HAT HiLites. Lyle distributed the latest (Jun) issue. It is on the web.

Equipment. Roseland routed the latest Campmor catalog.

Leave No Trace. Canceled – less than 5 signups.

Backcountry Navigation. Canceled – no signups.

Tour Permits. Fleder now able to sign (Pacifica)

Jr Ldr Backpack Tng. Sarmiento held in May. 15 attended. Outing is in June. wwwChu will lead next year.

Philmont. Final training hike this month. 9 attending. www2009 spots filled.

Desert Seminar. Ruble will lead. Intends to invite some leaders to attend.

Conservation. Trail Boss Training was at Echo Mtn Trail– did a great job. wwwNational Trails Day work will be on the Strawberry Peak Trail.

Climbing Standards. A few changes have been made.

Bouldering Standards. There are more than one rating systems. We need to find the one the BSA has adopted and publicize it.

Quest. Canceled this year because of lack of signups. Dodson is seeking a director for next year.

Intracouncil. LAAC hosts June 14.

      Conflicting reports about the health risks of plastic bottles have created confusion and controversy. Here is some of the latest news.

      Polycarbonate water bottles are as common among hikers as boots and bagels. And so is bisphenol-A (BPA), an estrogen-mimicking chemical used to harden the plastic in these containers. No one disputes that BPA can leach from bottles and other sources into our bodies: a 2003-4  survey by the Centers for Disease Control found traces of BPA in the urine of 93 percent of people tested. What we don’t know is if it is dangerous. Numerous animal studies have linked BPA to reproductive problems. However, regulatory agencies in the United States, the European Union and Japan have declared that bottles with BPA are safe for people.

      With the scientific debate deadlocked, why not use a common sense approach: 1) if you need a new water bottle, consider a BPA-free alternative (see below), 2) if you own polycarbonate bottles that are in good condition, you can minimize your exposure by: a) wash bottles by hand with warm soapy, water not in a dishwasher or with bleach or alkaline cleaners, b) don’t fill bottles with boiling water, which accelerates leaching, c) replace bottles when they become worn, cracked or cloudy.

      The bottles containing BPA can be identified by looking at the triangle formed by arrows on the bottom of the bottle. If the number in the triangle is 7, the plastic contains BPA.

       Alternatives are HDPE-LDPE ( 2 or 4 in the triangle, or PET/PETE (1 in the triangle). Nalgene bottles are BPA-free as are bottles made from stainless steel or aluminum.

      The summer hiking season is about over but there is still time to enjoy some great weekend hikes. This month’s hike is a good workout, suitable for a conditioning hike for a long term. It is a B peak on the Peakbagger list and qualifies for a Hike in a National Forest patch.

      This hike is in the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area so you will need a Wilderness Permit. Group sizes are limited to 12 in this area. Also, the trailhead is in the National Forest, so you need an Adventure Pass for your car(s) parked there. And, of course, you must have a Local Tour Permit from the Boy Scouts to qualify for the award.

      To drive to the trailhead: take the San Bernardino Freeway to Redlands, exiting on Orange Ave. Head north to Route 38 and turn right (east). Follow Route 38 past Mentone and the Mill Creek Ranger Station (a good place to stop and get last minute trail and camp information – and pick up your Wilderness Permit if you don’t already have it).

      Continue on Route 38 past Angeles Oaks to the Jenks Lake Road turnoff (28 miles from Redlands) and turn right. On the Jenks Lake Road, at .3 miles, turn right (southwest) at the Forsee Trail sign, then keep left at an immediate fork and park ,8 miles Route 38 at the sign “Forsee Trail”.

      You are now at 6900 feet elevation and there is ample parking although it sometimes gets crowded on summer weekends.

      Shoulder your packs, take a deep breath and begin the hike up the Forsee Trail (1E06). At a quarter mile or less, you cross the Wilderness Area boundary. About 200 yards farther, the trail forks. Take the left fork toward Jackstraw Springs. After hiking four miles or so, you come to a trail junction where the trail to Jackstraw Springs Trail Camp branches to the right and drops to the springs. This camp is sometimes used by hikers but the Trail Fork Springs Camp is much preferred (and you really need to take that backpack all the way to 10,400 feet). Both Jackstraw Springs and Trail Fork springs are often very low on water. It would be wise to check with the Mill Creek Ranger station shortly before your hike to learn which has the most water and whether or not either one is dry.

      After 6 miles of hiking and 3500 feet of elevation gain you arrive at Trail Fork Springs. Now you can take that rest you have earned. The spring is off to the right of the trail and camping spots are on the left not far removed. There are level spots if you seek them out.

      When you are well rested, put on your day packs and head the last half mile and 400 feet of elevation gain to Anderson. There is a trail to the west past the spring which joins the San Bernardino Peak Divide Trail (1W07). Then it is about a quarter mile east and 200 feet gain  to the peak. (However, Anderson is almost directly south of Trail Fork Springs, so it is rather easy to go cross country to the peak.)

      If you haven’t had enough, you can go east along the San Bernardino Peak Divide Trail for about a mile and climb Shields Peak before returning to camp.

      In the morning, after a leisurely breakfast, you can look forward to a downhill all the way hike, stopping for Scouts Own along the way at one of the many beautiful spots along the trail.

      On the way home, the A&W in Mentone is a great place to stop for a treat.

      There are a number of useful maps to help planning and to use along the way. The Forsee Creek Trail is on the Big Bear Lake 7 ½ minute USGS topographic map and the peak itself is on the Forest Falls topo. The San Bernardino National Forest map is also helpful. The AAA map for Los Angeles and Vicinity shows the roads.

      The failure point on gaiters is always the strap that goes under the shoe. Here are alternatives to replacing the strap. 1) the gaiter can be sewn to the back of the shoe. 2) Velcro with adhesive backing can be put on the back of the shoe and the matching piece sewn on the gaiter.

      Gaiter closures using Velcro are far superior to those using zippers which can be clogged easily with mud and ice or snow. The closures using Velcro are usually in front where you can reach them easily as opposed to those with zippers which are normally in the rear of the gaiter.

      Fear not – this is a common problem that’s both simply caused and simply alleviated. When you walk with your arms dangling at your sides for long periods, the steady pendulum-like motion creates just enough centrifugal force to drive the blood downward toward your hands – and keep it there. Because your muscles aren’t contracting enough to offset this pressure, the blood in your fingers has to fight gravity to make its way back to your heart. Thwarted by the pressure, it pools in your hands, causing your fingers to become swollen and tingly from lack of oxygen.

      The remedy? Make a fist, bend your elbows, raise your arms above your head, or just pick up the pace. Runners seldom suffer from numb fingers, thank to much energetic arm-pumping.

      When carrying a backpack, the effect is more pronounced because the shoulder strap weight tends to impede blood circulation in the arms and of course the hiking speed is slower. Putting the thumbs under the shoulder straps at about shoulder height helps relieve the swelling.

      Now you know one of the reasons pack fitters tell you to put most of the weight on your hips via the hip belt and very little on your shoulders.

(This series of articles, begun in TrailHead 151, continues discussion of  weather prediction and forecasting.)

      Weather forecasting has changed immensely since the days before computers. The latest most sophisticated supercomputers can perform more than 500 trillion calculations per second (“teraflops”, 5 followed by 12 zeros). This high speed is needed to do the numerical weather forecasting using extremely complex weather models.

      Input data from weather balloons, aircraft, ships, weather buoys, satellites, weather stations and Doppler radars are sent to the computer. The world is divided into a seven layer grid (the layers go from the ground up to about 12 miles above the earth). For each block in the grid, the computer analyses the data – it keeps track of air entering or leaving the block, calculates the north-south and east-west components of the wind, calculates the effect of adding or taking away heat, keeps track of water in all forms and how much is changing to or from vapor, liquid or ice, and calculates the air temperature, pressure and density.

      The computer then makes a forecast. The forecast schedule is keyed to the twice-a-day weather balloon launches. The computer calculates  how the weather would change from noon until 12:10 pm. Then the weather is calculated for each 10 minute interval in the 12 hour period ending at midnight. Then forecasts are made for 24, 36 and 48 hours after the initial time and once each day the forecast is carried out to 10 days.

      This forecast data is sent to stations all over the Western hemisphere so local stations can use the data for local forecasts.

      (In TrailHead 185 we will continue discussion on weather forecasting)

      To understand dew and frost you have to be aware of a universal meteorological truth: the chillier the air, the less water vapor it can hold. As the mercury inches downward, every swath of air will eventually reach a point at which it can no longer retain moisture in a vaporous state and must unload its watery ballast on to the ground to form dew. And as the temperature falls further, the dew becomes frost.

      Your local weather forecaster calls this the “dew point” and it occurs in a localized pocket of air just above the ground during the coolest part of the day – usually just before dawn. The final ingredient is prolonged stillness, as the slightest breeze can disrupt the formation of this terrain-hugging microclimate. Now you know why the Florida citrus growers install giant fans in their groves to forestall ruinous frosts.

      (Fifth in a series of TrailHead articles to provide navigation information for those leaders who are taking their Unit on an outing.)

  Compass operation, declination and map orientation. Next to a map, the most important instrument for navigation is a compass. A compass can be used to

·         Identify direction

·         Orient a map

·         Identify features

·         Determine locations

·         Measure slope angles (if a clinometer is built in)

·         Follow a course of travel

      A suitable compass for wilderness navigation must have the following features:

1.     A transparent base with straight sides so that the compass can be used to plot bearings on a map

2.     A rotating central dial, also with a transparent base, graduated in one or two degree increments

3.     The central dial enclosing the pivoting magnetic needle must be liquid filled to dampen oscillations and permit fast, accurate readings. This feature makes it possible to follow an accurate bearing without stopping

4.     The graduations must be clockwise from 0° to 360°

5.     A mirrored cover with sight (preferred)

6.     Adjustable declination arrow (preferred if using true north to navigate)

A compass works because the earth is surrounded by magnetic lines of force, which extend from the Magnetic North Pole in northern Canada to the Magnetic South Pole in Antarctica. These Magnetic Poles are not identical to the Geographic North and South Poles. The magnetic compass needle, when held level and allowed to swivel freely, will align itself parallel to the lines of force at your location; the north end of the needle (red) points toward the Magnetic North Pole.

(In the next issue we will continue discussion of the compass and its use with maps.)

      A venomous snake springs from its mother’s egg fully formed and ready for business – in this case with an ample supply of toxins that are often more poisonous than that of its parents. Reptile experts haven’t proved conclusively  why this is, but they do offer up several hypotheses.

      One speculates that because newborns haven’t used their venom yet, and thus haven’t been forced to regenerate it, the poiso is mor potent. Another suggests that infant venom contains a higher percentage of water, which may speed the its absorption into the victim’s blood. Though the toxicity may be greater, the yield is always smaller, since tiny snake babies have proportionately tiny venom sacs. What’s more, they’re not very skilled at hurling themselves at prey or projecting their poison.

      Still, should a western diamondback not much bigger than a night crawler sink its miniature fangs  into you, it won’t be pretty. You can expect necrosis of the tissue to set in and your flesh will dissolve, your skin will slough off and there may be some permanent scarring.

      Another theory, at considerable odds with the above, postulates that baby snakes have not learned the proper amount of venom to inject when striking and often inject more venom than the older more experienced snake.

      This  training seminar (see the application form on page 7) is designed to supplement the Adult Leader Backpack Training Course by providing information and techniques peculiar to desert camping and travel. The desert is unique. It can be dangerous for the unprepared and unwary. But it is also a beautiful place, especially at the time of year when desert flowers are blooming – an experience you will be glad you included in your  program.

      Topics covered in the 8 am to 4 pm Saturday session include:

·         General description of the desert environment, hiking conditions, campsites and navigation

·         Weather conditions and patterns

·         Survival in the desert

·         Equipment and clothing

·         Cooking, menus, water

·         Where to go camping

The seminar is followed by a weekend field experience, usually in the Queen Mountain area in Joshua Tree National Park. The field experience is scheduled to fit the calendars of the participants as well as possible. The group meets at the Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms, hikes to a primitive area near the mountain, practicing desert navigation on the way, sets up camp and those who wish to, climb Queen in the afternoon. On Sunday a test is given and reviewed, then the group hikes back  to the cars and drives home, arriving there in mid afternoon.

      How long does it take a skunk to reload after the first blast? Not long enough!! Skunks store their noxious spray in two glands the size of ping-pong balls. They can squirt the stuff over and over again in rapid-fire sequence, letting fly with as little as a teaspoon  or as much as half a cup.

      Skunks can form a sort of U and ‘look’ at you, so to speak, with both ends at once, firing with bull’s-eye accuracy. Theoretically, Mr Skunk will run out of spray if he gets mad enough, but in practice that never seems to happen. One person who was once sprayed by a single skunk eight times in one tortuous minute says, “I’ve yet to encounter an empty gland”.

      Now you have even more reason to give all skunks a wide berth – they own the trail.

Thunderstorms produce a jet of downdraft. When dry air is below a thunderstorm or when dry air enters a (In TrailHd 174 m we will discuss more about thunderstorms: hail and lightning.