Learning Euskara (Basque)

This interview comes to us thanks to EITb:

Basques around the world

Exclusive interview

Learning Basque is worth every hour of stress

06/12/2008

John Cortabitarte, Annie and Alaina Gavica, three US students of Basque heritage, decided to come to the Basque Country for a few weeks to study the language of their ancestors. It is hard but it is worthy, they say.

"It is worth every hour of stress, learning Basque is worthy", says Annie Gavica, one of the three American students studying Basque at the Maizpide barnetegia, a school devoted to teaching Basque to adults in the Basque town of Lazkao.

John Cortabitarte, Annie and Alaina Gavica, the three of them from the US town of Boise, of Basque heritage and students at the Boise State University did not hesitate when given the chance to spend some weeks in the Basque Country. The following is the exclusive interview for the Basque news and information channel eitb24.com.

Three Americans in Lazkao, in the Basque Country, studying Basque. How is it possible? Why does this happen?

Annie: We are currently studying Basque at the university in Boise, Boise State University, and we finished with the second year of Basque and so, we wanted it to continue and there wasn't any classes offered so were offered the chance to come to Lazkao for a short period of time, three weeks, two and half actually, and study Basque so we took it.

You are interested in Basque, because you are Basque-Americans?

John: Yes, of course.
Annie: Our families are all from here, at some point, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents.
John: My grandfather.

Is it your first time in the Basque Country? Are you having a good time?

John: It has been my first time, they have been here before but we are having a really good time.
Alaina: It's been a lot of fun and everybody has been super-nice and helps us with our Basque even though we struggle sometimes, but everyone has been great.

I read in the facebook that you didn't have any problem when you arrived to the airport, that everybody tried to help…

Annie: Yes, everyone spoke Spanish, or English, or whatever they could to try to help us because we had trouble with our bags at first, but it all got taken care of quickly, everyone has been very nice.

How is it being the learning of the Basque language? Is it difficult?

Alaina, Annie, John: Yes, it is very difficult
Annie: Very difficult but I think something we all really, really want to do so, we are trying extra hard.
Alaina: It's got a little easier since we've been here because everyone has kind of helped us out a little bit but it is difficult.

So, I imagine that when you go back to Boise, your level of Basque is going to be much better that the people's from your class.

Alaina: Yes, I hope so
Annie: We hope so

John: Yes, just like hearing it all the time helps a lot. Starting to understand words when people talk, getting used to like how fast everyone talks, because in Boise it is always slow and you can always ask questions, here you just kind of have to understand.

The fact that the dollar is so weak with respect to the euro, is it affecting you?

Annie: A little, it is more expensive to buy things here, just everyday things. However, a lot of things are cheaper here, like food, for example, is cheaper, so, it kind of evens out but other things, like souvenirs and things, are a little bit more expensive.

And now, just before we finish, if you want just to send a message to your friends from the university, from Boise…

John: We are having a really good time, if you get the chance to come you should, we're learning a lot of Basque and everybody is really nice and having a good time.
Annie: And it is worth every hour of stress, learning Basque is worthy, I'm enjoying it very much
Alaina: Definitely, come if you can.

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Wikipedia : Kingdom of Navarre (Intro)

Thanks to Txabi of SUBO for giving us the heads up about the information in English regarding Navarre, the kingdom of the Basques, at Wikipedia.

It is a lot of information so I will post it here in subsequent entries, here you have the intro:

Kingdom of Navarre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kingdom of Navarre (Spanish: Reino de Navarra, Basque: Nafarroako Erresuma, French: Royaume de Navarre), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean.

The kingdom of Navarre was formed when a local Basque leader Íñigo Arista was elected or declared King in Pamplona (traditionally in 824) and led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority.

The southern part of the kingdom was absorbed by the Kingdom of Castile in 1513, and thus became part of the unified Kingdom of Spain. The northern part of the kingdom remained independent, but it was joined with France in a personal union in 1589 when King Henry III of Navarre inherited the French throne as Henry IV of France, and in 1620 it was merged into the Kingdom of France.

Etymology

There are similar earlier toponyms but the first documentation of Latin navarros appears in Eginhard's chronicle of the feats of Charles the Great. Other Royal Frankish Annals give nabarros. There are two proposed etymologies for the name of Navarra/Nafarroa/Naparroa:

• Basque nabar (declined nom. sing. intr. nabarra): "brownish", "multicolor" (which would be a contrast with the green mountain lands north of the original County of Navarre).
  
• Basque naba/Castilian nava ("valley", "plain", present across Spain as in Las Navas de Tolosa) + Basque herri ("people", "land").

Note that Joan Corominas does not consider naba as clearly Basque in origin, but as part of a wider pre-Roman substrate.

Early history

See also: Duchy of Vasconia

The kingdom of Pamplona and then Navarre formed part of the traditional territory of the Vascones, a pre-Roman tribe who occupied the southern slope of the western Pyrenees and part of the shore of the Bay of Biscay.The area was completely conquered by the Romans by 74 BC. It was first part of the Roman province of Citerior, then of the Tarraconensis province and after that of the conventus Caesaraugustanus. Rome left a clear mark in the area in urbanization, language, infrastructure, commerce, and industry.

After the decline of the Western Roman Empire neither the Visigoths nor the Arabs ever succeeded in permanently occupying the Western Pyrenees. The western Pyrenees passages were the only ones allowing good transit through the mountains, other than those on the Southern Pyrenees. That made the region strategically important early in its history.

The Franks under Charlemagne extended their influence and control towards the south, occupying several regions of the north and east of the Iberian Peninsula. It's not clear how solid was the Frankish control over Pamplona. In August 15, 778, after the retreating Charlemagne had demolished the walls of Pamplona, the Basque tribes annihilated his rearguard, led by Roland, in a confrontation at a mountain passage known to history as the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.

In 806 and 812 Pamplona fell again into the Franks' hands. When, however, the Frankish emperors, on account of difficulties at home, were no longer able to give their attention to the outlying borderlands of their empire, the country, little by little, entirely withdrew from their allegiance, and about this time began the formation of a Vasconic dynasty which soon became very powerful. In 824 the Basque chieftain Íñigo Arista was chosen king of Pamplona, which was expanded under his successors and became known as the kingdom of Navarre.

In 905, the dynasty founded by Íñigo Arista was overtrown through the machinations of neighboring princes, and Sancho I Garcés (905–25), nephew of the Count of Ribagorza, was placed in the throne. He fought against the Moors with repeated success and joined Ultra-Puertos, or Basse-Navarre, to his own dominions, also extending its territory as far as Nájera. As a thanksgiving for his victories, he founded, in 924, the convent of Albelda. Before his death, all Moors had been driven from the country. His son and eventual successor, Garcia Sanchez I (931–70), who had the support of his energetic and diplomatic mother Toda (Teuda) Aznárez of the line of Arista, likewise engaged in a number of conflicts with the Moors. At this time, the county of Aragon, previously only nominally a vassal state, came under the direct control of the kings of Pamplona.

In the year 905 a Leonese chronicle mentions the extension of the Kingdom of Pamplona for the first time, being clear that it extended then to Nájera and Arba (arguably Araba), what for some implies that it included the Western Basque Country as well:

In era DCCCCXLIIII surrexit in Panpilona rex nomine Sancio Garseanis. Fidei Xpi inseparabiliterque uenerantissimus fuit, pius in omnibus fidefibus misericorsque oppressis catholicis. Quid multa? In omnibus operibus obtimus perstitit. Belligerator aduersus gentes Ysmaelitarum multipficiter strages gessit super Sarrazenos. Idem cepit per Cantabriam a Nagerense urbe usque ad Tutelam omnia castra. Terram quidem Degensem cum opidis cunctam possideuit. Arbam namque Panpilonensem suo iuri subdidit, necnon cum castris omne territorium Aragonense capit. Dehinc expulsis omnibus biotenatis XX' regni sue anno migrauit a seculo. Sepultus sancti Stefani portico regnat cum Xpo in polo (Obiit Sancio Garseanis era DCCCCLXIIII (A marg.)).

In the Era 944 [AD 905] arose in Pamplona a king named Sancio Garseanis. He was a man of unbreakable devotion to the faith of Christ, pious with all the faithful and merciful with oppressed Catholics. What more? In all his actions he performed as a great warrior against the people of the Ismailites; he inflicted multiple disasters on the Saracens. This same captured all the fortified places in the Cantabria, from the city of Nájera to Tudela. Indeed he possessed all the land of Degium [Monjardín, near Lizarra] with its towns. The "Arba" of Pamplona he submitted to his law, and conquered as well all the country of Aragon [then Jaca and nearby lands] with its fortresses. Later, after suppressing all infidels, the twentieth year of his reign he left this world. Buried in the portal of Saint Stephen [Monjardín], he reigns with Christ in Heaven (King Sancho Garcés died in the era 964 [925] (marginal note)).

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Inmune To "Red Fever"

Basques and Catalans are not Spaniards, which explains why we can care less about what the Spanish national team achieves in the Euro Cup.

Now, when the national teams for Euskal Herria and Catalunya are finally allowed to compete in international tournaments things will be different.

In the mean time the reaction will be the one described on this article found at Earth. com:

'Red Fever' sweeping across almost all of Spain

Posted : Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:04:02 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Sports

Madrid - There has been a severe outbreak of "Red Fever" across Spain. "La Seleccion"'s 4-1 thrashing of Russia on Tuesday, in their Euro 2008 debut, has provoked delight, expectation and even euphoria across the country.

The only regions of Spain which appear to be relatively immune to "Red Fever", as per usual, are the Basque Country and Catalonia, two regions where "La Seleccion" has never enjoyed much support - and where the national team has not played for almost 20 years.

Bilbao and Barcelona remained relatively calm on Tuesday evening, whilst David Villa was destroying Russia with the tournament's first hat-trick.

In practically every other Spanish city, though, there was near-bedlam, with people following the game on open-air giant screens or crowding into bars and cafes.

The triumph allowed many Spaniards to put aside, albeit for a few hours, the property market crisis and the truck drivers strike provoked by sky-high petrol prices.

Most offices, warehouses, factories, schools and universities closed earlier than usual on Tuesday, in order to allow people to see the debut of Luis Aragones' talented team.

Continues...

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Eusko Flickr : Mendigorria

Mendigorria
Originally uploaded by Orreaga

Atxaga's Update

He may be a little bit misguided about the right of Euskal Herria to be independent and where the violence comes from when it comes to the political conflict that involves the Basque Country, Spain and France, but he is the most internationally renown Basque author, so here you have an update published by the Nevada News:

Basque author-in-residence wins prestigious literary prizes

Monday, June 09, 2008

By Zanny Marsh

Harvard University recruited Bernardo Atxaga as an author-in-residence, but the Basque author turned the famous university down. Instead, he accepted the position of Center for Basque Studies William Douglass Distinguished Scholar for 2007–2008.

During his term, he wrote on two books, lectured to University students and faculty and received perhaps the most prestigious award of his career. Adage’s most recent novel, The Accordionist’s Son, captured Italy’s most important literary prizes: Grinzane Cavour Grand Prize and Mondello Prize, widely considered predecessors of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

“It is an extraordinary honor to host an author of such distinction and acclaim at the University,” said Eric Herzik, interim director of the Center for Basque Studies, headquartered at the University. “His work transcends Basque culture and has brought him much attention from the international community. He lectures around Spain and all over Europe and our students have had the extraordinary opportunity to listen to him lecture about his books.”

Atxaga has traveled to the United States only twice before beginning his term at the University. He lived in Atlanta and in Boston, where he performed researched and wrote. He yearned for a ‘Western’ experience.

“In literature, there are many references to ‘passing through,’ which describes a connection to nature and to the landscape,” Atxaga said. “The history of Nevada is rich with this evocative connection to the landscape and the pioneer spirit. I wanted to capture that in my work.”

His appointment in the Center for Basque Studies afforded Atxaga the opportunity to interact with students and Basque scholars from around the world.

Outside of the classroom, Atxaga dedicated hours each day performing research and writing two books during his residency.

His first book titled Nevada Days is an amalgam of stories and memories that Atxaga heard from residents as he traveled the state. He spent considerable time in rural communities, especially at the popular “watering holes” such as barber shops, grocery stores and diners.

“The East appears to be a more homogenous society,” Atxaga said. “The building, the construction of Nevada, has more diversity, culture, more depth and growth. Nevada looks like the world of the future.”

Atxaga also wrote the book Seven Houses in France while he was in Reno.

Atxaga is among a small group of Basque writers whose careers were established when they began publishing in their native language.

“Writing in the Basque language reinforces egalitarianism but it elevates the individual voice,” said Mari Jose Olaziregi, assistant professor and specialist in Basque literature. “It separates the experience, makes it unique.”

International recognition for Atxaga came after publication of his 1988 novel Obabakoak, which was awarded the Spanish National Fiction Prize. It has been translated into more than 26 languages.

Several of his novels — Obabakoak, The Accordionist’s Son, The Lone Man, The Lone Woman and Two Brothers — have been translated into English.

Atxaga has also written short stories, children’s literature, poetry and essays. Atxaga’s work has sold more than 200,000 copies, making him the most translated and celebrated Basque author.

The Center for Basque Studies conducts and publishes Basque-related research and offers an academic minor in Basque studies and a tutorial doctoral program. The center is offering two courses for the Fall 2008 semester: BASQ 451/461, a course on Contemporary Basque Literature, and BASQ 452/652 in Spring 2009, a course on Atxaga’s literary works.

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Red Bay's Basque Heritage

This note comes to us thanks to Northern Pen:

Busy summer ahead for Red Bay

JOCELYNE CORMIER
Northern Pen

There'll be lots to do at the Red Bay National Historic Site this summer.

New this year is 'A Whaler and his Wife'. Told through the eyes of a woman, the story is about a woman who waited 18 months before finding out what had happened to her husband, a whaler who died in Red Bay. The story takes place in 1576-77.

On a broader scale, the story is about what women and families in the Basque country of Europe went through during the whalers' long absences. Specifically, the story is based on a will that a whaler left for his wife. He went whaling in the spring of 1576 and was supposed to return in the fall. He did and it wasn't until the fall of 1577 that she learned from whalers returning home to the Basque country that her husband had died in Red Bay.

Returning this season and during the months of July and August will be 'Echoes From the Past', which is a storytelling program. During the guided walks on Saddle Island, ghosts from the 16th century appear to visitors and explain to them what life was like for the Basque whalers during that period.

As well, there will be a full slate of activities planned around National Aboriginal Day, which is June 21. The details have yet to be finalized.

On July 1, Canada Day will be celebrated with a number of activities such as flag-raising and cake-cutting ceremonies and other activities. The festivities are in partnership with the Town of Red Bay.

The next event on the agenda is Parks Day on July 16, when a series of activities are planned to celebrate the occasion.

The Red Bay National Historic Site opened its doors on June 2 and will close on Oct. 3. The site commemorates 16th century Basque whaling in Canada and the role it played in the history of Canada.

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Euskal Herria Beyond Iruñea

This article comes to us via North Shore News:

Beyond Pamplona

Jon Azpiri
North Shore News

Sunday, June 08, 2008

PAMPLONA, Spain: You can blame Ernest Hemingway. Thanks to his seminal 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, the Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona has gone from a small local event to a worldwide phenomenon.

The book, which chronicles the exploits of so-called Lost Generation as they try to find themselves while travelling through Europe, has inspired countless young foreigners to take part in the Running of the Bulls, an adrenaline-filled and sometimes bloody rite of passage where revelers run alongside charging bulls down the narrow cobble-stoned streets of the Basque city.

Hemingway returned to Pamplona in 1959 and felt that it had become a victim of its own success. "I've written Pamplona once and for keeps," he wrote in a later book, The Dangerous Summer. "It is all there as it always was except forty thousand tourists have been added. There were not 20 tourists when I first went there nearly four decades ago. Now on some days they say there are close to a hundred thousand in the town.''

Indeed, Hemingway's writing helped draw untold thousands of visitors to the Basque city. His description of San Fermín makes it seem like a singular experience that can't be found anywhere else in the world. What most travellers to Pamplona never discover is that San Fermín is hardly unique. During the summer, there are numerous weekend festivals throughout the Basque Country bordering France that also feature all the music, wine, and machismo that made Pamplona famous.

For most young Basques, nightlife doesn't consist of hitting a local pub or nightclub. Instead, they head out to a nearby town for an all-night street party. The activity is so common that the Basques even have a word for it: gaupasa, which means to party until sunrise.

Most festivals in the Basque Country were originally intended as a celebration of a town's patron saint, although it's hard these days to find much in the way of pious spirituality. Instead, the festivals revolve around several days of music, dance, sports, and plenty of kalimotxo -- a Basque concoction that consists of equal parts red wine and Coca-Cola. There's plenty of food as well: groups of friends get together to cook large paellas that they share with passers-by along with homemade sangria, which is often served out of a large garbage can.

A couple of weeks after festivities wrap up in Pamplona, the Fiesta de la Madalena signals the start of the summer festival season in the Basque province of Vizcaya, located on the Bay of Biscay, 100 kilometres to the northwest. The festival revolves around the nearby island of Izaro, which was once the centre of a battle between the neighbouring towns of Bermeo and Mundaka. Both towns laid claim to the island and the dispute was settled in a typically Basque way: a boat race.

On July 22, 1919, the two towns held a regatta to decide which town would get the rights and since then the inhabitants of Bermeo have organized an annual a torch-lit convoy of boats there to commemorate their victory and re-stake their claim. Surprisingly, no one in the rival town of Mundaka is particularly broken up about the loss. This laid-back surfing town, with reputedly one of the longest left breaks in the world, parties just as hard as its former rival.

The nearby town of Elantxobe had nothing to do with the battle over Izaro, but celebrates its patron saint, María Magdalena, on the same day as the regatta; so they join in the party. Like most Basque festivals, Las Madalenas seems to take up every square inch of public space in Elantxobe, a fishing village precipitously located on a slope overlooking Cape Ogoño.

In the town harbour, rows of makeshift snack bars serve kalimotxo as well as chorizo, tortilla, and blood sausage, and there's plenty of entertainment ranging from punk rock to traditional Basque folk music complete with accordions, flutes, and tambourines. Others entertain themselves by watching inebriated party-goers trying to make their way down the town's steep cobble-stoned streets without falling on their faces.

A few weeks later, the town of Guernica (spelled Gernika in Basque), 14 km inland from Elantxobe has its Fiesta de Andra Mari. Guernica is considered to be the spiritual capital of the Basque people but is best-known world-wide as the target of a 1937 aerial attack by the Luftwaffe. This was the inspiration for Pablo Picasso's most famous work, Guernica, which has come to symbolize the horrors of armed conflict.

Walking through Guernica during its fiesta in August, it's now difficult to picture this sunny town as the location for one of the world's most notorious war crimes. The streets are lined with lively cafes and restaurants that brim over with patrons during the fiesta. The local jai alai court is also packed as fans watch the ancient Basque game where players hurl a rubber ball against a wall using a curved wicker basket attached to one hand. The tournament during Andra Mari is considered one of the world's best. At night, locals take to the town's windy streets in costumes for a night of Halloween-like festivities. The only image that most of the world has of Guernica is that of Picasso's stark black-and-white mural, but during the Fiesta of Andra Mari, you can't help but be overwhelmed by colour.

One of the biggest festivals to mark the end of summer is the Fiesta de San Antolín in Lekeitio, a fishing village 25 km northeast of Guernica near the Bay of Biscay. geographical hint. Like many other festivals, Lekeitio's September celebration features a strongman competition based on the Basque rural tradition. Contests consist of cutting tree trunks with crosscut saws, spinning around 360 kg horse carts, and a relay race where the runners carry 80 kg sacks of corn rather than a baton. There are also countless other competitions that involve lifting everything from boulders, anvils, and bales of hay.

On September 5, thousands of people gather around the waterfront to watch competitors as they hang off a dead goose while being dunked into the town harbour. A long rope is suspended from the harbourside to the mast of a boat, then teams of men in small rowboats position themselves beneath it and one designated person grabs the goose and jumps off the boat. Those at the harbour's edge then whip the rope up and down, repeatedly dunking the man into the water from a height of more than ten metres.

For those who think that hanging off a rope is hardly a substitute for the visceral thrills of Pamplona, there's always the Fiesta de San Roque in Deba, Gipuzkoa, a coastal town 20 km east of Lekeitio. The small seaside town is one of many outside Pamplona that also offer you the chance to get trampled by a bull in the middle of the street.

But one thing you won't have to worry about is getting trampled by other tourists. Like Pamplona during Hemingway's time, there likely won't be more than 20 foreigners in the entire town.

If you go:

The Basque Country is located in the Pyrenees Mountains that straddle the border of France and northern Spain. Bilbao, the largest city in the region, has daily flights from London and Madrid, or is a four-hour drive from the Spanish capital. Other festivals include:

Aste Nagusia -- Bilbao (August 16-24). The city shuts down for an entire week to celebrate "Big Week". As its name suggests, the festival offers everything a regular fiesta would but on a much larger scale with more than 100,000 revelers partying in the streets of the Basque country's largest city.

Tolosako Iñauteriak --Tolosa (April-May). Something like a Mardi Gras in reverse, this festival takes place 40 days after Easter. It even has its own "Fat Thursday" to kick off six days of intense partying, including a wild parade held on Sunday. The festival ends the following Tuesday with the Asteartita, or "Burial of the Sardine."

Barte Fiestain -- Larrea (July 4). While Americans celebrate their independence, this town in the province of Alava celebrates a loaf of bread. The festival revolves around the old legend of how a Larrea local sold the people from the neighbouring village of Ermua an image of St. Martin in ex-change for a loaf of bread known as a barte. During the festival, people from Larrea head to the church to visit St. Martin. After mass, they break bread with their neighbours and party until dawn.

Note: Iruñea is the Basque name for Pamplona, so, where it reads "Pamplona, Spain" it should read instead "Iruñea, Euskal Herria".

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Archuleta Is Basque

So, a Basque news outlet finally picked up on American Idol's David Archuleta and his last name. I posted something about it when the reality show was just starting, I even got a Basque to comment that a Basque last name does not make a person Basque.

Well, here you have the note that was published at EITb:

Basques around the world

David Archuleta: an “American Idol” with Basque heritage

06/06/2008

The great “American idol” has the best letter of introduction possible; his surname. In fact, the young finalist of American Idol has promise.

David Archuleta became the runner-up on the seventh season of the worldly known U.S. program “American Idol”. With the mythical song Imagine, the young boy won the heart of 28.45 voters, 44 percent of the overall voters.

Archuleta’s performance reached 27% share, a real positive one, taking into account that the Oscars Ceremony got 32 million of audience.

Moreover, the day after the debut of the young hope, his performance was the most seen video in YouTube, with more than 530,000 visits.

It was not the first time that the young boy sings before public, because when he was twelve, he won "Star Search" contest and devoting himself to music has always been his desire.

Although he is not widely linked to the Basque Country, he has Basque ancestors and according to hid father statements, his family has Basque heritage since 1500, approximately.

The fan page The Arch Angels talks about his Basque background:

David Archuleta's Past:

David is the second oldest of five children. His mother is from Honduras and his father is American of Basque descent. He has three younger siblings Amber, Daniel and Jazzy and an older sister Claudia. His family moved to Utah when he was six where David now attends Murray High School. If he does not win American Idol he plans to continue school and work on his singing career.

Update: Sadly, the reference about David Archuleta's father claiming his Basque ancestry at Wikipedia has been deleted, we can only guess that some Spaniards got angry and decided to act on it.

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Eusko Flickr : Onki Xin Ostatua (Izaba)

Onki Xin ostatua (Izaba)
Originally uploaded by katixe

Basque Celebration in Coleville

This note comes to us thanks to The Record Courier:

Outfitter hosts Basque celebration

Little Antelope Pack Station, a wilderness guide and outfitter located in Coleville, Calif., is hosting the Basque High Country Heritage Celebration June 7 and 8.

Antelope owner Joe Cereghino has organized the weekend of culture, history and adventure. The event will include two guided hikes, lectures by Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe, Basque cultural expert, and traditional Basque menus designed with JB Lekumberry from the JT Basque Bar & Dining Room in Gardnerville.

Mallea-Olaetxe wrote “Speaking through the Aspens: Basque Tree Carvings in California and Nevada,” about Basque sheepherder tree carvings, or arborglyphs, found throughout the Sierra Nevada in aspen groves high in the mountains.

The program will begin with lunch at noon on Saturday, followed by a guided hike and lecture from Mallea-Olaetxe. Saturday evening will conclude with Basque food and a campfire gathering. Attendees are invited to camp out in the meadow at the Pack Station, located in the mountains above Coleville on the edge of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

Sunday will include breakfast and a guided hike to a Hari Mutil, or traditional stone marker, built and used by shepherds to mark the trails. The hike is moderate, but guests can explore the Eastern Sierra on their own the rest of the afternoon.

Little Antelope Pack Station offers day rides, pack trips and dunnage services into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness throughout the summer and fall, offering hiking, fishing, hunting, backpacking and horseback riding.

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