Musings
Six Things You Didn’t Know About Pikas
Spend enough time hiking across talus slopes in the Cascades or Northern Rockies and you are bound to hear the high pitched whistle of the pika. Stand still for a minute or two and you are bound to see one or more of these cute little fur-balls scurrying across and under the talus. You may…
Read MoreAttack of the Agitated Owl
If you hike and trail run frequently this time of year, you may feel the wrath (but hopefully not the talons) of an overly protective barred owl. Now most folks are worried about not-so-friendly encounters with bears, mountains lions, rattlesnakes and other assorted critters. Fair enough. But it’s those owls that worry me and you…
Read MoreROMANTIC GETAWAYS FOR OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS
Happy Valentine’s Day! And this year the romantic holiday falls on a three day weekend thanks to our Presidents. The only thing I love more than my wife (and son) is the great outdoors! Okay—I love my wife and little boy more—and I love spending time in the great outdoors with them. Now, despite the…
Read MoreFirst in the Nation—and some pretty decent hiking too!
The whole country will have its eyes on New Hampshire today as Granite Staters flock to the polls in the first in the nation primary. The state is very proud of its role in helping to choose our president, and nowhere are politics taken so seriously and politicians scrutinized so thoroughly than in this tiny…
Read MoreCheck in at one of Washington’s Snotels!
This winter’s heavy snowpack is certainly making things interesting at Washington’s snotels. And before you head out to an area to do some backcountry skiing or snowshoeing—you just may want to check in online at a snotel or two to get an accurate reading of what you can expect out there. What’s a snotel? No…
Read MoreFive North Cascades Privies where the views don’t stink!
There’s no shortage of phenomenal outdoor scenery in Washington’s North Cascades. Some of the most breathtaking backcountry in the country can be experienced by taking to one of the region’s excellent hiking trails. And among resplendent wildflower meadows, ancient cathedral forests, sparkling alpine lakes, and glacier covered craggy peaks—you’ll find some of the most scenic…
Read MoreWashington’s Top Three White-knuckle Trailhead Roads
It’s nice when we can reach our favorite trailheads via nice paved roads—or at least wide, well-graded and regularly maintained gravel roads. But unfortunately that’s not usually the case—and we are often faced with the dilemma of having to drive a harrowing road to get to the trail. While some of us drive pickups and…
Read More“We Need the Tonic of Wildness”
“We need the Tonic of Wildness,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in the 1840s while living on Walden Pond. Back then, Walden Pond was an island of wild surrounded by farms and a newly industrializing landscape. Thoreau constructed a tiny cabin in a grove of pine and oak above a cove on the placid kettle pond.…
Read MoreGlacier Meadow’s “Ladder of Doom!”
There is nothing like the element of surprise while heading off into the backcountry. And I generally welcome surprises—especially if they are of the positive order. An unexpected viewpoint–a rare or unique wildlife sighting—a pleasant encounter with a fellow backcountry traveler. But sometimes surprises can be unnerving—finding a trail unmaintained—an encounter with a belligerent animal—or…
Read MoreLarch Madness
October is one of my favorite months to hike. I love the cool nights—warm days—and vibrant foliage. But this is the Evergreen State, where Douglas-firs, western hemlocks, and western red cedars make up most of the vast forests of western Washington. I pine for the deciduous forests of the northern Appalachians where the hillsides turn…
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