Olympia Branch Blog Posts
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Olympia Mountaineers Annual Banquet - Oct 26, 2019
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The annual banquet is a special yearly event where students, graduates, instructors, and leaders from our Olympia Branch courses and activities come together to celebrate another great year of adventuring in the great outdoors. Read more…
Did You Know: Tatoosh Ridge Trail
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This summer I’ve been slowly marking off the 100 hikes that Ira Spring and Harvey Manning published in their second edition of 100 Hikes in Washington: South Cascades and Olympics. I completed my 41st as we hiked to the site of the former Tatoosh Ridge lookout on Tatoosh Peak, made famous in Martha Hardy’s book Tatoosh. This hike is neither for the faint of heart nor the causal hiker. It is steep, with some exposure and drop-offs that leave one wondering, “What am I doing this for?” Read more…
Help Expand Our Conservation Education & Advocacy Impact
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The hard truth is that public lands legislation is complicated, victories can be slow, and our public lands are chronically underfunded. The threats to these places are becoming increasingly urgent, and our ability to respond to issues – and thus create space for you to engage – is limited by staff capacity and funding. In order to provide more opportunities for outdoor recreationists to learn about and understand the issues facing our public lands and become an even stronger voice for threaten landscapes, we need to bring on a staff position focused on public lands advocacy and engagement. To make sure we not only keep our footing on this precarious ground, but also find ways to play offense and not just defense, we need your help. Read more…
Photo Contest 2019 - Olympia Branch
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Give us your BEST - photos that is! It's time to update our chapter slide show and what better way to do it than to run a photography contest! This slide show is shown at all our public events and showcases all of our great activities. Follow the instructions below to submit photos in any of the nine categories and win recognition and eternal bragging rights. Read more…
The Personal Reward of Being an Environmental Steward and Volunteer
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Being a huge fan of stewardship and conservation, I’m super proud of the hard hat I earned as a stewardship volunteer with the Olympia Mountaineers. I first became interested in 2014 when Kathy Fox and Jim French approached me to help out on several local projects, and from there I was hooked. Read more…
Olympia Mountaineers Honor Life & Legacy of Branch Founder Paul Wiseman - Aug 27
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The Olympia Mountaineers invites you to a dedication gathering celebrating Paul Wiseman, the late founder of the Olympia Branch of The Mountaineers who established our branch in 1963 and leaves behind and indelible legacy. Read more…
Nominate an outstanding leader for the Olympia Branch Service Award
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Our volunteer leaders are a big part of what makes the Olympia branch such an inspiring, fun, and impactful community. Join us as we prepare to celebrate their hard work and our broader Olympia community at our annual banquet in October. At this banquet we will be honoring one Olympia volunteer with the Branch Service Award, to recognize their hard work and dedication. To help with this process, we ask our branch members to submit nominations for those they believe go above and beyond the call of duty and deserve this award! Read more…
Celebrate Summer at The Olympia Mountaineers Summer Picnic
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Picnics and Northwest summer evenings are made for each other. It gets even better when you add in active outdoor people, friends and families, a beautiful setting, and great food. Join us for our Summer Picnic to celebrate our community and enjoy the height of summer with your fellow Mountaineers. This is a great opportunity to connect with people you have been training and recreating with this year in a more casual setting. Find out what your friends have been doing, and plan those late summer/fall events! Read more…
Introducing the New Olympia Trail Running Community
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Join Mountaineers trail runners from Olympia to discover your love of trail running, discover new trails, and find like minded folks! No previous trail running experience is required! Read more…
Did You Know? Harry's Ridge & Devils Point
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Harry’s Ridge and the Devils Point at Mount St. Helens are two hikes with jaw dropping views accessible out of the Johnston Ridge Observatory, named after David Alexander Johnston the volcanologist who was killed in the 1980 eruption. Visiting is both a monument to destruction and death and renewal and rebirth. Read more…
Equity & Inclusion Update: Committee Charter, Working Group Sessions, & Resources
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At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and have assembled a board-chartered Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Committee to direct our strategy, priorities, and resourcing to make progress on this goal. We have recently completed our committee charter, and are planning our next town hall style listening session to gather your feedback and share some of the results of our committee work. Read more…
Did You Know? Wynoochee Lake
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Wynooche Lake is a remote, hidden gem in the southern Olympic Peninsula. Framed by steep, rugged peaks, the lush conifer and hardwood forested shores of Wynoochee Lake provide many opportunities for recreation. With just over 13 miles of shoreline, two campgrounds, boat access, Roosevelt Elk, a river, and many waterfalls, Wyoonchee Lake will be your next weekend getaway. Read more…
Essential Eligibility Criteria & Service Animal Policy
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The Mountaineers values diversity – including persons with diverse abilities – in its programs. While we do not specialize in integrating persons with disabilities into our programs, we encourage people of all abilities to consider participating in Mountaineers programming. Read more…
Olympia Conservation & Stewardship - Maintaining Our Trails for National Trails Day
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Our Olympia Conservation and Stewardship Committee has been championing stewardship for several years through an annual Stewardship Challenge and frequent work parties. We invite you to join us for National Trails day on Saturday, June 1, 2019 to give back to your local recreation areas, and to join us in recognizing the incredible work of the Olympia branch at Wynoochee Lake on the south side of the Olympics. Read more…
Leadership at the Top: Seeking Candidates for Olympia Branch Council
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Our Olympia Branch is a vibrant, growing community with quality volunteer leaders. Our Branch Council supports our community of volunteers, and is staffed by volunteers too! We are in need of additional member of our branch council - will you join us? Read more…
2019 Stewardship Challenge: Meet Our Stewardship Partners
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As Mountaineers, we enjoy thousands of miles of trails and waterways throughout our public lands. We must set a compelling example as principled stewards who are willing to work hard to maintain the lands we enjoy. That's why our Olympia Branch is challenging you to dedicate one day (or more!) this year to stewarding our public lands. This challenge is a great way to give back to our outdoor playgrounds and meet a vibrant community of volunteers. Read more…
How To: Facilitate Good Group Decision Making
![](https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/group-decision-making-workshop-may-16/@@images/a85a086a-77c4-4275-9e22-32b631471201.jpeg)
Yosemite, September 1998. Marie, Andrew, and I are standing at a trail junction in northern Yosemite National Park, unable to decide which trail to take. We've had a spectacular week of high country, off-trail rambling in beautiful, high basins. Now we're making our way back to Tuolumne Meadows on-trail. The plan was to go left at this junction and do two more days of hiking through a valley none of us have visited. Now that we're at the junction, we realize we have the option to go right and make it back to the car this evening. Tempting. Read more…
Facilitated Access Permitting: What Mountaineers Leaders Need to Know
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The complex landscape of permitting rules and regulations can be difficult to navigate as a Mountaineers leader. To help make things clearer, we've created a series of pages describing the various permit processes pertaining to Mountaineers activities, all organized by land manager. Read more…
Celebrate Spring With Birds, Flowers, and Mounds - May Events
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Our Mountaineers naturalist committees offer opportunities to learn about the plants, animals, marine life, and geology of the Pacific Northwest. To help you get involved, the Olympia Naturalist Committee is offering new activities in May and June to help you learn more about the birds of our region. Read more…
Join The 2019 Olympia Photo Contest Committee
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Olympia Mountaineers - join our 2019 Photo Contest Committee! Our branch photo contest not only gives recognition to our amazing photographers, but the entries are used throughout the year at our branch events (including our branch banquet). Our last photo contest was in 2017 - help us refresh our photo library and discover the hidden talents of our fellow Mountaineers! Read more…
It's Official: Public Lands Package Signed into Law!
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Cross-country skiing in the Methow. Climbing at Exit 38. Hiking at Ebey’s Landing. There's nothing like the amazing landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, and thanks to your advocacy, they are more protected than ever! Read more…
Basic Hiking Skills Course - May 6 & 8
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Are you an experienced hiker/backpacker? Or maybe a a new hiker/backpacker? Someone who has hiked or backpacked in the past and wants to become active again? Regardless of where you're starting, this two-evening course has something for you. It's designed for both new hikers or for people who have hiked before but want to step up their game with an introduction to safe hiking in the Pacific Northwest. Read more…
Teaching & Gathering Places - Initial Concept Proposal Process
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One of Vision 2022's strategic imperatives is to Lead Innovation in Outdoor Education. Our program centers and lodges play a key role in this by providing physical places for us to teach outdoor skills and build community. Teaching and gathering places can also help us reduce our environmental footprint on public lands and improve our relationships with the broader outdoor community. Read more…
New Hike Leader Training - Olympia, March 20
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You may have one or more reason for wanting to become a hike leader: developing leadership skills, doing your hike- your way, mentoring others, developing friendships, or promoting the power of nature. What ever your reason, this class will teach you the skills that will start you on this new trail of adventure! Read more…
Equity & Inclusion Update: Meet Our Steering Committee
![](https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/equity-inclusion-update-meet-our-steering-committee/@@images/c2526dc0-811c-46a1-b933-ab555d24d257.jpeg)
At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and have assembled a board-chartered Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Steering Committee to direct our strategy and financial investments to become a place where, a century from now, future generations will recognize themselves in The Mountaineers. Read more…
Action Alert! 2019 Washington State Budget & Public Lands
![](https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/2019-state-budget-step-up-for-washington2019s-public-lands/@@images/79990aaf-1bd5-4509-ba19-dff2e2b32769.jpeg)
In odd-numbered years (like this one), Washington legislators set the two-year state budget (capitol and operating). Lawmakers are currently negotiating this year’s funding package. Critical provisions for education, human services, infrastructure, and public lands hang in the balance. From the shores of Deception Pass to the Ponderosa pines of Riverside, our state public lands - and the agencies that steward them - need sufficient funding to provide the outdoor experience we know and love. Read more…
Jim French on His Service Award and Conserving Our Public Lands
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This award is quite an honor. There are so many great volunteers, thousands in The Mountaineers. How could anyone pick one? It didn’t seem possible that I was selected for the Service Award with so much competition. Read more…
Take the 2019 Olympia Stewardship Challenge
![](https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/take-the-2019-olympia-stewardship-challenge/@@images/f8c668fa-92b2-489f-853d-81c71f93de0b.jpeg)
As Mountaineers, we enjoy thousands of miles of trails and waterways throughout our public lands. We must set a compelling example as principled stewards who are willing to work hard to maintain the lands we enjoy. The Olympia Branch is challenging you to dedicate one day (or more!) this year to stewarding our public lands. This challenge is a great way to give back to our outdoor playgrounds and meet a vibrant community of volunteers. Read more…
Olympia Climbers, Scramblers, Hikers, and Sea Kayakers Pursue Badges & Pins
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Mountaineers members can earn badges and peak pin awards for completing different objectives in Washington and beyond. If you're looking for new ideas, look no further than our list of Award Badges! And join us in congratulating the 2018 class on their collective achievements. Read more…
5am Never Felt So Good - A Conditioning Hiking Series Story
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I moved to Seattle in the summer of 2016 because I no longer really knew who I was, or what I was doing with my life, but I knew that I couldn’t continue living in New York City, with its crowds and smells and weird roommate situations. I had visited Seattle twice before I moved here, and while I didn’t know a lot about the city, I knew that the proximity to the water and the mountains and the boundless natural beauty made me feel better, and I wanted to feel better. So I moved. Read more…