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A Trio of Northwest Coastal Rainforest Hikes
What better time to hike in one of our region’s coastal rainforests than during the rainy season?! Don rain gear and an adventurous spirit and check out these three hikes ranging from kid-friendly strolls to wilderness wanderings. And during the rainy season you can expect quieter trails, more frequent wildlife sightings, and a whole better…
Read MoreDon’t Feed The Ticks!
Put all your cougar, bear, wolf, and Sasquatch fears aside. The biggest nuisances on the trail you’re sure to encounter this spring—especially if you venture south and east are ticks. While they’re not too much of a concern in Western Washington, their range is expanding and areas that were once tick free are now crawling…
Read MoreTrailhead Break-in Epidemic–what can we do about it?
Here we go again. If it feels like I just wrote about this topic, it is because I did a mere year and a half ago. A rash of car break-ins, smash-and-grabs, car clouting (call it what you may, but they all mean the same thing- a big bummer to the end of a great…
Read MoreForest Service Considers A Selfie-Tax
Dealing with a proliferation of new trail users, the chronically underfunded Forest Service is considering imposing a radical revenue enhancer; a tax on selfies to help pay for a backlog of maintenance projects, increased search and rescue missions, and for crews to pick up after trash and deuce dropping hikers. “With so many hikers walking…
Read MoreBring it on! Hike-a-thon 2018
It’s that time again! I am once again participating in the annual Hike-a-Thon for the Washington Trails Association! Last year more than 60 of you helped me raise more than $5500 for our trails! WOW! Thanks!! This year I’d like to top that and raise $6000 for our trails. Will you please consider helping me…
Read MoreForest Service to Close Trails with too many “Likes”
THIS WAS AN APRIL FOOLS POST FOR APRIL 1 2018 After monitoring Social Media sites for several years, the Forest Service has recently announced that it will begin temporarily closing trails that are too popular. If a trail has too many “likes,” has had posts go viral, or there are just too many darn shares…
Read MoreThree Best Family Friendly Snowshoeing Trips at Mount Rainier
While Mount Rainier and its neighboring craggy peaks offer excellent backcountry skiing and challenging winter hiking adventures—there are plenty of less-intimidating family-friendly spots within the frozen shadows of the mountain. Here are three of my favorite places to break tracks in the snow suitable for families with children and newbie snowshoers. Trail of the Shadows…
Read MoreCelebrate the Lunar New Year with a hike or run in Richmond, BC
Visitors to British Columbia’s Lower Mainland often overlook Richmond for its glamorous northern neighbor, Vancouver. But this island city at the mouth of the Fraser River; the fourth largest community in the province, is no mere ordinary suburb. Surrounded by water, teeming with parks, and home to one of the largest Asian populations in North…
Read MoreNorthwest Lighthouse Hikes –Spotlighting three family-friendly coastal hikes
Consider lighthouses the coastal equivalent of fire lookout towers. Utilitarian in their function and design, yet they possess a simple and eloquent beauty as well. Guiding lights through rough and stormy waters, we oft forget about their purpose and become more enamored by their settings. And like their fire spotting brethren, many a lighthouse has…
Read MoreTen Ways to Thwart the Crowds on the Trail
If you’ve been hiking for a considerable amount of time, you don’t need to be told that many of our trails have become downright crowded. Yes, we are currently experiencing a hiking boom, and in general that’s a good thing. It’s great to see folks getting outside, bonding with nature, and in general living healthy…
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