Chelan Douglas Land Trust to Offer Walk & Talk Series
Are you one of the many valley residents who haven’t yet had the chance to explore the Wenatchee Foothills? Maybe you’ve heard of places like Saddle Rock, Castlerock, or the Jacobson Preserve, but wonder about where to park, what gear to bring, and how much time it might take. This spring Chelan-Douglas Land Trust is offering a 10-week “Walk-and-Talk” outing series especially designed to introduce the trail system to a broad cross-section of our community. These one-hour, Thursday evening (6-7PM) short walks will be led by local volunteers who are eager to share their passion with new and experienced trail users. Visit the CDLT website to view a trailhead map. RSVP appreciated but not required:
April 21, 2016 Rachel Carson Earth Day Tribute
Trailhead: Castlerock
Guest Leader: Jane Zanol, English Literature Professor
Description: On the eve of Earth Day 2016, take a nature walk partway up the Castlerock trail. The gentle walk will include looking at the views and readings from Rachel Carson and other environmentalists about man’s relationship with Nature.
Leader Bio: Jane Zanol moved to the Wenatchee Valley in 2010 from Columbia, Missouri, where she taught composition and English literature at Stephens College.
April 28, 2016 Tips for taking outdoor photos with phones & cameras
Trailhead: Castlerock
Guest Leader: Frank Cone, Photographer
Description: Frank will give tips and offer guidance for taking landscapes and close-up pictures as participants practice new skills. Bring along your own phone or camera.
Leader Bio: Frank Cone’s photos are frequently published in local media, albums on Flickr, and Facebook.
May 5, 2016 How the Highline Canal launched Wenatchee Valley Apple Orchards
Trailhead: Saddle Rock
Guest Leader: Chris Rader, Local author & historian
Description: Using historic photos, Chris will tell the story of how a sagebrush valley was turned into orchards with the opening of the Highline Canal in the early 1900s.
Leader Bio: Chris has recently retired as communications director for the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center, and continues to serve as editor and lead writer for their quarterly publication.
May 12, 2016 Native American Saddle Rock Stories
Trailhead: Saddle Rock
Guest Leader: Bill Layman, Columbia River historian and author
Description: Our landscapes hold the stories of indigenous people’s that stretch back far into time. Two of these stories have as a central character the spires of Saddle Rock. We will learn their significance to not only past generations but to ourselves as well.
Leader Bio: Bill Layman is a Columbia River historian and author of books about its history and peoples.
May 19, 2016 Come write a poem in the Saddle Rock forest
Trailhead: Saddle Rock
Guest Leader: Derek Sheffield, poet and Wenatchee Valley College professor
Description: Spice up your day by letting the landscape ignite your inner poet. Derek will guide you to create a poem as we explore the conifer forest tucked into the base of Saddle Rock.
Leader Bio: Derek Sheffield is an English professor at Wenatchee Valley College. His poems book of poems, Through the Second Skin (Orchises, 2013) was the runner-up for the Emily Dickinson First Book Award and a finalist for the Walt Whitman Award and the Washington State Book Award.
May 26, 2016 De-stress on the Trail!
Trailhead: Jacobson
Guest Leader: Cheryl Short, Marriage/Family/Pastoral Counselor
Description: While we walk, Cheryl will introduce a variety of easy techniques to help you de-stress and relax as we enjoy the views of the valley.
Leader Bio Cheryl is a Marriage, Family, Individual, and Pastoral Counselor As a Wenatchee Valley College Adjunct Instructor, she designed and taught a popular stress management course.
June 2, 2016 Wenatchee Valley’s Ice Age Floods Story
Trailhead: Castlerock
Guest Leader: Brent Cunderla, Geologist
Description: Imagine water filling the Wenatchee valley to a height of almost one-thousand feet just below the crest of Saddle Rock. Come learn about the catastrophic Ice Age Floods that swept through the Wenatchee valley during the recent Pleistocene Ice Age.
Leader Bio: Brent Cunderla recently retired after 32 years as the local geologist with the Bureau of Land Management. He has resided in the Wenatchee area since 1988 and has studied, given programs and lead numerous field trips related to the Pleistocene glacial geology and Ice Age Floods story of eastern Washington.
June 9, 2016 Walking Yoga
Trailhead: Jacobson
Guest Leader: Chip and Janet Roberson, Yoga Instructors at WRAC
Description: Chip and Janet will gather us at the trailhead and take us on a gentle walk, stopping along the way to learn and try out beginning yoga practices. No prior yoga experience needed as we enjoy the views, the wildflowers, and stretch both our minds and our bodies.
Leader Bio: Janet and Chip Roberson are long-time CDLT members who together enjoy practicing and introducing the 8 elements of yoga practice to newcomers.
June 16, 2016 : Home landscaping tips, inspired by our Foothills
Trailhead: Jacobson
Guest Leader: Susan Cusick, Landscape designer
Description: By hiking for just a few minutes, we’ll be surrounded by native plants that help homeowners learn about how plants thrive in our valley. We’ll have a birds-eye view of Wenatchee neighborhoods and an opportunity to get tips and pointers about what works best from an expert.
Leader Bio: Susan has recently retired after decades of operating a successful landscaping design business. Her designs reflect the structure and form visible in the Wenatchee Mountains.
June 23, 2016 – Hot Yoga for new-comers
Trailhead: Saddle Rock
Guest Leader: Natalie Williams, iLa Yoga Instructor
Description: With the hot summer weather in our Valley, any yoga session outside becomes hot yoga! Hot yoga helps keep muscles supple, prevents injury, and detoxifies your body. This yoga session in the shadow of Saddle Rock is designed for new-comers to try the practice with us under the setting Wenatchee sun. We’ll focus on connecting with ourselves in nature, restoring physical alignment, maintaining range of motion, and stimulating the vital organs and systems of the body.
Leader Bio: Natalie and her husband recently moved to Wenatchee from Montana. She has been teaching Hot Yoga at iLa and loves teaching and helping students find their yoga.
Byline: Susan Ballinger serves as a Conservation Fellow at Chelan-Douglas Land Trust and teaches the fall Wenatchee Naturalist course for Wenatchee Valley College Continuing Education.