boats while visiting the Fjords and Cape Horn.
Dale has been a member of the Dallas Group since 1976 and
has served on its Excom, chaired several committees, and has
led many outings and bus trips. He has presented several
programs in the past, including the Appalachian Trail and the
Pacific Crest Trail.
Everyone is
welcome. You don't have to be a Sierra Club member. Just
show up. We'd love to meet you.
Our General
Meeting starts at 7:00 pm but come at 6:30 for snacks,
information and fellowship. Our meeting takes place at
Brookhaven College, Building H, 3939 Valley View Ln in Farmers
Branch. Click over to our
General Meeting
page of our website for more information and a map.
This year, we will have some of our best General Meeting
programs ever, so mark your calendar for these special dates:
March 17 - The Environment at the State Capitol
Zac Trahan, Program Director for Texas Campaign for the
Environment, will lead an interactive discussion about
potential environmental bills during the 2015 Texas
Legislative Session. It has always been difficult to pass
good environmental legislation at the State Capitol, but this
year is shaping up to be the toughest challenge yet.
April 14 - All About Bats
Kate Rugroden, Director of Special Projects for Bat World
Sanctuary will bring a family friendly program featuring live
native-species bats. It will be a great opportunity to see
these tiny creatures up close.
 Outdoor
enthusiasts of all ages and abilities are welcome for this
weekend adventure at one of our most scenic state parks. Your
choice of car camping or car camp/backpack combination.
Leave your worries behind and come relax, enjoy fellowship and
fun in the beautiful landscape bordered by the Colorado River.
Pack your camp chair, hiking shoes, bike, kayak, guitar,
telescope and croquet set – whatever you do, join us! This
park is four hours from Dallas and the campsite is accessible
by car. We'll organize day hikes to Spicewood Springs and
Gorman Falls. There will be overnight backpacking options. For
full details and information about how to sign up, click on
this link.
Here is our calendar for the next two months. For complete listings, visit us at
www.dallassierraclub.org..
 Feb
10 (Tue) Dallas Sierra Club General Meeting
See Dale Edelbaum's video presentation of his 17 day trip to
South America in 2013. It includes slides from Los
Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego in
Chile, and Iguassu Falls from both the Argentine and Brazilian
sides. Everyone is invited to the Dallas Sierra Club's
General Meeting. Full details are on our
home page now.
 Feb
14 (Sat) White Rock Lake Clean-up
Walk and talk while picking up trash and recyclables at the
Sierra Club's adopted section of White Rock Lake Park. Meet at
8:15 AM this second Saturday of the month at the Love of the
Lake office (How appropriate for the day!), northeast corner
of Garland Road and Buckner Boulevard. Look for the crowd
drinking free juice and coffee. Gloves, trash bags, etc. will
be provided. Our area includes one of the wonderful prairie
restoration areas, so there are always birds and wildflowers
to enjoy. Brunch afterwards. Leader: Carol Nash
Send Email 214-824-0244
 Feb
14 (Sat) Day Hike - Cedar Ridge Preserve
Hike 4-5 miles. Meet at 9:00 AM at the entrance in the
parking lot. No pets. Click
here for directions to Cedar Ridge Preserve. No
reservations required. Canceled if raining or bad weather.
Lunch afterwards.
Leader: Marcos Jorge
Send Email 214-682-6555
Feb
18 (Wed) Outings Committee Meeting
Outings leaders, prospective leaders, and people interested in
outings are welcome to this monthly gathering (typically
on third Wednesdays at 6:30) to plan outings. Help us learn
from our successes and mistakes. Bring ideas for where to go
and what to do. Ask Mark to
be placed on the email list for an agenda. Organizer:
Mark Stein
Send Email 214-526-3733
Feb
21 (Sat) Helping Out at Cedar Ridge Preserve
It's fun and helpful to get out to the Cedar Ridge Preserve to
help upgrade some of the beautiful walking trails just south
of Dallas. The address is 7171 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas,
TX 75249. It's a great morning workout and the scenery is
exceptional. No tools are required, (maybe gloves) just show
up and be ready to lend a hand or two. We'll work from 9 AM to
12-ish and then walk around the preserve and admire the
wildflowers and fauna! Bring some water for sure. Please see
www.audubondallas.org/cedarridge.html for directions and
info. See you then! If you wish to carpool, then let me
know and we'll arrange a meeting spot. Come on out and stay
green with us! Contact: Ginger Bradley
Send Email 469-223-7902
 Feb
28-Mar 6 (Sat-Fri) Big Bend Smorgasbord
Beat cabin fever with adventures in backpacking and day
hiking in Big Bend National Park. Car pool from Dallas,
departing Feb. 28, or meet in Marathon or Panther Junction the
next morning. Backpack a circuit of moderate difficullty from
the Chimneys to Red Ass, Tule and Burro Springs on the first
two days, navigating cross-country for part of the loop.
After a cabin night in Terlingua, motor to the east side of
the Park for a day hike and a soak in the hot springs on the
Rio Grande and parts of three days of strenuous backpacking on
the Marufo Vega Trails. Finish with a short day hike such as
Dog Canyon or Grapevine Hills before heading home on Friday.
This trip requires previous backpacking experience and leader
consent. Email for more hike details. Leader:
Mark Stein
Send Email 214-526-3733
Mar
14 (Sat) White Rock Lake Clean-up
Walk and talk while picking up trash and recyclables at the
Sierra Club's adopted section of White Rock Lake Park. Meet at
8:15 AM this second Saturday of the month at the Love of the
Lake office, northeast corner of Garland Road and Buckner
Boulevard. Look for the crowd drinking free juice and coffee.
Gloves, trash bags, etc. will be provided. Our area includes
one of the wonderful prairie restoration areas, so there are
always birds and wildflowers to enjoy. Brunch afterwards.
Leader: Carol Nash
Send Email 214-824-0244
Mar
14-15 (Sat-Sun) Off-Trail Exploration in Caney Creek
Wilderness Area, Arkansas
If you need carefully groomed trails for your backpacking
adventures this hike is not for you. If
you would like to explore a scenic, seldom visited part of
Arkansas and don’t mind stepping off the beaten path this
might be just what you’re looking for! You will be
amazed at how different things look from heavily used trails
just a few miles away. We will hike in to Caney Creek
Wilderness on the ridgetop Buckeye Mountain trail. After
lunch Saturday we will leave the Buckeye Mountain Trail for an
off trail route down into Short Creek where we will camp
Saturday night. Sunday we will hike off trail up Short
Creek (without a paddle) and loop back to our trailhead.
We will only cover about five miles each day but the off trail
sections will make it seem like more. Some of the hike
up Short Creek follows traces of an old road but there is no
trail. Early in the year brush and brambles should be at
a minimum. Expect a steep climb out of Short Creek.
Leader: Bill Greer
Send Email 972-247-0446
Mar
17 (Tue) Dallas Sierra Club General Meeting
 Zac
Trahan, Program Director for Texas Campaign for the
Environment, will lead an interactive discussion about
potential environmental bills during the 2015 Texas
Legislative Session. Learn more about this and other
potential environmental legislation -- and get plugged in to
ways you can help influence state lawmakers on behalf of a
cleaner, greener world. Everyone is invited to the
Dallas Sierra Club's General Meeting. Full details are
on our home page
now.
Mar
18 (Wed) Outings Committee Meeting
Outings leaders, prospective leaders, and people interested in
outings are welcome to this monthly gathering (typically
on third Wednesdays at 6:30) to plan outings. Help us learn
from our successes and mistakes. Bring ideas for where to go
and what to do. Ask Mark to
be placed on the email list for an agenda. Organizer:
Mark Stein
Send Email 214-526-3733
Mar
28-29 (Sat-Sun) Weekend Backpack at Buckeye Mountain Trail,
Arkansas
Hike one of the most scenic Wilderness trails in Arkansas in
the Caney Creek Wilderness of west central Arkansas. Saturday
we’ll enjoy the views from the ridgetop Buckeye Mountain
Trail. Sunday we’ll hike out along the creek bottoms of the
Caney Creek Trail. With any luck the wildflowers will be
starting to emerge. This trip is rated moderate and would be
suitable for beginners in good shape. Both days cover about 4
1/2 miles. Saturday includes an 800 foot uphill section. We`ll
camp Friday night near our cars, Saturday night near a nice
little waterfall. Leader: Mark Adams
Send Email 940-231-8482
Mar
29-Apr 3 (Sun-Fri) Backpacking and Spelunking in the Guadalupe
Mountains
Join me in the beautiful Guadalupe Mountains National Park as
we climb Guadalupe Peak, hike up to McKittrick Ridge and climb
down through the beautiful McKittrick Canyon. We will
move forward to an evening motel in Carlsbad, New Mexico and a
walk-in tour of the Carlsbad Caverns, including reservations
to explore the Lower Cave the next day. This trip is
rated strenuous because the hike up to McKittrick Ridge is 11
1/2 miles uphill. We will have to carry two days of water as
well. Party is limited to ten hikers. We will car camp
at Pine Springs two nights, camp in McKittrick Ridge one night
and motel two nights. I like to explore and be pampered.
Please call me to discuss the trip and answer your questions.
We welcome beginners who are in good shape.
Leader: Bill Beach
Send Email 214-662-3224
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