Your locally owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
Mount Si bittersweet over blowout victory Page 6
October 2, 2014
New Mailbox Peak trail delivers a welcome message
Mount Si hosts annual college, career fair Oct. 7
around tree roots, mudslides and was difficult to follow, needed a face lift. The process required four years and more than 12,000 hours of volunteer labor. The project was spearheaded by the efforts and partnerships of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Washington Trails Association and EarthCorps. The result: a safer and more accessible route to the mailbox. The cost was more than $500,000, much of it paid for by federal grants. My daughter, Rebekah Pickering, and I volunteered for trail work Sept. 27 and joined the enthusiastic group that gathered for the 8:30 a.m. ribboncutting ceremony. Sept. 27 was also National Public Lands Day and officials and volunteers from Mountains to Sound, DNR, REI and a lot of local hikers were on hand to work and celebrate at the new trailhead parking lot near the Middle Fork Road. “This iconic trail is a shining example of what can be accomplished through the works of many different individuals and
Mount Si High School will be hosting its third annual college and career night from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 7 on the main campus. The event is designed to help students and families with questions about education after high school. Attendees will have access to representatives from many different colleges. Students in grades eight through 12 and their parents are encouraged to attend. There will also be several workshops about various topics related to higher education, including how to pay for college, tests such as the SAT and ACT and how to prepare for them, and how to apply to colleges. The following colleges and military groups will be represented at the event: University of Washington, Western Washington University, Washington State University, Central Washington University, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Linfield College, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Renton Technical College, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, University of Montana, Montana State University, University of Arizona, University of Colorado Boulder, Navy, Army, Marines, Digi-Pen, Academy of Interactive Entertainment and Simon Fraser University — B.C. Learn more by emailing Kellie Essig, the Mount Si career specialist, at essigk@ svsd410.org, or call 831-8116.
By Gloria Vazquez Carl Heine, I imagine, would be proud. The Seattle postman was also serving as the director of Valley Camp in the 1960s when he began challenging youths to climb the mountain in the “backyard” of the Lutheran Camp Facility. Heine placed a mailbox at the summit and tucked a notebook into the box for the youths to sign when they reached the top. The summit became known as Mailbox Peak. Each year, thousands of hikers deliver their own notes or mementos to the famous mailbox. The original mailbox has been replaced many times over the years, however, the mountain’s reputation of being a thighburning, endurance-testing climb remained. The steep grade and at times sketchy trail has long posed challenges for serious hikers, as well as for search and rescue teams that have often been called out to locate lost or injured climbers. Outdoor groups got the message. The trail, which wound
By Gloria Vazquez
Rebekah Pickering, a sophomore at Mount Si High School, poses at the summit of Mailbox Peak. entities all working together,” Peter Goldmark, the Washington Commissioner of Public Lands, said. The new trail is well laid-out. Mark Stenger, former trail program manager for Mountains to Sound, had spent considerable time on the mountain, mapping out an ideal trail that eliminates some pitfalls of the original boot track. Over the
years, erosion and increased use had left the trail potentially hazardous for hikers. The original route was a steep, close the 3-mile trek with an elevation gain of 4,000 feet. It could be brutal, particularly if hikers weren’t prepared. The trail was not only difficult to climb, it was hard to follow, which is why See TRAIL, Page 3
Plugged in to what makes people laugh By Sherry Grindeland editor@snovalleystar.com Dan Whitney never misses a Larry the Cable Guy show. Larry, the stand-up comedian dressed in a shirt with cutoff sleeves and camouflage Huskers baseball cap who delivers oneliners in a Southern good-ol’ boy accent, makes him laugh from the minute he gets onstage to the minute he leaves. Whitney knows Larry the Cable Guy well. He is Larry. “I think everyone has it figured out that the Cable Guy is
a character I’ve created,” Whitney said in a telephone interview from Nebraska. “He’s probably America’s longest running piece of Larry the performance Cable Guy art around.” Whitney was an actor first — if you don’t count growing up in a family where jokes and wise comments were the norm.
If you go Larry the Cable Guy q 7 and 9 p.m. Oct. 2 q Snoqualmie Casino q Tickets $35 to $90 q www.snocasino.com “My mom’s funny, my sister’s funny and my brother is a lot funnier than I am,” he said. In high school and college, he performed in traditional musicals and plays, such as “South Pacific” and “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
But during college, Whitney tried comedy and liked it, particularly the laughter from the audience. That’s one of the 51-year-old preacher’s son’s favorite things about live appearances — watching people laugh at his jokes. “Comedy is such a wonderful thing,” he said. “It makes us laugh and laughter is healthy. It makes us all feel better.” For Whitney, the pleasure is doubled — he writes most of his own material. For special projects, he leans on a couple See CABLE GUY, Page 5
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