Jeff Johnson
GLS has been publishing a newsletter since 1987. This is the last issue of GLS TRACKS in a printable format. Upcoming outings, trip reports, and other GLS content will appear online at GLSTRACKS.ORG.
Why “TRACKS”?
The first GLS newsletter issues had various titles, or no title at all. “TRACKS” first appeared, all caps, in the Sept/Oct 1988 issue, with this explanation:
Establishing GLS
Many of the newsletter articles in the earliest days of Gay and Lesbian Sierrans are about the thoughtful planning and advocacy that eventually overcame the resistance of the Angeles Chapter to accept GLS as an activity section. Some of the articles describing these efforts are show here.
In 1986, a GLS section had just been created in San Francisco. Reagan administration policies were driving the growing membership and influence of the Sierra Club. AIDS was driving increasingly assertive queer advocacy.
Los Angeles GLS organizing meetings began in 1986. A newsletter first appeared in early 1987. By the time the chapter approved a GLS section in late 1989, editor Tom Bistransky had TRACKS going regularly and looking organized.
Conservation
GLS political and conservation interests were big in many of the early newsletter issues. Some of the early conservation articles are shown here.
The Sierra Club strongly supported the California Desert Protection Act (CDPA) when Senator Alan Cranston first introduced it in 1986. The CDPA sought to protect large areas of the Mojave Desert from development. The CDPA was finally approved in 1994, long after Alan Cranston had retired and Dianne Feinstein had become Senator and an advocate for desert preservation. The CDPA created the Mojave National Preserve, as well as the Death Valley National Park and Joshua Tree National Park.
GLS took a particular interest in the Cady Mountains Wilderness Study Area in the Mojave Desert, south of I-15 between Barstow and Baker. GLS held outings in the area as early as 1989 and as recently as 2011. Through the newsletter, GLS encouraged members to attend the CDPA hearings in Sacramento and Beverly Hills in 1990, and to write letters to legislators to push for the CDPA. Many of the meatiest conservation articles in the early newsletters were written by Murray Aronson and Beth Epstein.
Since I became TRACKS editor in 2004, Tom Molloy has been contributing Conservation Notes/News. He’s written on many topics local and global, political and personal. In recent years, Conservation Notes has almost always been on page 6, opposite the first page of upcoming Outings and Events.
Outings
The first thing most people look for in TRACKS has always been the list of upcoming outings. Even before GLS was official, the newsletter listed many interesting upcoming outings. Then, it was part of a strategy to show that GLS was ready to function as a productive Sierra Club activity section, following the rules, with rated outing leaders.
Flipping through the newsletters from 1987 and 1988, there are outings in the Mojave Desert, at Telescope Peak, Mt. Whitney, a mule pack in the Sierras, and the first of many Grand Canyon outings (at Thanksgiving that year, not New Year). There are also outings at the opera, the Hollywood Bowl, a Dodgers game, Santa Anita Racetrack, a barbecue and movie at a leader’s home, and a historic tour of Montecito Heights. Some examples of the outings announced in early issues of the newsletter are shown here.
When I think of the kinds of outings that have become part of GLS myth and legend, I think of the Grand Canyon New Years Eve trips and the Sierra mule pack trips.
The Grand Canyon outings were multi-day adventures that took hikers down to Phantom Ranch or Havasupai village for New Years Eve. They were organized and led by Steve Green in the early years, and later by Susan Campo and others. When these were done as fundraisers, apparently they raised a lot of money. Recent changes in the reservation system for Phantom Ranch have made it difficult now to arrange an outing there for a large group.
The mule pack trips in the Sierras were led, it appears, mostly by Susan, Cookie, and some other leaders. The first I find announced in TRACKS, in July 1988, was led by Joni Cady and Jane Roosevelt. For years, these outings, particularly those led by Cookie, were predominantly women’s outings. Ask GLS women who were there in the early years which outings they recall most fondly, they always mention hiking with Cookie.
In more recent years, Alan Schimpff has organized several mule pack trips for GLS, which I have been happy to report on in TRACKS. We hope Alan will keep it up in coming years.
The leader whose outings have occupied the most space in TRACKS is Susan Campo. One distinction of Susan’s outings over the decades has been the amount of planning ahead. The Outings and Events section has announced Susan outings even a year ahead of time. As well as Susan’s early mule packs trips, there have been outings in Death Valley at Thanksgiving, in Canyonlands, in South Dakota, and even heli-hiking in the Canadian Rockies. TRACKS would have been a lot less interesting to work on without Susan’s outings to report on.
Griffith Park Wednesday Night Hikes
The GLS Wednesday Night Griffith Park hike to Mt. Hollywood was an established tradition by the time I became editor of TRACKS in 2004. Each issue of TRACKS then included an information box in the Outings and Events page about the Griffith Park hike, including time and meeting spot. In the early days of mapping services like Mapquest, the directions to the Ranger Station were not accurate and hikers often ended up somewhere else in the park. So, directions to the Griffith Park meeting point were added to the Griffith Park hike information box. Over the years, those directions got more elaborate and detailed. Just recently, a newcomer found the age-old instruction to meet “near the flagpole” at the Ranger Station to be misleading because, apparently, there is now another flagpole visible nearby.
When Eric Sas was newsletter editor, he noticed that some Griffith Park hikers prefer to hike with particular leaders. So Eric started to list the leaders for each Wednesday night hike in the TRACKS schedule, and that continued.
The early GLS Griffith Park hikes were not called “Wednesday Night Hikes.” Starting in 1988, and until 1997, the (equivalent) hike was called the “Griffith Park Moonlight Hike,” a more romantic title that would be accurate many months of the year. Also, in the early years, the hikes were on any weeknight, and were not every week. The hikes truly became the regular, weekly “Wednesday Night Hikes” in 1993.
GLS does not hold these hikes regularly now because, at the moment, we don’t have enough local leaders available. We are hoping to reinstate these hikes in 2024.
In recent years, we have tried having regular conditioning hikes/walks in Long Beach as well. For a while, they shared a general information box on the first page of Outings and Events with the Griffith Park hikes. But as active leaders have moved away from Long Beach and the two leader requirement has been stressed, these hikes are not regularly scheduled either.
Calendar
The calendar of outings (generally on page 10, but on page 14 in this issue) first appeared in TRACKS in the July/Aug 1999 issue, when Nitsy McCarthy was editor. Later, it disappeared for a while, then Eric Sas brought it back when he became TRACKS editor in 2001. He said that people liked to graphic one-page overview of the schedule. I have kept it in there pretty much as it was, with only full moon dates being added.
Producing TRACKS
To create the first GLS newsletters, someone typed out each bit of text, stuck bits of paper together to make a photocopyable original, then delivered the pasted-up original to a copy service. The copy service photocopied (“xeroxed”) that construction.
Eventually, GLS editors of varying tech proficiency moved TRACKS from physical pasteup to word processing or frame-base layout programs. First it was Microsoft Word, then PageMaker, and then InDesign. When I became editor in 2004, I put it into Microsoft Publisher. These programs all produced a file that could be printed, but apparently copy services still expected to print from a hard copy.
After a few midnight runs across L.A to deliver a hard copy under the doormat, I was happy to learn that the “copy shop” had the technology to allow me to email them a PDF file of TRACKS, which they could print directly.
And once TRACKS was being produced as a file in the (increasingly) familiar PDF format, why not just send that PDF directly to subscribers? Then people could see pictures in color on their computers! It can’t get lost behind the sofa! So we made PDF/email a subscription option and most subscribers chose that option—ex-editor Eric Sas was the first to switch. These changes saved money, saved time and trouble, and reduced our environmental footprint.
Some subscribers still preferred to have a real newsletter mailed to them so we kept on putting out the hard copy version while other Angeles Chapter groups eliminated printed newsletters. Even recently, it may still be true that people who get the hard copy version are more likely to actually read it and to show up for hikes.
One thing that has not changed since the early days is our printer: Debbie Collins at Ms. Dragon Print and Copy in Altadena. She was there almost at the beginning of GLS, and she is still there. The quality that her current printers produce is way better than even a few years ago.
So why drop the print-formatted newsletter now? Our greatest expense has been printing and mailing the newsletter. The number of people paying for the printed version has dwindled from over 500 decades ago to around 30 today. Eliminating subscription fees eliminates a lot of work for the Treasurer. Putting information online eliminates more work for the editor than it creates. Today, people expect a group like GLS to be online and free, so we should go there.
GLS Logos
The first GLS logo (#1) appeared in the July/Aug 1998 issue of TRACKS. It was an abstract paw print with “Sierra Club” and initials of GLS. This logo was used on the GLS banner displayed at pride festivals and on GLS T shirts. For years, provisional leaders were presented one of these logo T-shirts when completing their provisional hikes.
A new logo (#2) appeared in the July/Aug 2000 issue. This logo included a more lifelike pawprint, and included the name “Gay & Lesbian Sierrans” spelled out. This logo was on a new pride festival banner, and has been the logo in TRACKS until recently, though it changed to color (#3) when I found that original file. At one point, it was turned into a patch (#4) people could sew onto their packs.
In the social movements and self-questioning following the George Floyd protests in 2020, some GLSers asked whether the name “Gay and Lesbians Sierrans” was an artifact of a less inclusive time in the past and should now be changed. This question was considered in the July/Aug and Sept/Oct 2020 issues of TRACKS. In the end, there was an urge to do something but no clearly preferred alternative name. So the name did not change, but wording elsewhere did. The logo was changed slightly (#5) to include “A Rainbow Outdoor Group,” in rainbow colors. The “rainbow” language was also added in TRACKS and on our websites where we describe what GLS is and does.
In 2012, when we celebrated 25 years of GLS, we had a contest for a new design to print on anniversary T-shirts. The winning design (#6) was by Ginger Baker.
Digital Photography
One obvious difference between TRACKS 30 years ago and TRACKS today is photographs. I find no photographs in TRACKS until 1999—some recent issues of have been mostly photographs.
The message from Chair Tony Miller in the Nov/Dec 1998 issue mentioned that GLS had a digital camera users could borrow “so we can enhance the appearance of Tracks and our website.” When Eric Sas was editor, he started putting in photos in 1999. But those early photos don’t look great today. TRACKS was still being photocopied at the time, and photocopiers of then were good at copying text, not photos.
When Dawn Wilson became editor in 2003, composing TRACKS in InDesign, she put the first really good, large size photos on the front page. But the subtleties in those photos were lost in the newsletter mailed to subscribers because it was still being photocopied.
Once TRACKS was printed directly from a digital file, the photos in TRACKS started to look better.
Digital photography has steadily gotten better, more convenient, and ubiquitous. Now, more hikers send more and better quality photos of outings to include in trip reports. Some trip reports now are basically photos with captions. The photos have made TRACKS trip reports more graphical and, I think, more interesting. You can actually see the wild places we go. You can recognize your friends in the photos. Digital photography has made trip reports the main content of TRACKS.
Ms. Dragon’s printers also get credit. The quality of the pictures in printed TRACKS improved each time she got new machines. We don’t get magazine quality printing, but it’s a completely different look from the old days.
One thing has not changed. The print version is still black and white because color printing is still too expensive for TRACKS. But the PDF version is in color.
A few memorable pictures from TRACKS are shown at the bottom of this page.
Columns and Writers
Jen Dooley contributed her series of articles on The 10 Essentials, 10 issues in a row, starting with the Nov/Dec 2020 issue. Due to COVID-19, there were no outings to report on at the time, so I was especially glad to have a solid page of useful information to include in each of those issues.
Marie Ammerman wrote an interesting series of Safety Corner articles years earlier, starting with the Mar/Apr 2013 issue. Marie’s articles covered subjects from hiking in hunting season to driving in winter to dealing with emergencies.
Among the many who have been coaxed into contributing to TRACKS, Nancy Beverly stands alone. When asked for a little something, she has delivered again and again, without typos, editing not required. I particularly remember her writeup of a dramatic 3Ts hike for the Jan/Feb 2004 issue, my first issue as editor. The hikers were caught by surprise when smoke and wildfire started coming over the ridge toward them. A dramatic photo from that event is shown at the bottom of this page.
The most distinctive writing voice to be read in TRACKS has been Susan Campo’s. Susan writes with spontaneous enthusiasm that’s always fun to include.
Mary Adair’s “What is an Easy Hike?” was first in TRACKS in Mar/Apr 2001, and is still a favorite article. It has been reprinted a few times, last in July/Aug 2021. It gets a cheerful response each time.
Interviews
The first big interview article I put in TRACKS was “Checking In With Mary Adair” in the Nov/Dec 2016 and Jan/Feb 2017 issues. It was about her decades of work with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in L.A. and in Africa. Most people in GLS had heard about Mary’s work on hikes or at the holiday party, and it was interesting to learn a lot more. I still look forward to reading Mary’s memoir of those days.
I started interviewing again and putting “Checking In With…” articles in TRACKS during COVID-19. Mostly I talked to people familiar to GLSers about their adventures.
A particularly interesting pair of interviews was, first, an interview with David Smith, then Superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park and, next, with Byron Cook, a GLSer from San Diego who works with Joshua Tree Search and Rescue. I learned a lot from doing those articles and I hope you did too if you read them. The articles were in the May/June and July/Aug 2021 issues of TRACKS.
Last year, I talked to Tan Nguyen about his recent months on the Pacific Crest Trail. That article was in the Nov/Dec 2022 issue. It was interesting to hear what he went through, learning what it was going to take to complete the PCT before cold weather, and negotiating wildfires and other surprises along the way.
People Remembered
GLS has lost hiking friends over the years. Notices have appeared in TRACKS for many of these friends. I particularly remember the four who had larger articles while I was TRACKS editor.
Cookie Matson died in 2004. The Orange County Register reported that she died of Valley Fever, which “she contracted a few weeks earlier while driving through the Sacramento Valley on her way to Yosemite National Park, her favorite place in the world.” I had just become TRACKS editor. I had only met Cookie a couple of times. Many GLS women wrote me with their memories of trips they had taken with Cookie. I remember visiting Ana and Angie in Irvine to look through Cookie’s photo albums to find pictures for TRACKS. The great outpouring after her death was part of my introduction to GLS. The TRACKS issue about Cookie was the Sept/Oct 2004 issue.
Kathy Brizzard died in 2009. She was hiking with friends in Yosemite when she suffered a fatal fall. Kathy was one of the friendly GLS stalwarts in Griffith Park and elsewhere. She worked at a printing business and one of her contributions to GLS was pads of 100 signin sheets. Those pads of 100 sheets were the inspiration for the “100 Hikes” awards that GLS gave in years after Kathy’s death to leaders who led 100 (or multiples of 100) hikes for GLS. GLSers arranged to place the Kathy Brizzard Memorial Bench on the route of the Griffith Park Wednesday Night hikes. The TRACKS issue about Kathy was the Sept/Oct 2009 issue.
Pete Geissler died in 2016. Pete was one of the founders of GLS. He occupied positions of responsibility in the section for many of its early years. I only met him once or twice, but reading through the early issues of TRACKS, his name is everywhere, doing everything for GLS. The Sept/Oct 2016 issue of TRACKS has three remembrance articles about Pete, with several photos. I particularly remember what Susan said about Pete in her article: “We made a lot of history together.”
Jeff Cuevas died in early 2019, of cancer. We had all hiked with Jeff in Griffith Park and elsewhere and all knew him as a strong and cheerful hiker. He was one of the GLS men who also participated in other gay hiking groups that did more rigorous outings than normal for GLS. Because of his close friendship with Mike Brostoff, I was able to get many pictures of Jeff over the years to include in the Mar/Apr 2019 issue of TRACKS, with an article by Karen Lovett.
GLS Leaders
A continuing challenge for GLS has been to have enough active leaders (with current leadership credentials) to keep the schedule full of interesting outings. Whatever else may be going on, if you have interesting outings, people will show up and will have a good time.
Pretty much every issue of TRACKS has included some encouragement for people to become outing leaders, such as announcements of leadership training and team-building events. We are lucky that the Angeles Chapter has a well-organized leadership training program with well-defined standards.
Leaders meetings have been one of the contributions of GLS Outings Chairs over the years. One memorable meeting organized by Mike Brostoff was described in the Mar/Apr 2008 issue. It started with a trail repair project, followed by a potluck and dessert treat from Porto’s. During lunch, Mike went over the upcoming schedule and got leaders to fill in blank weekends.
One of Dawn Wilson’s contributions to TRACKS was to add a Leader’s Hub section. It has information specifically for GLS leaders, so our leaders have had a first place to turn with questions. People from other groups and sections have seen this in TRACKS and thought it was a good idea.
GLS TRACKS Archive
I have all but a few issues of TRACKS since 1987. Many hard copies, some scans of hard copies, and some of the original PDF files. Some of these came from GLSers who saved their TRACKS and other original GLS papers over the years. The One archive at USC has an incomplete collection of TRACKS, and was able to provide scans of many that I did not have. Some of the issues I do have are missing pages or were poorly scanned.
If you have saved old copies of TRACKS, particularly pre-2004, please let us know, CONTACT@GLSTRACKS.ORG, so maybe blank spots can be filled in. My goal is to make the complete collection available online as searchable PDFs.
A question about old TRACKS issues is about leader contact information. Many early leaders’ contact information has changed since it appeared in TRACKS, but the more current issues have current information. When will it be all right to expose that information online? Or should we go through and blot out current phone numbers and addresses?
Some Favorite Photos
Over the year of putting together TRACKS, I got to use many photos of many GLS outings from many photographers. Here some I particularly remember.
