Sunday, December 18, 2011

Irish Cabin History – Irish Cabin Peaks


Night at Irish Cabin, Date Unknown

This is the second in a series of six articles to share the history and adventures of fellow Tacoma Mountaineers leading up to our 100th Anniversary on March 19, 2012.  And to keep everyone informed of the progress being made on the remodeling of our Clubhouse, now known as The Mountaineers, Tacoma Program Center, as this impressive project moves forward shortly.  We will also keep you apprised of Anniversary Celebration Events and Dates.

“A Little Bit of Irish”

The Tacoma Mountaineers’ Irish Cabin property is located on State Route 165, one-fourth mile west of the Carbon River Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.

The original Irish Cabin, built in the late 1890s – early 1900s, belonged to George Archibald Irish (1879-1941) and his brother Alexander “Sandy” Mortimer Irish (1869-1910) who owned a copper mine – the Irish Mine.  They also did logging in the area, and their family lived in Burnett.  Rough and tough, they were known as “those wild Irish boys” in those days.

Irish Cabin was later owned by the Manley-Moor Lumber Company who loaned it to The Mountaineers from 1926-1937.  At that time, the Cabin and its 18 acres of land on the Carbon River were purchased by the club for a sum of $300.

The Cabin’s main use was as a base camp for climbing and hiking in the northwest corner of Mt. Rainier National Park.  During the period after 1926 members of the club identified 24 peaks and established routes to the “Irish Cabin Peaks”, all within the boundaries of MRNP.
Floyd Raver Tolmie Peak, November 3rd, 1946

Many additions and changes were made to the Cabin to make it a comfortable place for at least a score of climbers to spend weekends, prepare meals, and enjoy the grounds on a regular basis.  The men and boys occupied bunks in a dormitory over the main cabin, while the women’s dorm was upstairs over the addition.  Running water was provided from running springs high on the hill south of the Cabin, and electricity was created by a diesel generator in a utility building beside the main Cabin.  Outhouses were down a path through 10’ high salmonberry bushes, in the deep shade of hemlock trees.  A merry stream on the south side of the Cabin was a great attraction to children.

After World War II until the early 1980s Irish Cabin was the site of the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day.  What a colorful and festive occasion that was!  Over 100 diners were served by Mountaineer cooks who roasted the turkeys at their homes in Tacoma, bringing them directly to the dinner.  The other menu items were prepared at the Cabin by the crew that spent all day Saturday getting things ready.  The dormitories were full of weekend hikers, plus the Dinner Committee, on the night before the feast.

The Cabin was decorated with bright fall leaves, pumpkins, apples and candles.  At the singing of the Doxology, the crowd filled the tables crowded into the main room with the overflow in the side room.  After Thanksgiving Dinner, over mince and pumpkin pies and coffee, there would be a program by talented Mountaineer storytellers and musicians.  The program also included remarks by invited-guest, the MRNP Ranger assigned to the Carbon River Entrance.

Thanksgiving Dinner
Hikes in the area around Irish Cabin were popular early in the day before the dinner, and many Thanksgiving Sundays were memorable for the silver frost on the forests, and icy lace in wet places near the Cabin.  Sometimes there was snow, but seldom enough to close the road.  And sometimes the November winds would roar down the river, giving the trees against the hillsides a chance to show their supple maneuverability, swishing against the gray skies of winter in the foothills.  It was exciting (and risky) to be out in such drama!  But the natural world at Irish in November is beautiful.  Lovely mosses, lichens, fungi and woodsy plants, not so noticeable in the jungle of summer’s lush growth, become special.  Winter’s dampness, the softly muted colors, and the quiet peace add a pleasant dimension to the outdoor experience.

One winter the Carbon River’s annual flooding savaged the road, surged onto Irish Cabin property, moving tons and tons of boulders and debris through the underpinnings of our Cabin.  The torrent’s scouring off of topsoil and its ferns and herbaceous plants was something to behold!  But miraculously the cabin stood, spring came, the river resumed its former braided channels, the trees and brush survived and flourished.

For the several years he served as Irish Cabin Chairman Gene Fear and his crew did many improvements to the buildings, the grounds and trails.  An overnight campground was prepared for Mountaineers who wished to do tent camping there.  The climbing course practiced on the rocks above the cabin, using the facility almost every weekend.

Break-ins, thefts of gear and supplies, as well as vandalism became a major problem for the Irish Cabin Committee.  Members of the club stayed at the Cabin so there was constant surveillance.  But after a time it became necessary to bring valuables like generators, tableware, lamps, etc. to town for safekeeping.

With the opening of the Mowich Lake Road many of our members, who wanted to climb into the areas once accessed by the Ipsut Pass Trail, went directly to Mowich Lake.  By now most of the climbers were backpacking with comfortable gear to bed down in the alpine meadows for overnights, so Irish Cabin was too low, and out of the way.

Easy access to the Irish Cabin Peak trailheads by car, plus the constant takeover by vagrants, vandals and beer busts, were circumstances that forced the Tacoma Mountaineers to seriously consider the future of Irish Cabin.  A commitment to keeping the Cabin for club use meant expensive maintenance and repairs, constant responsible surveillance to protect the property from destruction, and consistent scheduling of events there to make it worthwhile to the Club.  This proved to be more than we were able to manage, except for some notable exceptions by dedicated Irish Cabin Chairmen.

Irish Cabin was dismantled in 1980.  It was a sad thing for many old time Mountaineers, and for the younger members, descendants of the “old-timers”, whose childhoods were filled with memories of joyous times at Irish.  The Club still owns the property.  It is used by the Navigation Course and occasionally as a car-camping site by members of the Club.

Thanksgiving Dinner November, 1977
Contributors: Helen Engle, Clubhouse Secretary; Debbie Due, Trustee

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Great Adventure Began on March 19, 1912

Local Walk to Dupont, 1916
This is the first in a series of six articles to share the history and adventures of fellow Tacoma Mountaineers leading up to our 100th Anniversary on March 19, 2012.  And to keep everyone informed of the progress being made on the remodeling of our Clubhouse, now known as The Mountaineers, Tacoma Program Center, as this impressive project moves forward shortly.  We will also keep you apprised of Anniversary Celebration Events and Dates.

THE BEGINNING

The Tacoma Branch of the Mountaineers was formed on March 19, 1912 primarily due to the efforts of A. H. Denman, an attorney with a love for photography and the mountains.  He was assisted by John B. Flett, a botany professor, and J. Harry Weer, a wholesale grocery executive.   Fifteen members met on March 19th and a short constitution and by-laws were adopted.  Officers were elected and committees appointed, including a local walks and a program committee for monthly meetings.

J. Harry Weer was Tacoma’s first president for nearly seven years.  He also was the first Summer Outing chairman from Tacoma when it was held at Mt. Rainier in 1915.  That year’s outing was a hike around Mt. Rainier – a route that became known as the Wonderland Trail.
Mount Rainier, 1912.  Camp at Summerland

Monthly meetings were held on the first Friday at various locations.  On Friday, June 7, 1912 Professor Flett lectured on his last summer’s trip around Mt. Tacoma (he still preferred that name to Rainer) using lantern slides.

“Local Walks” were a very active and popular focus of the new Branch.  These would often involve taking a street car or crossing The Narrows by boat.  Following are several excerpts taken from the The Mountaineer Bulletin, April 1912:

“May 12, 1912.  Take car at corner of Ninth and Commerce Streets leaving at 8:50 a.m. for American Lake; thence on foot along shore of American Lake to Lake Sequalitchew, where we lunch; thence around Lake Sequalitchew to Steilacoom; about 12 miles walking; bring lunch and cup.  Leader, Allen C. Mason”

This annual walk was known as the “violet walk”.  Participants would actually spend time gathering violets and other flowers.

“May 26, 1912.  Take steamer Crest from Municipal Dock at 9 a.m. for Gig Harbor; walk to Henderson Bay, thence to Hale’s Passage, returning by steamer Tyrus; arriving in Tacoma about 6 p.m.  Total fare 40 cents.  Walking distance 8 miles, very pretty through woods and in sight of water.  Bring lunch and cup.  Leader, Prof. John B. Flett.”

The following excerpt, documenting an outing in 1916, comes from a journal housed in the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library.  Forty-eight people attended this event.

“Saturday, May 06, 1916.  Lillian Streeter, Leader

Boat to Fox Island, 1916
The party took a bus leaving the corner of 9th and Broadway at 3:10 P.M. to Titlow's Beach, connecting with a special boat leaving there at 3:45 P.M. for Miyajima Lodge on Fox Island. Me
Bonfires on the beach, music, dancing in the evening, boat races, bathing and walks around the island took up the time of the members, the return to Tacoma being made Sunday evening.  Total expense for the trip was $1.25”


The first “Tacoma Outing” in 1912 was a five-day trip for 22 mountaineers at Mt. Beljica, two and a half miles northwest of Mt. Wow, to condition those who intended to participate in the official summer outing.  New members on the summer outing were Allen C. Mason and Jessie C. Barlow.  The Summer Outing with Seattle members was July 20 to August 10, 1912.  Members took the train to Nelson Siding (about 2 miles east of Easton on I-90) and hiked cross country over Naches Pass to Summerland and Bear Gap.  They then went to Fairfax where they took the train home.

Before 1912 ended, the Tacoma Branch held a five-day winter outing at Longmire, which became an annual event.  Participants took the train to Ashford.  From Ashford to Longmire, some walked and some rode in a van.  The next day they hiked to Narada Falls and on to Paradise.  The outing was moved to Paradise in 1917, and attendance figures for 1923 show 160 present.  Those isolated treks, although halted a decade or so later for insurance reasons, were among the area’s first organized efforts to get into the mountains in winter, and they pioneered the way for snowshoeing, skiing, and winter mountaineering that would follow.

Interesting Quick Facts from October 12, 1917 Report:

Membership:  Men, 36; Women, 53; Total, 89


Out-of-Doors Activities:         Number         Attendance                  Mileage
         Local Walks                     20                     508                              218        
         Weekend Outings             2                       55                                40
         Special Outings             1                       68                                56


The Tacoma Mountaineers were off to a great start in March 1912.  Could they even begin to imagine what the future would bring and how much their Club would contribute, in the years ahead to their community?  In next month’s installment you’ll learn about the wonders of Irish Cabin and its decades of history and activities.  It was a major hub of activities for the Tacoma Mountaineers for many years.


**As a side note:  Ten years ago a grant was given to the Tacoma Public Library, Washington State Historical Society, and the Tacoma Mountaineers to digitalize many of the journals, scrapbooks, maps, and pictures that are currently stored at the Tacoma Public Library.  Please visit http://mtn.tpl.lib.wa.us/climbs/ to see much, much more of our history.  The collection is a fantastic resource and it’s easy to get lost in the stories and pictures.

**Wouldn’t it be great fun to reenact one of the great adventures listed above in 2012 in celebration of a century of outdoor activities?  Please contact Debbie Due at debdue@harbornet.com if interested.

Contributors:  Wilma Peterson, Club Historian; Helen Engle, Clubhouse Secretary; Debbie Due, Trustee