| CHAIRMAN'S CORNER | JANUARY 1987 |
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. From my perspective, there's no better way to ring out the old and ring in the new than sitting around a campfire in the desert, as many of us did, gazing at the Arizona stars and planning our New Year's Day climb of Kofa. DPS New Year's Eves are definitely the best - and because of the time differential in Arizona, we were able to celebrate at 11:00 p.m. (our time,) and get an extra hour's sleep!
Maris Valkass and a small group of stalwart volunteers have obtained maps of the proposed Desert Bill wilderness areas, and are busily working to determine which areas we would like to see excluded to maintain access to peaks on the list. Thanks, Maris, and thanks to all the other participants in this effort.
Lots of good trips upcoming in the next several months, and there's room on almost all of them. I've had several people ask me if a trip is "full" - the good news, for those of you new to Desert Peaking, is that for most DPS trips, there is no quota, unlike many trips into the Sierra where wilderness permits are required. (Occasionally a leader may limit the number of participants because of other considerations, such as a tricky route, or a very strenuous climb.)
Henry Heusinkveld has kindly volunteered to put together a display board for the DPS, to be used at meetings, banquets, Diamond Jubilee events, and other suitable occasions; he will be seeking photos of DPS trips and people, desert scenery, wildflowers, and the like. Please contact him if you can contribute photos, other memorabilia, or your time and help. And don't forget to start locating photos for the DPS Desert Rat photo contest, to be displayed at the Banquet in May! Send your entries to Karen Leonard!
Happy hiking!
