Gary is superintendent of Sherwood Forest Youth Camp located at Lesterville.  In that work he does everything from greeting dignitaries to performing construction jobs.  He and Nina live on the camp premises.

   Historically, oour presidential line since 1980 has been as follows:  Bob Lewis, 1980; Bill Reeves, 1982; Karen Adams, 1984; Beth Williamson, 1986; Barbara Sandhagen, 1988; Hal Ferris, 1990 (died in office--Karen Adams finished term); Karen Adams, 1992; Sue Hagan, 1994; Neal Gunn, 1996; Eric Hamburg, 1998; Mick Sutton, 2000; Doug Willis (left area--Bob Lewis completed term, 2002; Sue Hagan, 2004; and Nina Chastain, 2006.

   I would also like to take this opportunity to share a little aboout myself in hope of fostering an understanding of why I am involved with the Audubon Society.  Having grown up on the quiet, reserved side of the spectrum I would identify myself as a mild-mannered environmentalist.  Audubon is a good fit for me:  I see it as a mild mannered environmental organization.  The organization's goals of education, advocacy, habitat preservation and land stewardship are all founded on solid reasoning and hence the longevity of the organization and its well deserved respect.  I'd like to see our Chapter grow and its members get more involved so as to continue that legacy.

   My fascination with the natural world began in my pre-kindergarten years and continues to this day.  I remember my introduction to the avian species quite vividly.  I was 4 or 5 years old, playing alone in the backyard when I happened to notice something moving on the ground under the large cherry tree along the neighbors' fence.  Moving slowly, and not taking my eyes off the object, I crept to within a few feet of it, leaned over to get a closer look and discovered a little baby bird.  What a thrill!  But then it happened...out of nowhere came this loud, terrifying, blood curdling screeching and it was headed straight for my head!  I ducked and weaved certain that at any moment my head was going to be snapped right off.  Fortunately I was already facing the direction of the back door when this nightmare began so all I had to do was run straight enough and fast enough and maybe, just maybe, I would make it to the kitchen alive.  It seemed an eternity, and it wasn't until that screen door was slammed shut behind me that I took the time to start breathing again.

   For the next two weeks I stayed out of the back yard as that big, fat cherry-fed robin ruled from the top of her tree and mocked me every time I started out onto the porch. 

   But I learned something that day....that there are other living things on this planet and they deserve our respect.  And so for the next fifty years or so it became my passion to learn as much as I could about the natural world around me.  And there is no doubt in myl mind tht the more you know about the world around you, the more you will want to treasure and protect it.

   I'm writing from a great little motel in Lima, Montana.  My hiking partner Eric and I are stuck here over the weekend waiting on a re-supply from the postoffice.  It can be a bit maddening being stuck in one place like this when you're used to being on the move every day.  On the other hand, it's also kind of nice to do nothing and get some well-deserved rest.  Hopefully, we'll be on the trail tomorrow.

   From here in Lima there are only 730 trail miles left to Canada so I'm approaching the final leg of my hike.  The plan is to hopefully reach to border by the first or second week of October.  Fall is already setting in up here; you can smell it in the air and the nights are getting cold--so I'm beginning to feel the pressure to finish this thing.

   Since my last email I've crossed some amazing country through Colorado, Wyoming and now Idaho and Montana.  There's been way too much to describe here now but I'll try and briefly touch on some of the highlights.

   Finish up Colorado was, of course, beautiful with more miles spent high above tree line than beloow.  On one particular night in Colorado we ran into some excitement.  Moving down the trail one evening we noticed some strange drag marks in the middle of the path.  We followed a bit before spotting a guy (Ed) lying in the middle of the path.  The guy actually looked dead but to our relief he sat up and said, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

   It turns out he was a Denver priest with the Catholic Church and he was out on a day hike when his knee made a loud pop and he was suddenly immobilized.  He had already been out thirty-some hours and endured a frigid night that he wasn't equipped for.  He was just coming to accept the realization that he was going to be out another one when we showed up.  At the point where his knee blew out there was no water available so he had been trying to drag himself along backwards down the trail to locate water.

   This is where the drag marks we had been following came from.  This act of dragging himself along left him kind of a bruised and bloody mess.  It was decided that because Eric was a faster hiker than me, he would hike out and call for help and I would stay with the victim and treat him for shock.

   After Eric left I made some hot cocoa and some Mac and cheese for Ed before putting him into my sleeping bag.  The evening wore on into the night so I decided to settle in--just in case help didn't arrive until morning.  About 11 pl.m. the first of many search-and-rescue teams arrived.  They immediately went to work on Ed.  There was oxygen, IVs, splints etc.

   A couple more teams showed up and started making plans on how to get him out.  It was quite a spectacle to witness and I got to witness it all because I couldn't get any of my gear (that Ed was using) back until they were ready to move him.  Finally, about 1 a.m. I started the hike out to the trailhead where Eric was waiting.

   The following days we learned that we made the top story on the Denver news.  Unjustly, Eric hogged the spotlight; when they talked about us they only mentioned Eric's name.  (That's cool though--real heroes don't do it for publicity).

   Entering Wyoming we immediately hiked into the Grand Basin, a huge high desert.  At first it was neat to be in a different landscape after the high mountains of Colorado.  But after a few days of the windy, hot, barren landscape with very little water sources, I had had enough.  What little water was in the Basin was mostly nasty and fouled by cattle.  Using bleach for water treatment, I could kill the nasties but I still had to drink them.  It was quite unpleasant.

   For enduring the Basin I was rewarded with the Wind River Range.  The Winds were the most amazing mountain I've ever been in--jagged, gnarly, raw peaks; the way mountain are supposed to look.  T;his is where we made our second rescue.

To finish this story attend the November 20th meeting.

and members enjoyed our banquet

   While some of the food was being received in the church kitchen, someone noticed that the van bearing the Traveling Talons had arrived.