You will hear us!!

GVC has purchased an induction loop to provide those of us who need hearing assistance. It will be in operation at Chapter meetings. You can use it in at least 2 ways: if you use hearing aids that are equipped with a t-coil, just turn on that feature for the presentation. We also have 5 personal receivers for individual use. Either way, you will have an enhanced experience.
Contact Bill Lindenfelser or Katy Kuczek for more info.

7:30 pm Program:

Portraits of Adirondack 46Rs

by Kate Sage

Kate Sage’s portrait series explores what it means to be an Adirondack 46er beyond the accomplishment of reaching all 46 High Peaks. Through portraits and personal stories, Sage examines the different ways people find meaning in the mountains, from challenge and personal transformation to community, mentorship, stewardship, and giving back.

There is no single path through the Adirondacks. Some are chasing all 46 peaks, some are still working toward the goal, and others have found their place through mentorship, stewardship, or simply returning to the mountains again and again, always leaving it a better place than they found it. Together, their stories show that the 46er experience is about far more than a list of summits.

For some, the mountains become a place to rebuild. For others, they become a place to push their limits, find community, or discover a deeper connection to the landscape. Through photographs and stories, Sage looks beyond the summit to explore the people behind the challenge and the experiences that keep them coming back. At its heart, the project asks a simple but much bigger question: What do the mountains give us, and what do we give back?

7:30 pm Program:

The Pantanal

by Jerry Miller

In the middle of South America , in southwest Brazil lies a region known as the Pantanal. The Pantanal is the Worlds largest tropical wetland and seasonal floodplain. It covers an estimated area of between 54,000 to 81,000 square miles or about 43.5 million acres, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Washington. The majority of the Pantanal, about 80%, is in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sol. The remaining 20% extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. During the rainy season, November through March, the Pantanal receives an average rainfall of between 40 – 60 inches, turning the lowlands into a giant shallow inland sea, raising water levels several meters and making many roads impassable.

While not as well known as the Amazon to the north, the Pantanal is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet with more than 4700 plant and animal species.The World Wildlife Fund for Nature estimates there are 650 species of birds, 159 species of mammals and 98 species of reptiles in the Pantanal. The Pantanal contains South America’s highest concentration of some iconic wildlife species, including jaguars, caiman and giant river otters.

Jaguars in the Pantanal are about twice the size of jaguars in other regions of South or Central America. Adult males in this area range between 220-280 lbs with the largest pushing 300 lbs. The Pantanal also has the highest concentration of jaguars in the world with some areas reaching up to 12 individuals per 38 square miles. About 90% of a jaguars diet in this area is made up of caiman. The caiman population in the Pantanal is estimated to be 10 million.

In August of this year, I spent ten days traveling in the Northern Pantanal photographing the unique and amazing wildlife that calls the Pantanal home. The majority time was spent in a long, narrow motorboat called a voadeira, exploring the Cuiaba and Piquiri Rivers and their various tributaries and channels, in search of jaguars and other wildlife.

In my presentation I will describe where and what constitutes the Pantanal and some of the challenges it faces. I’ll talk about my trip to get there, places I stayed and my travels in the Pantanal. My presentation will include many images of the wildlife I photographed and I’ll share some interesting facts about these unique creatures.