Hike-a-thon was a huge Success!

325.1 miles hikes and more than $7700 raised for our trails! Wow. I am still catching by breath and catching up with my work after an amazing August. Since 2012 I have participated in the Washington Trails Association’s annual Hike-a-thon as a way to have a little fun and help give back to the trails…

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Closing Restrooms is a Crappy Idea

Covid-19 is no doubt a serious health threat, and we should be doing all we can to avoid contracting it. However, so is hepatitis and a buttload of other nasty diseases—and having to negotiate a fecal minefield is just as risky as being in a crowded room of people coughing and sneezing. While I applaud…

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Covid-placent: Indifference and Selfishness goes viral

Did I miss the memo? The one that said that the Covid-19 Pandemic is over. Because by the way many of our trails and parks looked this past weekend—and how so many people were behaving in public—you’d swear that we just subdued that nasty little virus and there was nothing more to be concerned about.…

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Avoid Crowded Trails like the…Coronavirus

Many of Washington’s state parks and forests will soon be opening back up for recreation. I imagine too that soon our state’s national forests will be doing likewise. To many hikers and runners including this one who has been adhering to the governor’s stay at home decree—we welcome this news. However, many others think it…

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Thousands of Miles of New Trails Built in March

Talk about unintended consequences. Thousands of miles of new trails have been built in backyards throughout Washington State in the month of March thanks to antsy hikers cooped up at home. Due to Stay at Home orders during the Covid19 Pandemic, nearly all state and national forest trails in the state have been closed. But…

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Bring 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…

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More than 200 Miles and $5000-Thanks for a successful Hike-a-thon

August was a tough month here in the Northwest with excessive heat, wildfires, and poor air quality. But after a slow start I managed to get in gear and completed my Hike-a-Thon for the Washington Trails Association with 205 miles for the month of August. Three hikes alone accounted for 75 miles as I tried…

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Classic Hike Threatened with Clear-cut and Trail Closure

Lake Serene and Bridal Veil Falls perched within the craggy forbidden spires of Mount Index is a hike beloved by thousands of recreationists—and it’s one of my and the late Harvey Manning and Ira Springs 100 Classic Hikes in Washington. What many hikers don’t realize however is that the beginning of this hike is on…

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Getting My Goat

Quick! Name non-native invasive species in the Olympic Mountains; species that have altered the natural environment. Man, obviously! How about Scotch Broom, purple loosestrife, Robert’s geranium and mountain goats? Mountains goats? Yes, mountain goats, those furry lovable alpinists and members of the cattle family (Bovidae). They don’t belong here. The mountain goat, indigenous to the…

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Popular Trailhead in Gorge Permanently Closed

Just what we need! As trail use continues to escalate and many of our close to the city trails become downright crowded-we have just lost access to a popular trailhead in the Columbia River Gorge. What does that mean? Two wonderful Columbia River Gorge hiking destinations—Aldrich Butte and Table Mountain just got a whole lot…

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