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Climbing Club to Royal Columns
The Yakima Climbing Club will do today just what its name implies: Climb.
Members and guests are invited to meet at
5:30 p.m. at the Pacific River and Alpine Sports parking lot (315 W. Yakima Ave., Yakima) and then carpool from there to the Oak Creek Wildlife Area for a climbing evening at the Royal Columns.
Participants need to bring a harness and helmet plus sturdy shoes or climbing shoes, headlamps if you've got them, and layered clothing is suggested.
Bass-fishing
seminar Friday
A bass tournament professional, James Castillo, will be giving a casual seminar on "summer bass techniques" Friday from noon to 5 at Fairbanks Outfitters (423 W. Yakima), formerly known as Gary's Fly Shoppe.
The presentation by James Castillo of Grandview, last year's Northwest Bass Club rookie of the year runner-up, will be sort of a one-on-one thing in which visitors can ask Castillo for tips and he'll demonstrate various ways to rig up your gear for differing conditions and waters.
Gary Fairbanks, the store owner, plans on bringing Castillo back for another seminar on Sept. 27, that time focusing on bass techniques for fishing in the fall. For more information, call Fairbanks Outfitters at 457-3474.
September repairs affect Rainier travel
As soon as Labor Day is over, visitors to the east side of Mount Rainier National Park can expect to have to do some additional planning. Beginning next Tuesday, nearly
11 miles of State Route 123, from Cayuse Pass to Stevens Canyon Road will be closed Mondays through Thursdays, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., for repairs and safety improvements.
Until the work is completed in mid-December, access to some areas of Mount Rainier National Park will be limited to specific routes. To reach Longmire and Paradise, access will be by Highway 12 from east of Packwood, from 123 at Stevens Canyon Road or from State Route 706 east of Ashford.
Drivers heading to Lake Tipsoo or Sunrise can still do so from the north side, via Highway 410.
For updated information, call the park at 360-569-2166 or go to its Internet site (www.nps.gov/mora).
Cougar hunt rules change Sept. 9
General cougar-hunting seasons in Klickitat County will change next month in response to state approval of the county's request for a new pilot cougar hunt with the aid of dogs.
The new pilot cougar hunt, approved Aug. 9 by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, will allow hunters to use dogs to hunt cougars in Klickitat County from Dec. 1 through March 31.
But the commission's action also will affect general cougar hunting seasons already in progress.
Under current regulations, general-season hunters can hunt for cougar without the use of dogs with any type of weapon Aug. 1 through March 15. But those regulations, printed in WDFW's Big Game Hunting pamphlet, will change Sept. 9, when the new regulations take effect.
Under the new rules, the general-season cougar hunt will be restricted to hunters using muzzleloaders and archery equipment from Sept. 9 through Oct. 10. The same will be true for the period from Nov. 20-30. The only remaining period when hunters can use any type of weapon to hunt cougars during the general season is Oct. 11 through Nov. 19.
The new regulations are included in WDFW's Cougar Hunting Seasons pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/cougar/index.htm), which was printed after the general Big Game pamphlet went to press.
Bird Alert: Migraters wherever you turn
Few mysteries in nature grab the imagination as much as the phenomenon of bird migration, in which many species of birds undertake seasonal journeys of various lengths. It's been a pretty exciting week for migrants around Yakima County, including an amazing flock of 279 common nighthawks seen coursing back and forth some 500 feet up in a single feeding group six miles east of Yakima.
It appears there has been an almost complete failure of the cone crop in white-bark pine, causing Clark's nutcrackers to migrate in large numbers to the ponderosa pine zone to take advantage of this year's abundant pine-cone, which is also attracting good numbers of white-headed woodpeckers. The white-bark pine cone failure may also explain all the white-wing crossbills still being observed feeding on the cones of the Engelmann Spruce at Clover Springs Campground in the Ahtanum.
Wenas Lake continues as a migrant hotspot, with reports this week of a red-necked grebe still in breeding plumage, 17 red-necked phalaropes in juvenile plumage and a mix of shorebirds that included killdeer, greater yellowlegs, solitary sandpiper, spotted sandpiper, western sandpiper, least sandpiper and Wilson's snipe.
Migrating birds can show up anywhere. Urban Yakima yard sightings included several juvenile pine siskins, increasing numbers of hummingbirds (including an immature male Anna's), calliope, black-chinned and rufous, the most common hummer at our feeders and the one that makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the world.
-- Kerry Turley
AROUND AND ABOUT
HUNTER ED CLASS: A hunter education class has been scheduled for the Selah Civic Center Sept. 8-13, with class sessions to run 6 to 9 p.m. each evening and the final Saturday class to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registrants must sign up in advance at the civic center, and the class size is limited to 30 and fills up quite quickly. Class fee is $5, payable at sign-up.
CAMPFIRE BAN LIFTED: Cooler, wetter weather has prompted the Forest Service to lift the campfire ban on the Naches Ranger District as of last weekend. The basic rules still apply, though, and rule No. 1 is always making sure your campfire is dead out before you leave the site.
COASTAL FISHING: Anglers can now fish for salmon seven days a week along most of the Washington coast. The new rules, which went into effect Tuesday, will increase fishing opportunities at Westport (Marine Area 2), La Push (Marine Area 3) and the portion of Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) that lies east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. Ocean waters west of that line in Marine Area 4 are now closed. Fishing had been restricted to five days a week since the season opened. Anglers fishing at Westport and La Push may retain two chinook salmon as part of their daily limit, but those fishing in Neah Bay may retain only hatchery coho salmon. Wild coho must be released in all three areas.
ON THE CALENDAR
SATURDAY-SUNDAY: The Cascadians' weekend hikes will be to McCall Basin on Saturday, a 12- to 15-mil round trip with 2,000 feet of elevation gain, and an advanced hike to Mildred Point on Sunday. For meeting time and place on either hike, call Maurine Peck at 453-4244.
TUESDAY: The Cascadians have a planned hike to Cispus Pass. Participants meet at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot at 7:30 a.m. The Tuesday hikers meet at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot at 7:30 a.m. and break into faster and slower groups.
WEDNESDAY: The Mount Adams Cycling Club will begin its weekly 25-mile loop ride to Naches at 6 p.m., with participants meeting at the Fred Meyer parking lot off 40th Avenue and usually breaking into faster and slower groups. For info, e-mail anotherjones@earthlink.net.
THURSDAY (Sept. 4): The Cascadians' Pokies will have reason to be a bit confused; in the current Cascadian newsletter, the Sept. 4 and Sept. 11 hikes are transposed. So next Thursday's hike will be to the North Fork Tieton River. Call Jim Hertel at 469-4458 for meeting time and place. And then on Sept. 11, the hike will be two hikes at Rainier, Ohanapecosh and the East Side Trail. There: Now you can plan ahead.
SEPT. 13: Gary Loomis will be among the speakers at the inaugural banquet of the Yakima Valley Chapter of Coastal Conservation Association Pacific Northwest, set for the Yakima Convention Center. Tickets for the 5 p.m. event are $75 for a single or $140 for a couple. For ticket info, call Randy Mooney at 697-4661.
SEPT. 13-14: The 2008 Rainier Mountain Festival in Ashford will allow climbing enthusiasts to rub elbows with 18 Everert summiteers, including legends like Ed Viesturs, Dave Hahn and Seattle icons Jim and Lou Whittaker. Admission is free to the event at Rainier Basecamp (30027 State Route 706 E., Ashford). Highlights will include Alpine games (competitions in such things as speed climbing, sled pull and erect-a-tent), a 5-mile trail run, mountain technique demonstrations, raffles, music and food.
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