The group consisted of Ellen, Bob, Susie, Sarah, Barbara, Tony, Oscar, Jan, Michelle and myself. The weather was a bit overcast, but perfect for kayaking. We were all in the water by 10 am and paddled to Rat Island in good time. We lucked out with the tide and current both ways in our favor. We made it to the island by noon where we lunched and attempted to find the treasure. The area where the treasure is, was pretty overgrown, which made it difficult to try to find the buried treasure. We gave up after an attempt was made and headed back to the kayaks. The island still has mosquitoes and poison ivy. We left the island and headed back to Oak Beach. A good time was had by all!

Ansel Adams Wilderness Summer Expedition by Anthony Truocchio
The Trip to the High Sierras started off very well. We left JFK at 6:55 and arrived at Oakland, California at 10:20 pm with no problems. After arriving, we quickly gathered the team and were off to the rental car place. Check-in went smoothly and we were on our way. The team of 11 drove most of the way to Mammoth Lake, slept for a few hours, then finished the drive. After some logistics with the shuttle buses, we were at Agnew Meadows where our first camp was. The next morning the fun began, after an early rise and shine, we gathered our belongings and headed to the bus stop, took the bus down to Devils Postpile which is a “special” rock formation, and with that, the hike began. That day consisted of a 7.8 mile hike to a beautiful lake called Minaret where we met up with Eric and Lisa Matrejek. The next morning we were off to Lake Ediza which was 3 miles and a 400’ elevation gain. From there, members of the team had the choice to “attempt” to climb the 13,157’ Mt. Ritter or spend a nice leisurely day in camp. Dave, Steve, Bill, and Pete attempted the climb while Brian, Leslie, Bonny, Vic, Jim, Dawson and I spent the day hiking around and swimming in the stream nearby. The next day was a 5 miler to Garnet Lake which was a 1000’ elevation gain. After Garnet Lake came Waugh Lake and then over Donahue Pass into Yosemite National Park. Then we hiked into Tuolumne Meadows where we got showers and real food. We stayed there for the day until the YARTS bus came and picked us up at the Visitors Center. We then picked up our cars and drove to the hotel we were staying at in Mammoth Lake. Then the next day we went sightseeing in Yosemite Valley, and back to Oakland it was, to catch a red eye flight back to JFK. In all, the trip was very enjoyable and a lot of fun for everyone.

IN REFLECTION
By Dawson Hunter

To most of you reading this newsletter, Post One is a current happening in your pursuit of fun, adventure, challenge and a modern way of life. For me it is another day in a 30 year odyssey called Post One, and what an exciting journey this year has been. I just ran my 5.7 mile leg almost three minutes faster than last year with the Post One Ocean to Sound 50 Mile Relay team (Dave, Pete, Bob, Shelly, Kevin, Judy, Tom & Bill), having three weeks earlier joined the Post One Summer Expedition team (Pete, Bonny, Dave, Vic, Leslie, Steve, Anthony, Brian, and Jim) trekking 60 miles in the 12,000 foot Sierras with a 40 pound pack to get in shape for the race. What a good feeling it was to have such great people to run and trek with in my 75th year. As I stood at dawn on 11,056 foot Donahue Pass to Yosemite with the 40 mph near frigid winds in my face, I felt privileged to have such a great group of Post members right behind me should I have a need. I relished every step as I leaned downhill toward the Yosemite Valley and the last leg of our 6 day hike in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. You cannot beat the experience of bushwhacking an unknown wilderness with map and compass in hand as we most assuredly did with uncanny accuracy, several times crisscrossing the High Sierras Muir Trail in this summer expedition. I can still hear the chatter of comradery as I accomplished each day’s goal with team hikers Anthony, Brian, Leslie, Bill, Jim, Vic, Pete, Dave, Steve and Bonny.