Bob Cates on Aug. 4 was awarded the Susan E. Miller Award from national Sierra Club that honors administrative contributions to groups, chapters and regional entities. Cates has been a vital part of the Club and the Angeles Chapter for at least three decades.
A leader and longtime climber, Cates is active with the Hundred Peaks Section and the Natural Science Section, and serves as editor of the Natural Science Section newsletter too.
Together with his wife, Maureen, Cates has led the Nature Knowledge Workshop and a variety of camping trips that combine his interests in photography and natural science.
He has a life-long interest in conservation, including a leadership role in the passage of the California Desert Protection Act in 1994 and continuing into the present time with trail work days in the Angeles National Forest following the devastating Station Fire of August 2009.
Most know him as keeper of the Chapter’s history. He has catalogued and preserved thousands of photographs and records, organizing and archiving them for future use.
Last year during the Chapter’s centennial, he and Maureen dressed in period attire from their collection of vintage hiking clothes, camping and hiking equipment and memorabilia.
The Natural Science Section encourages all to meet Cates by joining one of his hikes. You’ll get some exercise, learn a lot about the natural world, and be entertained with his jokes, puns and stories.
Ginny Herringer is a Chapter leader and frequent contributer to the Southern Sierran.
Photos: Top: Bob Cates (middle) flanked by Don Siminski (left) and Nick Shah atop Mt. Baden Powell in the Angeles National Forest.
Left: Cates takes meticulously stunning photos during his hikes, like these lichen communities on rocks on the summit of Sawmill Mountain in August.