Adventures Northwest Magazine Summer 2019

ADVENTURES NORTHWEST SUMMER 2019

ABOVE TREE LINE NORTH CASCADES TRAVERSES THE ELUSIVE CHARMS OF THE PICKET RANGE REDEMPTION ON MT. SHUKSAN HIKING THE CHAIN LAKES TRAIL PADDLE TO LUMMI REQUIEM FOR WHATCOM CREEK WESTSIDE WOLVES!

TREASURE HIKES DIABLO LAKE BOAT TOURS ALLEN MOE’S NATURE ART

>>> EXTENSIVE OUTDOOR EVENTS CALENDAR INSIDE

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INSPIRATIONS

IN THIS ISSUE Exceptional Marine & Outdoor Products Since 1967

Summer Cruising on Diablo Lake History, Poetry and Mountain Majesty

Ray Constantine

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Paddle to Lummi Sqweshenet Tse Schlelangen

John D’Onofrio

12

Bob Kandiko

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Far Above the Beaten Path In Praise of the Alpine Traverse

Redemption on Mt. Shuksan Lessons Learned on the Northwest Rib

Summer in Paradise

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Jason Martin

Wildflower Gardens of Mt. Rainier

Tina Arnold

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Luna Peak ... er ... Creek!

Tim Ahern & Rick Lindberg

32

John D’Onofrio

38

Treasure in the Understory

Nick Belcaster

42

Once

Jimmy Watts

44

The Chain Lakes Loop Sparkling Water, Classic Views

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DESTINATIONS

- John Muir

7 8 9 22 28 36 40 52 54 55 58

- Google Review

Photo by Bob Kandiko

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”

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CONTRIBUTORS Tim Ahern is an avid hiker, backcountry skier and kayaker, with a main focus on the Pacific Northwest and East Greenland.

His college degrees are in biochemistry, oceanography and Russian literature, and in addition to writing travel articles, he is an illustrator and has published three books on James Joyce.

A Pacific Northwest native, Tina Arnold is a full time landscape/ portrait photographer who enjoys spending time outdoors, backpacking, hiking, and kayaking with her family. Tina’s photographs have been published in numerous publications across the world. See her work at www.lakesidephotographyby-tinaarnold.com.

Nick Belcaster is a Bellingham-based writer with a particular penchant for exposed choss climbs, backcountry touring on Cascade concrete and taking long walks across the country. He contributes to local and national publications, focusing on the intersection of recreation, energy and the environment.

Anita K. Boyle is a poet and artist who lives “out in the county.” Her art and poetry are inspired by the natural and manmade landscape of the Pacific Northwest.

Long ago, Kathy and Craig Copeland rearranged their lives to make hiking the whitehot molten core of their shared identity. They built their livelihood on a unique ability to express the wonder, joy, and exhilaration they feel in wild places. They’re now Canada’s most prolific hikingand-camping guidebook authors. Visit hikingcamping.com to see their titles and peruse their blog.

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SUMMER | 2019

Volume 14. Issue 2 Shannon Finch is a writer and aspiring photographer. She lives on a small farm in Stanwood, WA with her husband and many rescue animals and enjoys photographing wildlife and landscapes.

“Looking at life as always an adventure” sums up Bob Kandiko’s philosophy. Retired after 33 years as a middle school science teacher, he now has endless time to plan and execute trips with his life companion, Karen Neubauer and friends. His latest embraced quote, “Remember to stop so you take the time to stop to remember.”

Sarah Laing is a nutritionist, author and cofounder of S&J Natural Products, which offers CBD-infused products for healthy lifestyles.

She is currently writing her second book, The Cannabinoid Diet,(ITAL) which focuses on phytocannabinoid-based nutritional guidelines to activate the body’s endocannabinoid system, restoring balance in the body and promoting overall health.

Born in Anacortes, WA., Rick Lindberg has held day jobs in the roofing, waste management, package delivery, graphic design and film making industries. In spite of, and because of this, he has spent much of his spare time in the North Cascades. He also continues his attempts to work in pastels.

Allen Moe has been living and doing artwork in the northwest for over 30 years based out of a shack on the Skagit River delta and more recently a studio on Guemes Island. Visit allenmoe. com to learn more.

Jimmy Watts is a fireman in downtown Seattle, the craftsman behind Shuksan Rod Company bamboo fly rods, and a writer. For the past 20 years he’s lived in Bellingham with his wife and their two boys.

COVER PHOTO: Mt. Fury by Bob Kandiko

A Look Ahead:

Our Autumn Issue

Adventures in British Columbia Rafting the Tatshenshini River • Paragliding the Canadian Rockies • Running the Howe Sound Crest Photo by Benjamin Jordan

RITUAL

I

’ve been thinking about rituals.

Not the pseudo-rituals dreamed up by marketing departments.

The real thing: the meaningful and purposeful rituals that historically helped our species move through life and deal with change. Coming of age, preparing for death—the essential transitions that we all must face—as well as rituals that bind us together culturally and help to foster unity in the face of the relentless forces dedicated to dividing us into opposing groups. These rituals were, of course, standard operating procedure throughout the vast expanse of human history—until relatively recently. Now increasingly they are lost to us, drowned out by the clamor.

The Paddle to Lummi (see page 12) is an example of a strong and healthy ritual, one that reinforces and bolsters cultural identity and emphasizes common ground, both commemorating the past and celebrating the present. For the Coast Salish people, this tradition is a reminder of their unique strength and wisdom in a modern world that has not been particularly supportive.

And of course, we can keep ritual alive in our own lives.

When my children graduated high school it seemed incumbent upon me to devise some kind of ‘coming of age’ ritual. I wanted to share an experience with them that combined awe and beauty with a sense of working hard and persevering to achieve a goal worth pursuing (a good lesson in life). Something that contained an element of fear, or at least challenge. Something that we’d remember all our lives.

My elder son and I climbed Mt. Baker together. It was glorious. A peak experience in every sense. My younger son and I headed out into the trail-less backcountry of Denali National Park on a backpacking excursion. Again, it was an amazing experience.

Both of these trips were lots of fun, but they were more than that.

My sons have since grown up to be men of integrity. Both

have carried forward a sense of the importance of working hard at meaningful pursuits, building relationships, and embracing challenges. Both are lovers of wilderness.

So create your own rituals, your own ways to honor important milestones and celebrate shared beliefs. The raw materials are plentiful: We each have our talismans—metaphorical or otherwise—and a circle of special people woven into our lives with whom to share our deepest experiences.

Adventures NW magazine John D’Onofrio

www.AdventuresNW.com Roger Gilman

Jason Rinne

Marian Jensen

Publisher/Editor john @ adventuresnw.com Creative Director jason @ adventuresnw.com

Nick Belcaster

Staff Writer nick @ adventuresnw.com

Poetry Editor roger @ adventuresnw.com

Ethan D’Onofrio

Digital Media ethan @ adventuresnw.com

Alan Sanders

Accounting accounting @ adventuresnw.com

Photo Illustrations

Distribution: Sherry Jubilo, Aaron Theisen, Dareld Chittim, Bigfoot Distributing, J&M Distribution, Gold Distribution Services Adventures NW magazine is printed by Lithtex NW Printing Solutions, Bellingham, WA.

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Out&About

The Return of the Wolves

The sound of a wolf howling at night in the woods is not something that you forget. The sound is both ecstatic and mournful, a perfect theme song for the truly wild. And thankfully, the wolf population in the Cascades is growing. And for the first time in a long, long time there are wolves on the west side of the North Cascades. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has reported the existence of a new pack, dubbed the Diobsud Creek Pack, that has established itself east of Baker Lake in the Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness. Although this “pack” presently consists of a single male and female, it’s a start. And there’s more good news. According to the WDFM, wolf populations in Washington have increased for the tenth year in a row—but the numbers are still small. Population estimates range from the official WDFW count of 126 to upwards of 150, according to recent research published by the University of Washington.

Wolves on the west side is big news. “It puts the good kind of chills down my back to have a wolf pack in western Washington after so long an absence,” Conservation Northwest Executive Director Mitch Friedman says. “The Diobsud Pack is special to me because its range includes some

of my personal favorite backcountry anywhere.”

Seattle-based (but Bellingham-born) Conservation Northwest has played an important role in the burgeoning wolf recovery, started in 2008. Their innovative Range Rider Program works cooperatively with ranchers to protect livestock and by extension, the first tentative wolf packs.

“Washingtonians should be proud,” Friedman says, “that our state’s investments in collaboration and non-lethal conflict prevention are paying off, with wolf recovery continuing and very ANW few wolves being killed as a result of conflicts.”

Learn more about Conservation Northwest’s efforts on behalf of the wolves: www.conservationnw.org Wolf Cam Photo Courtesy of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

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New Name, New Venue, Same Great Music There’s something about bluegrass music in the open air on a summer evening. The folks at the Whatcom Parks and Recreation Foundation know this and after hosting the Hovander Homestead Bluegrass Festival in Ferndale, WA. for the past couple of years, they’ve taken the whole thing up a notch. This year, the festival (which supports the good work that the Foundation does in support of local parklands) has been rebranded as the North Cascades Bluegrass Festival and has a new home at the Deming Logging Show grounds, just west of the Nooksack River. It’s a beautiful setting Photo by Rae & Rae with camping on site.

Headliners include Colebrick Road, The Warren T. Hardings and Farmstrong.

It’s a great way to spend Labor Day Weekend (August 31 – ANW September 1).

More info: www.ncbf.fun >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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At Ski to Sea, Keep an Eye on the Kid Goats

By Nick Belcaster

At first, Lazo Gitchos couldn’t believe what he was seeing. High on the mountain, his Ski to Sea teammate Walker Hall was not only off to a great start, he was among the leaders.

“We were expecting the first half of the team to come out strong as usual, as winter sports are our strong point coming from a snowy area,” Gitchos says. “But I certainly wasn’t expecting our team to be in the top three...”

The story continued throughout the day, from the cross country ski to the kayak leg, with the “Kid Goats” hanging tight with the likes of Olympians and nationally-ranked athletes as they approached the finish, ringing the bell at 19th place overall last year. An impressive feat by any account, but certainly compounded when you factor in one thing: their age. The Kid Goats were a high school team.

“Last year was the first time they were on my radar,” Ski to Sea race director Anna Rankin says.

“I’ve never seen a high school team place in the top 20.” From Winthrop’s Liberty Bell High School, these young people certainly made a splash last year, logging the fastest time of any high school team.

“Promoting athleticism at that age is important. They really are the future of the race,” Rankin says. “Clearly if they start in high school, they might become those racers that you hear about who race for decades.”

3 Great Hikes for Summer

Hannegan Pass & Peak This hike is a sensory delight.

You’ll climb gently through lush green meadows sparkling with flowers, passing tumbling watercourses as you make your way up the valley of Ruth Creek. The trail steepens but after a relatively short period of grunting (you’ll be Decending Hannegan Peak distracted from your labors Photo by John D’Onofrio by the fine views of Ruth Mountain) you’ll find yourself atop Hannegan Pass, four miles and 1900 feet from the parking lot. There are a few campsites nearby (just outside the boundary of North Cascades National Park). Vistas from the Pass are limited but a side trail solves that problem in a big way. Take the signed Hannegan Peak Trail and brace yourself. You’ll climb 1200 feet in a mile to the summit but the effort is eclipsed by the wondrous vistas of wild mountains.

The view of the Nooksack Tower is simply stunning.

Trailhead: The end of the Hannegan Road, 5.5 miles from the Mt. Baker Highway (WA-542). Forest Pass required.

Table Mountain Travis Grialou of the Kid Goats

Photo Courtesy of Whatcom Events

This year Ski to Sea waived the entrance fees for the first 20 high school teams to register, opening up the field to a slew of young and eager faces.

“I’m excited to see what caliber of high school teams show up this year given the free registration incentive,” Gitchos says. “Hopefully we will have some strong high school competition.”

And the best of luck to them. With the Kid Goats back again this year, it looks like any high school competitors are going to need ANW all the help they can get…

Artist Point on a summer weekend is a busy place. It’s quieter on Table Mountain. The trail exits the west side of the parking lot and crosses glacial debris to the base of a cliff. It may look daunting, but the trail ingeniously switchbacks up the face (no real exposure but definitely not a place for unsupervised children), achieving the broad summit in only half a mile with a stiff 700 feet of elevation gain. Once on top, catch your breath and admire the stupendous views of Shuksan. You can follow the trail for another mile across the top of the table, a recommended activity. From the far side of the table, the views of Baker, Ptarmigan Ridge and the Chain Lakes are inspiring.

Trailhead: Artist Point, at the end of the Mt. Baker Highway (WA-542).

Forest Pass required.

Tiffany Mountain

(360) 656-6963 www.bakertobaypt.com

The climb up Tiffany Mountain makes for a perfect early-season adventure when the majority of the high country in the North Cascades is still buried in snow. By virtue of its location on the extreme eastern edge of the range, the snow melts early, wildflowers come in June and hikers can lounge on the 8,242-foot summit by the first of July. The trail that transports hikers to its summit via Freezeout Ridge is one of the highest in the state of Washington, a short 2-mile ascent (elevation gain: 1685 feet) that offers up beautiful sweeping meadows and compelling longdistance views of mountains almost without number. The catch?

Tiffany Mountain is a long way from anywhere, reached via a series of increasingly rough roads north of Winthrop. This hike makes a fine addition to a weekend in the Methow.

12 Bellwether Way - Ste 232, Bellingham, WA

Trailhead: Freezeout Pass, Forest Service Road # FS-39, accessed from Winthrop via East Chewuch River Road and FS-37. No pass required.

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Summer Cruising on Diablo Lake History, Poetry and Mountain Majesty Story by Ray Constantine

U

nique in the National Park lake, more than any other lake in the lower 48. The surrounding mountains system, the partnership beare steeped in drama and serendipity: tween Seattle City Light, North home to the beat poets who memorialCascades National Park, and the North Cascades Institute offers The Alice Ross IV. Photo Courtesy of Seattle City Light visitors a plethora of recreational delights. Among them, a tour on Diablo Lake aboard the Alice Ross IV provides a relaxing—and inspiring —way to while away a summer’s day.

There are two options for visitors: the three-hour lunch tour or the shorter afternoon excursion. Both offer up spectacular views, a slice of history and even some poetry by Gary Snyder. But the star of the show is Diablo Lake itself, an ethereal aquamarine, the color of glacial melt. Fifty-two glaciers feed the

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ized these peaks in ecstatic cantos— Snyder, Kerouac, Whelan.

It’s an excellent way to introduce your non-hiking friends to the spectacular scenery of the North Cascades in the heart of the Skagit River country,

while learning about the colorful history of J.D. Ross, the “father” of the Skagit Hydro Project.

Ross, born in Ontario, was fascinated with electricity from boyhood.

After graduating from college in 1891, he travelled to Alaska on the advice of his doctor who urged him to “get outdoors more.” One thing led to another (as it so often does) and he found himself in Seattle in 1900 and soon became embroiled in the effort to create a municipal electric utility.

In 1910, Seattle City Light was formed and by 1924, the Gorge Dam had been built on the Skagit and electricity hummed through the power lines to Seattle, 100 miles away. The Diablo Dam came on line in 1936,

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forming Diablo Lake.

Ross died suddenly in 1939, 10 years before the final piece of his massive project was completed. The largest dam of them all, named Ross Dam in his honor, created 23-mile long Ross Lake.

The Alice Ross IV is the latest in a succession of tour boats plying the lake, a tradition that goes back 80 years. With its glass roof, wall-to-wall windows and open aft deck, the vistas are unencumbered. The boat swings around Thunder Point for a view up Thunder Arm and slips up between the waterfall-laced walls of what was once called Box Canyon, a gorge that transports passengers to the base of mighty Ross Dam. Ross was more than an engineer; he was a public relations genius, recognizing that by making the Skagit Hydro Project a tourist destination, he could engender public support. One of his more bizarre ideas was to import exotic animals to inhabit a pair of islands in the lake that he dubbed Deer and Monkey

Islands. He brought Asiatic Deer to populate one and Rhesus Monkeys the other, for the amusement of visitors.

The local cougars (who knew they could swim?) put an end to that enterprise.

Today, despite the absence of monkeys, a summer afternoon spent on Diablo Lake remains an idyllic way to enjoy the ANW beauty of the North Cascades.

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Paddle to Lummi Sqweshenet Tse Schlelangen Story by John D’Onofrio

Photo by Jack Storms/stormsphoto.com

T

he Salish Sea has sustained the people of the Pacific Northwest from time immemorial. This great interconnected waterway has provided sustenance, cultural inspiration—and a transportation system— for the tribal communities that live on its shores and remains an integral part of their deep connection to place.

cultural unity, a vital part of the Coast Salish identity. But by the mid-twentieth century, the canoes had all but vanished.

At the heart of this connection is the canoe, traditionally used to facilitate travel across the waters, enabling the people scattered around this Photo by Jack Storms/stormsphoto.com vast area to gather together to The modern canoe journeys had trade, share ceremonies and celebrate. their beginnings on the Olympic Coast The canoe has always been a facilitator of 12

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at La Push back in the 1970’s as part of a “re-culturalization” project, both an honoring of tradition and an inclusive celebration of the richness of contemporary tribal life.

In 1989, Emmett Oliver of the Quinault people organized the carving of several canoes to be used in ceremonies associated with the Washington State Centennial. This led to a 1200-mile roundtrip canoe voyage from Port Gamble, WA. to Bella Bella on the BC coast in 1993. It is said that when the canoes arrived in Bella Bella, elders came down to the beach with tears in their eyes, saying that they thought they would never again see the canoes landing on the beach. >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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Building on these successful voyages, the Full Circle Canoe Journeys were born. Writer and artist Philip H. Red Eagle was one of the initiators of the project. “On the Full Circle Journey we worked with families and youth from several native communities,” he says.

“Our objective was to take the canoe, and its rules and protocols, and begin to work to restore traditional practices and culture to these communities. We wanted to build native pride and structure a knowledge base upon which to build a working culture.”

This year’s journey, the Paddle to Lummi 2019, Sqweshenet Tse Schelangen “Honoring Our way of Life” will culminate on July 24-28 when more than 100 canoes (from as far away as Bella Coola, BC and Queets, WA.) and 10,000 people are expected to arrive on the Lummi Reservation at the Stommish Grounds (2295 Lummi View Drive).

There will be feasting, traditional songs and dancing and a celebration of a cul-

ture that has nourished the people for countless generations— and continues to do so today. All are welcome.

ANW Learn more: www.paddletolummi.org

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Far Above the Beaten

Path

In Praise of the Alpine Traverse Story by Bob Kandiko

Gazing into the Northern Pickets Photo by Dave Maczuga

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stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

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My heavy boot balances on a small ledge just below the crest of the knife-edge ridge. Before fully weighting each step, I check my footing by gently tapping the rock. A misplaced step or broken hold would send me tumbling down the cliff. With a 70-pound pack throwing off my balance, I strain to move without tipping sideways. Finally the exposure relents and I step onto more secure ground. As the tension eases momentarily, I take a deep breath, but I know that more anxious sections of terrain lie ahead.

S

When I first moved to the Pacific Northwest I was awestruck by the natural beauty. I pursued adventures in the common locations frequented by the masses of tourists.

Queuing up for summit bids on the volcanoes or the classic climbs on Forbidden and Liberty Bell peaks was satisfying for a few years but in time these left a sour taste instead of what could have been a wilderness experience. From these lofty summits I gazed longingly at the ridgelines extending far to the horizon. Countless peaks etched their silhouettes against the haze caught in the valleys. With a siren’s call they beckoned to those who wanted real wilderness adventure.

“Simply put - we can’t wait until our next trip with Moondance! It was a great day - the guides were fantastic and we felt very safe throughout the trip.”

For five days our group of four has seen no one. We are only 100 miles from the metropolises of Seattle and Vancouver, but we are experiencing an isolation more exclusive than most of Alaska.

The scenery surrounding us includes deep valleys of old growth

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Sierras or Rockies. The range has more peaks that rise 3,000 feet in the last horizontal mile to their summits than any other range on earth. Although that trivia has never appeared on Jeopardy, my knees and back acknowledge that our Cascade trips are more arduous than excursions made in other ranges.

The long approach on an old-growth trail dulls the mind and the inevitable four- to five-thousand foot climb up a torturously steep hillside through a tangle of alder and thorny Devil’s club challenges the group’s resolve. Swarming mosquitoes, biting black flies and stinging ground hornets add to the misery. Needles, dirt and duff slide between the pack and back. Rain adds weight to an already unbearable burden and sweat streams underneath rain gear that never really breathes. Boots and packs rub, creating blisters that throb with each uphill step. Progress up these densely vegetated slopes is made by circumventing mossy cliff bands and pulling oneself up branches of slide alder. For those experiencing these rights of passage for the first time, the ordeal can break the spirit and bring tears; but for the seasoned backcountry traveler, the effort is akin to finding the Rosetta Stone that solves the puzzle of getting to the sub-alpine zone.

The Southern Pickets Above Access Creek

Photo by Bob Kandiko

The original goal to venture into the heart of the Cascades was pursued by pioneer climbers seeking first ascents of remote summits. In 1938 four young men from the Ptarmigan

forests, alpine meadows full of floral mosaics, and glaciated peaks holding a lifetime of challenges. Where is this paradise? It is found in the North Cascades of Washington State.

For a few weeks of each of the last 25 summers I have coerced my wife Karen Neubauer and a group of friends into traveling the remote ridgelines of the Cascades. These “Cascade Traverses” are invented paths that connect lowland trails with the wildest and least-traveled ridgelines in the range.

The goal of each traverse is to stay above tree line for as long as possible to maximize the stupendous views. In many respects the Cascades are not as friendly as the

Bob Kandiko’s Photo Books Bob Kandiko has published two photo books that are meant to inspire others to tackle the challenges of these routes.

North Cascades Traverses: www.blurb.com/b/8288548-north-cascades-traverses Glacier Peak High Routes: www.blurb.com/b/8290547-glacier-peak-high-routes stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

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Climbing Club bushwhacked into the deep valleys surrounding Dome Peak and traversed to Cascade Pass in a 13day effort that was not repeated for 15 years.

The first audacious southnorth traverse of the Picket Range was accomplished in bare-bones style by Alex Bertulis and Half Zantop in 1963. This 10day epic, done without a tent or stove, crossed jagged terrain and included a 2,000 foot descent of the north face of Mount Terror by a series of rappels.

Joe and Joan Firey and friends made annual excursions into deep hanging valleys and along airy ridgelines, tagging elusive summits en route and Frank King organized summer outings with the Seattle Mountaineers for traverses through the

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Glacier Peak Wilderness as well as the North Cascades National Park.

A north-south linkage from the Canadian border to Dome Peak was accomplished by Don and Natala

the travel holds more visual rewards but flat ground is a rarity. At times the sidehilling can be pleasant, but the footing can never be taken for granted as marmot holes and roots can snap an unwary ankle.

As the slope angle increases, clinging onto slippery vegetation is the only way to safely cross the steep alpine meadows.

The weight of the pack, loaded with necessary ice axe, ropes, and crampons, causes each step to be a major effort.

Slips, slides, and tumbles are common events, but throughout such hardships one can simply stop, take Crossing Toward the Triad, El Dorado Peak in the Distance a deep breath, Photo by Karen Neubauer and gaze up in amazement at Goodman in a 26-day trip in 1990. The the surrounding world-class scenery. The length of this trip necessitated a prespirit found in the “Sound of Music� does placed food cache, two food drops at indeed exist as serrated ridgelines and trailheads, and a dropoff/pickup which glistening glaciers extend to the horizons, avoided a horrendous car shuttle. but the vision of Julie Andrews skipping Once above the hemlocks and firs, through the meadows seems absurd as we

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labor across the sloping terrain.

Information on the exact paths of Cascade traverses has been historically difficult to find. My inspiration for these remote areas came from the classic black and white photos in Tom Miller and Harvey Manning’s book, The North Cascades. This out-of-print volume, published by the Mountaineers in 1964, lobbied for the creation of the North Cascades National Park. Two geologists, Roland W. Tabor and Dwight F. Crowder, published accounts of their scientific rambling and peak bagging in two Routes and Rocks volumes.

Fred Beckey’s alpine guides hold most of the details if a reader reads carefully. A relatively recent addition to Cascades literature is found in the inspirational writing and photographs in James Martin’s North Cascades Crest.

With the advent of on-line forums such as NWHikers. net, details and photos of high routes have made the task of route-finding less of a mystery but no less arduous of an endeavor. Numerous hiking guides for maintained trails are available but a traverse guide does not exist and many avid Cascade hikers are adamant that such a guide should never be written.

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The route of each traverse is unique to the travelers who choose it. The scope of the adventure is often conceptualized during the gray rainy months of long dreary winters when restless bodies and minds search for vicarious challenges. The trials of past escapades are forgotten in the retelling of prior trips and viewed images inevitably show only sunny skies and the killer views absorbed while lounging around campsites.

Friends must be persuaded to allocate part of their precious vacation time for a trip that will test their will. The window of stable weather necessary for success can be as frustratingly brief as a couple weeks in August, or may last from late June to early October. As the group scans the topographic maps, analyzing the steepness indicated by overlapping contour lines, a stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

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Glacier Peak Wilderness East to West High Route 80 miles, 31,000 feet vertical gain Joe Catellani scribbled a shorter segment of this route on an Art Wolfe postcard and planted a seed in my mind. It was nurtured by countless hours gazing at topographic maps.

A series of week-long trips blossomed from that seed, each trip connecting dots and lines on a map. To the best of my knowledge a continuous east/west linkage has never been attempted and would require support from food drops and car shuttles.

Starting at the North fork of the Entiat River, hike to the crest on the Pyramid Mountain Trail. Traverse below Cardinal Mountain to Snow Bushy Creek and along 45 Mile Sheep Driveway to the col at Pinnacle Mountain.

Head northwest along the ridgeline to Dole Lakes before dropping down the abandoned Wilson Creek Trail into the headwaters of the Entiat River below Seven Finger Jack. Ascend the Ice Lakes High route and descend into Phelps Creek.

From its end at Spider Meadows, traverse the Fortress Mountain High Route to Buck Creek Pass where the High Pass High Route extends into the Napeequa Valley.

From the Napeequa, hike up the Boulder Pass Trail to start the Clark Mountain High route that connects with the Lightning Creek High Route which extends to the Pacific Crest Trail at White Pass. (Alternately one could leave the Napeequa valley via

the Honeycomb Glacier High Route and reach the Crest Trail at Red Pass.)

Completion of the traverse is via the Black Mountain High Route to the Lost Creek Ridge Trail which exits near the base of Sloan Peak.

••• The geographic orientation of the North Cascades tends to promote travel in the north/south direction.

thin pencil line is drawn to mark the intended route and the commitment is made. Anticipation of future views across alpine meadows towards glaciercovered peaks makes the tedium of hours of training more tolerable.

Campsite Below Kitling Peak, Ragged Ridge Traverse.

Photo by Bob Kandiko

One exception lies in the Glacier Peak Wilderness where a ridgeline runs in an east/west orientation from Lake Chelan to near Darrington. Though the peaks lack the notoriety of the National Park summits, there are a lot of very high summits here.

Twelve of the peaks along the way are among the highest 100 in the state.

The terrain surrounding Glacier Peak is not as severely rugged and its glaciers are not as massive as their northern counterparts, making travel less technical. However, the combination of broader ridgelines and volcanic soils has led to lush alpine meadows with luxuriant flowers in contrast to the heather and blueberry ridges more common in the National Park.

The same rewards of wilderness solitude and demanding high country travel can be found without requiring the extra weight of hardware such as helmets, ropes, and possibly even crampons.

Our tents are perched on a cornice left from last winter’s snow. It barely clings to the lee slope of the col and provides the only semblance of flat terrain we have seen in the last five hours of arduous travel. The August heat may release this overhanging snow in a few weeks but for now it provides a wild aerie from which

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we can view our place in the universe.

After a strenuous day of kicking boots into the rocky side-hill, our legs are exhausted and we welcome the thud of our packs dropped to the ground. “Home” is a strange concept when it constitutes a nylon tent resting on an ephemeral snow patch. Sleep comes quickly as fatigue pushes thoughts of tomorrow’s hardship to the deep reaches of our minds.

With each trip we have gained a more complete understanding of the intricate peak and ridge systems of the Cascade range. Memories of sublime moments as well as brutal hardships bring a sense of accomplishment as we scan the horizons following paths covered in prior years. On rare occasions we meet other groups in these off-trail excursions, usually either Outward Bound or National Outdoor Leadership School courses. The desire to undertake these trips comes from the deepest craving to visit seldom seen, truly wild country.

In the middle of each traverse comes an anxious moment when we are not confident of a clear path out. The uncertainty of success and the adrenaline created by our anxiety add a mystical (and addictive) quality to our quests. There is an unspoken bond among the group built on the recognition that a successful completion of the traverse is dependent on the strength and determination of every person. The overall experience is always defined by more of a we than a me psychology.

A traverse is a marriage without divorce, the crossing of a moat where the drawbridge pulls up behind. One can explore either end of a traverse on a long holiday weekend. It is the middle half of any traverse that is summed up in the single word: “commitment.” A point is crossed when the uncertainty of what lies ahead is less daunting than retracing steps. A door is closed, a curtain dropped and a longing glance back seems unwise.

The moment is marked by a quickening

of steps as adrenaline, fueled both by exhilaration and anxiousness, flows into the bloodstream. The pulse quickens and a deep breath is taken. From here forth, looking ahead is the only option,

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21

forcing decisions that propel the group’s momentum towards the ultimately uncertain course of a true adventure.

Along the Skagit

by Anita K. Boyle Out on the flats, a ditch scrawls beside an aging dike.

Its briny ebb carries a midden of algae and scum hidden in the windrow.

Lint blossoms drift by at a lazy speed.

Let them take their time.

Blackberries gather by the trail’s edge.

Their purple clusters dangle like temptation. Scarlet vines stave off the graceless, reward the nimble.

Thorns cradle remnants of thistle down and sparrow fluff.

POETRY FROM THE WILD The red fruits of nightshade glow warm as purloined jewels, and are just as treacherous. These are the promises that last.

A rope of spider web catches the sun, anticipating the delight of entanglement.

Photo by John D’Onofrio

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

With cosmic rhythm, the sun sinks in the west. Countless ridges and summits become sharper with the oblique light casting dark shadows into the deep valleys. Coolness descends with the twilight and puffy jackets are zipped to hold in the day’s warmth.

Mounts Baker and Shuksan stand as sentinels blocking the view of the shimmering waters of Puget Sound. The crescent moon dips into the magenta horizon and stars poke holes into the dark heavens. Our group stands in silence, physically weary from days of travel. Each of us lets our thoughts drift out over the endless view. Tomorrow’s adventures are unknown, today’s are now history, and the present is ... unspeakably ANW beautiful.

A version of this story originally appeared in the Northwest Mountaineering Journal

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Redemption

on Mt. Shuksan Lessons Learned on the Northwest Rib Story by Jason Martin

I

n 2017, I experienced a failure that I did not expect.

I had been working as a mountain guide for the last twenty years. I’d guided throughout the Western United States and had also spent time working in both Alaska and in South America.

I was an American Mountain Guides Association Certified Rock Guide, a guide trainer at the American Alpine Institute (AAI), and a Rope Rescue

Technician. I felt very accomplished…

The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) is an organization that oversees guide training and certification on a national level.

Certification is expensive, stressful and voluntary. Guides are not required to be certified to work on public lands.

However, I had worked in the industry for a long time and it seemed like more and more people were getting certified in the disciplines in which they work.

I didn’t think I would be leaving this career path, so I decided that it would make sense to go out and test for my Alpine Certification.

The exam takes nine days. And the days are long. The idea is that candidates are supposed to guide high-end Grade IV and Grade V alpine routes, day-after-day. In the alpine discipline, they should lead 5.10 and WI 4+.

Common exam routes include the North Ridge of Mt. Baker, the North

Photo by John D’Onofrio

24

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Face of Mt. Shuksan, the Torment-Forbidden Traverse, and the Northwest Face of Forbidden Peak—all in late season conditions. It’s a physically demanding and stressful series of days.

After I completed the exam, I was informed that I did not pass.

I was told that I specifically needed to work on the management of loose and/or bad rock. I needed to get better at moving safely and efficiently with guests over moderate terrain littered with loose and sketchy rock. In other words, I was told to go home and train more.

I had taken several AMGA classes to prep for the exam, but they clearly weren’t enough. Instead, I would have to hire one of the AMGA Instructor Team members to give me feedback in this kind of terrain. I ended up hiring Geoff Unger, an AMGA instructor and friend.

Geoff suggested that the best route for this kind of training was right here in our backyard. He suggested that I mockguide Mt. Shuksan’s Northwest Rib. There are a few extremely popular routes on Mt. Shuksan.

The Sulphide Glacier, the Fisher Chimneys, and the North Face are all commonly climbed, and regularly guided. The Northwest Rib is nearly unknown, and rarely climbed. That said, it is linked to one of the most striking features on the mountain. The Northwest Rib frames the Hanging Glacier

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Route on the Northwest Rib. Photo by Steph Abegg

on its right side. Indeed, one could easily climb the lower part of the route to access the Hanging Glacier above the ice cliff.

Geoff, Will Gordon (another AAI guide), and I set out to climb the mountain on a smoky morning in August. We parked at Austin Pass and

made our way toward Mt. Shuksan on the Lake Ann trail. Midway through the day, we began climbing up the Fisher Chimneys on the south side of the Shuksan Arm. Fisher Chimneys is a worthy objective in and of itself. The route climbs up a not-always-obvious series of gullies.

The climbing is mostly third and fourthclass, with a fifth-class move thrown in here or there. This type of climbing is what alpine guiding is all about.

Most recreational climbers don’t protect themselves much on moderate alpine terrain. Instead, a recreational climber will depend on his or her movement to stay safe in “easy” terrain.

But a guide’s job isn’t to just say “follow me,” and then run up through easy terrain. No, a guide’s job is to protect those that are being guided, even when the terrain is supposedly easy.

Guides use a technique called short-roping to provide security in third, fourth and low fifth-class terrain. They don’t pitch it out. Instead, they use a combination of techniques, sometimes moving together, sometimes running up short twenty to forty-foot pitches, and then providing an improvised belay off of a boulder or a tree, or even the guide’s own body.

Short-roping one person effectively

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while moving through the terrain at the same speed as a recreational party is hard. Short-roping two people effectively is even harder.

On that smoke-choked day in August, I felt great. I quickly and efficiently short-roped the entirety of the Fisher Chimneys route, moving just as fast as one recreational party, and passing another. When we arrived at our bivy at the top of the Chimneys above the White Salmon Glacier, Geoff was impressed.

“You’ve been training,” he smiled.

Geoff’s comment was a morale boost. I had been training all summer, but I had thought I was doing okay before. This confirmed that I was on the right track.

Early the next morning, our tiny team made its way down the rock-solid ice of the White Salmon Glacier to the base of the Northwest Rib. As we approached, I could see that it would be an interesting start. The whole bottom quarter of the route appeared to be a mix of loose rocks stacked on top of each other, in between sections of slick heather.

I pulled the team in at the base of the route and quickly transitioned from glacier travel mode to short-rope mode.

From there, I began to make my way up the rib in short steps. I’d climb up a section, avoiding loose rock and ice-slick heather to a stance where I could safely implement an improvised belay. I’d bring Geoff and Will up, ensure that they were

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

27

The art of nature

eARTh

Allen Moe: Nature is Art

My work doesn’t represent nature, it is nature. I isolate bits of the animal world onto clay pots that I hand-build and fire in cow dung. By isolating these things out of context like that, my hope is that we might really look closely at details of the natural world that we might otherwise ignore and realize how beautiful they are.

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secure and then go again.

As I made my way up the line, something happened. Slowly, but surly,

the nature of the route changed. There was still loose rock, but a lot less of it.

And indeed, every now and again, a

perfect splitter crack would appear. The climbing went from loose to fun!

The route is approximately 1300feet long from base to where it tops out on the Upper Curtis Glacier. It could easily be broken into three discrete sections. The first section is composed of loose gully and heather climbing, the second section provides decent climbing on slabs and then the ridge, and then the final section moves up easier terrain through a “choss apron” to the top of the route.

After several hours, we found ourselves looking down at the Curtis Glacier. “If you keep this up,” Geoff said. “You’ll do fine on your exam…”

One month later, I successfully passed my AMGA Alpine Guide Exam and became a Certified Alpine Guide.

We did a lot of interesting things on the exam. But when I look back on the summer of 2018, the coolest thing I climbed was definitely the Northwest Buttress of Mt. Shuksan…

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29

Tina Arnold

Summer in Paradise Mount Rainier towers over the Pacific Northwest, an iconic volcano that embodies the drama and majesty that define this special part of the country. The Mountain stands at 14,411 ft and is the highest point in Washington and the Cascade Range.

The summer months are the most popular time to visit Rainier due to its extensive wildflower displays in late July and August. Thousands of photographers come from around the world to visit the high alpine meadows that encircle the peak in the hopes of capturing classic images of the multi-hued gardens contrasted with the white mountain. These remarkable meadows can be easily viewed; whether you travel the park by car or explore on foot. If you make the pilgrimage, please remember to always stay on the trails to help protect this fragile environment.

See more of Tina’s photography at www.lakesidephotographyby-tinaarnold.com Visit AdventuresNW.com to view an extended gallery of Tina’s Mt. Rainier portfolio.

This page top: Tipsoo Lake; bottom: Tarn, Pinnacle Peak Trail Following page, clockwise from upper left: Wildflower Explosion; Summer Dreams; Alpine Gardens; Morning Glow; Fremont Lookout; Tatoosh Range

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Luna Peak..er…Creek!

Story by Tim Ahern with Rick Lindberg In the wood there are paths, mostly overgrown, that come to an abrupt stop where the wood is untrodden.

Martin Heidegger Off the Beaten Track (1950)

H

aving been away from the Picket Range for more than 40 years, I was eager to try my hand at the much-vaunted bushwhacks for which it is famous.

The managers of the place have an uncanny skill at building trails where they are not needed, through mainly wideopen understories between 400-year-old cedars, while leaving the slide alder and devil’s club swaths leading to the peaks undisturbed by such niceties. This allows for a full body workout that no one truly interested in fitness deserves to miss.

we packed what we thought would be enough food to allow an extra day or two for sketching once we reached our destination. “Don’t forget to include shin guards,” I mentioned as though in passing.

The trip was excellent from the start, beginning with a rapid descent to

On my previous trip to the southern Pickets, the Mox Peaks and Mount Spickard above Beaver Pass route up from Azure Lake Illustration by Tim Ahern to McMillian Spire had everything a “buffaneer” the dam and a pre-arranged boat trip to could dream for, and now here I was, the mouth of Big Beaver. Rick recalled older but not much wiser, canvassing piloting the boat as a young boy, easmy friends about a trip up Big Beaver ing off the throttle as he approached Creek to Luna Peak. My climbing the narrow opening in the log boom buddy Rick Lindberg has a warm spot protecting the cabins from driftwood. for Ross Lake where he fished with his “Full speed! Go for it!” his dad encourdad and grandpa in the early 1960s. His aged, and a young man was born as dad helped string Ross Dam power lines they rocketed through. as a teenager, and it had become a family The main part of the lake was hazy, ritual to stay at its floating cabins as a with the surrounding peaks barely visbase camp for trout fishing in the lake. ible as a result of recent massive forest Since Rick is a Seattle-based artist and I fires in British Columbia together with have always enjoyed doing illustrations, 32

The heartbeat of Cascadia

one called “Arctic Jim” just a few miles north of where we were heading. “Good light effects for sketching,” we ventured, being the optimists we are. The rest of the day was spent hiking along the creek in the direction of 39 Mile Camp, the only place with sites still available. The forest along this route is absolutely spectacular. I stopped short at one point, feeling I had wandered onto the film set of Seven Samurai. Were the peasants about to lure us into a trap, allowing one barbarian at a time to enter the copse leading to their village?

A little further on, we found a hiker lying in the middle of the trail. “Go ahead, step on me, I dropped here and can’t move.” He was from Okanagan County and we talked about a hike that we had once done there to Horseshoe Basin. Slowly we realized he had hiked from Okanagan, and eventually it was divulged he started 45 days ago. “From where?” “Glacier National Park.” He and his partner were traveling through the Pickets on their way to the Pacific from Montana! We met them again at the river after we set up camp at 39 Mile. Hats off to those two.

On Day 2 we hiked past Luna Camp, keeping an eye out for a cairn marking the spot to leave the trail, descend to the river and ford over to Access Creek basin leading up to Luna Peak. We found the >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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cairn and started our bushwhack into the dense understory.

I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.

Muriel Strode Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers (1908) As we approached Big Beaver, the water seemed to make a lot of racket to the left, so we headed upstream until we found a shallower, quieter section and managed to cross with only one brief dunk in the stream due to lost footing.

The goal of our trip lay before us, a cheery expanse of slide alder bounded by firs against the cliffs behind. We

made our packs as small as possible to avoid “incidents”, and entered the fray on a rightward sloping trajectory.

Imagine yourself in a kludgy nightmare, consigned to mount a galloping cartoon cathedral organ with all its pedals swaying and tossing you, and from time to time smacking you whenever you might be distracted by—say, a little yellow-green devil who pops up and beats you with his serrated club. Dust and pollen are stirred up, making you awful thirsty in the smoky haze of Cascade wildfire season. After you have scaled one of these curious musical instruments, another awaits you. And another. Our long-established habits were useless

as we confronted the unfamiliarity with which the world must have first appeared to humankind. In the slide alder world, things moved us in a quite literal sense, as though nature was shaking us to encounter it in new ways, and in so doing, grasp that part of things that doesn’t appear, that doesn’t show itself, the mystery of the world eluding our mind’s strivings.

“Up” and “down” are trivial generalizations. Arcs, vectors, inertia, and momentum in three dimensions, now caused us to experience movement as something strange and made us wonder anew and experience visions of an enmeshed green and brown-limbed web.

You notice blood streaking along your

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forearms (nothing serious, mere flesh wounds). Your glasses and occasionally your entire body are playfully thrown to the ground. Do I have human legs and arms or have I turned into a swinging ape? Gravity never seemed so exaggerated before! I tumbled backwards, landing upside down, my wrist pinned by a strap behind my back. Rick, overcome by the mind-boggling complexities multiplying before him, let himself go, dropping

into a thicket. There was no complaining: we had chosen this with knowledge aforethought. It’s all part of seeing how you measure up against the Pickets.

Say not that this or that thing came to thwart you; it only came to test you.

Muriel Strode As the sun and the water in our bottles waned, we became more cogni-

Slide alder patch, ah!

Little devils peeking out.

Help, for god’s sake, help!

Yama hannoki, Ko-oni miedasu, Tasukete yo

Artwork and haiku by Tim Ahern

zant of our surroundings. The ultimate object of the day was not to claw one’s way to the brief respite of the next conifer perched on an atoll of soil in the overgrown boulder slope. Where the hell was Access Creek?

We had proven ourselves men of steel with a full muscular-cardio routine in this floral ambuscade, but also we were supposed to climb a peak tomorrow. Slowly the hillside eased past us, and we began to enter a defile. Rick gave a whoop, “Snow!” Snow meant drinking water! We would live to see another day! But it got better. There was a ten foot sliding, tumbling waterfall perfect for filling water bottles. There was a small rock outcrop for a two-man tent.

Hummingbirds, picas and chipmunks were flitting and scooting around. And the view – tall mountains above a symmetrically arced pass… wait a minute…

We were gazing at Beaver Pass, which is beyond Access Creek by some miles. (Brief pause to plug the virtues

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of electronic navigational devices. Very good, carry on!) Back at the river, we should have turned left up the slope rather than right. Had we wandered off onto one of those holzwege celebrated by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger? He acknowledged that while holzwege (timber tracks) generally are considered dead ends leading nowhere, they can also turn out to be paths of discovery, bringing the seeker face-toface with what is real, something his mentor Edmund Husserl championed. Our foray had led us to the ideal untrammeled spot for sketching the entire next day.

had whooped about in the foreground.

Just as we finished, a mass of smoke came billowing down between the ridges, Mox Peaks and Mt. Spickard disappearing right in front of us as a helicopter came several times to hover across the valley at Beaver Pass. Did the Arctic Jim fire wake up?

Was it time to eat dessert first and make a run for it?

The mountains maintained their stony silence concerning the matter. We decided to stick to our plan and leave in the morning.

We were awakened by a calyptra-shrouded, carminerose sun, and descended a king’s highway of boulders free of undergrowth (free The involuted valley Illustration by Rick Lindberg To the things themselves! of undergrowth!) into a (Zu den Sachen selbst!) dry bed of wild primordial Edmund Husserl vious: col and mountains beyond, with plants within sound of the river. By pure Logical Investigations (1901) the slug of last year’s snow that Rick chance we walked straight to a natural

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

35

OUTSIDE IN Reflections on Wilderness

by Kathy and Craig Copeland

Hikers are temporary monks, withdrawing from society to commune with the divine.

The more solitude, the more likely the epiphany.

Extracted from Heading Outdoors Eventually Leads Within

by Kathy and Craig Copeland (hikingcamping.com)

bridge of two giant fallen cedars, one for footing and one at shoulder height for balance. (Very thoughtful. Mental note to thank the powers involved.) We retrieved the trail for the hike to Luna Camp. On the way we met a fire crew carrying shovels and axes on their way

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Photo by Jeff Eustis

Solitude

up to their staging area at the pass. Their job was to keep the trails fire-free and, failing that, to alert hikers to evacuate.

At Luna Camp we sketched the river. As if channeling Heidegger in his Off the Beaten Track, with only a few pastels Rick managed a very kinetic

portrait that evoked the strife in artwork as it uncovers the aspects of things withheld from us, and so allows the eventual unforced coming-forth of their inner nature.

The next morning, we made our way back to Ross Lake. While waiting for the boat, five climbers who had just completed their Luna Peak ascent joined us. “Terrible,” they said, “No view. Couldn’t see Mount Fury for the smoke. Nothing. We tried last year, but got hung up in Access Creek.” Rick and I looked at each other. Our original plans had been similar to theirs, but all our attempts to impose an overarching plan on the Pickets had completely dissipated. We had occupied a spot between Arctic Jim and summit haze where our original goal, sketching, was possible.

Maybe the spirit of Heidegger had been walking alongside us, head inclined, engrossed in the wonders of the journey on untrodden ground.

ANW

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The Chain Lakes Loop Sparkling Water, Classic Views Story and photos by John D’Onofrio

Iceberg Lake

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T

Lakes for those so inclined. Camping he Chain Lakes Trail (also called Galena Chain Lakes) is otherwise prohibited. This trail is among the most heavily-used in the Mt. is a favorite among locals, who flock here to savor the views, meadows and of course, the lakes. It’s a moderate loop and the elevation gain is less than 1,000 feet if done with a car shuttle.

Along the way, you’ll be entranced by the series of pristine sub-alpine lakes, the fortress-like cliffs of Table Mountain and glorious views of Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan and countless other Iceberg Lake and Table Mountain peaks.

The loop is generally done as a day hike although there are campsites with privies at both Mazama and Hayes

stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

Baker area and is not the place to come for solitude, especially on weekends.

Starting from the Artist Point parking lot the mostly-level trail traverses

the south slope of Table Mountain with views down into the Swift Creek Valley. Far below, Baker Lake can be seen to the south, a vivid blue-green among dark forests. Icy peaks line the eastern horizon.

Occasionally, mountain goats can be spotted in the green patches amidst the talus.

You’ll reach a junction in 1.2 miles. Left heads to Ptarmigan Ridge—turn right for the Chain Lakes and descend to the shores of Mazama Lake through glorious meadows.

Snow often lingers here until mid-summer.

Next up is Iceberg Lake, especially impressive (and often frozen well into summer), dramatically situated beneath the precipitous face of Table Mountain.

The heartbeat of Cascadia

39

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Hayes Lake is next, after which the trail climbs moderately through sub-alpine forest and pocket meadows to Herman Saddle, a cleft with million dollar views of both Mt. Baker (10,781 feet) and Mt. Shuksan (9131 feet). Allocate some time to rest here and enjoy this lofty parapet.

From the saddle, the trail drops like a stone, switchbacking down across rocky slopes and tilted meadows to the lovely Bagley Lakes and eventually the Mt. Baker Visitor Center parking lot. From here, you can hike back up to Artist Point beside the road on the Wild Goose Trail. This hike lends itself well to a car shuttle, accomplished by leaving a vehicle at the Visitor Center or Bagley Lakes Trailheads.

The one-way hike from Artist Point to Bagley Lakes is 6.5 miles with an elevation gain of 900 feet. From here you can either drive back to Artist Point (if you’ve arranged a shuttle) or climb one mile on the Wild Goose Trail (gaining an additional 1200 feet).

Due to the heavy use that the trail receives, it is important to practice strict no-trace ethics. Leave nothing behind and stay on established trails. Dogs must be leashed.

A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead.

ANW

VITAL SIGNS Go with your Gut: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Fermented Foods

By Sarah Laing, B.Sc. Nutrition

With summer knocking on the door and beach season right along with it, many of us are looking for ways to shed some extra winter weight. While increasing exercise and eating more salads are some of the obvious weight loss techniques, you may not realize that the balance of bacteria in your gut, called our microbiome, plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy weight and many other health parameters including immunity, mood and even skin health. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir and fermented vegetables such as pickled garlic and tomatoes contain healthy probiotic bacteria that help to balance the microbiome and produce vitamins and other nutrients that support healthy endocrine, immune, digestive and nervous systems. The benefits of fermented foods even go as far as to produce clinically relevant health outcomes. In a 2011 study, kimchi was not only found to significantly reduce weight and body fat in overweight and obese patients, it also improved blood pressure, blood sugar and waist-to-hip ratio. Help your gut be at its best by adding fermented foods to your diet and experience better health this summer, inside and out. ANW 40

The heartbeat of Cascadia

Finders, Keepers Treasure in the Understory Story and photo by Nick Belcaster

“S

afe to say we’re all here for the treasure?”

I’ve come upon a group of folks poking around the ferns and springboard-notched stumps of Raptor Ridge, and they all suspiciously look like they’re here for the same reason I am. Some of the seekers come clean; others hold their cards close to their vest. All have that spark in their eyes. This is no ordinary hike.

This is a Treasure Hike.

Dreamed up by Bellingham resident Dustin Hill, a Treasure Hike is the local online phenomenon that aims to get people outdoors and active while they search for treasure chests hidden along the trails of Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties. Clues, riddles and snapshots are doled out via the official Instagram account @treasure_hikes, all leading lucky chasers toward rewards

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of cash, coins and gift certificates. Be warned however, you’re going to have

to work for it.

“The hunts certainly aren’t gimmes,” Hill says. “I don’t even tell my wife where I hide the treasure.”

Hill was inspired by famed art collector Forrest Fenn, who hid an (as yet unfound) treasure chest filled with emeralds, rubies, gold coins and diamonds somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Fenn explained the idea like this: “I wanted to give the kids something to do. They spend too much time in the game room or playing with their little hand-held texting machines.

I hope parents will take their children camping and hiking in the Rocky Mountains.

I hope they will fish, look for fossils, turn rotten logs over to see what’s under them, and look for my treasure.”

Locally, Hill hid his first treasure,

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a crisp $100 bill, while on a hike on Lookout Mountain in September, 2018. It only took two days for a lucky finder to snap it up, and Hill has been on a roll ever since, hiding four other treasures and bringing in local sponsors such as Backcountry Essentials, Lenny’s Bike Shop and Bellingham Beer Garden to sweeten the pot with gift certificates.

Hill has big plans for Treasure Hikes, aiming to hide a $1,000 stash in the woods by late 2019. Not quite the millions promised by Fenn, but hey: follow the clues, solve the riddles, lace up the boots and head out. You’re guaranteed to have an enjoyable walk in the woods and you might just come home a little more well-heeled.

ANW

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Once Story by Jimmy Watts

O

n late evenings like this one I’ll collapse into bed still dressed and dirty and too tired to change.

I smell of wood smoke and bamboo and my long sleeves are soaked wet with creek water. Most of the time, my bedtime stories tell themselves. Nights often end this way after countless days saturated by water and fire, which together have held an elemental stay over my 41 years. I’ve been weathered by them both—these two old gods—wrinkled and blistered and polished. In their joint custody they raised me and brought me up in a wet world that burns.

For quite some time I’ve been a fireman in a big city and a bamboo fly rod maker in a small one. Two halves of one whole.

It is a life lived with both feet always in the water. Sometimes the water is cold and clear and falling down freestones, and sometimes it’s the boiling blackwater from a fire hose cascading back down a dark stairwell with flames rolling overhead. The blackwater in the hose first fell from clouds over the Cascades. It flowed down the Cedar River and into the big city’s water mains before being pumped from the corner hydrants. Oftentimes after leaving the firehouse I’ll fish this river that flows into our hydrants.

Sometimes I fish it before and it becomes a river I stand in twice.

Sometimes, though, the river itself catches fire and evaporates into the sky and I can never seemingly stand in it again.

This is such a story. Of course, the beginning of any story is arbitrary and tonight’s bedtime tale is no different. It picks up around the time my two halves became acquainted, years ago, though at the time I was unaware a storyboard was piecing itself together. It begins when a creek back home caught fire, in Bellingham, Washington, and a young man was standing in it casting his fly rod. His name is Liam Wood, and this story is one we should all remember and his river is one we should all try to stand in twice.

• • • This evening I’m at my rod-making bench looking out past the back of the house. The day’s end is beginning and I have an 44

The heartbeat of Cascadia

audience of evergreens resting behind a creek in the tired light of dusk. A reprise lingers over the water, perhaps the coda, holding onto the last note of a song. There is an eight-foot long culm of raw bamboo across my lap soon to become a split-cane fly rod.

It will be a totem or temple or another limb anchored to the heart of whoever holds it with a line drawn deep into the clean water it reaches toward. This rod I’m making tonight, when it’s complete, will have Liam’s name inscribed along the spine, handwritten in black india ink that bleeds into the cane fiber and becomes a part of it.

Within an arm’s reach of me, on the bench, is an old handplane, a splitting knife and a file. A book of wooden matches is in my breast pocket, and all the utilities of the trade are here.

Off to my side, spools of thread float in a wine glass of last night’s Malbec, the hair-thin white silk turning the color of blood not yet at the lungs. This thread will wrap guides onto the rod and telescope to a wet world that was all at once an ocean and a cloud and a raindrop and a tear. Also nearby is a not-forgotten cup of yesterday’s coffee. A black level ring is haloed above its petroleum sheen as it reflects the days last slights of light.

Spools of silk swim in here too and soak up the oily and cold dark. In the fire pit just outside I lit some kindling a few moments ago. In another hour, the hemlock I bucked and split last spring will be a heap of coal hot enough to temper this bamboo for Liam’s fly rod, a rod that’ll witch out of time and lean in toward wonder.

• • • The walls around my work bench are adorned with hangings that I love, but the window trim in front of me is left void except for one solitary photograph tacked inside it at eye level.

It’s a note from 18-year old Liam to his parents, one he wrote often and sometimes left on top a worn-out copy of David James Duncan’s The River Why, a book he’d read eight or nine times.

Liam worked an afterschool job at a fly shop in Bellingham.

He was born for water and reached out for the cold and clean and reeled it all back in. Even as a child he tied flies and read water and studied streams. For his ninth birthday his mom took

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him to a fly shop and by age fourteen fly fishing enveloped the world he inhabited and he was as natural to it as the grass that grew in the streambeds he stood in.

His heart beat on the banks of the blue and green that flowed over freestones until the time the note he wrote his parents was wrong and he was not back before dark. The time he was killed with a fly rod in his hand. The time 237,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline spilled from a ruptured pipeline into Whatcom Creek where he was fly fishing, and exploded.

It was June 10th, 1999, just a few days after he graduated from high school. It was just a few days after I popped into the store where he worked to pick up a box of hooks and some hackle, and hear the hatch report from this always-kind kid standing behind the counter.

• • • Here at my bench and still looking out, it’s not quite dark. The fire outside is laying down and humming an origin

20 Years Ago: The Day Whatcom Creek Burned The sky was blue above Bellingham on the afternoon of June 10, 1999. The temperature was in the mid- 60’s. At 3:25 p.m. a 16-inch pipeline carrying unleaded gasoline from a refinery at Cherry Point to a terminal near Renton ruptured in Whatcom Falls Park, causing the fuel to flow into Whatcom Creek. The gasoline poured into the creek for almost an hour and a half, 237,000 gallons of it, turning the normally crystal clear water a ghastly pink and filling the park with overwhelming toxic fumes. At 5:02 p.m. the gasoline exploded in a massive fireball with temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which roared for 1.5 miles downstream, almost reaching downtown Bellingham. A thick black plume of smoke rose 30,000 feet, forming a mushroom cloud and darkening the sky over Northwest Washington. Three lives were lost: Wade King and Stephen Tsiorvas, both 10, and Liam Wood, 18.

The Water Treatment plant near the creek was destroyed in the inferno—even the fire extinguishers melted—but miraculously, tanks containing toxic chlorine survived the blast, averting a further catastrophic release of chlorine gas. Bellingham’s mayor Mark Asmundson noted that the fact that the 10-year olds had ignited the gasoline (they were lighting fireworks with a butane lighter) quite likely literally saved Bellingham by causing the ignition of the gas before it reached the downtown core, where it would have claimed many, many more lives.

In 2001, after deliberating on the cause of the explosion, the Environmental Protection Agency charged Olympic Pipeline Company and Equilon Pipeline with a seven-count indictment, including five felony violations. The companies eventually paid $112 million in fines, a record at the time. It was the first conviction ever obtained under the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Act of 1979.

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45

song that will soon draw me into the darkness. This northern latitude and the recent summer solstice split the days wide open with an almost endless length of light. Twenty feet past the house runs a small creek which flows from a spring a mile up the mountain.

It’s a creek you can’t find on a map. It winds through the woods to a pond just below our house where frogs and fish mingle and countless generations of mallards make their first swim. Heron, wood duck and owls frequent this little wetland puddle. My young boys skip rocks across it. They call it Lost Creek but this is where we always find them. I once watched my nineyear old hold company here with a horned owl for nearly half an hour just feet from each other and I wondered which one was there first.

• • • About 3:30 in the afternoon 911 calls started coming in from people reporting a fuel odor in Whatcom Falls Park. The first firefighters to arrive at the Woburn St. Bridge saw pink and rainbow fuel free flowing in the creek underneath and gas fumes floating up to the treetops, blurring them in a fog. They began to

hip s w r Ne wne O al c Lo

evacuate the forested park within 200 feet of the creek, working upstream to find the source of the leak.

The unleaded gasoline spilled from a neglected pipeline and filled 1.5 miles of creek through the wooded 241-acre park.

Around 5 p.m. it burst into a miles-long fireball. One fireman thought a jet engine was flying low and loud overhead until he felt heat pressing against his back.

The inferno roared down the creek taking Liam’s life with it and taking the creek with it too.

Liam’s closest friends believe once he noticed the gasoline at his feet, that he followed it upstream to investigate, instead of running away. The theory fits with his nature, but he was alone and so leaves behind questions that will never be answered and can’t be. Only the creek knows exactly what happened to Liam that afternoon, and why.

All anyone knows for sure is that he was killed holding a fly rod and was found face down with his arms outstretched.

I also know that the coroner decided the cause of death was from drowning and not burns from the fire.

From this I also know that the gasoline fumes first would

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

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have rendered him unconscious. They would have made him dizzy and unbalanced and, as if to pray, cause him to drop to his knees. For a moment after he would have looked around and briefly looked skyward, seeking an orientation and an explanation, before bowing forward and falling into the water.

His final inhalation was a breath of creek water passing past gills he hadn’t yet acquired with his arms open as if to embrace this place. As he lay there, his creek flowed over him, and in its final heroic moment the water he loved so much shielded him from the coming flames.

Liam was discovered by search crews around 9 p.m., lying in what little water remained. Gone was the blue and green.

Gone was the cold, the clear and the clean. Gone was the endlessness of running water that once fell as rain. The almost dry creek stopped flowing. They found him in the canyon below Whatcom Falls, a favorite spot of his and near where his family told firefighters he’d be.

For nearly three days after he was recovered, wisps of smoke still sent up their ash and signals. It was three days before the smoldering banks surrendered to the creek flowing again, through charred timber and past a ghost casting on its banks.

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are ebbing to an orange and blue over black coals. I’m turning the long culm of bamboo in the embers, bringing the cane up to temperature. The heat drives out the moisture and bakes the sugar inside the fibers to a ligament more tensile than steel.

Scorch marks sear the outer sheath.

By now the bamboo is so hot I have to wear two pairs of leather gloves to handle it. The water content inside is spitting and spilling out the ends of the culm, boiling up and out of the long cellulous fibers that run the length in its entirety, fibers that once touched the ground an ocean away and pulled the earth in.

The sweet cane steam smells of fresh candy and it curls in thick with the rising smoke of the fire, floating all the way up to a sky now full of stars.

Without fire this cane would be just a willowing blade of cut grass, lifeless and incapable. The cane fly rod needs this kiln or would otherwise lack the resiliency to return from a weighted bend to straight. It would lack the lever action that allows an eight-foot long, three-ounce split-cane fly rod to deliver a dry fly over 100 feet of cold water to a rise.

There are other ways to apply heat and temper bamboo for a fly rod but because I’m a big city fireman with burn and skin graft scars of my own, I choose to do it over an open flame. For nearly twenty years, I’ve chased fire through the tenements and townhomes and warehouses of Seattle. Hundreds of times I have laid down in Cascade hose water with a river of fire above, ever

to remember young Liam who once did the same. I’ve searched him out and carried others like him out of scorched hallways and burnt timbered homes; they were all strangers to me with names being screamed out by someone standing helpless and out of reach on the sidewalk.

I carry Liam’s story with me all the time, hearing it most often with a split-cane fly rod in hand–a conduit tying together the someplace he isn’t to the someplace else he is. Part of me believes my own story might someday be accessed this same way. I can see myself as Liam’s mirrored reflection on the water surface.

It’s an image obscured by raindrops and dimpled from fear and the uncertainty brought on by too many close calls of my own, wondering too if my final breath will be taken as I lay down in water. My last will and testament, to be sure, will be writ along the spine of a split-cane fly rod begging to be held.

• • • This culm of cane I’ve now kept an hour above the fire is tempered. Its resonance, if tapped, has changed from a dull thud to a tight ting. The metals and minerals soaked up from the ground it grew from are forged. No longer pale, the culm is bright and light and seasoned.

Gone is the weight of the water it held until I walk a few steps to the creek and submerge the burnished bamboo completely into

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

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the spring. The baptism quenches and cools the cane, infuses it again with cold water.

I’ll leave the culm here to soak till morning to balance out an equation, restore what was lost while it hovered in the fire and allow it one last breath from the creek.

Tomorrow I’ll split these fibers with a knife and hand plane them a few thousand times. Shaving cane little by little in measured and tapered strips to laminate back together. Down at its end, at the tip, the rod will measure only a few hundredths of an inch across. These few fibers of bamboo will cradle the full pull of a wild fish swimming upstream, an energy that always was will move down a blade of grass and into the bare palm of a hand that holds it in prayer, and into a story.

This bamboo having become a splitcane fly rod, will never not be. Fire and Water, the world’s oldest gods, become inseparable and indistinguishable, and so is the spirit of a young man who loved what the fly rod reaches for. He carries on along in the seams and lives in the pockets and he rises and falls in answer to the evening hatch. This fly rod with Liam’s name on it will fly as a phoenix from the ashes along Whatcom Creek and connect to a grab felt first as a subtle tap. The tap will be followed by a force pulling through the grip with a strain in my forearm that moves over the shoulder and comes to rests someplace in my chest.

• • • It is late and I am tired but I am not yet ready to go inside. Through an open window upstairs the soft and low light of our home spills out to the night like love.

I hear the warm acoustics of a Jeffrey Foucault record spinning under the ordinary murmurs of conversation between my wife and our young boys.

Their sounds fall onto the back patio and roll over my shoulders before getting lost and found in the chorus of a creek and a fire. The limitless starlight above me, I know, shines from suns that extinguished a billion years ago. The fire in stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

Old-Growth Tree Climbing Don’t Settle for The Normal Adventure This Summer

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49

September 7 • 11am - 6pm

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front of me grew from the embryo of a flint strike and shines its light back to them. So many times I’ve fought a roaring fire that burned the back of my neck and left something and someone lost.

The answerless question ‘when does the darkness end and the light begin?’ is on my mind, but I lack the mindspace to feel my way around this. It is impossible to grasp the idea that nothing is ever created or destroyed, that everything always was and still is and only changes in shape or form or frequency, travelling on a wave of light and a story that doesn’t end. It rides the crest of Liam’s wave and shines like a sun in every direction. His fire peels apart the dark and burns bright enough to catch the eye of God. Once, there was only darkness. Once he swam on the bottom of a freestone creek, under the ink black smoke of thick hemlock and cedar. In the pocket water, there below the canyon, hatched a billion stars, and Liam resurrected to the surface, out from the shadows and sipped their sunlight.

As I fall asleep tonight I hear his story like a lullaby over the white noise and static of a lost creek. Its water is still dripping off my sleeves and lingers like a reprise, perhaps the coda, holding onto the last note of his song.

ANW • • •

This event received funding from Skagit County

SkagitRiverFest.org

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The heartbeat of Cascadia

This story originally appeared in The Drake.

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Field Trip Adventures beyond the PNW

Stephens Passage Story and photo by Shannon Finch

W

e leave No Name Cove in early morning sunlight. No other boats are in sight, and the only sound is the clanking of the anchor being pulled up, and then the distinctive ka-chunk ka-chunk of the M/V David B’s engine. As we motor into Stephens Passage, mist blurs the spruce forest along the shore, and dense fog obliterates all but the tops of the surrounding mountains. White, gray and blue icebergs dot the water. They glint like diamonds as the sun cuts through the fog.

A Bald Eagle perches on top of an iceberg. There’s another on the next berg. And then another. It’s an alleyway of eagles, all surveying the scene from the highest point of their respective icebergs. One casually unfolds enormous wings and lifts off, effortlessly soaring towards the barely discernible forest. I am struck by how these creatures are so at home in their environment, and reminded of how I am not as I shiver in the cold morning breeze.

We come upon a group of smaller bergs surrounding an exceptionally tall one, with its ubiquitous eagle topknot. As we motor past, the icebergs appear to shift and change into two sea creatures rising up out of the water. The lone eagle metamorphoses into two. An illusion? No. A pair of eagles sit so close they appear 52

The heartbeat of Cascadia

ANW

to be one.

Such a scene is not uncommon in Southeast Alaska. Mix together some

ordinary ingredients–an iceberg, an eagle, some fog–and the result is magic.

ANW >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com

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Cascadia Gear:

Gear Spotlight:

Essentials for your next Adventure Helinox Chair One Let’s face it: Helinox owns the lightweight chair space.

The new Chair One delivers the comfort you expect from Helinox, yet weighs only 2.1 pounds. Like the rest of their backcountry ‘furniture’, the Chair One is artfully constructed of environmentally-friendly aluminum alloy and high-strength nylon. They describe this as “gentle strength” and I won’t argue. It’s not the lightest chair available, but it sits reasonably high (making it easy to get into and out of) and packs small. Camp chairs have come a long way.

More info: www.helinox.com

ThermaRest® NeoAir Uberlight Sleeping Pad Where does it end? ThermaRest® sleeping pads just keep getting lighter and lighter. This one weighs a scant 8.8 ounces (regular length) and packs down to the size of a can of Fosters. It puffs up to 2.5 inches and with an R-value of 2.0, provides reasonable three-season warmth. It ain’t cheap, but man, it’s amazing.

More info: www.thermarest.com

Arc’teryx Riel Woman’s Hiking Shirt It’s light. It’s strong. It dries quickly. This well-designed hiking shirt has you covered. It provides more sun protection for your hands than most hiking shirts and is long enough to not ride up in the back. Even when you’re carrying a heavy pack, the purposely-placed seams won’t dig in. Pockets protect your hands from the cold before you start up and again when you reach the summit, yet this shirt’s fabric keeps you cool enough as you huff and puff up the trail. It’s the perfect utilitarian shirt in the wilderness, and looks good in and out of the woods.

More info: www.arcteryx.com

ADVENTURES NORTHWEST magazine

A September to Remember Photography Workshops & Tours

North Cascades Institute September 6-8

Barkley Sound

September 16-20

San Juan Islands September 26-29

www.adventuresnw.com/photo-workshops 54

RACE | PLAY | EXPERIENCE

Mountaineering 101

by Chris Gerston

Do you enjoy hiking uphill for a really long time?

Have you thought about mountaineering, but are unsure where to start? We have access to some of the best mountaineering in the lower 48 in the nearby North Cascades. Stark and dramatic, rock and ice environs are a perfect place to enjoy being alive. Here are some tips for the basic hardware: axe, crampon, and harness.

Black Diamond Serac

Ice axes are work horses and while weight is always important in mountaineering, these tools are designed to be abused. A proper length axe when held in hand, standing upright, with your arms relaxed at your side, should hang down to the top of the ankle. I also recommend finding an axe head with flat “T-shaped” stock between the pick and adze, like the SMC Kobah ($99), as that is more comfortable on the palm.

Crampons have variations in frame orientations, number of points, materials, and attachment style depending upon your boots. The most basic crampons are steel or aluminum, 10 points, horizontal frame and front-points, with a universal strap-on design, like the Camp Stalker ($109). If you think you’ll do a lot of mountaineering or want to climb steeper routes, than a 12-point crampon, such as the Black Diamond Serac ($169), will be better. If you have questions about compatibility between boots and crampons, bring your boots with you.

Harnesses for basic mountaineering should be lightweight with adjustable leg loops to allow for various clothing layers. A rock harness will do if you already have it, but will weigh twice as much as something like the Black Diamond Couloir ($64).

Chris Gerston owns Backcountry Essentials, an outdoor specialty shop located at 214 W. Holly in Bellingham, WA.

Camp Stalker

Check out more of Chris’ gear reviews at AdventuresNW.com Sponsored review

Keen Targhee III Hiking Boots Keen is known for comfortable boots. The mid-cut Targhee III boots are no exception: a boot that feels like a shoe. When it comes to mile-after-mile comfort, they’re hard to beat.

The proprietary waterproof, breathable membrane keeps your feet dry and the ESS shank offers solid protection on rocky ground. They offer sufficient ankle support and like most Keen products, have a wide footbox and need no breaking in: just tie ‘em up and go.

More info: www.keenfootwear.com

The North Face® Woman’s Impendor Soft Shell Pants When the going gets tough, these soft shell pants really prove their mettle. Constructed of The North Face’s proprietary WindWall® fabric, these lightweight pants really tame the wind chill and the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating also offers reasonable protection from rain (you’ll want to cover them with rain pants in a deluge). The articulated knees—combined with the stretchy fabric—provide amazing freedom of movement, a huge benefit for climbers. The cut allows for comfortable layering and the zippockets are perfectly situated to allow easy access to your energy bars or phone.

More info: www.thenorthface.com

>>> VIew or download even MORE Race|Play|Experience

1 June - 26 July

JUNE >>> Saturday, 1 June WATER Sea Kayaking Tours–– Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures. As the longest running kayaking company in Bellingham, WA, we’ve welcomed beginners as well as more skilled paddlers on our adventures since 1992 and we are PROUD to continue to share our knowledge and expertise with you! We offer evening, half day, full day and multi-day trips as well as Custom Adventures.

Local trips launch near Bellingham and Anacortes, or from Lummi Island.

Experience Mother Nature on her terms. www.moondancekayak.com RUN/WALK Girls on the Run 5k–– Lake Padden, 9am–12pm. This is the culminating event for Girls on the Run and Trail Blazers participants. www.whatcomymca.org

Friday-Sunday, 7-9 June SPECIAL Blast from the Past Woolleyfest––Downtown SedroWoolley, 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Blast from the Past is a 3 day festival held

RACE I PLAY I EXPERIENCE CALENDAR each year in downtown Sedro-Woolley.

Join us for vendors, food, live music, games and Local 20 Taproom’s beer garden.

Saturday will be the annual Blast of Color 5k, with registration starting at 8:30 am and the race starting at 10 am. Sunday will be the Show and Shine Car Show, with registration starting at 6:30 am. Blast from the Past is fun for the whole family! www.sedro-woolley.com

Saturday, 8 June HIKE/CLIMB Mt. Baker / Mt. Shuksan Climb––Every weekend!

American Alpine Institute. In three days have fun learning basic climbing skills then make a summit ascent. No previous climbing experience is required. Every weekend, June through September. Come with a friend or family member or come on your own and meet others making their first climb. Nationally accredited & 100% carbon neutral. 360-671-1505. www.AlpineInstitute.com

CYCLE Lake to Lake Bike Ride ––Robinswood Park, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. Explore Bellevue’s hidden treasures by bike on the Lake to Lake Bike Ride on June 8, 2019, rain or shine. Bring the whole family to this enjoyable, non-competitive ride benefiting the City of Bellevue’s youth camp scholarship fund. New this year: Kids Ride for ages 8 and under!

The event begins at Robinswood Community Park, with the start area open from 9-10 a.m. More info: https:// parks.bellevuewa.gov/specialevents/lake-to-lake-bike-ride

Sunday, 23 June RUN/WALK Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon & 5k––Vancouver, BC, 7:30 am – 11:00 am. Join us on June 23rd, 2019 for the 21st annual Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon & 5k, Canada’s most scenic half-marathon.

More than 6,500 participants run past beaches and mountains, finishing in Vancouver’s beautiful Stanley Park. The event also hosts a family-friendly 5k route which takes runners along the trails of Stanley Park and the Seawall of

English Bay, before merging with the Half-Marathon to finish in Stanley Park. canadarunningseries.com/ scotiabank-vancouver-halfmarathon/

JULY >>> Saturday, 13 July TRIATHLON Lake Whatcom Triathlon––Bloedel Donovan Park, 7:00 am – 2:00 pm. Multisport weekend featuring Olympic and sprint-distance triathlons, aquabike, and kids splash ‘n dash! lakewhatcomtriathlon.com

AUGUST >>> Sunday, 25 August CYCLE Chuckanut Classic–– 10:30am. The Chuckanut Classic (formerly Chuckanut Century) is the Mount Baker Bicycle Club’s signature ride.

Come join us and ride one of the most scenic rides in Washington.

With many routes offered you can pick your distance

Ride the Chuckanut Classic!

Sunday, August 25th, 2019 25, 38, 62, or 100-mile routes from beautiful Bellingham Fully Supported Easy guided 10-mile family/kids option

ChuckanutClassic.org Made possible in part by a Tourism Promotion Grant from the City of Bellingham

Co-sponsored by: City of

Bellingham WASHINGTON event listings at AdventuresNW.com

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25 August (cont.) - 29 September ranging from 25, 38, 62, or the full century of 100 miles plus familyfriendly 10-mile jaunt with treats, entertainment, and other on-route stops and surprises for kids. www.chuckanutclassic.org

Adventures NW for a 3-day photography workshop in North Cascades National Park at the North Cascades Institute on beautiful Diablo Lake. adventuresnw.com/photoworkshops

SEPTEMBER >>>

Saturday, 14 September

Friday-Sunday, 6-8 September SPECIAL Adventures NW North Cascades Photo Workshop–– North Cascades Institute, Sep 6, 4:00 pm – Sep 8, 1:00 pm. Join

RUN/WALK Ragnar Relay–– Ragnar Events LLC, 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Get ready to experience Ragnar like never before with the new Ragnar Sunset Seattle. Join the adventure, starting Saturday afternoon, at Lake Sammamish State Park, just 20 minutes

Presented by:

SEATTLE MINI An adventure ride for the whole family NEW! Kids Ride for ages 8 and under

from Downtown Seattle. Teams of 4 will try to outrun the sun on a 3.95-ish mile loop, relay-style, two times each.

Together you will run 31-ish miles, that’s more than a whole marathon!

Your goal? Finish before the sun sets. https://bit.ly/2DLyfGb

Monday-Friday, 16-20 September SPECIAL Adventures Northwest Barkley Sound Photography Workshop––Sechart Lodge, Sep 16, 9:00 am – Sep 20, 1:00 pm.

5-Day Photography Workshop and Tour of Vancouver Island’s remarkable Barkley Sound and Broken Group Islands. adventuresnw.com/photoworkshops

Saturday-Sunday, 21-22 September

Saturday, June 8th, 2019

$15 advance $20 day of event

https://parks.bellevuewa.gov/special-events/lake-to-lake-bike-ride

Start/Finish: Robinswood Community Park

#coblk2lk • 425-452-4882 • bikeride@bellevuewa.gov

SPECIAL Bellingham SeaFeast 2019––Squalicum Harbor, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Bellingham SeaFeast September 21 & 22, 2019. Join us in Bellingham for a Celebration of our Salish Sea Local Seafood, Boat Rides & Tours, FisherPoets, Music, and more!

bellinghamseafeast.

Free Admission.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @

Thursday-Sunday, 26-29 September SPECIAL Adventures Northwest San Juan Islands Photography Workshop & Tour––San Juan Islands, Sep 26, 9:00 am – Sep 29, 5:00 pm. Join us for a 4-day photography workshop in the beautiful San Juan Islands aboard the M/V David B. In-depth workshop, private staterooms & gourmet meals.

Limited to 6 Passengers. adventuresnw.com/photoworkshops

Sunday, 29 September SPECIAL Bellingham Bay Marathon––7:30 am – 2:00 pm. Featuring views of Bellingham Bay, San Juan Islands, and North Cascades mountains, we are often called the most beautiful marathon in the Pacific Northwest. Bellingham Bay Marathon offers a full marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K and full marathon relay

Use discount code ANW19 to save 10% on any race entry!

13th Annual

September 29, 2019 FULL • HALF • 10K • 5K • RELAY

bellinghambaymarathon.org #RuntheBay19 56

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@bhambaymarathon >>> VIew or download even MORE Race|Play|Experience

29 September (cont.) - 7 December (for teams of 2-5). One hundred percent of net proceeds benefit local youth nonprofits. Celebrate your race at a fantastic finish line festival with live music and beer garden. Come “Run the Bay!”

DECEMBER >>> Saturday, 7 December RUN/WALK Holualoa Tucson Marathon, Damascus Bakeries Half and Relay––Golder Ranch Fire

Department, Tucson, 7:00 am – 1:30 pm.

This is a fast mostly downhill marathon – a great qualifier for Boston. The Half is really fast and a great qualifier for New York City Marathon. It is a nice smaller race where you will really be able to run your own race. More info: tucsonmarathon.com ANW

FIND Adventures NW is available free at hundreds of locations region-wide: throughout

Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island counties, at select spots in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties, and in Leavenworth, the Methow Valley, Spokane, and Wenatchee. The magazine is also available at REI locations across Washington and Oregon as well as at numerous locations in the Vancouver, BC metro area, at races and events, and area visitor centers.

SUBSCRIBE Receive Adventures NW via mail anywhere in the US or Canada. Visit AdventuresNW.com/subscribe for subscription info.

ADVERTISE Let Adventures NW magazine help you reach a diverse, receptive

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CONTRIBUTE Adventures NW welcomes original article queries—including feature stories, expert advice, photo essays, the Next Adventure shot, etc. For information: AdventuresNW.com/contribute.

EVENTS Have your outdoor-related event, race or public outing listed in the quarterly

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2019 President

2019 Bull of the Woods

Free day parking!

Self-contained Camping

Available with Reservations Troy Baisden Jim Williamson Adults $8 | Kids $4 | Seniors $4 Main Show 1pm Exhibitions start at 11am Located just 12 miles East of Bellingham, off the Mt. Baker Highway, on Cedarville Road.

www.demingloggingshow.com

360.676.1977 • www.lithtexnw.com

event listings at AdventuresNW.com

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the

Next

Adventure

Wild Blue Yonder photo by JENNY REID This picture was taken on a backpacking trip my husband, dog and I undertook to Lake Ann in late summer. When hiking out of Lake Ann, you descend from the lake and after a short time Mount Baker pops into view. On this morning, I was taken by how the clouds were forming around Mount Baker—like sunbeams! My immediate thoughts were that I had never seen clouds frame the mountain like that and also that I felt so lucky to be experiencing that moment. Nature is wild and magnetic and full of joyous surprises.

This morning on the Lake Ann Trail was no exception.

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