Adventures Northwest Magazine Spring 2021 by John DOnofrio

ADVENTURES NORTHWEST SPRING 2021

WELCOMING SPRING Pacific Northwest Trail Solo Ironman Sustainable Recreation Trail Running Governors Point Backcountry Horsemen

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INSPIRATIONS

IN THIS ISSUE

Serving Northwest Washington Adventurists For Over 50 Years. The Pacific Northwest Trail Finding My Way - One Step at a Time

Solo Ironman 140.6 Miles through Unfamiliar Territory

Alex Maier

Jimmy Watts

Welcoming the Spring Tide Mark Bergsma Backcountry Horsemen Unsung Trail Heroes

Governors Point Finding Harmony on the Chuckanut Coast

Nick Belcaster

Ted Rosen

Reverence, Respect & Reciprocity A Sustainable Future for Recreation Jenni Minier Adventures in Alaska Go Wild this Summer

DESTINATIONS Hope & Light Out & About: Aspire Adventure Running 3 Great Hikes ... for Spring Letters to the Editor Bright Lines: Jory Mickelson Mountain Haiku eARTh: The Art of Nature Field Trip: Smith Rock Cascadia Gear Parting Shot: The Art of Seeing

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ANW Staff

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HOPE & LIGHT

ave we ever anticipated the coming of spring with such alacrity? Spring always signifies rebirth and the return of light, but this year—after the challenges and difficulties that we’ve faced—the coming of spring is a talisman, bringing with it new hope for better days ahead. This difficult period has, in some ways, been a catalyst for change. Our priorities have shifted in numerous ways. One obvious change has been the clarion call to the great outdoors. In recent months, gear manufacturers everywhere have run out of tents, sleeping bags, stove fuel. It’s been nearly impossible to buy a kayak. This trend has to be seen as positive—a true appreciation for the natural world and the joys of interacting with it in an authentic way leads to a shift in consciousness. And yes, boys and girls, we have needed a shift in consciousness for a long time.

But, as Jenni Minier so poetically describes in this issue, this situation also creates the need to re-examine our relationship to the wild. She suggests the “Three R’s”: Reverence, Respect, and Reciprocity as a template for managing our recreational lands. Her thoughtful piece is the beginning of a dialogue long overdue. We’ve also got some very good news for you, courtesy of Ted Rosen’s account of the remarkable saga of Governors Point. This spectacular peninsula reaches out into the Salish Sea between Pleasant Bay and Wildcat Cove on the Chuckanut Coast, one of the last pieces of pristine land on the northern Puget Sound. Long embroiled in controversy as developers sought to turn it into an upscale housing tract, the 126-acre property was purchased by a visionary aesthete in 2018 with a plan to build 16 eco-friendly homes and donate the vast majority of the land – 98 acres – to the Whatcom Land Trust for a new public park and preserve. This is a success story almost with-

out parallel in private/public partnerships and signals an innovative new approach to development—one that prioritizes the land and the community over profits. It is a portent of things to come. To welcome spring, we’ve also compiled quite a collection of stirring stories and visual delights to inspire you and carry you forward into this new season. Hike the 1200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail, ride along with the Backcountry Horsemen and run lonely wilderness trails. Read about local writer Jimmy Watts’ solo Ironman challenge, his personal response to overcoming the challenges of the pandemic, an eloquent testament to resilience and perseverance. Our community has struggled. But along with the promise of spring, the light grows every day.

Editor’s Note: In light of the COVID-19 situation, we’ve suspended our Outdoor Events Calendar. Look for this to return soon!

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CONTRIBUTORS Nick Belcaster lives, writes and plays in Washington State and is typically found above tree-line, refining the art of scree skiing and warding off hungry alpine snafflehounds. Mark Bergsma has been making photographs for more than 40 years. Creating art from nature was his original goal back then and it still plays a heightened role in his work today. His photographic journey has had a profound effect on his life. Visit him at markbergsma.com As a freelance designer, photographer and videographer, Nick Danielson spends his summers trail running and his winters splitboarding in the mountains of the northwest. He lives in Seattle, WA. Learn more at: nickdanielson.com Ainslee Dicken is a freelance writer, poet, and aspiring novelist. Born and bred in the Pacific Northwest, she harbors an obsession for fantasy and science fiction. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s moving, whether on hikes, travel, or walks around the neighborhood. Lance Ekhart is a singlehanded sailor and photographer who ended up in the Pacific Northwest as a water rat and hasn’t yet found a reason to sail away. Afraid of traveling too far inland, he keeps finding new ways to photograph water on the Salish Sea. He lives and contemplates life aboard his sailboat Elenoa in Anacortes. Learn more at lanceekhart. zenfolio.com. Bill Hoke came to the Pacific Northwest in 1970 and began a lifetime of climbing and hiking. He’s hiked—mostly solo— more

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Volume 16. Issue 1 than 1,500 miles in the Olympic Mountains and is the editor of the newly published fourth edition of the Olympic Mountains Trail Guide for Mountaineers Books.

recreation and what that might bring to our experience in the backcountry and beyond. Ted Rosen was a longtime member and chairperson of the Greenways Advisory Committee. As an advocate for protecting open spaces and building green connectors, he spends much of his free time walking local trails while complaining about public policy and litterbugs. He enjoys black coffee, ancient history, and a nice glass of Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Alex Maier graduated from college with a degree in digital cinema and a dream to become an outdoor filmmaker. Following your dreams usually means going down a poorly defined path. He rarely knows where the path is taking him but after seven years he’s confident in its direction. Learn more: fiveacesmedia.net.

David Syre is an American artist whose large-scale acrylic paintings, drawings, sculptures, and art installations are inspired by travel, his subconscious mind, and nature. Syre is self-taught, creates artwork at an accelerated pace and embraces bold lines and brave colors, his world-view informed by personal transformation. David Syre has exhibited internationally since 2018. Explore his work at davidsyreart.com.

Jory Mickelson is the author of Wilderness//Kingdom (Floating Bridge Press, 2019). His poems have appeared in AGNI, Jubilat, The Rumpus, Vinyl Poetry, the Mid-American Review, Ninth Letter, and other journals. He has received fellowships from Lambda Literary, The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Centrum Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. Jenni Minier brings a blend of owner, guide, mom, and mystic to the Baker Mountain Guides family. Her background in environmental science and natural resource conservation fuels her drive to bring conservation and recreation to the same table. She is currently exploring the boundaries of the human relationship with

For the past twenty years Jimmy Watts has been a firefighter in downtown Seattle, the craftsman behind Shuksan Rod Company split-cane fly rods, and a writer. He lives with his family outside Bellingham, WA. ANW

COVER PHOTO BY NICK DANIELSON

Adventures Northwest magazine John D’Onofrio

SPRING | 2021

Jason Rinne

www.AdventuresNW.com

Catherine Darkenwald

Publisher/Editor john @ adventuresnw.com

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Out&About

No Race to Run? Head for the Hills!

Rainier’s Wonderland Trail, Nooksack Ridgelines, Goat Rocks, Yosemite and California’s Lost Coast.

In the spring, residents of Cascadia are typically planning their outdoor recreational calendars in anticipation of the season ahead. But this year, most every organized event is on hold and the normal plethora of races is—for the time being— unavailable. This presents a double-edged conundrum: runners, as we all know, need to run and the stressful and isolated times that we have been experiencing have only increased the desire for authentic experiences in the great outdoors.

“Covid has torn apart our social fabric, leaving us isolated by our social distancing and hyper- zoomed by our screens,” says Aspire founder Abram Dickerson. “While it’s essential to preserve the physical health and well being of our society, there is no replacement for gathering as a physical community.”

But take heart: One purveyor of topdrawer outdoor running experiences has found a way to continue offering inspiring running opportunities—and in fact, has expanded their offerings for 2021. Aspire Adventure Running has been leading supported backcountry trail running trips since 2015 in some epic wilderness areas—both in Cascadia and Northern California. Their trips have become famous for their meticulous planning and organizational prowess, affording runners opportunities to maximize the ecstatic trail running experiences in these spectacular settings.

Aspire Trips are unique on the local running scene, offering opportunities for truly remote running experiences, a model that the company borrowed from white water rafting and supported cycling trips. “It’s both humbling and empowering to be in a position to provide connection and community for small groups of runners deep inside wilderness and backcountry spaces,” Dickerson says. “Aspire’s mission has always been centered in connection, and this year the need for deep, authentic, experiential relationships has never been greater.” In addition to the trail runs, Aspire is launching what they call ‘Skills’ trips this year.

Photo by Nick Danielson

And, thanks in part to the very nature of these back-of-beyond experiences; they’ve adapted their logistics to incorporate safeguards in this time of COVID-19. Precautions include socially-distanced base camps, sanitized equipment and daily health check-ins. Obviously, it is not difficult to maintain social distancing on the trails themselves in the wide-open wilderness areas that Aspire has chosen. Upcoming trips include runs at Desolation Peak, Ross Lake, Mt.

“As runners are traveling deeper and more frequently into wild spaces, there is a growing need for us to understand the fundamentals of backcountry medicine and how to treat injuries common to our sport,” explains Dickerson. “We’re teaming up with Backcountry Medical Guides to provide a three-day, retreatstyle Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification course on Sucia Island. This is our first Skills trip focused on empowering runners to run deeper, with more offerings in the works.” Although the trips are carefully organized to minimize COVID-19 risk (pre-trip vetting, personal transportation encouraged to the race base camps, “restaurant informed’ cooking and serving practices for all meals, etc.), Dickerson is clear that zero risk—as in any trip to the wilderness—is not possible. “As runners make decisions to attend and/or register for one of our trips, we cannot guarantee a COVID-19-free experience any more than we can eliminate all of the risks associated with wilderness and backcountry travel. We are committed, as always, to following best practices to mitigating those risks without compromising the essential nature of the wilderness experience we provide.” Learn more at www.aspireadventurerunning.com

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Letters to the Editor Share your thoughts!

Write to editor@AdventuresNW.com

Thank you for the positive words of inspiration in the winter issue, much needed for us all. I read every issue cover to cover as the stories are always so interesting. Every issue provides me with a realistic adventure I can do (Squire Lakes this time around) and an epic adventure I’ll leave to others but truly enjoy reading about. And the centerfold...ALWAYS full of mind-blowing images. I appreciate everything y’all do and that you put focus on superior printing. Adventures Northwest indeed, truly. - Anna Rankin, Race Director , Ski to Sea Bellingham, WA I’ve been on board since the very first Adventures Northwest issue rolled out some 15 (?) years ago. As a local, outdoorsoriented farm family, committed to local business, it’s been a match made in heaven. But as much as I enjoy the input from people who are scaling mountains, tackling seas and doing all sorts of awe-inspiring activities, a simple walk like that which Judy Johnston wrote about (Lake Padden Soliloquy, Winter ’20) is so much more relatable. Seriously. Breathe. We don’t all have a garage full of kayaks or a chance (or desire) to scale mountains. A walk around a lake is so meaningful. Thank you, Judy, for sharing such that we can all connect. - Colleen Wolfisberg, Lynden, WA I am a new reader of Adventures Northwest, so I don’t know if Judy Johnston is a regular contributor. I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed reading her article, Lake Padden Soliloquy. Her lyrical writing style and evocative imagery were quite magical. In my mind’s eye, I can still see “the trees flaying their arms” in the high wind. And in my imagination, I, too, was able to “breathe, reflect, and drink in the scents of pine and cedar, sun warmed.” I was touched by the family reminiscences and the philosophical poignancy in her references to a husband well-loved. I hope to see more of her lovely work in the future. -Patricia Raichle, Kent, WA Thank you for all the wonderful words and images you gather and share on behalf of our beloved and troubled world. -Saul Weisberg, Founder, North Cascades Institute Bellingham, WA

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3 Great Hikes for Spring Dungeness Spit Looking for some wide-open sky and broad horizons? Hankering for some extensive quality time on the beach? Dungeness Spit provides these attributes in a big way. After a short descent through the coastal rain forest, the walk out to the lighthouse near the end of the Spit and back covers some 11 miles beside the glittering waters of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. On a clear day, you’ll bask in the sun and awe-inspiring views of the Olympic Mountains and Vancouver Island across the water. In spring, birds are ubiquitous. This hike is easier during low tide as some clamoring over driftwood logs might be required when the tide is up. Look for a tide below six feet and head out on an ebb as the wet sand provides easier walking. Trailhead: Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge at the end of Voice of America Road, off Kitchen-Dick Rd., five miles from US-101 near Sequim. Refuge Entry Pass (available at the trailhead) required.

Baker River I’ve hiked the Baker River Trail about a million times and it’s a different experience every time. But the color scheme never changes—here’s your daily allotment of greens. The moss gardens are exquisite and the rain forest canopy is a delight, a complicated mosaic of gentle motion, old man’s beard swaying in the wind. The 5-mile round-trip trail itself is mostly straightforward, a stroll beside (but not necessarily within sight of) the river with minimal elevation gain (300 feet). And its low elevation makes it a prime location when the heights are still buried in snow.

The Baker River Trail.

Photo by John D’Onofrio

Trailhead: End of the Baker Lake Road, 26 miles from WA-20 (The North Cascades Highway). USFS Forest Pass required.

Fragrance Lake The hike to Fragrance Lake is a Chuckanut classic and a fine choice for a drizzly spring day. The trail climbs via switchbacks through opulent forest, pausing for an overview of the Salish Sea, and arrives at the demure lake in 2.5 miles after 900 feet of elevation gain. The lake is a good place to pause, lean on a cedar, and contemplate the intricate web of the natural world. A loop trail circumnavigates the lake, affording opportunities to observe the small aquatic details and enjoy the fragrance of rain and cedar. Trailhead: Chuckanut Drive (SR-11), 11 miles south of Bellingham. Discover Pass required.

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Finding My Way on the Pacific Northwest Trail Story and photos by Alex Maier

t has been five years since my thru-hike on the Pacific Northwest Trail and I’m still trying to figure out how to talk about it. People say things like, “Wow, that must have been fun” or “I wish I had time to do that.” They look confused when I can’t give them a simple explanation of what it was like. After all it was just a really long hike—how hard can that be to talk about? It turns out that hiking was only a small part of the experience on the 1,200-mile long trail. I wish I could parse it down into a quick conversation but a lot can happen in three months. I had just graduated college with a degree in digital cinema. I knew I wanted to make outdoor films for a living but I had no idea how to actually turn my dream into a career. I decided I needed to test myself, to figure out if I had what it takes to pursue that dream. I would thru-hike a long trail and make a film about it—that seemed like a good test. Just to be sure, I chose a trail that would be extremely remote, untamed and secluded. I wasn’t looking for a well12

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defined path with plenty of help along the way, so I chose the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT). Unlike its fellow National Scenic Trails like the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Appalachian trail (AT), the PNT is still young in its development. While the popular thru-hikes on the more established trails see thousands of thru-hikers every year, the PNT was only seeing a few dozen. While the more established thru-hikes were well-maintained and blazed the entire way, the PNT was still wild and hard to navigate. The trail extends for 1,200 miles from the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean in Olympic National Park. It provided the opportunity to learn exactly what I needed to know—once and for all—if I should take myself seriously as an outdoor filmmaker or if I should give up on that dream and find a “real job.” The scale of the undertaking didn’t really hit me until the car ride to the train station in Milwaukee. My excitement had been building over the final weeks of preparation. I had been consumed by the granular details and now

that the time of preparation was over and it was really happening, the big picture of what I was actually about to do began to sink in. Excitement had been replaced by panic. All I could think about was being hopelessly lost in the mountains. Who was I to think that I could take on the PNT? People don’t recommend doing that trail as a first-time thru-hiker. Most PNT hikers had already cut their teeth on a five-month 2,000+ mile trail like the AT or PCT. Even then, they tended to struggle with the challenges to be found on the PNT. I had never even hiked in the mountains before. My longest hike to date had only been 18 miles and it had taken me three days. On the PNT I’d have to be covering 20 miles a day. Not only that, I was carrying a bunch of extra weight in the form of camera gear. The self-doubt was almost crippling, but things were already in motion and quitting before I even started wasn’t an option, so I got on that train. I had arranged through the PNT Facebook page to meet a few other hikers on the train, and I found them as we de>>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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Entering Olympic National Park

parted for East Glacier in Montana. Their trail names were Marathon, Spaceman Spiff and Fitty Shrimp. They were all Appalachian Trail veterans and seemed extremely confident about the upcoming adventure. I was amazed by their nonchalant attitude about it all. That slowly put me at ease during the 24-hour train ride.

Day 1 Despite my seven months of planning, my pack was still obviously way too heavy. I had a 32-pound base weight, which might not seem like much but by thru-hiking standards that’s about twice as heavy as it should be. Immediately my pack felt unbearable. My shoulders were soft, and my pack was full of unnecessary things. I wasn’t even sure if it was adjusted correctly. Eventually we came to the trail’s first named point, simply called Scenic stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

Point. We rounded the top of the peak, and the view exploded in all directions. My discomfort had distracted me from looking around much until that moment, but that view commanded my attention. All my doubts about the hike vanished and I knew then that I could do it. The discomfort would only be temporary, and I wasn’t going to let my lack of experience hold me back. After a long descent I stepped away from the others to fill my water bottle at a stream and when I came back, the group had something to tell me. “Do you want to tell him?” Spaceman Spiff asked Fitty Shrimp. “It was your idea.” Fitty laughed hesitantly and turned to me. “Uh, we thought of a trail name for you.” It didn’t sound good but I was curious.

“Money Shot,” Fitty laughed. This was because of the ridiculous amount of camera gear I was carrying. It wasn’t a name I would have picked for myself but it was funny, so I embraced it. From then on, I was known as Money $hot. The days marched on, each one wildly different from the last and packed to the brim with novel experiences. By the time I crossed the border from Montana into Idaho I was less than a quarter of the way to the Pacific. So much had happened already, I could hardly fathom how much more adventure lay ahead.

Day 24 The PNT is famous for its unmarked trails and frequent bushwhacks, but there is one bushwhack known

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simply as the bushwhack. Every PNT hiker is aware of this six-mile-long test in Idaho’s Selkirk Mountains. We all knew that there was no alternate route around this one.

Our directions were to simply round From then on, there was no point the peak behind Ball Lake and descend in even trying to stay dry. Huckleberry from the ridge line. From there we would bushes crowded every square inch, and follow Lion’s Head Creek for four miles and—in Celestial magic: Glittering stars and Northern Lights theory—the trail should eventually appear. I can’t speak for Marathon or Fitty Shrimp, but I was excited. We followed the ridge and looked for a safe place to descend; it was nearly vertical in most places. Our decision was hastened when thunder began rolling through the canyons, and a dark wall of clouds apthe fastest way to follow the creek was proached from the south. to walk in it. At least there was an ample “This bush ain’t gonna whack itself,” supply of huckleberries to feast upon, Fitty said. We chose a path that looked helping to keep me motivated. doable. I was determined to get through the I put my rain gear on and descended bushwhack in one day, so when Fitty into the brush. By the time we got to the and Marathon lagged behind I didn’t river, my rain pants were shredded. wait long. Throughout the afternoon,

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I’d find an occasional game trail to follow, but my hopes of a continuous trail were always crushed. When the rain finally let up, I came to a secret little series of pools in the creek. I sat down on the wet rock and smoked my last clove cigar. The builtup stress from the day melted away.

stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

Raindrops appeared on the far side of the pool and then made their way across the surface towards me. My immediate reaction was disappointment because the rain was back. But to my surprise, it felt pleasant. I was soaked all the way through, yet somehow I felt completely at peace. I didn’t even know where I was

but I knew I was where I needed to be. The daylight was fading and it was looking like I wasn’t going to make it through the bushwhack before nightfall. Pretty soon I was going to have to start looking for a place to sleep. “It would be really nice to build a fire tonight,” I thought to myself. But there

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was no cleared ground for it. The second I finished that thought, I looked up to see a perfectly prepared campsite with fire pits at the end of a trail. The bushwhack was over.

in my life, thinking about how they had shaped me. I began to let go of the things that were holding me back, and ponder my true potential.

Completing the bushwhack gave me confidence. I felt like I could take on anything that the PNT was going to throw at me—which was good, because the challenges were far from over. Goblins Gate, In Washington I enOlympic National Park countered 100+ degree heat with no water, sudden Day 84 snowstorms, wildfires, two 160-mile long sections, running out of food, and When we reached Cape Alava, it of course more bushwhacking. In additook a few minutes to decide if we were tion to all the external adventures, I was even in the right spot. There was no exploring my own mind along the way. I marker of any kind to signal the end finally had the time and the freedom to of our 1,200-mile journey. It was just dig deep into my psyche and figure out another point on the coastline that hapwhat I was all about. I analyzed events pened to be farther west than any other

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point in the contiguous United States. In a certain way the fact that Cape Alava was so unremarkable proved to be a metaphor for the whole experience. The end goal had been merely a dream to keep us moving, but all the value lay in the middle. I had already experienced the highs and lows of the PNT. Reaching the terminus just meant that it was over. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel—a mixture of massive relief and inchoate sadness that canceled each other out. The three of us hugged and congratulated each other, but again, there wasn’t a whole lot to say. We had all come out here for different reasons, but we had sought the same intangible

PNT: The Untrammeled Thru-Hike By Ainslee Dicken The Pacific Northwest Trail, sometimes called “Crown to Coast,” is a stunning 1,200-mile continuous, mostly non-motorized scenic route that starts at Glacier National Park in Montana, and ends in Washington, at the Pacific Ocean. The trail has been dazzling visitors since 1977, when the first thru-hikers completed the route. However, there was no official trail until Congress passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act in 2009, thus declaring it the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. The trail itself extends through three states and sixteen protected areas. There’s no better way to become acquainted with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest: the trail passes through the Rocky Mountains, Okanogan Highlands, North Cascades, Puget Sound region and Olympic Peninsula. There are eighteen “trail towns” either in the direct path of, or very near, the PNT, which allow hikers opportunities to resupply. The PNT has averaged 60-65 thru-hikers per year in the last few years and does not require a permit.

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To put that number into context, the Pacific Crest Trail issued around 5,000 permits each year for 2018 and 2019. Because of the lack of human interference, there’s more wildlife than usual, ranging from grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions, moose and elk.

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

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Fitty Shrimp taking it all in on the last night of the trail

thing, a better perspective on life. That perspective doesn’t come easily. It must be found through a deliberate and difficult journey. In that search, we had developed a mutual respect for each other that will last a lifetime. I chose to hike the PNT because I saw people leading passive lives: running on the momentum of unconscious decisions. They were on autopilot most of the time and they wondered why nothing ever changed. I had found myself slipping into that same pattern and I had realized that I needed to make a deliberate change. I knew that life wouldn’t be the same when I returned home.

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I was no longer afraid of the unknown. It would be a long and difficult process to incorporate this new perspective into my “regular” life, but if I could do that, I felt sure, my future was bright and filled with promise. POETRY FROM THE WILD Rather than the end of something, it felt like a beginning. What makes a thru-hike such a rich experience is the the sleeping field waited unceasing novelty of the undertaking—each day filled By Jory Mickelson with new wonders. Normal day-to-day life in modern sofor the sun’s increase, the grass it circled itself in the wind ciety consists of a lot of repetition. We wake up in the same to greet the birds, the birds when the water waited, it sought bed, drive the same route to work, do many of the same circled their nests all night, stars discourse with stones, the whole tasks at work, then come back to the same home and run lodged in their midway skies earth conversed with itself, the same nightly routine. Trail life is the opposite. We wake of grass & mud, the sun conversation turned between the halves up in a different place every day and spend every minute releasing dark from its pegs of star and star-not times, the birds of that day in new and unfamiliar territory, encountering constantly changing weather and trail conditions. What how to explain it? as messengers, the insects too the message being: begin little routines that do exist on the trail are always taking a clasping and unclasping of the day place in new locations and under different circumstances. hook and unbutton, when the reed felt Photo by John D’Onofrio It’s often said that a day on a thru-hike can feel like a week in regular life because the amount of unique experiences the end of the trail. That goal is clear, and success or failure is one finds out there might take a week—or a month—to experiunambiguous. In the end, it’s completely up to us. That level ence in regular life. of clarity is hard to find in our “normal” lives. The effect it had It’s a fundamentally different way of living, and it opens on me was to instill a very strong sense of self-awareness and our eyes to the way things could be. The rigid and abstract confidence. Now I know who I am and what I can handle. In a structures of civilized life fall away. The tyranny of the clock is world that’s increasingly unclear and chaotic, those traits seem lifted. There is no schedule—only a very simple goal; to get to ANW more valuable than ever.

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Solo Ironman 140.6 Miles through Unfamiliar Territory Story by Jimmy Watts Photos by Julie Watts

020 was disorienting, a year that made mockery of our plans and expectations and made division and uncertainty an aspect of daily living. It was a climb over false ridges, navigating across a landscape that I didn’t have a map for—that none of us had a map for. Lost? ... yes, and loss itself seemed everywhere. Our social, political and professional worlds were upended, and however well-intended, we all struggled to find footing in unfamiliar territory. I navigated the year as a firefighter and father, as did my wife Julie, working as a hospice RN. We juggled the unknowns and risks of COVID-19 alongside the responsibilities of being parents. As unfamiliar as the territory was, we did have a compass to guide us and we did our best to find our way. As spring rolled into summer I got my bearings and followed its needle, and on September 6, 2020 navigated through 140.6 miles of a solo-Ironman Triathlon in Bellingham, WA. This would have been my sixth Ironman, and it became my own personal response to 2020. It was a message to myself, and to my wife and our boys; that despite the hardship and uncertainty this year brought, I’d stay in the game and maintain forward progress in the direction of something positive. Creativity, resiliency and patience would guide our 20

The heartbeat of Cascadia

way through 2020. ‘Together and alone’ we would do this. The unsettling year began, in my case, with a meniscus torn in my left knee during a fire department training exercise, a search and rescue drill in a vacant and dark house. Painful, and unable to bend my leg completely, I had

meniscus surgery on St. Patrick’s Day (just a few days after the March 13th statewide school closure announcement). Luckily the fix happened just in time, as the surgery center was mandated to close the same afternoon as my procedure. Physical therapy offices were also closing, leaving me to rehab my knee on my own. The surgeon’s advice: “ride a bike.” The day after the surgery, I hobbled onto two wheels and tried to make one

revolution with the pedal. It hurt, but I did it. The next day I did two. Things continued in this way for the next few weeks, eventually adding in hill climbs and trips to the end of the road and back. Looking back on 2020, it’s important to recognize we never knew what was going to happen next. There was no clock on this game. Our playbook was being written in real time and the lasting consequences of what was happening were uncertain, difficult and painful. Still, those first few weeks of springtime closures and quarantine, with everyone home, was in many ways nice. Despite a growing sense of disarray, we thought we’d be OK. The spring weather in Bellingham was unusually benevolent and it all felt like a reset of sorts; an unscheduled break from the daily grind. The planet too was taking a breather, and everyone went outside together. The challenges we faced felt surmountable, and we believed that in six weeks time life would return to normal. However, as April passed it became apparent this wasn’t going to be the case. As a nation, the social and political fracture became very real. COVID-19 numbers were getting worse, not better. Closures were not going to reopen anytime soon. Kids were not going back to school; and the reality that these challenges were going to be with us indefinitely began to sink in. Because pools and gyms remained closed as well, I began swimming in Lake Padden for workouts. The water was still >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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cold, but the isolation in the middle of the lake was beautiful and rejuvenating. Julie and the boys often joined me. In some ways it was a reprieve for all of us; a departure from zoom classes and hours on a screen. As firefighters, we were getting hammered in the city; arson, violence, COVID-19 and social unrest on a scale we’d never experienced. Julie’s work as an RN was also overwhelming, made more difficult by PPE shortages and the politics of corporate medicine. For all of us, work shifts were full and long. The days were getting longer too, in part because of the extending summer light but also because time itself seemed to be stretching. The pace of the day seemed to carry more hours than I remembered it holding, and as a consequence my runs and rides were taking me farther from home. I wasn’t training for anything and still recovering from knee surgery, so I

never reached what anyone would consider an adequate training level for an Ironman Triathlon. In August however, I thought to myself…why not just do another Ironman, all alone and unprepared…2020 style? It wasn’t rational, but it would be a metaphor of the year. I called it a ‘SoloMan’.

Of course I wasn’t going to quit. I would just slow down, demand less from my body and ask more from my mind. I mapped out the 140.6 mile Ironman Triathlon course here in Bellingham, confirming the distances with a Garmin, iPhone, and Google maps. This race would start and end at the Lake Padden swim beach, the 2.4 mile swim being a two-loop course, swimming twice across the lake to the dog park and back. The bike course went into the north

county, from Lake Padden to a five-loop (16-mile) course near Everson. On the loop was a construction site with a portapotty; it served as an aid station, behind which I stashed a cooler with food, water and Gatorade (it was a Sunday, so no workers). The Lake Padden trail was perfect for a marathon; at 2.6 miles around, ten laps made 26.2 miles. Inside my car (parked at the swim beach) I kept another cooler of food, water and Gatorade. This would serve as the run aid station. In the past, the Ironman triathlon has taken me between 11 and 14 hours. This time, under-trained, unsupported and unprepared, I was uncertain as to how this day would go or how long it was going to take, so I gave myself the biggest daylight window possible and started at sunrise. There wasn’t a car in the parking lot when we arrived. It was a beautiful and

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clear morning, the dark sky becoming orange now with dawn. As the sun crested Galbraith Mountain to the east at 6:22 a.m. Julie gave me a countdown “3-2-1 Go Ironman” and I was off, nervous but also oddly relaxed. My prior Ironman swim times always came in under 60 minutes, but this morning’s swim was the fastest, finishing in 50:17. It was a chilly ride downhill from the lake and out into the county. An hour or so in, I settled into a nice pace and the sun began to feel warm. It was peaceful and quiet circling the rural farms. Halfway through the bike leg I was on pace to finish the 112 miles in under six hours, but decided that this pace was too ambitious, so I slowed down and made it back to Lake Padden with a bike time of 6:45. My wife and kids were there to greet me. They’d tracked me using the ‘find my phone’ app. I admit my legs were very tired. An afternoon wind had whipped up, making the last two hours of the ride (plus the climb back up to the lake) a

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As any Ironman finisher will tell you, the first few miles of the run are an awkward waddle as the body adjusts from hours of being hunched over pedal strokes and depleted quads, to an upright running stride. The first few laps around Lake Padden were difficult, but I maintained a comfortable nine-minute mile pace and looked forward to seeing my family as I rounded the swim beach every half hour or so. I stopped at my car for a minute or two each lap to input some fluids and food, doing my best to digest a few hundred calories an hour. And while the first half of the run felt good, I knew it wouldn’t last. My longest run prior to this summer had only been 13 miles, a far cry from a marathon. The second half, I expected, was going to hurt. As if on cue, after six laps around the lake I started to cramp up, initially in my calves and then a hamstring. Being well aware of all the tricks and gimmicks

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for muscle cramps, I understood from experience that none of them really work. Cramps are something to be patient with, and best managed by slowing down and crossing your fingers that they go away (which they rarely do). To make matters worse, a nagging muscle tear in my left calf (which I’ve battled on and off for years) tore again, and I noticed its tell-tale sign—pain, swelling and bruising— quickly appearing in my calf. For every Ironman participant, at some point the idea of quitting comes to mind, and while you may do well to ignore it and deny the emotion the attention it craves, the option to quit is always available. That afternoon, quitting framed itself like this… “this isn’t worth getting genuinely injured over…you still need to show up to the firehouse tomorrow”. It spoke with a rationality I had to consider; but the decision was easy: Of course I wasn’t going to quit. I would just slow down, demand less from my body and ask more from my mind.

The spirit of this wasn’t speed anyway, it was about endurance. By Bill Hoke The deal was to continue—despite uncertainty Wind at Camp Sherman and discomfort—for as Comes at sunset long as necessary and Better hang on until it was over. An Ironman race is always just an expression for the athlete, the tackling of a challenge and acceptance of long, and at times difficult, realities. The choice becomes how you manage to navigate the Photo by John D’Onofrio struggle. My approach is one step and one heartbeat at a time for as long as it takes. join me for the rest of it, and they did. Ultimately, that effort is suffered alone, We walked as much as we jogged, and we but it’s made more possible with love and laughed and talked. There was no rush support from the people around you. to this. Finishing 140.6 miles was going So, with three laps (nearly eight to take whatever it took and for however miles) to go and struggling to jog peglong, and that was OK. And much like legged, I asked my wife and boys if they’d the interminable year of 2020, the solo-

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Ironman turned out to be anything but alone. My boys dragged me across an imaginary finish line at the swim beach. Having started the race exactly at sunrise, I finished exactly at sunset. It was 7:06 p.m., 12 hours and 44 minutes after I started. 14,483 calories and 126,380 heartbeats later, the SoloMan as complete, but it was hardly solo. The phrase ‘together alone’ rang true. I was feeling pretty crummy once I got home (just 5 minutes away from the lake). I didn’t have much of an appetite and my head ached with a nauseating migraine. I was also shivering almost uncontrollably, a result of core body temperature coming down to normal after running hot all day. This is how I always feel after an Ironman, but I was happy and smiling. That night we all slept on a couple of mattresses outside on the deck, as

we’d done nearly all summer. That awful smoke from September’s wildfires hadn’t blown in yet, and the night sky was full

of stars and beautiful. My legs ached under down blankets and I still shivered, but I was content and I felt optimistic. I felt hope.

I have no idea when 2020 will end because it certainly didn’t end with the calendar year, but eventually it will become a memory. The false ridges we’ve been climbing will at some point crest and the distances and divides that we’ve been forced to keep from each other will close. But that still won’t be the end. Our landscapes are forever wrinkled in all directions, full of endless ridges and valleys, and peaks. There isn’t a finish line. There is only a progression made one step and one heartbeat at a time, and while the effort is ours alone, its meaning comes mostly from the people we love who travel alongside us. In truth, we’re always in unfamiliar territory. Maybe that’s the point of things as we do our best to find the way, together and alone. It’s often difficult. Sometimes it’s still beautiful. ANW

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Welcoming the Spring Tide By Mark Bergsma

t has been a long and winding road to my destination. As each year passes, I become more convinced that photography chose me. Just as the persistence of dripping water hollows out stone, creative photography relentlessly knocked at my door. She became my center, my true north, my addiction, and my gravity. Without her presence, at times, I sense a form of spiritual starvation. I have been blessed with a bountiful collection of tools and powers, each greater than myself. They bring me water

when I thirst. They pick me up when I fall. They share their ideas unconditionally and allow me to transcend my earthly bounds. I eternally honor their presence. When I create, I find the simplest form of gratitude. See more of Mark’s photography at www.markbergsma.com Visit AdventuresNW.com to view an extended gallery of Mark Bergsma’s photography.

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Backcountry Horseman Unsung Trail Heroes Story by Nick Belcaster

Rocky Leavitt leads a team of pack mules loaded with lumber for repairs to the Park Butte lookout. The Backcountry Horsemen maintain numerous working relationships with trail maintenance groups, such as the Skagit Alpine Club who maintains the lookout. Photo by Joe Remenar

t times, it’s good to take stock of who’s in your corner.

Who’s willing to go to bat for you. And get dirty. These are friends one should keep. Now a friend that’ll brush out miles of your favorite hiking trail, on their own dime, and carry your tools for you? Now you’re talking our love language. If you explore Whatcom County by boot tread, mountain bike tire or shoed hoof along our extensive tangle of trails, there’s a good chance you owe a debt of gratitude to a group you may have never even heard of: The Backcountry Horsemen. 28

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“We may have left a hoof print or two, but we built the trail it’s on,” says Sharon Hoofnagle, one of the founders of the Whatcom Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen. Existing on both a national and local scale, the Backcountry Horsemen is a group established to ensure that public lands remain open to recreational stock use, and to assist in the creation and maintenance of these resources. “We just didn’t want to get shut out of the wilderness,” says Hoofnagle. Though they have the innate right to ride on public lands, the Backcountry Horsemen know there’s no free lunch, and based on the amount of trail work

they do locally, they certainly aren’t afraid of cutting brush or working a crosscut saw to make it happen. Earlier last year and looking for things to things to do that didn’t involve being inside my own home, I followed up on a tip about an excellent mushroom foraging spot, nestled in the grove of a seed tree farm on Stewart Mountain. The bounty proved to be fruitful (King boletes!) but the second surprise came as I was stooped down engrossed in my harvest in the thick timber beside the trail. From a few feet away came the sudden breathy nicker of a horse, to which I >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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could only stammer out a “Whoa.” Up until this point, the closest I’d ever had to a pack-animal encounter was watching a woman unload two llamas from the back of her hay-stuffed minivan at a Sierra-Nevada trailhead. In fact, I find little that elicits such a sharp focus of “human-scale” perspective as being shoulder to shoulder with a half-ton animal. Unbeknownst to me I had stumbled upon the crown jewel of the Backcountry Horsemen’s Whatcom Chapter: The Y Road Trailhead and its associated network of trails sprawling across the apron of Stewart Mountain. Proudly established with “no guidance or funding from any agency,” the need for such a trailhead became apparent in the 1990s, Hoofnagle says, when large numbers of Backcountry Horsemen members began riding Stewart Mountain, and parking their horse trailers along the road. It soon became obvious that a more

Backcountry Horsemen members Rocky Leavitt, Rich Ruhl, Otis Allen and Joe Remenar move submerged rocks to clear a horse ford through Rocky Creek during a Washington Trails Association work party. Photo by Barbara Budd

permanent solution was required (after all, it’s one thing to be able to shuffle your mud-spattered Subaru into a backcountry parking lot, and a completely different matter to deftly maneuver a truck and horse trailer into one). By 1999 the Backcountry

Horsemen had secured the use of an adjacent lot from Whatcom County Public Works, put up the fence themselves, and opened the trailhead to public use. The Stewart Mountain system is only one of numerous access projects

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that the Whatcom chapter has established over its 34-year existence. “We clear a lot of trail,” Hoofnagle says. “People say you’ve got to be weird, you go out there and get dirty and dusty. But in front you see a mess, and behind you, you say wow.” Beyond trail work, their ability to haul heavy loads has made them many friends in the forest management game.

“Where the oceans and the mountains are within reach.”

The Wilderness Act of 1964 dictated the exclusion of motorized equipment from wilderness areas, meaning that trail maintenance crews looking to do serious work found themselves in need of a different type of horsepower. “Helicopters can be used for a good bit of this work, but they are expensive to operate,” Hoofnagle says. “Horses are not.” Not afraid of getting dirty and swinging a tool, Rodney and Anna Backcountry Horsemen Marie Vandersypen, Bob Rathjen and Joe Remenar construct a bridge by-pass on the Ogallala Trail on Stewart Mountain groups across Washington Photo courtesy Backcountry Horsemen Whatcom Chapter maintain working relationswitchbacks against erosion, which will ships with a large number require bringing in timbers or large of forest management and trail building amounts of crushed rock. Their crew will groups, including the US Forest Service, also need a small army’s worth of supplies National Park Service, DNR, Pacific to support themselves in the backcounNorthwest Trail Association and the try. Call in the Horsemen. Washington Trails Association. Once assembled, the group has Let’s say the powers that be need various and sundry paraphernalia for to replace an aging bridge or shore up

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saddling a horse with a load, from simple catch-all paniers to tilting gravel bags. The loads can often become comical in their size and make-up, with Hoofnagle remembering a particular friend who had long ago been tasked with affixing a ping pong table to a horse to be packed into Olympic National Park for President Kennedy. “You can get pretty ingenious with what you put on these animals.” Once all is said and done and the work is completed, the horses saddle back up with the tools for the trek out. “Hiking groups are delighted to have food and gear packed in to work sites,” Hoofnagle says. “And just as pleased to have us pack it back out. “One of the coolest things is when you have a hiker or a bike rider come by while you are working. It is incredibly gratifying to have people say ‘Wow, thank you for doing this.’” All told, the Backcountry Horsemen’s contribution to our local trails is mostly signature-less, residing in the overturned dirt or expertly placed logs, but some numbers may lend insight on their overall impact: Their most recent newsletter boasts 56,497 volunteer hours across the state in 2020, which is already an impressive number, never mind the asterisk reminding that around 30,000 hours were lost to COVID-19 restrictions this year. Not too shabby for, as Hoofnagle puts it: “a bunch of people who think shoveling manure is fun.” ANW

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A lone kayaker explores the Point at day’s end. Photo by John D’Onofrio

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Governors Point Finding Harmony on the Chuckanut Coast Story by Ted Rosen

he history of outdoor recreation and preservation in America has always run parallel with the politics of land use. On one hand you have the visceral joys of experiencing soul-enriching activities such as hiking, camping, paddling, etc. On the other you have the eternal quest to monetize the land via development, resource extraction and the like. Yet these two vastly different human enstories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

deavors are forever entwined. In the last two centuries, America gradually came to understand the value of preserving land both for environmental reasons and to ensure opportunities for people to step outside the “developed” landscapes and to experience that stirring deep inside, that ineffable joy that wells up when we behold natural splendor. But not everyone agreed with preservationist ideals. As the population grew,

residential development created pressures on the land. Developers sought to convert “raw” land to housing tracts, often at the expense of the ecosystems that support our environment. They were often met with opposition from environmental groups. Soon after the cultural awakening of the 1960s, corporations formed alliances to counter the environmentalist message. Known today as “greenwashing”, merchant groups and lobbying organiza-

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tions often used deceptive advertising to lands, so I have a hard time ignoring the persuade the public that their operations implications of every zoning decision and were somehow environmentally friendly. green space surrender. Environmental organizations then counThus, it was with surprise (and tered the greenwashing. The tug of war to win public trust continues to this day. These national policy battles that threaten our open spaces are re-enacted on a much smaller scale all over America, every day, in every state and town. Bellingham, Washington is no stranger to this struggle. As a member of the Bellingham Greenways Governors Point. Committee for six years, I Photo by Brett Baunton/courtesy of Whatcom Land Trust have seen the conflicting interests quarrel and compromise. Since finishing my tenure with surprise is putting it mildly) that I Greenways, I’ve kept an ear to the ground learned that the new owner of the specfor land use here in the Fourth Corner. tacular Governors Point property on the We’re a fast-growing region with an everChuckanut coast had voluntarily decided shrinking supply of potential recreational to restrict build-out on this coastal prop-

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erty and donate the vast majority of this rare beauty to the Whatcom Land Trust for preservation and public recreation. Governors Point is a magnificent peninsula that juts out into Bellingham Bay, just northwest of Larrabee State Park. It’s considered the last great undeveloped ocean-side real estate north of Olympia. Its shoreline is steep and craggy, carved by the Salish Sea into dramatic sandstone sculptures and grottos. As you head inland, you rise quickly into a silent and serene second-growth forest, left largely untouched since the 1950s. While it has one residence and some gravel roads, it remains untrammeled by visitors, a quiet and wild outlier just two miles from busy Bellingham’s southern border. In the middle of the peninsula, sandstone cliffs rise vertically 270 feet above sea level, with small trees, bushes, and ferns holding on for dear life. The thick woods and deer trails continue to the top, a perfect spot for a future overlook. Leafy trails lead down to the sea. To the east, an intimate cove provides grand views of Pleasant Bay, Chuckanut Island, and the coastal homes along Chuckanut Drive. To the west, where the new homes will be sited, are gorgeous views of Eliza Island and the looming backbone of Lummi Island. This is a place of picture-perfect Clean

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sunsets and vigorous weekend walks in the trees. Living in the Pacific Northwest does not get any better than this. It’s a residential developer’s dream come true. In 1973, Governors Point land owner Carl Sahlin dreamed that dream. He submitted an application to build 310 houses on the property, but he needed access to Bellingham’s municipal water supply. The city’s Water Board tentatively offered this access only if Sahlin met certain conditions—conditions that were not met. In 1992, Carl’s son Roger Sahlin filed an application to build 141 luxury homes on the property. Roger also expected the city to provide water. He cited the Water Board’s 1973 decision as proof that the city had already approved the provisioning of municipal water for the development, despite it being so far outside the city limits. The city balked. The 1973 conditions had never been met and thus no agreement was ever concluded. Many years later, in 2009, Roger

Sahlin and his Governors Point Development Company again submitted an application to get a city water contract for 141 potential luxury homes on the property. It was denied. Sahlin appealed and his appeal was denied. The city had strict new rules about providing water outside the city limits and the Urban Growth Area (UGA). They would not budge. Not content with this result, the Governors Point Development Company sued the city in 2010, but the lawsuit failed. Sahlin appealed the decision to the state appellate court, and lost there as well. The dream was now over, and in 2015 the Governors Point property went up for sale. And this is where things get strange and wonderful. A Canadian business owner named Randy Bishop had lived for a time in the Bellingham area and had fallen in love with Governors Point. Like everyone else, he was struck by the natural beauty of

the place and split his time between the Vancouver area and Bellingham. When he heard that the property was for sale he was excited. In 2018, he bought it for $5,700,000. Now, every property developer will tell you they have a vision. They will tell you that they plan to build something that harmonizes with the environment and benefits the community and makes sound financial sense. But Randy Bishop—who had never been a land developer—had a different vision. He’s an artist and an aesthete. When he looked at Governors Point, he didn’t see 141 luxury homes. He saw an opportunity to create something rare and splendid: a place worth preserving. His plan: to build just 16 residential homes on the west edge of the property and donate the rest of the land to the public. He approached the city and the Whatcom Land Trust with his ideas. He wanted to build sixteen homes, not to exceed 2900 square feet each, all built

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on small lots with tight strictures on wend their way along the water, up the outbuildings and clearing. He partnered cliffs, and back down to the mainland. with Omer Arbel (a globally-respected Rand Jack, a founding board memarchitect, known for his aesthetically ber of the Whatcom Land Trust, conbeautiful designs that incorporate state-of-the-art eco-friendly features) to ensure that each house is built with exacting standards and sited along the western coast on cliffside plots that are unseen from Chuckanut Drive. Using natural materials, green roofs, and careful site planning, he wants the houses to literally blend into the landscape. Sculpted sandstone formations— The rest of known as tafoni —rise from the Salish Sea. Photo by John D’Onofrio Governors Point—98 acres or about 78% of the land—will be donated to the fided that in 40 years he has never met Whatcom Land Trust and opened to a developer with such a public-spirited the public as a common green space. approach to limited development and Nearly five miles of public trails will more willing to donate so much prop-

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erty for recreation and preservation. “We have heard proclamations from other developers, but Randy Bishop has proven true to his word and beyond what we ever expected.” As an example, Jack relates this story: “Randy Bishop and I were standing at the northern tip of Governors Point where building lot number one was destined to be, perhaps the finest undeveloped residential lot on the Pacific coast. While looking out at the scattered islands and sparkling waters of the Salish Sea, I said to him, ‘you know Randy, the public should really have access to this magnificent marine view.’ Without batting an eye, Randy replied, ‘you’re right,’ and proceeded to move lot num-

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ber one off the point and down the coast a bit.” Bishop was originally granted rights to build 25 houses, but when he surveyed the area, he decided 16 was a better number. Fewer houses would better fit into the natural landscape. This is as good an indicator as any that Bishop is genuinely interested in doing right by the community—and the land. I have seen quite a few bold plans and fancylooking charrettes in my day, and in nearly every case the developer maximizes the number of builds by starting out with an outrageous plan then “paring back” later to a slightly-less-outrageous plan in order to seem responsive to the public. Never have I seen a developer voluntarily reduce their buildout without pressure simply because it was the right thing to do. Finally, there was the question of water. The city had made its feelings known for many years: no municipal water for private development outside the city’s UGA. This would severely impact Bishop’s plans. Digging wells would not be a viable option. He needed the city water. Impressed by Bishop’s straightforward handling of the project, the Whatcom Land Trust went to bat for him. They argued before the City

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Council that under a city ordinance, the Council has the authority to supply city water outside the UGA if it was determined to be in the best interests of the people of Bellingham to do so. The Public Works Department readily acknowledged that the public access nature reserve was a substantial public benefit—providing water to sixteen modest homes in exchange for nearly a hundred acres of prime recreational forest land and blissful saltwater coves is certainly in the interest of the people of Bellingham. “The concern was setting a precedent for providing city water outside the UGA,” Jack explains. “We argued that anyone willing to donate a large, exquisite saltwater shoreline property for a public access nature reserve should come under the exception to the general policy—a

precedent that should be followed.” In 2018, the City Council voted unanimously to support the exception

to the rest of us. One day a year, the sixteen homes will be made available for public tours. In addition to the hiking trails and lovely beach coves, the reserve will offer landing areas for human-powered watercraft and a modest public parking space on Pleasant Bay Road. Bishop also plans to oversee the design of other public amenities like handrails and signage with his own artistic flair, providing a unique and cohesive experience for visitors. It isn’t often that a resiMost of the Point is covered in luxurious cedar and fir forest. dential development excites Photo by John D’Onofrio the Whatcom Land Trust and other preservationists, but the and granted Bishop access to the city new Governors Point project appears to water supply. be a winner for everyone. This will be The Governors Point project will the next gem in Bellingham’s impressive create sixteen striking yet modest homes crown. In a few short years you’ll be able ANW in a spectacular setting and open up the to experience it for yourself. bulk of the forest and beguiling beaches

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Reverence, Respect, Reciprocity A Sustainable Future for Recreation Story by Jenni Minier

Recreate [ rek-ree-eyt ]: verb: to give new life or freshness to, refresh. To restore physically or mentally.

n a trip across the North Cascades Highway this past autumn I witnessed something that I’d never seen before in my lifetime: 700 cars parked at Rainy Pass. The perfect fall day drew larch lovers from near and far to the Rainy/Maple Pass Loop. This trailhead holds maybe 80 cars at best, so where were the rest? Lining the highway. The speed limit on this highway is 50 MPH

and with car doors being flung open on either side of the road, the situation felt perilous at best. I burst into tears at the spectacle, sobbing something along the lines of there isn’t enough room for all these people in the forest. Through my sobbing I imagined people lined head to tail in a line like cows waiting to be milked, or worse. Aside from whether anyone was wearing a mask or not, the image was dire. We’ve been telling people for a decade now to GET OUTSIDE. Put down yours screens and GO

OUTSIDE. So finally, all at once it felt like people had heard the call. Ironically, my heart wasn’t filled with gratitude for the multitude of potential supporters of public lands. Instead I felt grief. I grieve for the loss of solitude that I seek in the wilds. I grieve for the animals that used to call these wilds their home. I grieve for the secret places that are no longer secret as internet trip reports and social media posts have become ubiquitous. Once hard-to-find sacred places cherished by Indigenous Peoples are now on Instagram. And yet in my sorrow I conceded that, yes, we need people supporting Photo by John D’Onofrio

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public lands. The recent video produced by Patagonia, Public Trust: The Fight for America’s Public Lands offers an evocative example of what happens to our public lands when no one is watching, when no one cares. They disappear. Wild lands need wild voices. We two-leggeds must be their voices. My daughter, displaying her astute three-year old intelligence, responded to me that day in the car: “Yes there is enough room, momma” (as she’s hucking stuffies at me from the back seat to try and cheer me up). “Look,” she says, “there are lots of trees.” I couldn’t deny her claim. “Yes,” I said. “There is a lot of forest out there, I’m just not sure we should all be in the forest at the same time. Where would the bear nap?” There are a lot of humans on this planet right now. David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet highlights precisely and terrifyingly what we humans are capable of when it comes to ignoring the vulnerability of our home. And I’m

worried that we’ve asked humans to go outside without sharing with them the responsibility inherent in doing so and the tools with which to do it. Recreation comes with an enormous responsibility—to your own body, the bodies around you (human and more than human), and the landscapes you recreate on. Historically, the ‘Leave No Trace’ ethos has been the gold standard for how to interact with the land. ‘Leave No Trace’ is great, but it’s only a baseline and should be implied. ‘Leave No Trace’ falls short in a number of ways.

The Three R’s Reverence, respect, and reciprocity. To me, these are the gold standards for responsible and sustainable recreation. Reverence—We are all stunned by beautiful places and moments. Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mt. Rainier, the alpenglow at sunset, the contrast of the yellow larches against fall’s first snow, the bugle of the elk. Each of these stirs us in profound

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ways—perhaps even to reverence. I’d urge us to go a step further and really tune in and ask what is it about these places and moments that makes your heart sing—or cry out? What is it about these places and moments that connects you with your soul and the soul of the Earth? Perhaps in those places and moments we might for a fleeting moment feel that our own souls are not so different after all. The reverence we feel witnessing our child’s first breath of air might be the same reverence we feel when the sun’s first rays hit our cold winter-kissed face. That’s the kind of reverence we need to really come into relationship with the where, why, and how we’re recreating. Respect—Once you really truly feel the depth and magnitude of the place you’re recreating, respecting how you’re doing it comes much more easily. Would you want someone playing a loud boombox at your child’s birth? Likely not. Would you want someone walking carelessly across your well-tending garden? Likely not. Respect isn’t just about packing out your poop and garbage. Respect is about considering the people you’re recreating with or near, all the flora and fauna, and the entire landscape as a whole. These lands are sacred. This likely feels like a huge responsibility. You might be asking yourself, how can I do all of that? I just want to go for a run, a bike ride, a climb, a ski —whatever—and forget all the cursedness of my “other” life—as if your other life is separate from the space that you’re recreating in. The

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responsibility of recreation is that it isn’t just about our needs, it’s about the needs of the entire system you’re inhabiting. To recreate is to renew yourself. It is important that this renewal does not come at

Photo by John D’Onofrio

the expense of the ecosystem on which this renewal (and for that matter, life itself) depends. Your attitude—what you bring to the land—matters. How are you showing up? Are you gossiping about your neighbor? Complaining about your job? Or are you offering yourself as completely as possible to the place and the moment? Reciprocity—Now that we’re utterly awestruck by the places we’re recreating in and can be present in those places with deep respect for ourselves, the humans and more than humans around us, and the entire landscape, we’re ready

to ask the most important question of all. What can I give back? What does this place need from me? What do I have to offer this place in this moment? We all have something to give back. We all have something we can offer. It might be a simple gesture, a silent (or not silent) prayer or blessing, a song —or even just a simple thank you. But I challenge each of you to not be silent. Resonance—The 3 R’s of recreation seemed reasonable enough, but a friend of mine reminded me of a fourth: Resonance. Resonance is the capacity of the moment to reverberate in your life long after the moment has passed. Resonance is the shift in our consciousness that moves us down the road toward self-awareness. Resonance literally changes our lives. It draws us in and helps us understand the much, much bigger picture (of which we are a part) that transcends our parochial egos. Resonance is what keeps us going back to certain places. It’s why I make a pilgrimage to the desert southwest every fall. That land speaks to me in a way that no other land does. It makes me come alive. It fills me with a creative fire that burns all winter. Resonance is what motivates us two-leggeds to be the wild voices for the ones without voices. So find the places that resonate with you and protect them. Honor them. Grieve their loss. Grieve your loss. Leave them gifts of your heart. And keep going back. The ability to recreate is a gift. The

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opportunity to recreate on wild lands is nothing short of a miracle. We must make the time to toss our hair into the wind and let go of our day-to-day worries to just play. But, friends, play gently and thoughtfully. Give more than you take. Be aware that the balance is delicate and our footfalls can be heavy. If you have extra time or money, donate it to an organization that protects the places you love. At a minimum, donate your reverence, respect, and reciprocity so that seven generations from now, these special places might still be the wild places that make your descendants’ hearts sing out in awe and wonder. ANW

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Adventures in Alaska Go Wild this Summer processing in Adobe Lightroom) will be provided by photographer/teacher/ technician extraordinaire Alan Sanders and Adventures Northwest publisher/ editor/photographer John D’Onofrio.

The M.V. David B.

Alaska Fjords with the Brown (Grizzly) Bears of Admiralty Island May 28-June 4, 2021

2021

promises to be an epic year for adventures. After the long struggles with isolation, social turmoil and yes, claustrophobia, a return to adventure travel is beyond welcome. If there was ever a time to nourish your soul in the beauty of nature, it’s on the way. Adventures Northwest will be leading three photography cruises in Alaska this summer. We’ll be travelling aboard the M/V David B., an elegant 65-foot wooden boat built in 1929 and lovingly refurbished and updated by Jeffrey and Christine Smith, a husband-and-wife team that live to explore the astoundingly beautiful coastline of Alaska. You will never find people that love what they do more than Jeffrey and Christine. Adventure travel on the David B. is in a league of its own—the opposite of industrial tourism. Passengers share once-in-a-lifetime experiences with a handful of fellow travelers, experiencing 44

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some of the planet’s most spectacular wildlife and scenery in comfort and awe. Photography is the focus of these trips, with itineraries and logistics

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Brown Bear at Pack Creek, Admiralty Island

This tour offers up the rich diversity of the wonders of Southeast Alaska in a non-stop succession of visual astonishments: Frederick Sound and its humpback whales; Fords Terror, with its lacework of waterfalls; and a close encounter with the towering face of the Dawes Glacier. For many, the highlight is a visit to the Pack Creek Bear Viewing Area on Admiralty Island, called Kootznoowoo by the Tlingit people who live here. Translation: Fortress of the Bears. This name is apt. The island boasts the highest concentration of brown bears in North America (one per square mile!).

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including wildlife such as humpback whales, orcas, and brown and black bears.

Shore excursion at Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay July 17-24, 2021 If Glacier Bay isn’t on your ‘bucket list’, it should be. Discover Fords Terror the stunning scenery of this UNESCO World tion of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Heritage Site in intimate detail aboard Wilderness with up close-and-personal the David B.: majestic mountains, tideviews of the Dawes and Sawyer Glaciers, an unforgettable ride through Fords Terror and more waterfalls than you’ve ever seen in your life. We’ll spend days deep in the canyon-like fjords observing and photographing the Exploring the Reid Glacier awe-inspiring spectacle

water glaciers, icebergs, and ancient forests. Iconic wildlife abounds in Glacier Bay including whales, brown and black bears, tufted puffins, porpoises, moose, sea lions, otters, mountain goats, and eagles. We’ll go ashore and explore landscapes of towering blue ice, fireweed and vistas that are among the planet’s most dramatic. Current COVID-19 precautions will be observed on all trips. ANW Learn more about these once-in-alifetime trips and sign up to join us at www. adventuresnw.com/photo-workshops

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Field Trip Adventures beyond the PNW

Smith Rock Story and photo by John D’Onofrio

he radical topography of Smith Rock seems out of place in north-central Oregon, rising as it does from sagebrushcovered high desert. The Crooked River, with headwaters 100 miles upstream in the High Lava Plains, flows here in a sinuous 46

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series of meanders beneath the cliffs, home to water birds and rambunctious river otters. A renowned climbing Mecca, Smith Rock State Park draws the vertically-inclined from all over the Pacific Northwest (and beyond) but well-constructed trails offer non-climbers a chance to walk beside both the placid river and high among

the soaring pinnacles of these ancient volcanic formations. In springtime, the river seems to carry the promise of the changing season and an abundance of wildflowers illuminates the landscape. It is a place to savor both dramatic grandeur and gentle beauty. ANW

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Cascadia Gear: ORCA Walker 20 Softside Cooler The Walker 20 is a tough-as-nails soft cooler that holds 20 cans of your favorite beverage and is insulated to make ice last for days. This cooler weighs 3.6 lbs. and features a rigid bottom, leak-proof design, heavy-duty zipper and both an ingenious magnetic handle and a padded shoulder strap, as well as a mesh pocket and attached bungee straps for added storage. One minor gripe: The zipper is sticky and takes some muscling, but a chap stick-like zipper lubricant that comes with the cooler is helpful. More info: orcacoolers.com

Aquamira Water Treatment Drops I’ve used the Aquamira Water Treatment Drops for many years and they’ve never let me down. Super-easy to use (mix the two solutions, dump in your water bottle and wait), they knock out bacteria, viruses, and protozoans like Cryptosporidium and Giardia. And because these drops use chlorine dioxide— instead of iodine— they’re safe to use over time and the taste of the water is barely impacted, although a slight ‘tang’ can be detected if the treated water sits for days. Water treatment systems don’t get any lighter— the entire kit weighs only about three ounces. One word of caution: these are not useful for treating water with particulates in it—for example the tannin-laden creeks of the Olympic coast—without pre-filtering. More info: www.aquamira.com

Fritschi Tecton Bindings by Chris Gerston

There is nothing new to review for the Fritschi Tecton bindings this season, but that is what I like about this binding: it stands up to the test of time. The Tectons hit all the important marks for a touring binding: an alpine heel piece that’s worth the extra 100 grams compared to other classic tech heels, a releasable toe piece with decent elastic travel in all directions, and the lightest weight of comparable bindings in its niche. Let’s review what we know about the Tecton. First of all, they ski great. You would be hard pressed to feel the difference between this and the Kingpin. The heel piece makes them feel similar to the way an alpine binding drives a ski, but without the feel of burly alpine bindings. Plus, this binding differentiates itself from other low-tech bindings with the only DIN releasable tech toe-piece. Furthermore, the Tectons are the lightest of the touring bindings, with an alpine heel piece, by about 100 grams per foot compared to the Kingpins, and 200 grams compared to the Shifts. Now, it did take several years for Fritschi to refine their toe piece to be more user-friendly, but at this point, they seem to have it worked out. There has been concern about the “plastic look” of this binding, but for the past 3-4 seasons we have had very few problems. From our ski tech’s perspective, they seem to be reliably durable both for people who ski these in-, or out-, of-bounds. Backcountry Essentials, owned by Chris Gerston, is an outdoor specialty shop located at 214 W. Holly in Bellingham, WA. Check out more of Chris’ gear reviews at AdventuresNW.com

Adventures Northwest Magazine Spring 2021

Articles inside

Field Trip

Adventures in Alaska

Reverence, Respect, Reciprocity

Governors Point

Backcountry Horseman

Solo Ironman

Finding My Way on the Pacific Northwest Trail

Parting Shot

Out & About: Aspire Adventure Running