Wonders Of Wy'east

When it comes to tales about Native American life among the Cascade volcanoes, I can't seem to get enough: Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Mazama, Mt. Shasta, Glacier Peak, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier and more. The common belief? Powerful spirits lived on the tops, the kind you don't want to mess with.

Such is the case of Mt Hood, (Wy'east to the Multnomah tribe). It's the Cascade peak I'm most familiar with. We could see the mountain from my childhood home. Renamed by British explorers, Wy'east was one of three mountains involved in a love triad, along with Pahto (Mt. Adams) and Loowit (St. Helens). An ugly battle ensued.

Growing up in the City of Roses, Mt. Hood was the most prominent peak. Beginning with a summit experience at age 12, I have now climbed Wy'east, the tallest peak in Oregon, 11 times: twice with my Dad's climbing group, the rest with my loose confederation of pirates, too varied to identify by name.

At its zenith, the mountain stood 12,000 feet, rivaling Mt. Mazama to the south and Mt. Adams to the north, with fumaroles emitting sulphur dioxide that smells like rotten eggs. Near the summit, a bergshrund (crevasse) and portal (Pearly Gates) are the last obstacles before the top, which is about the length of a football field.

The mountain's glaciers drain to well known streams flowing into the Willamette and Columbia Rivers (Zigzag, Sandy, White and Hood Rivers). The Pleistocene glaciers eroded the upper canyons into U-shaped valleys. Wy'east consists primarily of andesite lavas. The surrounding topography was much the same as today.

Driving the Mt. Hood loop provides excellent views of its fellow Guardians of the Columbia, Mt. Adams (Pahto) and Mt. St. Helens (Loowit). Wy'east itself features numerous historical buildings, including Timberline Lodge on the south side and Cloud Cap Inn on the northeast side. You can drive to both landmarks.

Photography 101

Neither pure photographer, nor pure photojournalist, I'm more a combination of the two. Hence, I had a lecture on photography for budding bloggers in my "Taking Good Pictures" section of my Strategic Communications class. Many student blogs have plentiful pix and not enough copy, or too much copy but not enough visually.

I would begin by discussing how to move in closely and consider all angles on a shot. Closeups convey a sense of intimacy. Instead of backing up, move forward. Eliminate anything that doesn't add to the shot. Use leading lines that direct your viewer to your principal focal point, like a roadway or a shadow.

Also, choose the proper point of view, examining all angles of a shot. High angle or low angle? Move your camera to change the composition. Consider the horizon line. A pic can only tell one story effectively. Subject can be one or several. Avoid the middle when you can. Generally speaking, less means more.

Rules for good pix are not fixed and can vary widely. Nevertheless, understanding principles of good composition can help you prevent mistakes in subject arrangement and presentation. Visualize how the subjects play together. Plan figures of objects in certain positions. Positions can alter composition.

There's something to be said for being in the right place at the right time. Timing can be key. Remember, good composition is the result of of careful planning, patient waiting and a sense of the best moment to shoot. Dumb luck also helps, of course. Keep a digital camera handy, preferrably with variable lens capability.

Most quality pictures are not the result of a fortuitous accident. They are the result of timing and follow rules of good composition. The elements of each focal point should play well together. Consider the sight lines. Lead your viewer to your subject or subjects, and have fun being creative. Play with your work to fine tune it.

Mutual Mentoring

Shocked? Yes. Surprised? No. Humbled? Absolutely. Grateful? Without a doubt. Such was my reaction when I learned from my friend and colleague Dave Thompson that I was to be recognized as the winner of the Olga M. Haley Mentorship Award from the Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

But I must deflect, or perhaps reorient, such an honor to those who contributed: my students, whom I hope benefitted from the relationship as much as I. Also, my mentors at the UO j-school, and my PRSA homies in various leadership and governance activities. Most of all my family, who tolerated my antics and schedule.

How did it all begin? After the Earth cooled and the dinosaurs died, I graduated from the UO j-school and went to work as a reporter. After two years of gigs at weeklies throughout the Northwest, I served as a public information officer and writer/editor for the United States Forest Service in Seattle, Washington.

Inspired by the potential opportunities waiting in PR, I returned to the j-school for more training. Hired as PR coordinator at a local hospital a few years later, I signed on for a similar role at Eugene Water & Electric Board, Soon after, I was hired as an adjunct instructor at UO SOJC. Worked both gigs simultaneously for 23 years.

As an instructor in the PR sequence, I taught strategic writing and planning, newsletter publication and PR campaigns. My students returned the favor; they were instructive with Facebook. When asked if I was on the social medium, I sheepishly replied, “no.” They all laughed and then friended me on FB, once I was established.

They also mentored me on the art and science of other social media, such as LinkedIn and blogging. I was all in. In 2008, I founded GonzoPR. My writing skills, including headline writing, and photography and graphic design skills, all came in quite handy. No Twitter for me. I get into enough trouble with just my mouth.

And what of my colleagues? My merry band of pirates at the EWEB Conservation Center, my PRSA co-conspirators at district meetings and national leadership assembly, and my j-school cohorts? We’re all more trouble than a delegation of Canadian utility communicators at a BPA marketing and advertising meeting.

I would introduce my PR peeps to my UO PRSSA students, connecting them with professionals from around the U.S. and the world, aligning both parties based on their mutual interests. I know it’s cliché, but public relations is about networking. But when all the fun is over, it was back to work grading papers and preparing lectures.

As a utility communicator, I participated in the Eugene-Springfield PR Roundtable, the precursor of the Greater Oregon Chapter of PRSA. Liz Cawood, APR, spearheaded the effort and I was a founding member, and next, a board member. Eventually, I served as chair in 2004. I had been patiently waiting my turn.

In the mid-90s, I became professional advisor for UO PRSSA. In 2005, I attended the PRSSA gig during Christmas week in Miami Beach. The original date coincided with Hurricane Katrina. The PRSA conference was never rescheduled. There, I met Jedi Masters like the incomparable Betsy Plank, PR pioneer.

As an instructor, I primarily taught PR writing. Trained as a journalist, I covered the basics first. I would query the class: "How many parts of speech in the English language can you name?" They would volunteer their responses, starting with nouns and verbs. The one that stumped everybody? Interjections.

“Which ones are my favorites?" Stumped again. “I hate pronouns. Not as descriptive or as varied as nouns, and I prefer active over passive verbs, so we know who’s doing what. Adjectives? Yes, but not excessively. Adverbs and conjunctions? Transition words. Prepositions? Can’t live without them. Interjections? Almost never.

And punctuation? Indispensable. A period denotes end of sentence. Commas? A pause. Semi-colon? Two full sentences, related subjects. Colons? Part full sentence, part half sentence. Question marks? Vital. Prepositions? Always. Exclamation points? Sparingly. What does five say that one doesn’t? More than one is way too many!!!!!

Finally, at the end of the term, I would share life lessons. You sometimes have to fail miserably before succeeding greatly. Never give up. Abraham Lincoln failed at every bid for office save for three. On the third one, he became President of the United States of America. Not a bad outcome.

In the planning and campaigns classes, I illustrated the key values of strategy and research to justify budgets. If you have no plan, you have no money for public relations, advertising and marketing initiatives. Curious managers, supervisors and accountants want to know if your communications plan is worthy.

At PRSA/PRSSA conferences, I’d be busier than a barefoot boy on a red ant hill. Meetings with leadership assembly, social gatherings, conference programming (keynote speakers and break out sessions), and when I could get away with it, concerts at local establishments and tours of landmarks and other points of interest.

What now? Plenty. First and foremost, I’ll be spending time with my family. I’ll also continue to pursue my passion for writing, and photography and design, as well as hike in the wilderness, and consult with friends, colleagues and former students. Mentor and be mentored with all my peeps. What’s not to like? Onward.

Fire And Ice

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved the mountains. Growing up in East Portland on (where else?) an extinct volcano known as Mt.Tabor, we had stunning views of both Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens, as well as a tiny tip of Mt. Adams, from the family home at 350 S.E. Gilham Avenue in the City of Roses.

At an early age, I took to adventures in the Cascades. In the Boy Scouts, I roamed the trails of the Mt. Hood National Forest and hiked from Timberline Lodge to the Columbia River Gorge on the Pacific Crest Trail. By age 12, I had climbed Mt. Hood with my dad’s high school climbing club associated with the Mazamas in Portland.

By the time I was 14, I had climbed Mt. St. Helens. In Boy Scouts, we’d spend a week at Spirit Lake on the north side of the peak. This was all before the blast. In the mid-60s, I kept having this recurring dream: gazing from our kitchen window, the mountain erupted. About 15 years later, it actually happened.

Climbing other lesser peaks during my high school years (I was quite busy with academic and athletic pursuits), I resumed my serious hobby in college, working at Crater Lake National Park, and the Forest Service on the Malheur and Wenatchee National Forests. After graduation from j-school, I resumed working for the U.S.F.S.

On the Lake Wenatchee District, which had peaks galore, I worked as a wilderness ranger for the next five years. By the early 80s, I had left the Forest Service for graduate school in journalism and a career in public relations, first at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and then Eugene Water & Electric Board.

Being my career job, I spent 23 years at the utility. Hooking up with other like-minded backcountry enthusiasts, I reconnected with Oregon’s Cascade peaks while traveling to Lake Wenatchee to reacquaint myself with those trails and massifs. By 2008, I had retired from the utility to dedicate time to more wilderness endeavors.

In retirement, I’ve had the opportunity to explore my Alpine roots, with visits to Germany, Switzerland and Italy. My heroes throughout my climbing career were Fred Beckey, a Northwest resident (Seattle) who was a transplant from Germany, and Reinhold Messner, an Italian-cum-German citizen of South Tyrol.

Hence, I will initiate a series of posts on the the mountains of the Northwest, beginning with peaks I’m most familiar with in Oregon and Washington, in a series entitled “Fire and Ice” on the Cascades, this region’s contribution to the Pacific Ring of Fire that extends from the tip of South America to the tip of New Zealand.