CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINEERING GUIDE SERVICE

 

The CMGS was based out of 308 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, the address of the first North Face store.  The grand opening of The North Face was in October 1966. Doug Tompkins (founder) celebrated by hiring an unknown local band called the Grateful Dead and served Kool Aid to his patrons.  The store was an instant success.

 That's one solid group of guides

KENNEDY HOT SPRINGS

 Kennedy Hot Springs ranger cabin

Kennedy Hot Springs was located within Glacier Peak Wilderness Area in the North Cascades Range.  On October 20, 2003 an estimated foot of rain hit the west side of Glacier Peak, causing mudslides to come crashing down White Chuck Creek.  It tore out bridges (8 trail bridges total), buried the hot springs and destroyed the ranger cabin.  The damage was so bad the Pacific Crest Trail was re-routed to the east side of Glacier Peak.

The most popular trail to Kennedy Hot Springs was the White Chuck Trail #643.  The above photo was taken in 1985 of the White Chuck River trail bridge.  Do you see the ranger cabin in the background?  Hikers would head to the cabin and cross the bridge to the hot springs.

The small but very popular Kennedy Hot Springs (1985)

ILLUSTRATED WILDLIFE TREASURY

From 1975 - 1981 Leisure Books sold illustrated wildlife flashcards through a mail subscription called the Illustrated Wildlife Treasury.  Each card had a color photo on the front and a detailed description on the back.  Every month new decks of cards were sent out to subscribers.  Collectors could then sort them alphabetically in their official Wildlife Treasury carrying case.

I loved my Wildlife Treasury cards and carrying case.  Remember those commercials?  Oh man did I want a safari pith helmet!

TREKEAST

Wildlands Network’s 4,500 mile journey dubbed TrekEast kicked off on February 3rd.  John Davis, founder of Wildland's Network, will be utilizing human power to travel from the southern tip of Florida to the Gaspe Peninsula in Canada.  John's mission is connecting Eastern North America's fragmented wild places to create an an Eastern Wildway.  Once TrekEast is completed the Wildlands Network is planning TrekWest, TrekPacific and TrekNorth.

John Davis is currently paddling north through Florida's famous Everglades.

AUDREE LAPIERRE - SE7EN SUMMITS

I am really digging Audrée Lapierre's Seven Summits infographic.  Read more about the Seven Summits here and here.