Carol Vellutini
Redwood Chapter Outings Chair

Congratulations to Don Anderson, Tim Bartice, Peter Couden, Doug Condrotte, and John Draper for completing their two nights of training as the first step to becoming a Sierra Club leader for the Sonoma Group.

Don Anderson has been a resident of Sonoma County for 15 years. He is an Engineer by profession, but his soul demands backpacking. He has extensive experience around the country, both leading and following, on private trips and with the local and national Sierra Club. He especially likes the dynamic of groups, the camaraderie of the trail and the varieties of personality. Don says "nothing like the beauty of the mountains, the feel of sun on the skin, the whisper of wind at night and sharing it all". He is interested in leading long trips, 6 or more days preferably.

Tim Bartice has lived in Sonoma County for 17 years. He has been a Teamster for 29 years. Experience in the outdoors includes backpacking for 21 years and being a bicycling tour guide for 15 years. Tim volunteers for the Marine Mammal Institute and the Sonoma County library. Tim's passions are the sea (lived by it all his life) and his cat Wren. Look for Tim to be a leader of dayhikes and backpacking.

Peter Couden moved to California from Massachusetts twenty years ago after college (spending 10 years in Southern California and the last ten in Sonoma County). He works as a painting contractor. Peter has been an active backpacker and camper since his time in the boy scouts. He loves the Sierra and the backcountry of Southern California. Peter looks forward to leading weekend trips and week-long excursions. He has spent time in and around Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Trinity National Forest. Getting out in the wild helps Peter put things in their proper perspective and gets him connected to the world around him. Hobbies include sailing, gardening, and skiing.

John Draper is a long time Napa County resident and works as a civil engineering consultant to cities in Napa County. He has enjoyed a long history of outdoor pursuits including hiking, backcountry skiing, backpacking, windsurfing, spelunking, diving, and swimming. His hobbies include African dancing and drumming, furniture making, and good food. You may meet John this spring as he co-leads some of our trips.

Welcome new leaders to the Sonoma group.

Our Lake Group Outings Chair, Steve Devoto, is working on insuring that Cache Creek will become part of the California Wild and Scenic River Act. That will bring increased public recognition to this valuable local, regional and statewide resource as part of a system of protected free-flowing rivers throughout California. Thank you, Steve. Steve will introduce his new leaders in the next Needles.

The Sonoma Group has made the Sonoma County Regional Parks its priority for volunteer work. There is a new 300 acre addition to Hood Mountain Regional Park and it needs lots of work before the official dedication in October. Sierra Club is partnering with the Bay Area Ridge Trail, REI and Dave Chalk's trail people to try to do much needed restoration and trail work in the months of April-Sept. We already worked in Feb/March. We pulled out thousands of Scotch Broom, cut dozens of Acacia trees & chipped them, pulled out old fence wire and old metal posts. We need dozens of workers. Please see Outings pages for volunteer dates & sign up & tell all your friends.