The Interpreter
Winter 2012 In This Issue: Snowshoeing­ Fun for All – Page 2 Animal Facts (Frogs & Toads) – Page 3 Desolation Volunteer Program – Page 3 President’s Message – Pages 4 & 5 General Meeting (Green Fire Film) – Page 6 A Tribute to Ray Boyer – Pg 7 “The mission of the Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association (ENFIA), a non­
profit organization, is dedicated to helping the Eldorado National Forest serve the public.” Page 2 SNOWSHOEING – FUN FOR ALL
There is no better way to begin snowshoeing than just going and doing it. Take a risk, rent
or buy a pair of snowshoes, dress for the elements and enjoy. However, that’s just a start –
there is more to it than just taking a refreshing plunge in some snow. Snowshoeing has
been around for thousands of years. Obviously, the art of snowshoeing has become more
sophisticated over time – now it’s considered a winter sport. From the early wood-frame to
the aluminum-frame models, snowshoeing has garnered quite a following throughout the
world. Modern day snowshoeing is made up of casual snowshoers who hike trails for
pleasure, the snowshoeing enthusiasts who trek through the backcountry, and the
competitors who race. Considering this is the fastest growing winter sport in the
world (snowboarding is growing fast too, but not fast enough), snowshoeing is poised to become a monster of a market. Many
involved in skiing and snowboarding utilize snowshoes to participate in some great backcountry hikes to find the holy grail of
Mother Nature: deep, unscathed powder. Snowshoeing is a great alternative for many sports – especially those who like
running. The sport is easy to learn, virtually inexpensive (compared to other winter sports), poses little risk of injury and is a
great way to exert energy during the cold winter months. According to research provided by Snowsports Industries America
(SIA), 40.8 percent of snowshoers are women (a number that is increasing rapidly), 9.4 percent of snowshoers are children
(ages 7-11), and 44.2 percent of snowshoers are ages 25-44. One of the more appealing facts about snowshoeing is how it
can help enrich a person’s health. Known to help maintain or improve cardiovascular fitness, the sport helps burn more than
600 calories per hour. Snowshoers can burn more than 45 percent more calories than walking or running at the same speed,
according to SIA.
ZEPHYR TRAIL TO LOON LAKE CHALET,
LOON LAKE, CRYSTAL BASIN
Difficulty: 2 (varies with snow conditions); Distance: 1.25 miles to Chalet; Elevation: 35-foot gain from trailhead to Chalet
Directions: From Highway 50 going east, turn left onto Ice House Road immediately after crossing the bridge over South Fork
American River (about 22 miles east of Placerville). Follow Ice House Road for 24.3 miles to a right turn to Loon Lake.
Proceed 4.5 miles to the first trailhead which is the entrance to the Loon Lake Campground. In the winter the campground gate
is closed so you will park at the gate. The second trailhead is at the Loon Lake Chalet.
Description: This trail is one of several in the Loon Lake Winter Recreation Area. The whole family will enjoy these
snowshoeing or backcountry skiing trails. Here you will get to test your tracking abilities to find the trail markers along the way.
From the parking area along the road, go 0.2 miles to the trailhead on your left. You should see a blue diamond marker on a
tree ahead of your starting point. In addition to the diamond markers, there are numerous ribbons tied to trees to mark your
way. Always look ahead to the next marker before going forward. If you look backwards, you will see the diamonds on the
other side of the tree for your return trip. After 0.5 miles, the trail crosses an asphalt service road. Look ahead in your original
direction, across the road, and spot your next blue diamond marker. In another 0.1 mile, you will reach a pond and depending
on the amount of water, you may need to divert around it before getting to your next marker. At 0.75 mile, you will reach a
gravel service road to a power plant. The main road is immediately to your left. Walk up the main road and go right 0.15 mile to
the Chalet. You will see the sign for the Loon Lake Chalet on your left. The Chalet provides a great picnic spot with a large
deck and benches and tables (and toilet facilities). Return on your same route – easier now as you can follow your own tracks.
If you want to continue your adventure, then showshoe down the campground road to reach Loon Lake. The Lake is beautiful
this time of the year, with its frozen patches and snowy boundaries, creating silver reflections. With luck, you will visit on a
sunny day and you can make use of one of the picnic tables overlooking the lake. (excerpt from “48 Dog-Friendly Trails”
by Debbi Preston)
Page 3 Interesting Animal Facts 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Facts About Toads and Frogs Frogs and toads look similar. Toads belong to the frog family, so technically, while all toads are frogs, not all frogs are toads One way to tell frogs and toads apart is by their skin. Toads have dry skin that is bumpy. Frogs have moist skin that is smooth.
There are more than 4,000 species of frogs. The largest is about 12 inches long (Goliath Frog from West Africa).
American bullfrogs can reach eight inches in length and over three pounds in weight. Some people eat bullfrogs.
Can you get warts from holding a toad? No! But you can die from holding a frog—if it's a poison dart frog! Some of these bright
little South American frogs are so toxic that one drop of their skin secretions can kill an adult human.
6. Do frogs have teeth? Actually, yes! Most frogs do in fact have teeth of a sort. They have a ridge of very small cone teeth
around the upper edge of the jaw. These are called Maxillary Teeth. Frogs often have what are called Vomerine Teeth
on the roof of their mouth. They don't have anything that could be called teeth on their lower jaw, so they usually swallow their
food whole. The so-called "teeth" are mainly used to hold the prey and keep it in place till they can get a good grip on it and
squash their eyeballs down to swallow their meal. Toads, however, do NOT have any teeth.
7. A bullfrog’s deep-pitched call can be heard from more than a quarter-mile away. It sounds like a cow mooing to some people….
“Jug-o-rum, jug-o-rum”. These interesting facts on frogs and toads come from National Geographic Kids and other Web sites
A RED‐LEGGED FROG STORY There was a really cute princess walking through the woods at Carson Pass, and she heard a voice calling, "Hey Really Cute Princess!"
She looked around and didn't see anyone but a frog. She asked one of the ENFIA Docents what kind of frog it was. The docent replied,
“That’s a Red-Legged frog. They were among the most abundant amphibians in California until the late 19th century when the California
gold miners nearly ate them to extinction, consuming about 80,000 frogs per year.” She thanked the docent and started to walk, on but the
frog called again. Hey Really Cute Princess, if you take me home and let me sleep on your pillow, I will turn back into a Handsome Prince!"
She decided to give it a try even though she really didn't believe the frog. The Really Cute Princess took the frog home with her to
Placerville
and let him sleep on her pillow. When she got up the next day what do you think she found? There on her pillow sat a really
Handsome
Prince. Do you believe this story? Neither did her mother!
Desolation Wilderness Volunteer Program
The Desolation Wilderness Volunteer Program, located on the Pacific Ranger District of the Eldorado N.F. and the
LakeTahoe
Basin Management Unit, will be featuring “Trailhead Naturalist” activities at our 13 portals to the Wilderness
in 2012. We are in the process of developing updated informational/interpretive display panels to be used by our
Trailhead Naturalists. During our upcoming Annual DW Volunteer training, to be held on June 9th and 10th, in Pollock
Pines, we will be training our volunteers in this activity. A typical volunteer day for our TN’s starts @ 8-9 am at the
trailhead and then after lunch the volunteer usually takes down the display station and hikes into the Wilderness for the
rest of the day. The DWV program currently has 35 members providing @ 3,000 hours of service each year. We are
discussing ways that ENFIA members could partner with this program and provide the public with an interpretive based
perspective on Wilderness preservation. Those of you who might be interested in our volunteer program can receive
information at the Desolation Wilderness Volunteer website at: www.desowv.org. All of our activities/programs are
coordinated thru this website. I will be at the March 10th ENFIA meeting in Placerville to discuss this opportunity with all
interested parties. Jon Erickson, Wilderness Program Manager - Volunteer & District Trails Coordinator Pacific Ranger District
Page 4 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
“As in 2011 the theme for 2012 will be “Involvement”. One goal is to increase the
number of activities and volunteer opportunities for our membership to enjoy. The
second goal is to create more positive interactions between the Forest Service and
ENFIA. Step one in this second goal will be a meeting in February with Forest
Service staff to reacquaint them with ENFIA. There has been a lot of turnover of
staff in the 25 years since we started and this will be a good opportunity to let
everyone know who we are and the mission of ENFIA. I have written a letter to
members of the Forest Service as a way of reintroducing ourselves to them at the
February meeting. I have inserted the letter (below and on the next page) for your
Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association
The membership of the Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association (ENFIA) wishes you a very Happy New Year .We have
enjoyed working with the forest staff for the last 25 years to fulfill our “interpretive” mission on The Eldorado. We would like to take
this opportunity to keep you updated on ENFIA activities and hope you will find more areas where we can assist the Forest Service
and the public in 2012. We look forward to again assisting the Ranger Districts in providing information to the public through our
volunteer activities and the through the materials and maps we supply at the Forest Stores in each district. It has been fun and
fulfilling.
The ENFIA theme for 2011/2012 is “Involvement”. Our goals in 2012 are to increase our active involvement with the Forest Services
and to provide volunteer support for forest projects. We also want to increase our activities that benefit the general public.
ENFIA involvement with the Forest Service would not be possible without the fantastic support we have been given by the staff at
each of our Forest Stores located in the district offices, the Supervisors’ office and Carson Pass Information Station. All of our funds
come from selling the maps, books, and other interpretive material found at these outlets.
A survey was sent out to our membership in 2011 regarding the types of activities the ENFIA members were interested in. We were
pleasantly surprised at the response we received. Thirty of our members enjoyed involvement in docent type programs and
outdoor projects programs across the Eldorado. Sixteen members said they would like to get involved helping out at the various
Forest Service Ranger Stations. Twenty eight members thought that we needed to resume the great Forest Service lead field trips
we have had in the past.
We have also informally been asking Forest Service personnel what type of assistance would benefit them and the public. Of course
the continuation of the Carson Pass involvement was at the top of the list. At Carson Pass ENFIA members staff the information
station during the summer months and provide maps and interpretive material to the public. We also issue wilderness and campfire
permits and provide the Forest Service and the public with daily updates on trail and wildflower conditions.
For 2012, grant writing for specific FS projects and requests for funds for smaller projects seem to be areas of interest to FS
personnel. Interest has also been shown regarding starting docent programs along the Highway 50 corridor. We hope that we can
have these types of programs started in 2012. We are now setting out to match our volunteer interests with the needs of the various
Ranger Districts.
Page 5 Letter to Forest Service (continued)
During 2011 ENFIA members put in 3151 volunteer hours for the Forest Service. This makes of total of 55,155 hours that ENFIA
members have provided in the past to help visitors to the Eldorado. Carson Pass has been the recipient of many of these hours. From
the building of the Carson Pass Information Station, to the yearly running of the station, the ENFIA volunteers have been most
enthusiastic. A docent walking program has been started at Carson Pass where our docents take to the trails in the Mokelumne
Wilderness to assist the thousands of hikers who use this area each year and to bring back current reports to the Information Station
on the condition of the trails.
There has also been many hours spent on procuring grant money to complete projects on the Forest. This money has been used to
improve areas in the Amador, Pacific and Placerville Ranger Districts. The Desolation Wilderness Volunteer Program has received two
grants and a donation of uniforms from REI with the help of ENFIA. Currently we are working on finding funding to complete a project
for the Georgetown District. The Amador Ranger District received grants to support the Mokelumne Wilderness Volunteers. These
monies were used to purchase radios, educational materials, and grant support for trail projects including the new Sentinels Trail and
restoration of several trails in the Mokelumne Wilderness.
Our web page, www.enfia.info, reaches out to the public and carries a lot of information regarding the Eldorado National Forest through
our own pages and our links to Forest Service pages.
Four times a year ENFIA holds a general meeting for its members and the general public. In 2011 the speakers included Jim Cahill on
the El Dorado County Nordic Search and Rescue Team, Kristi Schroeder on “Adventures in Volunteering”, and “ Wildflowers” by Sue
Durham.
We have a quarterly newsletter, “The Interpreter”, in which we include a variety of articles regarding the history of the forest, the plants
and animals, and conservation information. “Forest in Hot Water”, “Georgetown and the Divide”, “Wrights Lake Camping, Fishing &
Hiking”, and “History Walks at Carson Pass”, are articles that were included in 2011 that provided interpretive and historical
information.
It has been our pleasure to support the Eldorado National Forest for 25 years and we are looking forward to continuing with this support
in 2012. Please let us know how we can help. (Contact: Mary Knowles [email protected] (530) 622 4666, or Kathie Piaszk
[email protected] (530) 295 1500.
HAVE A WONDERFUL 2012! The ENFIA Board
Mary Knowles, Kathie Piaszk, Dan Quayle, Marilyn Meyer, Nancy Schoonover
“I hope after reading this letter you will share with the Board your suggestions for more
involvement in 2012. This year will be a very interesting and active year for ENFIA
members. I am looking forward to our continuing involvement with the Eldorado
National Forest.”
Mary Knowles
ENFIA President Page 6 FOOD, FILM, AND FRIENDS
Join ENFIA Members and Guests for a day of Food and Fun
at our General Meeting
March 10, 2012
ENFIA THEATER
Now Playing
ENFIA Theater Location
100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA
Showtimes:
Pot Luck - 11:30 AM
Movie: (Green Fire) - 1:00 PM
(popcorn provided)
About Green Fire
The first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, Green Fire
highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement.
Leopold remains relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land. Aldo Leopold is
considered the most important conservationist of the 20th century because his ideas are so relevant to the environmental
issues of our time. He is the father of the national wilderness system, wildlife management and the science of ecological
restoration. Green Fire explores Leopold’s personal journey of observation and understanding. It reveals how his ideas
resonate with people across the entire American landscape, from inner cities to the most remote wild lands. The film
challenges viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land.
Page 7 Board Members
Mary Knowles (530) 622-4666
[email protected]
Kathie Piaszk
(530) 295-1500
[email protected]
RAY BOYER
Celebrating 96 Years of a Life Well Lived - An Honorable Man
Nancy Schoonover
[email protected]
Marilyn Meyer (209) 295-5603
[email protected]
Ray Boyer, born May 29, 1915 in Oakland, California, passed away, with his
family nearby, on December 5th, 2011 in San Luis Obispo. ENFIA wishes to
honor this major contributing volunteer of ENFIA who gave the past 16 years to
making walking sticks which he donated to their cause. As a young boy Ray’s
family was dedicated to camping and fishing in the central and northern Sierra
Nevada as well as exploring the hills and fishing the streams of the Bay area.
Ray remained passionate about these activities for the rest of his life.
He lived a full life as a devoted husband, father, builder, world traveler, and
fisherman. On June 1, 1943 Ray married June A. Hamilton who was the love
of his life and true soul mate. They had three children; two daughters and a
son. When he semi-retired in 1973, they moved to Pioneer where Ray built
their dream home in the quiet mountain community where they lived the rest of
their lives. When June became ill in the 1990s he remained a devoted
caretaker. During this period he continued to take walks through the forests
and began collecting sticks, He turned them into artistic walking sticks which
he hoped would inspire and encourage others to get out and enjoy the beautiful
outdoors. Ray then donated the sticks to ENFIA to sell at Carson Pass which
made thousands of dollars for the Association.
Business Manager:
Ron Piaszk
(530) 295-0700
[email protected]
After more than 60 years of happy marriage June passed away in early 2004.
When Ray finally recovered from the huge loss, he began living his life again
traveling, camping, and always fishing with his friends and children’s families
while continuing to live independently at his home.
Carson Pass Manager:
Bob Youel
(530) 344-1558
[email protected]
Ray is survived by his 3 children, 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
If you are fortunate enough to have a Ray Boyer stick, remember that he
wanted to share his never ending love of the outdoors with you through this
creative and utilitarian gift made by him.
“Thank You” to everyone that has donated to ENFIA in memory of Ray Boyer.
Dan Quayle
(530) 644-4908
[email protected]
F.S. Liaison:
Kristi Schroeder (530) 295-5610
[email protected]
Retail Manager:
Kathie Piaszk
(530) 295-1500
[email protected]
Publicity Manager:
Ron Piaszk
(530) 295-0700
[email protected]
Membership Coordinator:
Nancy Schoonover
[email protected]