Adventures NW Magazine Summer 2016

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SUMMER 2016

CELEBRATE SUMMER! IN THE BOOTPRINTS OF JOE GALBRAITH MOMENTS BESIDE A SUMMER POND MOUNTAIN BIKING THE TRI-CITIES SPELUNKING ON THE WALL DANCING WITH GOATS EDGE TO EDGE MARATHON 3 GREAT SUMMER HIKES 5POINT FILM FESTIVAL THE BIG HURT

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CONTRIBUTORS Photographer Buff Black is drawn to both the wilderness and the metropolis. His Northwest landscapes are featured in Adventures NW and Washington Trails magazines. His cityscapes appear in the postcards and calendars of Impact Photographics. Be on the lookout for Buff’s articles on photo backpacks and panoramic photography in upcoming issues of Washington Trails.

Artist Nancy Canyon paints in Fairhaven’s Morgan Block Studios in Bellingham, WA. She will be exhibiting new nature paintings this July at the Allied Arts Gallery and in autumn her plein-air paintings done in Italy will be displayed at Tillie Lace Art Gallery and Fourth Corner Frames. More info at nancycanyon.com Gail Galbraith Everett writes about running and adventure travel. Currently working on a children’s book, she was born in Acme, WA and presently resides in Edmonds. Her father, Joe Galbraith was the winner of the first Mount Baker Marathon in 1911.

Blake Herrington is a writer and climber and life-long Washingtonian. He is the author of Cascades Rock, a guidebook to climbing in the Cascades and his writing has also appeared in the Seattle Times, Portland Oregonian, and in national climbing magazines. Currently he lives in Leavenworth, WA. where he makes ends meet as a writer, occasional restaurant waiter, and semi-professional dirt-bag climber.

Henry Hughes is the author of four poetry collections, including Men Holding Eggs, which received the 2004 Oregon Book Award, and the angling memoir, Back Seat with Fish, published this year by Skyhorse. Hughes is also the editor of the Everyman’s anthologies, The Art of Angling: Poems about Fishing (Knopf, 2011) and Fishing Stories (Knopf, 2013). His commentary on new poetry appears regularly in Harvard Review Review.

SUMMER | 2016 Volume 11. Issue 2 one motto she lives by, it is “never say no to a wild adventure!”

As a recovering commercial photographer specializing in advertising and public relations, Alan Sanders now concentrates on fine art photography. He leads workshops at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, WA. and is a digital imaging specialist at Quicksilver Photo Lab in Bellingham. Visit him at AlanSandersArt.com Aaron Theisen is the co-author of Day Hiking Mount St. Helens (Mountaineers Books). He is currently working on Day Hiking Western Montana’s Glacier Country. Check out his stories and photographs at aarontheisen.com.

COVER PHOTO by Buff Black

A Look Ahead: Our Autumn Issue The Bears of Bella Coola Wolf Howls Cyclocross Paddling Deception Pass Fall Color Hikes

Keely Killebrew lives in Bellingham with her loyal dog Milo and a handful of courageous gals. She is an avid solo traveler and enjoys a variety of pastimes such as rock climbing, flying helicopters, and trail-riding. If there’s

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INSPIRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE

Spelunking on the Wall

Blake Herrington

12

Hiking in my Dad’s Hundred-Year-Old Bootprints

Gail Galbraith Everett

18

Moments Beside a Summer Pond

Henry Hughes

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The Folium Project Turning Over a New Leaf

Alan Sanders

26

Aaron Theisen

28

Keely Killebrew

34

John D’Onofrio

38

Sagebrush & Singletrack Mountain Biking the Tri-Cities

People of the Parks The Legend and Legacy of Bill Lester

Dancing with Goats A Walk on Sahale Arm

DESTINATIONS The Journey Home Out & About 3 Great Hikes ... for Summer Outside In Bright Lines eARTh: The Art of Nature Cascadia Gear Summer Reading Race | Play | Experience Calendar Next Adventure

7 8 9 14 32 41 44 44 46 50

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”

– Rosalia de Castro

Photo by John D’Onofrio

stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

HOURS Weekdays 8-6 Saturday 8-5 851 Coho Way Sunday Bellingham, WA 9-4 360.734.3336 www.lfsmarineoutdoor.com The heartbeat of Cascadia

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The Journey Home T

his year marks the 100th Anniversary of our national parks and here in Cascadia we have three amazing parks in which to celebrate: North Cascades, Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks.

The Organic Act, which established the National Park Service in 1916 articulated a new idea - the concept of preservation as an integral part of our national identity.

Today, the 84 million acres that comprise our national parks serve as a clarion call for a civilization that has often perceived itself to be the apex of creation.

According to the Act, the purpose of the parks is “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner

and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

The big news here was the emphasis on managing the land in such a way as to leave it unchanged by the hand of man. The Organic Act codified the idea that public lands have a value that transcends commerce - and recreation. That transcends us.

A hundred years down the road, we have come to understand that this value is far greater than first imagined.

As the industrial revolution - and the digital revolution that followed - have reshaped our planet, we’ve come to learn that the interconnectedness of the natural world is infinitely complex and absolutely essential. Not simply essential to our quality of life, although, of course that’s certainly true, but es-

SUMMER | 2016 Volume 11. Issue 2

sential to our survival as a species.

We’ve learned that when one element in the mosaic of life is altered or removed, the repercussions are both more numerous and far more significant than was understood in 1916. Our rapacious approach over the last century has given us climate change, declining biological diversity, and a growing confusion about our true nature, marginalized by technology and disconnected from our nature as animals.

Today, the parks continue to offer the opportunity to reconnect and rediscover our role - not as caretakers or observers of the natural world but as an integrated part of it. So celebrate these national treasures by strapping on a pair of hiking boots or dipping a paddle in a glacier-fed lake.

You might just find that your jourjour ney takes you home.

Adventures NW magazine www.AdventuresNW.com

John D’Onofrio

Publisher/Editor john @ adventuresnw.com

Jason Rinne

Creative Director jason @ adventuresnw.com

Marian Jensen

Accounting accounting @ adventuresnw.com

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Digital Media ethan @ adventuresnw.com

Keely Killebrew Intern

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Out About &

5Point Adventure Film Festival Returns to Bellingham

Adventure film festivals are well-known for jaw-dropping video of hair-raising feats of death-defying derring-do. But the folks at 5Point Adventure Film Festival have built a reputation for presenting films that offer something more, probing the psychology - and yes, spirituality - of the outdoor experience and our connection to the natural world. Their website expresses their philosophy quite succinctly: “We avoid films about hucking yourself off a cliff and love films with a human element and our best films embody our five guiding principles.” It is those five principles that give the festival it’s name: respect, commitment, humility, purpose and balance.

Haywire

From its origins in Carbondale, Colorado, 5Point has introduced its unique brand of thoughtful, often emotionally-charged films to select locations around the United States, including Bellingham, which welcomes the Festival in a big way on the weekend of August 25-27. The two film programs at the Mount Baker Theatre on August 26 and 27 will feature a plethora of breathtaking features including Haywire, a remarkable short film about the mixed blessings of a trip to Baffin Island and the gorgeous locally-produced DreamRide, a cinematic hallucination of a film.

Photo courtesy of Mountain Hardwear

More than just a film festival, 5Point offers youth programs, yoga, Whatcom Mountain Biking Coalition bike races, group SUP, an American Alpine Institute climbing clinic, a van life rally and lots of opportunities for quality time with the tribe.

More info: 5pointfilm.org/bellingham

Welcome to The Big Hurt What has four legs, 1200 eyes and two incarnations? Why, The Big Hurt of course.

This four leg (mountain bike, paddle, road bike, run) multi-sport event draws some 600 racers to Port Angeles, WA. This year’s pain is scheduled for September 24, so you have plenty of time to prepare yourself.

Established in 1997, the Hurt immediately flourished, but changes in management

saw the race discontinued in 2004. It wasn’t until last year that a trio of passionate pain lovers (Scott Tucker, Tim Tucker, and Lorrie Mittmann) breathed new life into the event and from the looks of it, it’s back to stay.

Positioned as it is, at the feet of the mighty Olympic Range, Port Angeles offers up a sweet setting for all that pain.

“The ownership our community feels for the Big Hurt gives it a friendly feel,” explains Tim Tucker. “From a participant’s

Photo by Jay Kline

perspective, I’d say the biggest thing that makes the Big Hurt unique is also what makes Port Angeles unique: Location, location, location.”

More info: bighurtpa.com

Photo courtesy of Hideout Camper Vans

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Run on the Rim: The Edge to Edge Marathon Photo by Douglas Ludwig Photography

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Great Hikes

... for Summer

Goat Lake

Looking for a marathon with an edge? Out on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the 17th Annual Edge to Edge Marathon should do the trick. The Edge to Edge has been attracting attention from around the world and why not? The edge in question is the Pacific Ocean and the race traverses the wildly beautiful coastal scenery of Pacific Rim National Park and the Wild Pacific Trail. If there’s a more beautiful setting for a marathon, let us know.

When the high country is still snowbound in early summer, Goat Lake is a great choice to satisfy the alpine ‘Jones’. Take the Elliot Creek trail (a mile shorter and more scenic than the main Goat Lake trail), and take your time. The trail meanders alongside the verdant, unconstrained creek, muscular and tranquil at the same time. Look for trillium along the way. Just before the lake, Elliot Creek tumbles and dances over the rocks on mossy terraces, a sight proven to lower your blood pressure. Just beyond, the lake inhabits a massive cirque, crowned by Cadet and Foggy Peaks, impressive indeed. All told, it’s about 10 miles there and back with 1400 feet of elevation gain.

Trailhead: Forest Road 4080 off the Mountain Loop Highway.

Sauk Mountain

Skagit’s Sauk Mountain is the queen of early summer mountain joie de vivre. The south-facing slope that provides access to the top melts out early and becomes an outrageous wildflower This year, a new 10K has been added to the full, half and relay. garden - avalanche lilies, columbine, tiger lilies, just to name And of course, since we’re talking the west coast of BC, the vibe is a few. The moderate switchbacks carry you up to views that decidedly laid back and not edgy at all. The finish line is the village include Baker, Shuksan and dozens of other ice-encrusted summits. The top green in Ucluelet where there will be vendors, food and massage Mt. Baker from Sauk Mountain of the ridge may be Photo by John D’Onofrio and physio practitioners to greet the 500-plus entrants. This snowbound, but historic fishing village has become a sweet destination, with you can either push a decidedly eco-tourism orientation. And of course, with the on (an ice axe might Canadian exchange rate what it is, it’s a bargain for visitors from come in handy) or south of the 49th parallel. find a comfortable seat on the ridge More info: edgetoedgemarathon.com from which to spend an hour or two in contemplation of mountain’s majesty. If you make it to the old lookout site, you’ll have hiked about two miles and climbed 1200 feet.

Introducing Vanapalooza

The allure of the camper van is irresistible. Whether your proclivities run to long-distance vehicular exploration or simply the occasional weekend in our local mountains, Bellingham’s inaugural Vanapalooza is sure to give you ideas. Set for June 11, this celebration of van mobility will be a gathering place for van owners, van lovers and the nomadic at heart. You’ll find everything from that iconic scion of vagabonds, the VW ‘Westy,’ to tricked-out camper conversions from new Bellingham rental business, Hideout Camper Vans. Van owners are invited to bring their rigs and join in the fun.

Presented by NW European Autoworks and Kulshan Brewery, Vanapalooza - happening at 2101 Queen St (at the corner of Kentucky, near Kulshan’s K2 Brewery) in Bellingham - offers up a uniquely northwestern celebration of the rolling home away from home. The fun starts at 3 pm and includes live music by Ira Wolf (visiting the City of Subdued Excitement in her VW Camper Van as part of her Go Westy Tour). stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

Trailhead: Sauk Mountain Road off State Highway 20 (The North Cascades Highway).

Horseshoe Basin On the east side of the Cascades, way up by Tonasket, there exists a complex of broad sweeping subalpine meadows that seem to go on forever. The five-mile hike in to the meadows is easy and once you get there, the walking is joyous. No particular destination - follow your alpine muse among clear little tarns to the top of rounded knobs. The Canadian border is reached atop Arnold Peak, from which you can observe a bizarre manifestation of geo-politics: the strip of clearcut that separates us from our neighbors to the north.

Trailhead: Forest Road 39 near Loomis, WA.

Visit AdventuresNW.com for complete listings of Outdoor events.

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Spelunking on the Wall

Story by Blake Herrington

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limbers go up, and spelunkers go down. There’s not a lot of room for shared terrain. One group ascends boulders, cliffs, and mountains while the other explores caves and subterranean passages. Though they both may use the same ropes, carabiners, and brightly-colored helmets, these two groups follow opposite paths in pursuit of adventure.

I’ve been a climber for ten years, beginning via scrambling around sandstone cliffs on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham.

But in the past few years, some of the my wildest and most memorable climbs have put me squarely into the spelunker’s camp, because the caves in question are all sitting 500 feet or so up a sheer face in the North Cascades. Sometimes to a mountain climber, a cave can be the next best thing to standing on the summit.

Many of the first non-native explorers of the Cascade Range were miners and prospectors, perhaps the original cave enthusiasts of the northwest. Though many of their caves and tunnels were created

by TNT rather than geologic means, the presence of large crystalline openings in cliffs often foretold the presence of valuable minerals within the walls. Caves which were used (and enlarged) by miners can still be explored on the slopes of Sahale Mountain, Bonanza Peak, and other well-known Cascades hiking destinations. But the caves which I’ve been frequenting over the past few years of climbing have never been used for mining and certainly wouldn’t be explored by a casual hiker.

They exist on a 1,000’ face of orange and grey granite a few miles east of Liberty Bell Mountain and Washington Pass. And until just a few years

Photo by Forest Woodward

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ago, they had likely only ever been visited by a single team of humans, on just one summer day in 1969.

Supercave Wall From the iconic hairpin bend in Hwy 20, a mile east of the Cascade Crest at Washington Pass, the aptly-named “Supercave Wall” comes into view two miles to the north.

This wall is the southeast-facing flank of peak 6,978, which borders the highway on its north side. A location so near a paved highway makes the wall among the most accessible climbing features in the entire North Cascades. A quick view of a single large cave is possible from the car window, Photo by Max Tepfer but the wall’s scope and details are mostly hidden. After hearing about a new route established just a few years ago which ascends the wall and climbs into (and out of)

this enormous cave, I repeated the climb with another local climber. This wall had been ascended by just one prior team, who left little record of their ascent.

Not only was the rock on this wall among the highest quality I’d ever seen in the range, but the wall featured small pockets and naturally-occurring handholds, perfect for allowing passage along granite faces which would typically be too blank to climb without “aiding” by standing or pulling on gear. It was as though the pattern of a single looming cutout from the wall had been re-created by the mountain innumerable times on a smaller, more human scale. After four or five pitches and 600 vertical feet, the route suddenly entered an auditorium-sized cavern hanging from the cliff’s edge. Due to the steepness of the wall all around the cave, it was actually invisible to us until we literally grabbed the edge and clambered up

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OUTSIDE IN

Reflections on Wilderness

by Kathy and Craig Copeland

Stillness

Photo by John D’Onofrio

The excited conversation that begins at the trailhead rarely lasts. Banal chatter settles into more personal, meaningful talk, distills into discussion of loftier ideas, then slides into long stretches of stillness. So hiking appeals less to those who are uncomfortable with themselves, because that’s who we end up with on the trail - ourselves - even if we never hike alone.

If you can dive into that tranquility, if you can swim into that solitude, you’ll find your soul in a realm of calm and clarity.

Extracted from Heading Outdoors Eventually Leads Within by Kathy and Craig Copeland (hikingcamping.com)

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into the dark defile, midway up the cliff. A few ancient fir trees fought in a twisted tangle toward sunlight at the mouth of the cave, but most of the interior was a rubble-strewn echoing expanse of scattered stones with occasional drips of water falling from the ceiling. After re-emerging into the bright sunlight of afternoon, we completed our ascent via cracks and scooped features in the just-past-vertical upper section of the wall, which overhung the cave’s mouth. The route was one of the best I’d climbed in the area, but I would soon be back for further Cascadian spelunking.

In the course of rappelling our way back down the wall, I noticed that there were also at least two other caves to which no route ascended.

These may have never been visited by climbers, spelunkers, sasquatch, cavemen, or any non-flying animals.

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and Max Tepfer, two good friends who work as climbing guides around the northwest, I was able to establish an entirely new 11-pitch route up the tallest section of the wall, which enters the peak’s second-largest cave.

Leaving this cave via an overhanging headwall provided the wall’s most amazing climbing, and although at first glance we thought that the terrain would prove blank and impassable, we found that every crux and deadend could be overcome by grabbing another surprise quartz pocket - miniaturized versions of the wall’s signature features.

Blake Herrington’s Cascades Rock, a guidebook of climbs in the Cascade Range was published in January, 2016.

More info at: blakeclimbs.blogspot.com

Reclaiming Uncertainty

Late last September, on a perfect early fall day when the alpine larch trees had begun to blaze yellow on the high peaks, Max and I returned to the wall, intent on making the first free ascent, following the route of the original 1969 climb. This style of ascent is the norm for 21st century climbers, and to

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ascend an older route and be the first to do so without “aid” of human-placed gear is still a notable feat. It was inspiring and humbling to tackle terrain that hadn’t been ascended since these pioneer alpine spelunkers who were among the first generation of climbers in the Cascades. They’d come up this wall before the completion of Highway 20, before the creation of North Cascades National Park, and before guidebooks, internet posts, Google Earth, and digital cameras had nearly eliminated the concept of “exploration” from the Cascades.

To the alpinists of that era, the unknown was everywhere and surprises were all in a day’s work. But for Max and I, millennials of the internet generation, discovering if we could “free climb” their route offered the welcome challenge of uncertainty.

We found ourselves high on the wall, chilled by a crisp fall breeze, with perfect climbing conditions, removing a few of the decades-old iron pitons which had been hammered in place by the 1960’s climbers on their way to the cave. Mere hours before the rain and snow of fall began settling on the North Cascades, we completed a difficult free ascent of the line via a crux pitch only possible after leaping to grab a perfectly-sculpted pocket on an otherwise blank wall. Just six inches in diameter and shaped like a fishbowl, this little ‘cave’ may have been the biggest and best surprise on the whole wall.

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Hiking In My Dad’s Hundred-Year-Old Bootprints Story by Gail Galbraith Everett

O

ver a hundred years ago, at age 28, my dad raced to the summit of Mount Baker and back to win the 1911 Mount Baker Marathon, considered America’s first mountain endurance race. On an October day in 2015, with my 80th birthday looming, I hoped to honor his memory by hiking a portion of the trail he ran.

My sisters and I grew up with Dad’s stories about “The Great Mount Baker Race.” His grueling adventure began in Bellingham, Washington, with a midnight ride in an open, stripped-down Model T Ford. At terrifying speeds - up to fifty miles per hour - his driver careened twenty-seven miles up a rocky, rutted road, often plowing through deep mud. From the trailhead, Dad ran thirty-two miles to the summit and back. To surmount the glacier before the morning sun began to melt the ice, racers ran in darkness. Long before the days of LED flashlights, my dad carried a “bug,” a Crisco can with a candle poked through.

When the 100-year anniversary of the race inspired an Emmy-nominated documentary, I remembered that I’d

often dreamed of hiking along the route of Dad’s triumphal run.

For me the time was right. I’d been feeling my age, struggling with regrets and unfulfilled goals. It was time to prove to myself once again that it’s never too late for an adventure. With our friend and guide, Dan Probst, and my daughter, Natalie, I planned to hike up to the meadows at Mazama Park, under the Easton Glacier. It would be six miles up and back with an elevation gain of more than 2,000 feet.

Unfortunately, when The Mountain Runners documentary came out in 2012, what is now the Ridley Creek Trail was blocked with massive evergreens that had uprooted and crashed down the mountainside. Inspired by the film and his experience at Italy’s 200-mile Tor des Geants race, ultra-marathoner Probst began to dream of reviving the 1911 race as a 108-mile run from Bellingham to the Mount Baker summit and back.

He organized volunteers to reopen the trail and made partnerships with the Forest Service and Washington Trails Association. The route now lies within the Mt. Baker Wilderness Area where the

use of chainsaws is restricted. The maze of fallen trees had to be cut by hand with crosscut saws.

Once the trail was cleared, Dan had invited us to hike it with him. So here we were. Our adventure began on a cloudy mid-morning in October.

After we left the car at the trailhead and headed through the woods to the Nooksack riverbed, mists cleared long enough to unveil the snowy summit of Mount Baker. Below it ran the steep ridge where our route would ascend up to the meadows.

Looks pretty steep, I was thinking. At that moment a bald eagle left a towering fir tree and soared toward the mountain. I love eagles. A poster on my bedroom wall reads: “Even the youth will faint and grow weary….but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles.”

I would tackle that mountain.

Back to reality. I’d forgotten to bring gloves, and already my hands were freezing. My daughter, a preparedness zealot who before our every hike holds an argument with me about supplies per the

Photo by John D’Onofrio

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Mountaineer’s “Ten Essentials,” dug into her pack and pulled out long red gloves that she’d packed for emergencies (those scarlet gloves, of course, dominated the photo Dan later posted on my Facebook page). That, I hope, will teach me to bring my own gloves next time.

I faced our first challenge - crossing the river. A narrow log hewn flat by the Forest Service spanned the river in front of us. I took a deep breath Gail on the trail and stepped up, grabPhoto by Dan Probst bing the rope handrail that stretched shoulderheight beside the log.

I planted one foot in front of the other, not daring to look down at the river crashing and foaming over rocks as it rushed down from the glacier.

I climbed down from the bridge, first hazard overcome. The track began to climb, gently at first then steep and twisting. Where my dad had run; I plodded along, treading carefully in spots where mud lingered from fall rains. To keep from slipping, I grabbed at roots of fallen trees along the path.

My boots began to rub against my ankle bones. I couldn’t admit to Natalie that I’d forgotten to bring moleskin. And brisk breezes from the snowy heights made me wish I’d worn a warmer turtleneck under my blue fleece vest. Determined to just keep moving, I ignored these minor discomforts and forged on.

As we paused to look at 500-year-old-cedars, Dan pointed out blazes on the tall hemlocks, made by the men who built the trail. These blazes would have been fresh when my Dad ran the first Mount Baker Marathon.

Yeagers PA D D L E

SAVE

S H O P

Breathing heavily, I half-listened as Dan told Natalie about his efforts to make the “Mt. Baker Ultramarathon” a yearly event.

Last summer he and three other members of his Cascade Mountain Runners club sped along this path during a 40hour run from Bellingham Bay to the summit of Mount Baker and back. (See “Bellingham Bay to Baker – and Back” by Suzanne Lundberg, Adventures NW, Fall 2015.) Those robust souls ran all that way; our dad ran thirty-two miles, I reminded myself. I can do this.

Dan was the ideal guide.

Ever watchful, where the trail was steepest, or where I had to step on slippery rocks to cross Joe Galbraith small streams from the melt- Photo courtesy of Gail Galbraith Everett ing glacier, he subtly reached out a hand, graciously keeping pace with a lady old enough to be his grandmother.

We’d been planning this hike for months, hindered by blistering hot days, followed by September rains. So when we

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finally set a date, I prayed that we’d be granted a clear day. When mists blurred our views, I was disappointed. Then, as we rounded a corner, a blaze of sunlight illuminated our trail. We were in

Lothlorien, that enchanted country in The Lord of the Rings. For the rest of my life I’ll remember a path of shining gold between dazzling green ferns and moss-covered rocks. Our hike became a metaphor for life: plodding along, ups and downs. Then sudden shafts of glory.

Clouds covered the sun. When Dan led us to a fallen tree where I could sit down, I was more than ready for lunch.

The sandwich melted in my mouth.

“Hunger is the best sauce,” Dad used to

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say. He was right.

After lunch, we were charging on when a few drops of rain spattered on my glasses. “We’d better turn back,” Dan told us. “It’d be no fun going down in the rain.”

We were only half a mile from our destination, Mazama Park. “Okay, you’re the boss,” I told him, trying not to show my disappointment. (Later, when torrential rain blasted the windows on our drive down the hill, I was glad we’d listened to Dan.) As we headed back down the trail, the rain held off. When we reached the trailhead, my Honda Civic welcomed - a haven of rest. But before easing myself in, I stopped and looked up at the sky.

“I hope you’re looking down, Daddy.

You’d be proud of me.”

Weariness and blisters aside, I had fulfilled my dream of hiking the trail.

And that shaft of sunlight on the trail would illuminate the rest of my life.

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Moments Beside a Summer Pond Story by Henry Hughes

C

“Is that safe?” She grew concerned. hloe and I were getting “Sure, the shells are empty. I used to closer, and I wanted to collect them when I was a kid.” take her and her sons fishing.

“You Americans and your guns,” she I drove to a little known pond out in the country. The boys frowned.

But we were, indeed, very safe in this had no experience fishing and secluded meadow beside this little pond.

I rigged up spinning rods with bobbers and small hooks, showing them how to bait Illustration by Richard Bunse with a worm and make a cast.

The lesson proved challenging, but I took my time, remembering my father’s patience. When Gethin, the youngest, launched his bobber a few feet from the bank it instantly disappeared. He felt the tug and resistance, yelled for his mother to look, and reeled in a hand-sized sunfish with a bright orange breast.

There were many tangles, snags, complaints, snack breaks and a few more satisfying sunfish until the boys had enough and walked down through the flower studded meadow picking up spent shotgun shells. Chloe and I sat close and watched them.

“Make another cast and set the rod down on that stick. We’ll have a beer,” I urged.

“I think I might’ve caught some-

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thing already.”

“What?” I jumped up. She put her hand around my leg and laughed.

“Oh no, I’m supposed to say that.

Women think I’m fish crazy. Too many fishing metaphors. Weird, right?”

“No,” she said. “It’s how you think.”

The teeming waters of a summer pond, the lessons, frustrations, casts, hopes, and a hooked sunfish flopping on the grassy bank raise a child’s delight and a man and woman’s growing interest in each other.

How wonderfully simple. If fishing brings us closer to the earth’s essentials, can it also help us transcend that realm? Is angling an art that can actually lead to enlightenment, salvation, grace and even love, as the Roman writer, Ovid promised: “Let your hook always be cast. In a pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.”

Chloe and I leaned back on the warm grass. “This is marvelous,” she said, and I bent over to kiss her. Her lips returned

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the soft, warm gesture with something more, and we looked up at each other and smiled. “This is a nice fishdate,” she said.

Redwing blackbirds called from the cattails, a dragonfly alighted on the tip of my finger, then Chloe’s rod jumped off the stick and slid toward the water. “Fish!” I yelled. She chased the rod down the bank, picked it up and reeled. A big bass thrashed and swam. “Fantastic,” she cried. The boys

saw the splashing and came running.

The foggy green water burned gold as the bass flashed before us. “I can really feel it,” Chloe smiled back at me, reeling in her big fish.

“Me, too,” I said, even before I did.

Adapted from the memoir Back Seat with Fish by Henry Hughes (Skyhorse ANW Publishing)

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A New Leaf Alan Sanders’ Folium Project There was something about the shapes within the leaves that caught my attention but ultimately it was the relationships between the leaves that I found most interesting. It would be easy to anthropomorphize these relationships: one leaf covering another as if to protect it or two leaves in a loving embrace.

The truth is that for me it’s mostly visual. The shapes that are created when one leaf wraps around another. The way the light recedes as we look further into the plant, revealing a hint of more in the shadows.

The more I’ve worked on this project, the more I realize that paying attention to the details is the best way to understand the whole. By concentrating on leaves I have a greater appreciation of the whole ecosystem. What happens at the micro level is just a mirror of the macro.

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Sagebrush Singletrack

&

Mountain Biking the Tri-Cities Story and photos by Aaron Theisen

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“

L

eft! Right! Right! Left! Duck!”

I’m playing a dizzying game of two-wheeled follow-the-leader in Chamna Natural Preserve in the heart of Richland, WA. Leaning my elbows into the fragrant sagebrush that closely flanks the singletrack, I echo the commands as they’re passed down the eight-rider conga line - to turn at the frequent intersections, and to occasionally duck under the head-lopping cottonwood limbs that crowd the trail.

Evening commuter traffic from a busy interstate interchange buzzes around the preserve, but I’m too fixated on the wheel in front of me - and the sights and smells of this central Washington trail oasis - to notice.

Located in Washington’s agricultural heartland, The Tri-Cities are used to being off the radar. Although the area has received justifiable acclaim for its wine-growing terroir - the area shares the same latitude at the legendary Burgundy and Bordeaux wine regions of France - it’s usually been paired with golf vacations.

But Kennewick, Richland and Pasco have quietly begun to develop a reputation as an outdoor recreation destination, thanks to an impressive, loosely connected network of urban trail systems.

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“Flat” and “fast” characterize the riding here, with trails tucked in unlikely places - next to interstates, for example. From the B Reactor to bomber singletrack, the secret’s finally out: the region’s worldfamous dirt makes for fine mountain biking, too.

STATE PATROL TRAIL SYSTEM Singletrack-savvy riders should make the “State Patrol” trail system near Kennewick their first cycling stop.

Located on private land behind the Washington State Patrol building off Highway 395 on the edge of Kennewick, the State Patrol system boasts some of the best- and the only - sagebrush singletrack in the state, its deep lateral ravines concealing nearly twenty miles of trail. Tight, twisty turns and sandy soil will keep bikers’ attention on the trail, but keen-eyed riders may spot badgers, rabbits and hawks among the sagebrush. There’s no “official” trail system, and thus no map, but it’s hard to get lost; all trunk trails eventually connect back to the informal trailhead. Close enough to town for locals to pop in for a post-work ride, but with enough mileage to accommodate an all-day haul, the State Patrol system has a dedicated core of users. Coupled with nearly year-round rideability, this is truly one of the best urban mountain

biking systems in Washington. Although the private landowner has graciously allowed trail construction - bolstered by users’ self-policing - developers have been eyeing this parcel of prime real estate for years, so there’s no guarantee this trail system will remain accessible in the future.

Ride it now and lobby public officials to add the State Patrol property to the TriCities’ enviable open space network.

Nearest bike shop

The State Patrol trails are in the backyard of LeaningH Bike (3801 S. Zintel Way, Kennewick). It’s a great preride stop for trail beta. Stop in post-ride too: owner Heather Henderson offers a bike wash & beer deal with Holy Mac & Deli next door, so you and your bike can both get sudsed up for cheap.

BADGER MOUNTAIN The multi-user trail at the 650-acre Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve in Richland anchors the area’s Ridges to Rivers Open Space Network, an ambitious plan to link undeveloped lands in one of the nation’s fastest-

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growing metropolitan areas. Two primary trailheads access the mountain from east and west. The western portal is the easiest for out-of-towners to reach and provides convenient access to nearby wineries. The throughline is the Skyline Trail, the best of the trails open to bikes

on Badger. This three-mile route features impressive ridgeline riding for minimal climbing effort with plenty of wideopen vistas. This is one of the Tri-Cities’ most popular trail systems, so prepare to share the trail - nearly two-hundred thousand hikers, bikers, dog-walkers

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and equestrians access the Skyline Trail each year. But the spectacular ridgeline route offers views of the arid Columbia and Yakima River basins. On a clear day - of which there are many here - distant Mounts Adams and Rainier are visible, their angular summits in stark contrast to the orderly rows of grapes below. Near at hand, springtime flowers - lupine, arrowleaf balsamroot, phlox, vetch, larkspur, lomatium and more - punctuate the sweetly pungent sage.

Riders can connect the Skyline Trail to the popular Trailhead Park trailhead via the Sagebrush Trail for an out-andback, or they can make a loop around Badger with the Langdon Trail, which stays low on the south side of the mountain. Either way, it’s a round trip just shy of 8 miles.

Nearest bike shop

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path, making it convenient for post-ride wine-tasting in the area.

CHAMNA NATURAL PRESERVE POETRY FROM THE WILD

Octopus Ink

by K.K. Bremos In the middle of the night the constellations roar in the blue-black octopus ink of midnight the drumming of the moon sweet glissando of night birds half-heard howling of long-lost cousins trailing off in the first somber light of what used to be tomorrow it gives a man ideas

Beginning bikers and foul-weather riders can get easy laps in the saddle at Chamna Natural Preserve on the edge of Richland.

Protecting nearly three-hundred acres of riparian habitat along the Yakima River near its confluence with the Columbia, Chamna features more than a dozen miles of mixed single- and doubletrack trails. The riding isn’t technical, but the scenery is sublime, with paths swooping among sagebrush flats and through tunnels of twisting tree trunks and wild rose brambles. In the center of the trail system sits the Junkyard, a narrow route of pump-track

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bumps and tight turns through sagebrush and a smattering of old tires and other debris. Word on the trail is that the fastest sustained speed through the Junkyard is 26 mph; approaching anything close to that speed requires serious pedal strength and tack-sharp turning and braking ability. Good luck. Although the freeway skirts the edge of Chamna, the rushing Yakima River - and the rustling of leaves as riders navigate the vegetation tunnels - keeps road noise to a minimum, as does the hooting and hollering of riders chasing one another through the tangle of trails.

Nearest bike shop

Greenies (701 George Washington Way, in downtown Richland), hosts Tuesday evening rides, usually at Chamna. It’s a great way to get a fast, friendly game of follow-the-leader on the preserve’s circuitous trail system. Bonus: across the parking lot is Paperstreet Brewing which offers a great selection of ANW beer.

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People of the Parks The Legend and Legacy of Bill Lester Story by Keely Killebrew

E

very summer, Bill Lester would tell the same story.

Former Park Ranger Alan Cline remembers that during every summer orientation for seasonal rangers, Lester his mentor - would tell the story about a family that visited Olympic National Park while he was a ranger there.

As the story went, one morning while tying his shoes, Lester greeted a couple and their son, who were passing by on their way to take a hike. He had a way of wrapping the laces around the ankles of his boots before he tied the knots, and days later, when the family returned, they told him what a fuss he had caused. The quiet little boy had seen those long laces, and got it into his head that the ranger’s method was absolutely the only way to tie a pair of shoes. “I’ve gotta get long laces, I’ve gotta tie my shoes that way,” the boy had said.

“You see, you never know who’s watching and what sort of impact you will have on people,” Lester would explain to the incoming backcountry rangers. The ranger from Port Angeles, WA. was a man who practiced what he preached.

In many ways, the long and illus-

trious career of Bill Lester personified the core challenge facing our National Parks. He devoted his life to helping to find the delicate balance between recreation and preservation in the parks of the Pacific Northwest, a struggle mirrored throughout the 84-million acres that comprise the United States’ National Park System.

Paula Ogden-Muse remembers Lester as “a true pioneer.” Ogden-Muse, who joined the Student Conservation Association in 1985 under his tutelage, says “the man lived and breathed wilderness and the park service.” Two of Lester’s signature accomplishments during the time Ogden-Muse knew him were his alpine re-vegetation program and his introduction of composting toilets in

the backcountry.

The re-vegetation program was a ground-breaking attempt to repair damage to wilderness areas by raising native flora in a greenhouse at the Marblemount ranger complex and re-planting alpine regions that had been trampled by foot traffic and unwitting campers. Lester’s innovative experiments with composting toilets sought to minimize impact in wild areas of the park by providing designated places for human waste to keep it from spoiling fragile ecosystems - and other’s enjoyment of the backcountry.

Informed by his first-hand awareness of human impact in the backcountry, these initiatives aimed to mitigate the damage to backcountry habitat that he had observed and to prevent further destruction of resources.

Early in the park’s history, little was known about the impact of recreationalists traveling through the wilderness.

Many people didn’t understand that their use of the parks was damaging the fragile ecology. When Lester be-

Photo by John D’Onofrio

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gan to work on these projects, he often did so with a shoestring budget and an impatience with bureaucracy, radiating a fervor for the parks that inspired many of his seasonal colleagues to return year after year.

Ogden-Muse recalls the early days of his experiments with composting toilets, when backcountry employees would help haul the human waste down from the receptacles in big plastic deli buckets labeled “sweet pickle relish,” sometimes hiking two miles with the bucket strapped onto their old aluminum pack frames, sloshing at their backs. “That’s how much you believed in Bill Lester,” she laughs. “People would do anything for Bill because he believed in that place so much.”

While the re-vegetation program and composting toilets were some of the most notable innovations that Lester brought to the park service, his contributions went far beyond the alpine meadows he replanted. Bill was also an evangelist for environmental education.

“If you don’t learn something every day, then it’s your own darn fault,” Ogden-Muse remembers Lester saying.

His tireless passion for sharing what he had learned in the wilderness defined the stocky, gruff ranger’s ethos, and eventually contributed to the creation of what is now The North Cascades Institute

stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

(NCI), an educational partnership made possible by North Cascades National Park and Seattle City Light.

Bill Lester on the slopes Photo courtesy of North Cascades National Park

Around 1984, when NCI co-founders Saul Weisberg and Tom Fleischner started thinking of using field-based school education as a tool to protect and promote the parks, they understood that their approach would cultivate change slowly. “It was not the tool that you would turn to in a crisis,” Weisberg explains, “but maybe for the next crisis, you would have educated citizenry who would stand up for things they believed in.” This concept of generational change

resonated with Lester’s philosophy so much that when new superintendent John Reynolds came to the park in 1985, Lester became an outspoken advocate for the creation of the Institute.

Together, Lester and Reynolds hatched a plan to give Weisberg and Fleischner time to refine their ideas about environmental education, allowing the team to work part-time in empty office spaces. Soon the institute grew into a small tent-based field school for adults.

Though Lester passed away 20 years ago, the ripples of his focus on environmental education have turned into a tidal wave; last year NCI brought nearly 10,000 children, graduate students, and families to their Environmental Learning Center in North Cascades National Park, and this year they celebrated their 30th year of introducing thousands to the majesty - and vulnerability - of wilderness.

Mountain School Walking along the bright path from the main campus of the institute to one of the little wooden shelters tucked amongst the vibrant flutter of vine maples, children’s giggles and joyful whoops of joy echo through the woods.

At NCI’s Mountain School, these fifth graders learn everything from

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Mountain School

Photo by Keely Killebrew

identifying native tree species to the various processes of rock formation. In one game lead by an enthusiastic instructor, kids rambunctiously play rock-paper-scissors to ‘evolve’ between stages of forest succession before they eventually congregate in a conga line, chanting “Lichens, shrubs, and trees, yeah!”

In Weisberg’s mind, the future of the parks will be in the hands of these children – not necessarily as parks employees, but as “business owners and doctors and lawyers and mechanics, who value public land and who value nature.”

After witnessing the last 30 years of the Institute’s work, Weisberg believes that the long days of hikes and discussions on native plant life cycles will have a lasting impact on these children, just as the parks themselves have inspired the millions that have visited over the past century.

And that impressionable young boy who had been so obsessed with the way Bill Lester tied his shoes? He became a ranger, another part of the enduring legacy of a man who led by example and championed the grand vision of our National Parks.

ANW

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Dancing with Goats: Story and photos by John D’Onofrio

N

orth Cascades National Park is home to countless high and lonely camps, tucked away in rocky enclaves above treeline. But the highest established camp in the Park is found perched on a barren moraine beneath the Sahale Glacier, 2200’ above Cascade Pass. This is our destination on a flawless summer’s day.

The Triplets

“The views from here of ice-chiseled peaks and peak-chiseling glaciers are the most extensive and impressive of any trail in the west.”

- Harvey Manning Hiking the Great Northwest

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The trailhead at the end of the Cascade River road is undoubtedly the most scenic trailhead in the park – and the most popular. We maneuver into a parking spot in the crowded lot and shoulder our packs beneath the great and complicated face of Johannesburg, rising 5,000 vertical feet above us. Waterfalls stream from the high places and glaciers gleam in the morning sun. An auspicious beginning.

We join the throngs of hikers heading up towards Cascade Pass through the sun-dappled forest. After three miles we emerge from the trees and traverse the beautiful open slopes to join the alpine pilgrims in various stages of blissfulness that cover every rock at the pass. And with good reason: a stupefying jumble of spiky peaks surrounds us on three sides – Magic Mountain, The Triplets, Formidable (no kidding!), Pelton, etc., etc. On the forth side, Sahale Arm rises in a most precipitous manner toward the summit of Sahale Mountain. We leave the gaping crowds behind and >>> Go to

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A Walk on Sahale Arm

head up the Arm, climbing steep heather slopes brimming with blueberries.

With each step, new peaks join the chorus line of mountains that crowd the horizon. The grade relents a bit and far below us Doubtful Lake appears in its austere alpine cradle. A tremendous waterfall plunges down from Sahale Mountain, joining the aquamarine waters of the lake. We pause briefly to admire the scene and browse among the blueberries, then continue the ascent up steeply-tilted meadows, a lustrous green-gold in the afternoon sun.

We pass a small watercourse brightened by the delicate blue blossoms of tiny penstemon and leave the meadows behind, climbing now on scree and boulders up a series of glacial moraines. Atop the second moraine we arrive at our destination, the Sahale Glacier Camp, 7600’. We pitch our tent atop a rocky knob in a little patch of dirt surrounded by stories & the race|play|experience calendar online.

a circular rock wall built by climbers to mitigate the wind.

The view is stupendous. The serrated ridge of The Triplets provides a dramatic foreground to an infinity of jagged summits. In the distance, Glacier Peak rears into the cloudless sky above the sea of peaks.

We filter water from a stream issuing forth from beneath the glacier. The water is surprisingly clear and unsurprisingly ice cold. We sip the water slowly to avoid the dreaded alpine “ice cream headache.”

A mountain goat appears on the rocks and nonchalantly makes its way past our camp. The goats here are infamous rapacious for salt, they will chew up anything left out that has a trace of sweat on it. The grips of trekking poles are apparently quite a delicacy.

Avalanches cascade down Johannesburg, filling the mountains with their thunder. The sun retreats to the west The heartbeat of Cascadia

39

trusty junior legal pad, it’s midnight – or and a waxing moon hangs in the sky later. It seems a wink of an eye and dawn over Dome Peak. We make dinner beis upon us. neath sparkling stars, listening to the rock-shuffling of passing goats. The air is A walk in the sky: on the slopes of Sahale Mountain still, an unusual situation in this generally wind-swept place. It’s a perfect night.

Getting enough sleep in the high country is always a problem for me – not because the rocky ground beneath my Therm-a-Rest pad is uncomfortable, but because there is so much to see. I never eat dinner until the last sweet light of twilight And what a dawn! I crawl out of has completely faded into darkness. In the tent and stretch the stiffness out of these northern latitudes, that makes for my bones as the rosy light illuminates a late dinner indeed. And by the time the the mountainscape. The surrounding bowls are washed, the food stashed, and summits are washed in purple and the an hour or two is spent writing in my

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nearby glacier is bathed in incandescent pink. The goat is back to see what’s for breakfast. We drink coffee and watch a golden eagle soar effortlessly below us in great wheeling circles, rising on the thermals without a flicker of wing movement.

Rocks tumble down periodically from the cliffs above camp and roll down the glacier, seeking that elusive angle of repose. After a respectable amount of time lazing in the morning sun we set off to explore the immediate vicinity, climbing loose scree to the toe of the glacier.

A crevasse is bisected by a curvaceous blue ice bridge. Countless tiny streams curl gracefully over, through

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and under the ice. Beneath the hot sun in the all-too-brief summer, the glacier is liquefying it’s assets with a vengeance.

We follow the margin of ice to the east, clambering over the rubble. A little scoured plateau is covered in magnificent rocks, swirled with yellow and orange and etched by intricate fractures into fanciful and elegant patterns, each one an objet d’art. Beyond is a tiny tarn,

Beneath the Surface

Nancy Canyon’s Reflections of Cascadia

The art of nature

The reflected trees, leaves, and clouds marble the liquid surface, undulating and smoothing in unique patterns. I didn’t grow up around lushness. My hometown, Spokane, has great rivers and lakes, but for some reason, water reflections never drew me as a painting subject until I moved to the west side of the mountains.

eARTh

Nancy Canyon’s acrylic paintings depict the mirrored surfaces of ponds, lakes, and streams. A member of the Morgan Block Studios in Fairhaven, Nancy teaches art and writing through Whatcom Community College’s Community Education program and in her studio, which can be visited as part of the Whatcom Artist Studio Tour.

Clockwise from left: Tennant Lake Reflection; Falls Reflection; Purple Bloom, Lake Padden; Reflection on Padden Creek

Mountain goats are common visitors to the Sahale Glacier camp

nestled in a stone basin. The tarn’s surface reflects glacier and peak, blue sky and white cloud. We strip off our clothes and submerge ourselves in the icy clear water.

Afterwards we sprawl on the smooth

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rocks, drying in the warm sun.

My companion wanders off, exploring among the rainbow-hued rocks and I sit beside the tarn, enjoying the picture-perfect reflection of Horseshoe

A room with a view: Sahale Glacier camp

Peak in the still waters. Clouds are gathering among the peaks and a river of mist flows beneath us through Cascade Pass. It rises atmospherically up the steep valleys like dry ice in a

low-budget monster movie. A quintessential North Cascades spectacle.

We make our way back toward camp, completely alone on Sahale Arm. Not even any goats this evening. As the sun sinks toward the jumbled horizon, the landscape is bathed in impossibly golden light. In the distance Mt. Logan shines like a beacon.

The sun gone, we lean back in our Therm-a-Rest chairs beneath a nearly-full moon that bathes the rocky slopes below us in elegant gossamer light. Except for the occasional groaning of the restless glacier, the only sound is a thousand melodious variations on falling water, punctuated by

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occasional rock fall above camp as the mountain rearranges itself. The constant here (like everywhere else, actually) is change. Endless, relentless, inescapable change.

To sit, comfortably and quietly atop this stone parapet on a moon-sweetened night in the heart of the North Cascades is for me an extravagant joy. It’s a surprisingly warm evening but of course, it won’t be long until another fleeting summer has passed. Before you know it, the snows will return and this rocky moraine will be isolated from the world below, left to the melancholy wind and the

goats. As it should be.

Here and now the world is simple, comprised primarily of rock, ice, wind, silent stars, the scuttling of rockfall. I want to remember this

night and keep it under glass beside a little red hammer for emergencies to come in my life. Reluctantly, I zip myself into the tent and welcome whatever dreams may come. ANW

(360) 223-2501 icleanwhatcom.com Serving Whatcom County

GET HOOKED! BELLINGHAM BELLINGHAM kids traverse TRAVERSE June 26th September 17th

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Cascadia Gear: Essentials for your next Adventure Arc’teryx Gamma MX Softshell Jacket The ‘best of both worlds’ beauty of the softshell concept is simple - yet complicated. The idea is that softshell garments shed water, snow and wind and yet offer the comfort of stretchability and a ‘soft hand’.

The Arc’teryx Gamma MX lives up to this promise with style and the kind of bomb-proof construction that we’ve come to expect from Arc’teryx. Attention to detail is obvious - the water-resistant outer layer is breathable and the inner lining offers soft and cushy fleece. Five pockets hold all your stuff and a hem drawcord snugs it tight for extra warmth. And the Gamma MX is light, weighing in at only 1 lb., 4 oz.

More info: arcteryx.com

KEEN Logan Mid WP Hiking Boots KEEN’s Logan Mid WP Hiking Boots are yet another variation on the theme of comfortable - and sturdy - boots for backpacking. At just a whisker more than 2 lbs. per pair, they’re delightfully light and thanks to KEEN’s heel lock design they are easily adjustable to provide as much ankle support as you like.

The WP is shorthand for waterproof and like all KEEN footwear, they fit perfectly on those of us with wide feet. I broke them in on a weeklong backpacking trip in Utah’s Paria Canyon where a good portion of each day was spent walking in the calf-deep Paria River. Built of 100% synthetic materials, they were amazingly comfortable, and provided excellent traction even when saturated and covered with a thick coat of mud.

More info: www.keenfootwear.com

Black Diamond Alpine Ergo Trekking Poles Trekking poles are my knee’s best friends. When hauling a backpack up and down mountains, they provide support and stability - and help mitigate the impact on my aforementioned trail-weary knees. The new Alpine Ergo Poles from Black Diamond deliver on all counts - they’re strong (carbon fiber mid- and lower-shafts and aluminum upper), light (1 lb., 2 oz.) and the ergonomic design of the cork grips provides comfort as the miles glide by. They’re not the most compactable poles I’ve used - 30 inches when collapsed - but the dual Flicklock adjustment mechanisms are easy to use and rock-solid.

More info: blackdiamondequipment.com

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Gear Spotlight:

The Art (and Science) of Your Backpack

by Chris Gerston Someone asked me recently if ultra light gear has gotten too light; too weak to hold up to the rigors of outdoor adventures.

While there will always be some problems with manufacturing, ultra light gear requires extra care to avoid shredding it.

Zippers can’t be forced, pads can’t be thrown down on rocks, and backpacks need to be fitted and packed properly.

At Backcountry Essentials, we’ve gained a reputation for helping people find the right ski boots for comfort and performance. Similarly, we make sure that packs fit your needs, body, and style of adventure. If you already have a pack and have questions about how to make it more comfortable, come in for a free fit check. Otherwise, here are a few tips for how to adjust and pack your load.

Your pack is designed to carry the weight on your hips. First, loosen all the straps, then tighten the hip belt till 80% of the load is on your hips. Snug the shoulder harness to keep the pack upright, followed by the sternum strap. Finally, the load lifters at the top of your shoulders balance the pack and allow weight to be shifted to relieve different muscle groups throughout the day.

Also, how you pack your gear makes a huge difference in how it carries. The bottom third is for lightweight bulky items, like your sleeping bag. The middle third is where you carry your heaviest items, preferably closest to your torso. The top third is for quick access items like lunch, rain gear, etc.

The Osprey Exos 48 is an excellent example of a superlight pack that is still comfortable even with a load of up to 40 pounds. And finally, remember that backpacking, even with ultra light gear, takes training for your body to get used to, but, oh, the places you’ll go . . . it’s worth it!

Chris Gerston owns Backcountry Essentials, an outdoor specialty shop located at 214 W. Holly in Bellingham, WA. Check out more gear reviews by Chris Gerston at AdventuresNW.com

Summer Reading ‘Inside’ by Susan Marie Conrad Susan Marie Conrad’s new memoir, Inside (Epicenter Press) is rife with metaphors. Conrad traces a mostly solo journey that she undertook in 2010, paddling her kayak from Anacortes, WA. to Juneau, Alaska. It was a pilgrimage that covered 1200 miles and 66 days of her life, but, as she so vividly recounts, it was a quest that transported her in other, even more momentous ways. The title refers to the Inside Passage through which she travelled as well as to the self-discoveries that she made along the way. Simply put, it was a journey that changed her life.

Inside joins paddling classics like Audrey Sutherland’s Paddling North in both its epic sweep and intimate beauty.

‘Back Seat with Fish’ by Henry Hughes Henry Hughes’ Back Seat with Fish (Skyhorse Publishing) describes his life-long love affair with angling - both in the traditional rod and reel sense, and in other more philosophical ways. Hughes is a celebrated poet and this, his prose debut, is rich with deeply personal stories and keenly-rendered observations about the nature of living an open-hearted and unfettered life. He recounts his journey from boyhood on Long Island: a quest for self-knowledge, love - and yes, fish that found him exploring cultures both familiar and strange.

But the real beauty of this memoir is his discovery of truth and meaning in the places and people that he encounters along the way. Back Seat with Fish is achingly honest and deftly captures the joy of a lifetime well spent.

Both Susan Marie Conrad and Henry Hughes are contributors to Adventures NW.

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Race I Play I Experience JUNE >>> Saturday, 4 June CYCLING Apple Century Bike Ride ––8:00 am – 4:30 pm. The Apple Century Bike Ride will be held June 4 and will take riders through the Wenatchee Valley’s orchard and wine country as well as to Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee.

The rides this year are 25 miles, 50 miles and 100 miles in length. We will again have pit stops — with food, refreshments and restrooms. The finish at Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee will feature lunch, music and a no-host beer garden.

WATER Learn to Row Day ––WRA Boathouse,10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Ever wanted to try an eight person shell, ala “Boys in The Boat”?

This is your chance. Come to Whatcom Rowing Association celebration of National

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Learn to Row Day on June 4th at the boathouse at Bloedel Donovan Park.

10 AM to 2 PM. Experience what it is like to row a sweep oar shell, get coached on proper rowing technique, meet local rowers who will show you the WRA boathouse. Refreshments served. No cost.

Sunday, 5 June SPECIAL Gap2Gap ––Gap2Gap, 8:00 am – 2:00 pm. Grab your Team of 2 to 5 or try it Solo. Adult race Sunday June 5: Trail Run 3 miles, Road Bike 18 miles, off Road Bike 8 miles, Water Course 3 miles, Run Course 3.2 miles. Kids Race Saturday June 4: Run, Bike, Kayak, Obstacle Course and Steeple Chase. All participants will be entered to win!

Adult Bike and Child’s Bike will be given away. Donated by Valley Cycling.

RUN/WALK Race for the Cure–– Seattle Center, 8:00 am – 11:30 am.

Celebrate survivors, remember those we’ve lost to the disease, and support the breast cancer fight.

4 June - 12 June

Friday - Sunday, 10-12 June SPECIAL ANW Photography Workshop ––Diablo Lake Learning Center, 4:00 pm – Jun 12 @ 12:00 pm.

Join John D’Onofrio, publisher and editor of Adventures NW Magazine and widely-published nature photographer, and Alan Sanders, a photography instructor and digital imaging specialist, for a workshop in North Cascades National Park designed to inspire you to take your photography to the next level. Info at ncascades.org

Saturday, 11 June RUN/WALK Race Beneath The Sun 5 mile––Fairhaven Park, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Join us for the Race Beneath the Sun, a 5 mile race and 1/2 mile kids fun run at Fairhaven Park in Bellingham.This race takes place Saturday June 11, 2016 at 10:00 am, with the kids run starting 15 minutes earlier.The 5 mile course is mostly trail.

CYCLING Lake to Lake Bike Ride

––Lake Hills Park, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm.

Enjoyable, non-competitive recreational ride for the whole family. Two loops; a mostly flat 9-mile route; and a more challenging 22-mile route. Routes are about 80% on-road and 20% off-road (small gravel).

Routes travel to and through Bellevue’s award winning park system exploring hidden treasures of Bellevue. Benefits the City of Bellevue youth camp scholarship fund. Entry fees are low.

First 300 to register receive a custom t-shirt. Many goodies at post ride fest.

Ages 9+.

Sunday, 12 June RUN/WALK 17th Edge to Edge Marathon––Ucluelet, BC, 7:00 am – 2:00 pm. Run Wild on a course that covers the Wild Pacific Trail and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Runners can choose the full or half marathon, or put together a 4-person team for the relay event. New for 2016 is a 10km course

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12 June (cont.) - 28 August around the Lighthouse Loop, with great views of the ocean and the rocky coastline. All races cross a variety of terrains and enjoy spectacular west coast views. For more details visit edgetoedgemarathon.com.

Monday, 20 June SPECIAL Girls on the Run Summer Camp ––Lake Padden Park, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. Girls will learn life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. One week camp.

Sunday, 26 June SPECIAL Bellingham KIDS Traverse ––Squalicum Creek Park, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Get Hooked on the Bellingham KIDS Traverse, a fun relay race that celebrates the journey of wild salmon. 6 – 12 year olds form solo, tandem and relay teams to run, bike and compete on an obstacle course through Bellingham’s Squalicum Creek Park. The course includes a Run, Mountain Bike, Obstacle Course, Team TREK.

JULY >>> Saturday, 9 July RUN/WALK 50th Annual Chuckanut Foot Race ––Marine Park, 9:00 am – 11:00 am. This point-to-point, seven-mile trail race starts at Marine Park in south Bellingham and finishes at Larrabee State Park, the oldest state park in Washington. The course follows the legendary Interurban Trail, which

threads through the Chuckanut Mountains and features gorgeous views of Chuckanut Bay and the San Juan Islands There is a finish-line party at Larrabee State Park that will include live music, food, and drink. Go to our website for more information: http://gbrc.net/ chuckanut_footrace.php.

Passage and the North Cascades. Finish with a 3.8 mile run through forest trails at Community Park and on country roads. Event limit: 300 bikes. Chip timing and friendly volunteers. A great starter triathlon that folks return for year after year.

RUN/WALK Clear Lake Triathlon ––Clear Lake Beach, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. Iron person, Team & Youth Divisions on relatively flat course.

RUN/WALK WonderMud ––Hovander Homestead Park, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Whatcom Events is pleased to announce WonderMud (formerly known as Muds to Suds). We got great feedback from the participants of the Run last year and we listened! Acknowledging that 75% of our participants are women, we have decided to rename and rebrand, and make the run even

Saturday, 23 July CYCLING Tour de Whatcom ––7:30 am – 6:00 pm. The rides are awesome! You get to see everything: Mt Baker, Lake Whatcom, valleys, rivers, lush farmland, beaches and Puget Sound all in one fairly level ride. Free pictures too. We will have a special Tour de Whatcom backdrop located in the Bellingham Farmer’s Market in front of Boundary Bay Brewery.

Saturday, 30 July RUN/WALK Whidbey Island Triathlon ––10:00 am – 2:00 pm.

Scenic route starting with a 0.5 mile swim in a beautiful lake on South Whidbey Island. Leaving the lake, begin the “hilly” 19.5 mile bike ride on paved country roads with views of Saratoga

AUGUST >>> Saturday, 27 August

29 th Annual

2016

more family friendly. The funds raised from this year’s Wondermud will specifically go to the Lydia Place Transitional Housing Program.

Sunday, 28 August CYCLING Chuckanut Classic (formerly Chuckanut Century) ––Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro, 7:00 am – 5:00 pm. Join us for the Chuckanut Classic and ride one of the most scenic rides in Washington.

With many supported routes on beautiful low-traffic county roads, pick your distance ranging from 25, 50, 62, 100, or the double metric century of 124 miles. If you’d rather bring your family on a shorter guided ride, in 2016 we are adding a new family-friendly 10-mile jaunt with treats, entertainment, and other surprises for kids.

Saturday July 9 Iron Person & Relay .3-mile swim 14.8-mile bike 4-mile run

Plus a YOUTH TRI

(flotation devices allowed & parents encouraged to participate with their kids)

360-416-1350

parksrec@co.skagit.wa.us

skagitcounty.net/parks

Connecting Runners. Building Community. Giving Back.

2016

Jun 11, 2016: Race Beneath the Sun // Kids 1/2 Mile & 5 Miles July 9, 2016: Chuckanut Foot Race // 7 Mile Trail Run Sept 3, 2016: Lake Padden Relay // 4x2.6 Miles (Relay Event) Nov 19, 2016: Turkey Trot // 5K Dec 3, 2016: Fairhaven Frosty // 5K & 10K

2017

WHERE WILL YOU RUN?

Jan 2017: Lake Samish Runs // 6.5 & 13.1 Miles Feb 2017: Two For the Road // 5K Mar 2017: Padden Mudfest // 6 Mile Trail Run Apr 2017: HoneyWagon Runs // 4 & 13.1 Miles

Greater Bellingham Running Club • 10 Races • $30-$50 Annual Memberships • 501(c)(3) Non-Profit

event listings at AdventuresNW.com

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race I play I experience SEPTEMBER >> > Saturday, 3 September RUN/WALK Lake Padden Relays ––Lake Padden Park, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. 34 person 2.6 relay or individual 10.35 mile run around Lake Padden. Go to gbrc.net for more information.

Visit AdventuresNW.com for complete listings of Outdoor events throughout 2016

3 September - 24 September Sunday, 4 September SPECIAL Steve Braun Memorial Triathlon ––Orcas Island, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm. The Course: 1/2 mile swim in beautiful Cascade Lake 15 mile bike ride along a picturesque rural road 3.5 mile trail run around Cascade Lake. Visit www.friendsofmoran.com/sbmt for more details. Early registration ends September 1st!

Triathletes Fee: $45, Day of Registration: $55. TRI-Teams Fee: $90, Day of Registration: $120.

Saturday, 17 September SPECIAL Bellingham Traverse ––12:00 am – 5:00 pm. Get Hooked on the Vital Choice Bellingham Traverse, a fun relay race that celebrates the journey of wild salmon. Families, friends and local companies form solo, tandem and relay teams to run, bike and paddle through Bellingham’s scenic parks, winding trails and open waterways. The course includes a Greenways Run (5.5 mi); Mountain Bike (6.0 mi); Road Bike (18 mi.); Trail Run (3.4 mi); Paddle (3.6 mi.); Team TREK (0.65 mi.).

Saturday, 24 September SPECIAL Island Quest AR––Roche Harbor, 6:00 am – 6:00 pm. From rugged coastline, to granite-capped mountains, the San Juans are truly an adventure racing paradise. You will navigate a series of checkpoints to make your way from start to finish on these Recreation (4 hr – 6 hr) and Expert (8 hr – 12 hr) team races. Where’s the course? You’ll get that information a half hour before the race begins! Join us for Island Quest AR. SPECIAL The Big Hurt––Port Angeles, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Multi-sport: Mountain bike, kayak, road bike, run. Solo or relay teams. Olympic Peninsula, WA.

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 all REI locations in Washington and Oregon as well as at numerous locations in the Vancouver, BC metro area and through races and events and at 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 audience

throughout the Pacific Northwest, and be part of one of the most valued and engaging publications in the region. Info is at AdventuresNW.com/advertise or by writing to ads @ AdventuresNW.com.

CONTRIBUTE Adventures NW welcomes original article queries—including feature stories,

expert advice, photo essays, the Next Adventures shot, etc. For information: AdventuresNW.com/ contribute.

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

Race|Play|Experience calendar and in our comprehensive on-line version. Visit AdventuresNW. com/submit-your-event to post events or contact ads @ AdventuresNW.com for details.

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the

Next

Adventure

Chain Lakes photo by APRIL CLAXTON It had been longer than I’d like to admit since I’d been hiking up near Mt Baker. Unsure how far my fitness would take me, I set a goal of simply exploring the trail and enjoying the day. With a steady pace and no pressure, I reached this stunning view over Chain Lakes. Tucked into a small group of trees, I soaked in the awe of the moment, the color of the snowy peaks, my love for this area and my excitement and commitment to keep spending time outside in this place I choose to call home.

See more of April’s photography at myplaceintheworld.net

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