Olympia Adventure Speakers Committee

Olympia Mountaineers invites members and non-members to join us at our evening socials featuring speakers guaranteed to inspire your next adventure.

The Adventure Speaker Series meets on the first Wednesday of the month, November through March. We meet at the Friends Meeting House, 3201 Boston Harbor Rd. NE,  Olympia 98506.

6:00 - Doors open. Meet the Mountaineers, check out our library, watch the audiovisual presentation, and pick up pamphlets on membership, activities, and classes.

6:45 - Branch announcements of upcoming classes and events.

7:00 - The Adventure Speaker Series starts promptly at 7pm. Arrive earlier for parking and seating.

The event is free, but please RSVP. Our RSVP sign up links will be added to this site soon. 

For more information, contact Carolyn Burreson.

2023-2024 Olympia Mountaineers Adventure Speaker Series 

November 1 - Tami Asars - Fall Color Hikes – Washington (Aug 2022)

Fall is a spectacular time of year for hiking in the Pacific Northwest!  Join guidebook author Tami Asars as she walks us through some of her favorite autumn hikes and colorful scenic drives from her latest book, Fall Color Hikes: Washington (Mountaineers Books). Pick up a personalized copy, while you are here.

Tami is the author of Hiking the Wonderland Trail (Mountaineers Books), Day Hiking Mount Adams and Goat Rocks (Mountaineers Books), Hiking the PCT: Washington (Mountaineers Books), Day Hiking Mount Rainier (Mountaineers Books) and Fall Color Hikes: Washington(Mountaineers Books). She also is a contributor, photographer and columnist for Washington Trails Magazine, Alaska Airlines Magazine, as well as a host of other publications, and other online hiking resources.

 She has earned her Triple Crown of hiking, meaning she has completed the three major US trails (Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail) as well as a host of others (Wonderland, West Coast, Colorado Trail, Arizona Trail, etc). Additionally, she has also served as a professional backpacking guide in Mount Rainier National Park and worked as an outdoor instructional guide, showing people of all skill levels the wonders of backpacking in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, or to drop her a line, please visit www.tamiasars.com.

December 6 - Craig Romano - Day Hiking the Central Cascades (new edition 2023)

Come take a slideshow hiking tour of Washington’s breathtaking Central Cascades with award winning guidebook author Craig Romano. Drawing from his newly released Second Edition Day Hiking Central Cascades (Mountaineers Books); Craig will introduce you to a diverse array of trails along the Stevens Pass US 2 corridor, the Icicle River Valley, Lake Wenatchee area, Blewett Pass, Wenatchee foothills, lightly-hiked Entiat River Valley, and Lake Chelan area including the remote Stehekin Valley.

Craig hiked more than 2000 miles researching this book from easy nature trails to wilderness romps. This all new completely revised, and updated volume contains 136 hikes, including many found in no other guidebooks. Many of the hikes from the previous edition have been greatly expanded providing for even more hiking opportunities.

Romano is one of the most prolific trails writers in the Northwest having penned more than two dozen books covering the region. His Columbia Highlands: Exploring Washington’s Last Frontier, was recognized in 2010 by Washington Secretary of State, Sam Reed and State Librarian, Jan Walsh as a Washington Reads book for its contribution to Washington’s cultural heritage. He has hiked more than 32,000 miles in Washington State alone.  He is also an avid runner and has completed more than 40 marathons and ultra runs, including the White River 50 mile Adventure Run.

January 3, 2024 - Donna Kreuger - Solo Alaska

Donna Kreuger retired in January 2022 and left from Olympia in June on an 11,500-mile solo trip camping and exploring western Canada and Alaska. Her trip took her through the Canadian Rockies, on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway north up to the Dempster Highway through the Yukon and Northern Territories to the Arctic Ocean. From there, she crossed the Yukon River to connect to the Top of World Highway, entering Alaska through the northernmost land border crossing. Her travels included the Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Valdez, glacier kayak tours, the Kenai Peninsula and Lake Clark National Park for coastal brown bear tours, the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse (Ice Road Truckers road) and Denali National Park before returning home on the Alcan Highway.

Donna Kreuger joined the Mountaineers because, while she grew up in remote Alaska, she wanted to safely explore the Washington mountains and trails.  Her first Mountaineers experience was taking the Wilderness Skills course to gain a basic toolkit for her planned adventures.  That experience, and the volunteerism exhibited by the instructors inspired her to become a hike leader and to volunteer.  

Donna graduated the Alpine Scramble course, was a regular volunteer with the Wilderness Skills and snowshoe courses, continues to support the Navigation course and Adventure Speaker Series.  In 2015, she established the Olympia Branch Conditioning Hiking Series course, and administered the course through 2021.  She has also acted as Co-Chair of the Hiking and Backpacking Committee from 2015-2021 and has stepped back into that roll in January 2023. Her focus in the club has been to welcome new members through training and beginning hiking, backpacking, and snowshoe trips and to assist and develop new leaders within the hiking group.   

Donna’s favorite saying is “I’m just a chubby little grandma, and if I can do it, anyone can.” This attitude has carried her through the Scramble course, many hikes each year, regular achievement of 100,000 vertical gain in a calendar year, long distance day hikes such as the 22-mile Seven Lakes Basin, High Divide and 28-mile Enchanted Valley.  She is also section hiking the Washington PCT trail. 

February 7, 2024 - Marko Pavela - Great Northwest Climbing Road Trips

Recent graduates of the Olympia Intermediate Climbing Course will share information about four of the Northwest's premier climbing destinations.  The presenters will share route recommendations, logistical considerations, and inspirational photos for each area, so that attendees can later plan travel to these fantastic crags.  Time will be allowed for questions.

Five Destination Worthy Trad Climbing Crags are  1) Joshua Tree, 2) the Gunks, 3) Smith Rock, 4) City of Rocks in Idaho, and 5) Squamish B.C.

March 6, 2024 - Nigel Foster - Iceland by Kayak

In 1977, Nigel Foster and Geoff Hunter set off on a shoestring adventure to explore a country of just 222,000 people. Hear the story of the First Circumnavigation of Iceland by Kayak, and how such an expedition came about in those days before dry suits, cellphones, hand-held waterproof VHF radios, GPS, or the World Wide Web. That’s before the home computer, and twenty years before Google came onto the scene. Anyone for curried seagull?

Nigel’s presentation expands on some of the stories he tells in his newly released, 2023 book, Iceland by Kayak. 

Nigel Foster is an English kayaker living in Seattle. He makes his living designing kayaks and equipment, writing, and from kayak instruction around the world. He has published more than a dozen books, the latest being Iceland by Kayak. Check him out on Wikipedia.