CVHC Trailside. Coachella Valley Hiking Club Beginnings... by Philip Ferranti

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CVHC Trailside News & Notes COACHELLA VALLEY Volume 19, Number 1 www.cvhikingclub.net Fall/Winter, 2012/2013 Submit news articles to: nicolette@earthlink.

O. BOX 10750 PALM DESERT, CA 92255 (760) 345-6234 www.cvhikingclub.net cvhiking@gmail.com Look how far we've come in 20 years! Please come celebrate 20 years of great hikes and great growth.

.. by Philip Ferranti On Sunday, August 14, 1983, I had the pleasure of hiking with the Edinburgh, Scotland, Hiking Club on the Pentland Hills that surround the city.

We ended the day sharing drinks in a 500- year-old pub. After that I resolved to recreate that experience in the Coachella Valley by forming a hiking club when appropriate.

1 CVHC Trailside News & Notes COACHELLA VALLEY Volume 19, Number 1 Fall/Winter, 2012/2013 Submit news articles to: nicolette@earthlink.net CVHC Holiday Celebration and 20th Anniversary Party with Special Recognition to Club Founder Philip Ferranti and CVHC Volunteers Join us on December 9, 2012 at the Escena Golf Club HIKING CLUB P.O. BOX PALM DESERT, CA (760) cvhiking@gmail.com Look how far we've come in 20 years! Please come celebrate 20 years of great hikes and great growth. We are now 520 members strong and counting! Watch for your EVITE or turn to page 5 for complete details. Coachella Valley Hiking Club Beginnings... by Philip Ferranti On Sunday, August 14, 1983, I had the pleasure of hiking with the Edinburgh, Scotland, Hiking Club on the Pentland Hills that surround the city. While hiking, I was treated to eagles, deer, fox and osprey. The day was beautiful and the company of 20 plus hikers, including the mayor, was most enjoyable. We ended the day sharing drinks in a 500- year-old pub. After that I resolved to recreate that experience in the Coachella Valley by forming a hiking club when appropriate. In 1991 I began spending summers in Boulder, CO. By joining the Colorado Mountain Club, I learned the area s hiking trails and more. Upon my return to Coachella Valley in September, 1992, I placed a small notice in the Desert Sun: Avid hiker seeks to start local hiking club. Interested persons please contact... Over 20 people responded. Hal Summers, who ran the Great Outdoors hiking shop, and I started getting the word out. Our first hike was October 10, Above: Zion NP. Utah Right: Hiking The Narrows in the Virgin River, Zion NP. Utah Fifteen hikers showed up. After that the word spread. During January,1993, I held an open, valley-wide meeting at the Erawan Garden Hotel. Over 150 people came and heard my plans for the new hiking club. By April enough regular hikers had joined so that a formal incorporation of the Coachella Valley Hiking Club could begin. I was elected president, a post I held until After I had led hikes for the first six months; then Dennis Godfrey began training new hike leaders. Since then the club has led over 4,000 hikes with up to 60,000 people joining us. From the beginning we also sponsored out-of-state hiking trips. From 1993 thru 2001 I led 10 trips to Zion National Park and several to Boulder Colorado. Dennis Godfrey led trips to Havasupai in The Grand Canyon, while others went to the High Sierras. In 1997 I was approached by Eileen Stern for help with a fundraiser for the City of Hope affiliation. My suggestion was a Hike for Hope event instead of a golf tournament or formal dinner. Their board approved the suggestion and in March, 1998, the first annual Hike for Hope was held in the Agua Caliente Indian Canyons in Palm Springs, CA. Our CVHC hike leaders have volunteered to lead their hikes from the beginning of this successful fundraising event.

Messages from our Present & Past CVHC Presidents To All Members Of The CVHC First, let me begin by saying that it has been an honor and privilege to serve as your president these last two years.

You responded courageously with letters of objection to our legislature as well as speeches at our City Council meetings.

2 Messages from our Present & Past CVHC Presidents To All Members Of The CVHC First, let me begin by saying that it has been an honor and privilege to serve as your president these last two years. After the November 2010, club election process, the BLM Land Swap issue immediately challenged us. You responded courageously with letters of objection to our legislature as well as speeches at our City Council meetings. Then, our newly minted website was born, along with a dues Larry & Robin Liguori Current CVHC President reduction of $10 per year. With the reduction, we witnessed a membership explosion to over 500 hikers. New club tee shirts and patches were designed by our memorabilia committee and continue to be hot purchase items. We have generously supported various organizations such as the Anza Borrego Natural History Association and also the Mt. San Jacinto State Park Natural History Association, financing signs to be placed a new trail to Hidden Divide. You have worked to improve trails, eliminate shortcuts, and install signs by volunteering on our trail improvement team. Names and deeds are all too numerous to mention. There is one person I must single out for personal thanks and that is my lovely wife, Robin. Without Robin s loving guidance, experience, and tireless communication skills, I could not have functioned as your President. I love you, Robin. Thank you all for your support. Happy Holidays Larry Liguori, Current CVHC President Nov 19 Dec 9 Dec 17 Jan 21 Feb 18 Mar 18 Apr 15 mark your calendars Welcome Back Party Tommy Bahama s CVHC 20th Anniversary & Holiday Party Subject to change so check: our Past President Charles Nisbet Charles Nisbet CVHC President On the night I was elected president in 2004, a guest speaker warned the executive committee that a trails plan written by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) would severely restrict our access to valley trails, purportedly to protect the bighorn sheep. Knowing nothing, I decided to become involved and have continued my involvement as president of the Desert Trails Coalition and Palm Springs representative on CVAG s Trails Management Subcommittee. For the next three years I led a club-wide effort to challenge and change the draft trails plan, thus keeping all trails open to the public. Club members spoke at public meetings, letters were written to the Desert Sun editor, valley voice articles appeared in the Desert Sun, and hundreds of hikers became involved. Because there was no science to establish that hikers adversely affect bighorn sheep, in 2007 the final trails plan left trails open and they remain so today. In 2005, I started an effort to keep the top portion of the Bump and Grind trail open. Meetings were held with the CDFG and discussion went on for months that ultimately led to no success. In 2010, Carian and Rucker took up the banner with the help of social media, local citizens, local politicians, money and lawyers. In the fall of 2012 the Bump and Grind trail was once again open to the top because science was lacking to support that closure. In 2006, I organized an unofficial Wednesday hiking schedule. A free-floating group emerged, social bonds were formed, and new club members were obtained. This popular weekly fun hiking outing lasted until 2010 when my bout with cancer curtailed my activities for a time. If I have learned anything as president, it is that if we want to continue enjoying hiking in the desert, we can t simply take the stance, I just want to hike. It should be that simple, but it isn t. We have to become involved with, and knowledgeable of, land management issues and policies, or we will wake up to discover we and those who follow have lost our ability to just hike. Charles Nisbet, Past President CVHC

Messages from our Present & Past CVHC Presidents Past President Gene Marchu It was a privilege to follow the Coachella Hiking Club s outstanding founder, Philip Ferranti, and spirit extraordinaire,

After much discussion, club by-laws were created along with the club mission statement. Standing committees were established.

3 Messages from our Present & Past CVHC Presidents Past President Gene Marchu It was a privilege to follow the Coachella Hiking Club s outstanding founder, Philip Ferranti, and spirit extraordinaire, Michael Young, as the third President of the Club. I served two years. My term as president was a period of transition from the existing hiking club into an organized not-for profit club. After much discussion, club by-laws were created along with the club mission statement. Standing committees were established. This period was the first time hike leader liability insurance and Hiking Council directors and officers insurance, (D&O insurance) were purchased. A new club logo was created and club pins and T-shirts were ordered to sell to the members and public. Past President Michael Young Gene Marchu CVHC President Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares drop off like autumn leaves By John Muir I remember reading an article in the Desert Sun in 1993 about a local hiking club. At the time I was consulting in Nashville, TN, and knew I couldn t commit to joining the Club since I was out of town for so many weeks a month. I thought as soon as the consulting job is over, I ll join. Three years later my consulting job ended and I joined the club and began hiking with the them on Wednesdays and weekends. Meeting Philip Ferranti and joining the Club was life changing. Every hike was an adventure. The Club provided a rich resource of hiking enthusiasts, retired and working professionals, physicians, nurses, school teachers, international visitors, all with the same love of hiking. I have made life long friends with several CVHC members. With Philip s encouragement, I became a hike leader shortly after joining the Club. I felt a bit intimidated initially, wondering how I would remember the geography of various trails. Slowly I became more comfortable with specific trails and began leading hikes on a regular basis. Later, full moon hikes became one of my specialties. My first out-of-area hikes were magical. Hiking in Zion National Park with Philip and other club members was truly awe inspiring. Hiking in the Grand Canyon with Dennis Godfrey at Havasu Falls, with waterfalls the color of the Caribbean, water rafting the rapids and hiking in We had a list of 170 hikes to select from to offer the public. In March, 2003 we had $12,018 in the club account. Perhaps the best way to spotlight my term as president is to thank again the wonderful hikers who made all of the above possible. Applause, applause to the following: The organizational committee, Philip Ferranti, Michael Young, Elize Van Zandt, and Eric Baecht. Thanks to Robin Liguori for her social committee work and Nikki Sundberg for her terrific efforts in putting together the CVHC newsletter. Applause goes to secretary Sheila Koenig and treasurer Susan Marie Weber.... and the list goes on Sheldon Lustgarten, Ken Church, Liza Bliss, Marilyn Wall, Paulette Jensvold, Linda Powell, Suzanne Randell, Hank Koenig and Karen Owen. In these years of transition, these individuals created a new vision for the Coachella Valley Hiking Club. Gene Marchu, Past President CVHC King s Canyon (another Dennis Godfrey expedition), and the summer I hiked with Philip in Boulder, CO overlooking the Continental Divide at 14,000 were some of the most memorable. I had the opportunity to serve as president for CVHC from 1998 to One of my accomplishments during that time was obtaining adequate liability insurance for the Club. Also, during that time the Club member council decided that the Club needed to become a legal, non-profit entity. Michael Young CVHC President I developed a friendship with Gene Marchu, executive director of College of the Desert Alumni Association via Toastmaster s in the mid 90s. I introduced Gene to the Club and he soon became a hiking enthusiast and hike leader. He created the non-profit status for the COD Alumni Association, and I was confident he could do the same the Hiking Club. I knew Gene would make an excellent choice as CVHC President following my tenure and during his time as president he created the Club s non-profit status. So many members have given generously of their time... thanks to all of you for your generosity. Thank you, Philip, for sharing your passion for hiking with all of us. What great joy you ve added to our lives and what a living legacy you have created for yourself. Michael Young, Past President CVHC MikeHike7@aol.com

CVHC FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT - 1993 to 1998 PHILIP FERRANTI Philip and his dog Skits. 1993. A most unique set of events that took place in a single year that would greatly define the life and passions of a 10 year old in the fifth grade.

permitted him to hike the day away every Saturday after the chores were done; and finally he placed third in a citywide public speaking contest in Columbus, Ohio, by reciting the entire Gettysburg

After attending college in Massachusetts, Iowa and San Diego, he began a career that lasted for 30 years, teaching and counseling in every grade from the fifth through high school, junior college at

In 1981 he began a Transformation Seminars & Public Speaking business, producing seminars and gave speaking engagements at dozens of universities, hospitals, government agencies, and Fortune 500

4 CVHC FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT to 1998 PHILIP FERRANTI Philip and his dog Skits A most unique set of events that took place in a single year that would greatly define the life and passions of a 10 year old in the fifth grade. First, he was asked by his elementary school principal to teach math to the third grade for the last three months of school; he then discovered the joys and wonders of hiking when his mother permitted him to hike the day away every Saturday after the chores were done; and finally he placed third in a citywide public speaking contest in Columbus, Ohio, by reciting the entire Gettysburg Address. In the 1950s his family relocated to Indio, CA, from Columbus. After attending college in Massachusetts, Iowa and San Diego, he began a career that lasted for 30 years, teaching and counseling in every grade from the fifth through high school, junior college at COD, college and post grad for CSSB, National University, University of California, and 10 other universities. In 1981 he began a Transformation Seminars & Public Speaking business, producing seminars and gave speaking engagements at dozens of universities, hospitals, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies. See what placing third in a speech contest at 10 will do for you! Hike leader Philip organizing desert hike In 1986 Philip seriously began exploring the local hiking trails. In 1992, Philip placed an ad in the Desert Sun about starting a Coachella Valley hiking club. Twenty people responded, and the rest is history. Through the years he has also started or co-started five other hiking clubs. After writing an article for Backpacker Magazine on how to start your own hiking club, he received over 40 requests from around the USA and various countries for the information. Since starting the Coachella Valley Hiking Club, Philip has led over 450 hikes, including nine trips to Zion NP and two to Colorado. In 1995, realizing that no book on the local trails existed but was sorely needed, he wrote 75 Great Hikes in and Near Palm Springs; then 100, 120, 140. He has written 14 books in all, with the series being the #1 best selling hikingbook locally since Philip spends summers at his Longmont, CO home, enjoys the company of his dog, Dakota, loves to cook, travel... and would you believe...hike! His favorite place on the planet is Zion National Park, followed by Colorado s Front Range. I especially enjoy introducing young people to hiking, sharing my passion for the outdoors through hikes, seminars and slide shows. I have found few activities that so positively impact a human being and enhance one s total life experience as hiking. Besides, what else can you do that takes you back to being a kid again where wonder, discovery, the sheer joy of freedom and the sights, smells and beauty of nature so fulfills you! Phil s websites: and

5 Please join us December 9, 2012 Coachella Valley Hiking Club Holiday Celebration and CVHC 20th Anniversary with Special Recognition of Club Founder Philip Ferranti and CVHC Volunteers Location: Time: Dress: Dinner: Program: Escena Golf Club 1100 Clubhouse View Palm Springs, CA :00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Hiker Formal Buffet Dinner - $25 per person - No host bar Our Club Founder, Philip Ferranti will be recognized for his contribution by our Members. CVHC 20th Anniversary video. A thank you to the volunteers who have contributed their time to the CVHC. Contact: If you have any questions, please us at cvhiking@gmail.com. Yes, I would like to attend the CVHC 20th Anniversary Dinner, December 9, 2012 Name(s): Telephone: Make check payable and mail to: CVHC/Anniversary Dinner Terry Karsen, 321 Tomahawk Dr., Palm Desert, CA We are limited to 200 guests. Terry must receive your check no later than November 29th. A CHECK RECEIVED BY TERRY IS YOUR HELD RESERVATION, NOT YOUR EVITE RESPONSE. If you have any questions, please us at cvhiking@gmail.com.

Opportunty to get involved in all aspects of the CVHC. To register a new membership, go to www.cvhikingclub.net, click the blue Join Our Club button, and complete the membership form.

6 JOIN COACHELLA VALLEY HIKING CLUB TODAY! CVHC members receive three time a year issues of Trailside newsletter Hike schedule for a variety of weekend and weekday hikes Events including monthly socials, potlucks, annual party, cookouts Opportunty to get involved in all aspects of the CVHC. To register a new membership, go to click the blue Join Our Club button, and complete the membership form. Your information is protected and used only by members of CVHC for club purposes. To renew a membership using your PayPal account, click the Renew Membership link at the right of the Home page. If you prefer to send a check, the club mailing address is shown on that page. To change your contact information, use the Contact form at Your message will be routed to Linda St. John, Membership Records. SUPPORT YOUR CLUB... NEW COLORS & NEW CVHC TEE SHIRT 100% Preshrunk Cotton or Cool Dry Wick Polyster material 140 GREAT HIKES IN & NEAR PALM SPRINGS; Now in four colors! CLUB COLORFUL PIN 140 Great Hikes, (now in four colors) In and Near Palm Springs, $20 ea. by CVHC Founder, Philip Ferranti CVHC Pin Quantity Collectors Item, Remaining Inventory: Only $ 2 ea. CVHC Tee Shirt: Quantity Ladies, Cotton, Short Sleeve, V-Neck, Lavender, S M L XL $15 Quantity Mens, Cotton, Short Sleeve, Crew Neck, Tan, S M L $15 Quantity Mens, Polyster, Short Sleeve, Crew Neck, White, XS S M L $15 Quantity Mens, Polyster, Long Sleeve, Crew New, White, S M L $20 Total number of 140 Great Hikes Total number of CVHC Pin Total number of Tee Shirts ordered: $ $ $ Total amount enclosed: Make check payable to CVHC. $ To order by mail, send to: Laurie Lantz, Pinyon Dr., Mountain Center, CA 92561; by phone call: (760) ;, or pinyonlaur@verizon.net Name: Phone: Shipping Address: City: State: Zip: CVHC Pin $2 ea. Enamel pin is the club purple and green logo in the center, around the perimeter are gold letters on white background (ACTUAL SIZE SHOWN)

Serving the Coachella Valley and Beyond

Serving the Coachella Valley and Beyond Follow the leader, leader, leader...meet SOME of our hike leaders Nancy Bone "Nancy, aka Broken Bone, is originally from North Carolina, transplanted to Minnesota and now, thankfully, winters in sunny,