Blog
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…
The Hanford Reach –One of Washington’s unsung Great Places
When we think about Washington’s great national parks and monuments, we usually quickly think: Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks as well as the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument. Very few of us however think of the Hanford Reach National Monument. Created by President Clinton in 2000 by using the Antiquities Act…
Attack 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…
ROMANTIC 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…
First 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…
The Oyster Dome to be Clear-cut?
One of Puget Sound’s most popular hiking spots may soon succumb to clear cut logging. The Oyster Dome, the Pearl of the Chuckanut Mountains—the only place in the Cascades where the mountains meet the Salish Sea—is being considered for a large logging operation. A large segment of trails including a portion of the Pacific Northwest…
I Love to Tell a Tale of a New Trail
I am often asked how I find trails for my guidebooks. A legitimate question. After all, folks buying my books are trying to find trails too. I try to do all the hard work for you so all you need to do is enjoy the hike. So, okay, this is how I find/research trails–incorporating any one…
Check 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…
Five 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…
Washington’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…