Mount Baker Experience, Fall 2023

SUMMER guests enjoy great hiking, mountain biking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, backpacking, freshwater fishing (lake and river), small game hunting, white water rafting, kayaking, canoeing, and nature viewing.

WINTER guests enjoy spectacular downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and sledding. Don’t forget your camera…the photography is unsurpassed year-round!

IN BY THE SEA! BY THE SEA!

The perfect rubber-tire fall-getaway vacation that’s easy on the wallet!

• Adventure awaits! Experience Blaine By The Sea’s impressive hiking and biking trails this fall. Whether you’re seeking a heartpumping challenge or a serene escape, our trails offer something for everyone.

• Just 2-hours from Seattle & 1-hour from Vancouver, BC!

• Plenty of pristine beaches, waterfront playgrounds, and fabulous open-air restaurants to enjoy!

Blaine

Stay in Blaine!

by Pat Grubb

It’s the dog days of August 2023 and the skies are filled with smoke from the many wildfires burning in B.C. and Washington state. That’s what climate change means to residents of the Pacific Northwest. Bummer.

The climate isn’t the only thing that’s changing around here. Former Mount Baker Experience editor Ian Haupt has left the company and moved back to his hometown of Bend, Oregon. His tenure with the magazine saw major improvements in quality of editorial and photography and the industry awards the magazine received were proof positive of that. We were sorry to see him go but know he’ll be performing similar magic at another magazine soon. We wish him well. To replace Ian, we hired Nolan Baker, a Western Washington University school of journalism graduate who interned with us a few years ago. He’s an outdoor and sports enthusiast and we have complete confidence that he will continue where Ian left off.

s Nolan Baker.

MOUNT BAKER EXPERIENCE

Since 1986

Special publication of The Northern Light and All Point Bulletin

PUBLISHERS

Patrick Grubb and Louise Mugar EDITOR

Nolan Baker

PUBLICATION DESIGN

Doug De Visser

COPY EDITOR

Grace McCarthy

ADVERTISING DESIGN

Ruth Lauman • Doug De Visser

ADVERTISING SALES

Gary Lee • Molly Ernst

CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE: Erin Deinzer, Madeline Downie, Ethan Fritzberg, Grant Gunderson, Jason Hummel, Michael G. Impero, Aaron Knapp, Rich Lawrence, Jasmine Long, Jason D. Martin, Tony Moceri, Christian Murillo, Meg Olson, Madisun Tobisch, Luca Williams

EMAIL: info@mountbakerexperience.com

WEB: www.mountbakerexperience.com

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/mtbakerexperience

TWITTER: twitter.com/MB_Experience

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/mtbakerexp

If you can see Mt. Baker, you’re part of the experience. Mount Baker Experience is an outdoor recreation guide for and about the Mt. Baker region, distributed from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. and published by Point Roberts Press, Inc. Locally owned, the company also publishes TheNorthernLight, All Point Bulletin, Pacific Coast Weddings, Waterside and area maps.

Vol. XXXVII, No. 3. Printed in Canada.

©2023 POINT ROBERTS PRESS

225 Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230

TEL: 360/332-1777

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Winter 2023

Ads due: November 1

ON THE COVER

A waterfall hundreds of feet high, full of stair-stepped drops, born on high snowfields and alp slopes, presents Jenny Abegg with a view to ogle over while fording.

CONTRIBUTORS MBE Fall 2023

ERINDEINZER

Erin Deinzer has worked as a copywriter, travel writer, and editor, and would one day like to ghostwrite an autobiography. As a recently-minted PNW resident, she enjoys exploring her adopted home as well as off-thebeaten path destinations around the world. Planning for Halloween is her favorite pastime, and wherever she celebrates holidays is her happy place.

MADELINEDOWNIE

Maddie is a rock climber and skier who lives in the Cascades on the weekends. She lives in Bellingham with her partner, Adam, and her rabbit, Fab. During the week, she works as the assistant manager at VITAL climbing gym.

ETHANFRITZBERG

Originally from Seattle and now based in Bellingham, Ethan is a lifelong photographer and avid watersports enthusiast. When he’s not out wing foiling in Bellingham Bay, you can find him around the harbor with his dog, Ranger.

GRANTGUNDERSON

One of the ski industry’s preeminent photographers, Grant has shot for every major snow sports and outdoor publication worldwide. Grantgunderson.com

JASONHUMMEL

Jason is an outdoor adventure photographer based in Gig Harbor. He’s currently working to ski every named glacier in Washington state. Find his stories and imagery at Jasonhummelphotography.com

MICHAELIMPERIO

Michael G. Impero has lived his whole life in Whatcom County, and has acquired a vast knowledge of the upper North Fork of the Nooksack River. He has written numerous books on the history of the region, including The Lone Jack, 2007; Dreams of Gold, 2010; and The Grand Lady of Mount Baker, 2015

JASMINELONG

Jasmine is a Bellingham-born creative with Olympic Peninsula roots. Owner of Mildcat, a modern art, photography and design collective. A lover of Mt. Baker and avid snow sport enthusiast. Find her online @mildcatcreative and mildcat.org

JASONMARTIN

Jason is the executive director at the American Alpine Institute, a mountain guide and a widely published outdoor writer. He lives in Bellingham with his wife and two kids.

TONYMOCERI

Tony is a freelance writer who loves to get out and explore the world with his family. He shares his journey @adventurewithinreach and tonymoceri.com.

MEGOLSON

Meg is the co-owner of the Kingfisher Bookstore in Coupeville, which has a bit of everything but specializes in the natural and human history of the Pacific Northwest. She likes to explore, in person or on pages.

LUCAWILLIAMS

Luca Williams is a certified rolfer in Glacier. She helps snowboarders, skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts get aligned and free of pain.

Website: lucasrolfing.com

Blog: movingwithgravity.wordpress.com

Jason Hummel photo

Newsroom

Notes big and small from around the region

Two New Restaurants Open In Glacier

Two new restaurants are open for business this summer in the mountain town of Glacier. Gunners Tex-Mex BBQ just opened its doors at 9990 Mt. Baker Highway, the former Heliotrope/Milanos building, this August, and Graham’s Bar and Restaurant, at 9989 Mt. Baker Highway, officially reopened on August 4 after a long hiatus due to a change in ownership. They both hope to feed the throngs of skiers and snowboarders that will ascend to the resort town this winter with heaping portions and cold drinks.

Glacier has a year-round population of just 188 people but explodes in temporary population every winter to serve as the last stop before world-famous Mt. Baker Ski Area. That can make for a rather boom and bust environment for the restaurants and bars that stay open year around.

Graham’s has been around in one form or another since 1974, and that longevity has given it an important spot in the hearts of those who know and love Glacier.

“This restaurant is like a living, iconic presence in the community of Glacier,” co-owner Joelle Adams said. “And it means so much to so many people.”

Now open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner and drinks from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Graham’s is also hosting live music. On Saturday, September 2, Graham’s will feature three local bands playing all night for whoever stops by.

Gunners Tex-Mex BBQ is brand new in Glacier and hopes to entice travelers and locals with classic BBQ options like brisket, tri-tip steak and pulled pork. They also specialize in street tacos with mouth-watering options like smoked brisket, smoked carnitas, and roasted butternut squash tacos.

wing it

Newsroom Notes big and small from around the region

Continued from page 9

September Eat Local Month

September is Eat Local Month in Whatcom County. With the help of Sustainable Connections, a community organization that emphasizes access to fresh, local, affordable food, there will be events all month centered on the agricultural bounty in northwest Washington.

September 1-9 is “Market Week,” where grocers, fishmongers, farmers and others share their first fall harvests with the community. Bike Northwest’s bike tours begin this month, and take participants around rural Whatcom County, tasting and sipping on what the agriculture industry has to offer, while biking.

After that comes “Farm Week,” highlighted by the Whatcom County Farm Tour on September 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Twelve local farms will open their doors to allow a rich view of how the food you eat makes it to your table. Lydia’s Flock, Cloud Mountain Farm Center, Grace Harbor Creamery and Steensma Creamery are just a few selections to choose from. Learn more about the farm tour at bit.ly/3QYklkS

September 17-23 is “Restaurant Week,” where over 30 local restaurants will run special plates featuring at least 50 percent local ingredients. Support local food systems with a harvest salad from Aslan Brewing, featuring Lummi Island Wild Co-op reefnet-caught sockeye salmon, or a pork and posole stew at Pepper Sisters with pork from Skagit River Ranch. Lastly, finish off the month with “Seafood Week” from September 24-30. Bike Northwest is putting on a “Fish and Chips Bike Tour,” stopping by Lummi Seafood market for fresh salmon and other delicious treasures from the Salish Sea.

“We’re fortunate to have so many incredible chefs and farmers in this region,” said Jess Meyer, food and farming outreach coordinator for Sustainable Connections. “Eat Local Month is a celebration of all the connections that bring food from the farm to our plates – and the connections that bring us together.”

New Bridge Built at Larrabee State Park

Washington’s oldest state park received a much-needed facelift this past August, when construction was finally completed on an overpass bridge bestriding the Burlington Northern

Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad track at Larrabee State Park.

The previous trail to Clayton Beach, one of the state park’s rare sand beaches, used to spit hikers, kayakers and beachgoers directly onto the railroad tracks. Countless people would trespass through BNSF land to access the beach, while the trains kept rolling through the low visibility turn that is Clayton Beach.

Now, after months of work that began in November 2022, the bridge and beach are finally open, along with a half-mile of new trails. Construction work was completed with the help of EarthCorps, which also planted 1,300 native plants along the unofficial trails created over the decades of people accessing the beach.

“This (project) is in line with our agency’s mission and goals to protect the natural and cultural resources in this special area,” said park ranger and area manager Amber Forest in a statement to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

The new bridge also comes along with two boardwalks and a smaller bridge that gaps a stream, all to help keep people on the trail and off the fragile coastal ecosystem.

Washington’s first state park was originally named Chuckanut in 1915 but changed to Larrabee in 1923 in honor of Bellingham business tycoon Charles Larrabee, who donated thousands of acres of waterfront Samish Bay property to the state’s park commission.

More than 100 years later, with the help of grants from the recreation and conservation office and state parks capital program, Larrabee State Park looks set to continue showcasing beautiful views of the Salish Sea for years to come.

Gravel Adventure Field Guide Helps To Aid Mountain Bikers

Entering almost any bike shop in Bellingham this summer, it’s not easy to miss those little blue booklets that seem to dot countless workbenches and newsstands.

The new “Gravel Adventure Field Guide” for Bellingham and Whatcom County is part of a series of booklets to provide easy access to information and accessible – if daunting –mixed-surface bike rides.

Gravel Adventure Field Guide is the name of the series of guidebooks, all featuring GPS accessible gravel routes, history of the region, and short stories. The series of guidebooks feature beautiful natural regions from across the country, all with their own signature aesthetic.

Bellingham’s field guide gets an eye-popping sea blue background, with an eagle soaring over a quintessential Mt. Baker backdrop. The Chihuahua Desert in Southern New Mexico guide has a curious-looking roadrunner darting in front of a bike on a pastel pink cover. The Roanoke and Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia get a bashful baby bear straddling tucked handlebars. But besides how nice the guides will look in your backpack, the guides are full of great routes for all abilities, with planning and guidance taken from “a host of local Bellingham cycling enthusiasts.” From a 17-mile “Bellingham Gravel Tour,” to the 100-mile “Baker Lake Century,” there is surely something that will get your legs moving and blood pumping.

Bellingham guidebooks can be found at most bicycle shops around town, and more info can be found at graveladventureguides.com/bellingham-wa

More news on page 17

The Sourdough Mountain Fire

By Nolan Baker Photos courtesy North Cascades Institute

In the early morning hours of July 29, a lightning bolt struck a tree in the remote slopes of Sourdough Mountain, deep in the North Cascades National Park. This mountain was similar to the many that riddle the park: craggy, remote, beautiful and full of kindling, dried out from an especially hot summer.

But Sourdough Mountain is unique in that when it lights ablaze, like it did from that fateful lightning strike, it has the chance to destroy two of the most popular lakes in the park – Diablo and Ross – two hydroelectric dams that power the city of Seattle, the town of Newhalem, and the North Cascades Institute’s (NCI) Environmental Learning Center campus.

As of the date of publication, recreation on both lakes has been closed for weeks, State Highway 20 has closed and reopened thrice, and countless trails and campsites in the park are closed, likely for the remainder of the year.

Nearly a month after it started, the Sourdough Mountain Fire has burned through over 6,000 acres of forest. Critical infrastructure like the hydroelectric dams and the town of Newhalem have been spared, but the fire looks set to continue well into September, according to updates provided by Northwest Incident Management Teams 8 and 10.

“The United Nations for the North Cascades”

A wildfire does not adhere to the invisible borders that categorize one section of the forest belonging to the National Park Service, or Seattle City Light, or the state department of transportation. It just burns the fuel ahead of it. This has forced multiple agencies across county, state and federal jurisdictions to constantly work together to manage the burn.

In December 1968, Washington state governor Daniel J. Evans created the North Cascades Reconnaissance Task Force to serve as a forum for the future development and protection of the newly minted park. It was a response to the bitter political battle that arose during the transition of the North Cascades from a national forest into a national park.

In his 1998 book “Contested Terrain,” author David Louter says the task force was needed as a level playing field for the kaleidoscope of interested

parties involved in the area.

“One might think of it as Washington State’s version of the United Nations for the management of the North Cascades,” Louter wrote.

That same task force (still in existence for nearly six decades) was called into action during the Sourdough Mountain wildfire.

Representatives from firefighting crews, Seattle City Light, WSDOT, NCI, and the National Park Service have been in 24/7 contact to manage the blaze, exactly as the task force intended.

“Containment”

By July 31, just two days after the fire was first reported to authorities, “hotshot” firefighting crews from eastern Washington were called in to aid ground and air crews combatting the rapidly growing blaze.

The treacherous combination of high winds, a dry summer creating abundant fuel, and the remote location of the fire created a scenario where putting out the fire was not an option, according to Northwest Incident Management Team 10 (NWIMT10). The goal, and vocabulary, of the firefighting effort was always “containment.”

Neither NWIMT10 nor Team 8 that relieved them of their duties on August 19 expects the fire to be extinguished by their efforts alone. The fire can only be monitored and contained, “until it can be extinguished by an end-of-season event such as a significant fall or winter storm,” an August 19 NWIMT8 update stated.

“Direct intervention poses an unacceptable risk to firefighter safety.” NWIMT8 said in a press release.

By August 15, the fire had burned through 2,953 acres of forest. A total of 444 personnel were on site trying to manage the fire. With the aid of seven helicopters, 20 fire engines, and seven hand crews, NWIMT10 were able to contain 11 percent of the blaze, predominantly on the southern front that most immediately threatened SR20, the hydroelectric dams, Newhalem, and the Environmental Learning Center (ELC).

“Follow the forest”

Eric Buher is program director for the North Cascades Institute, an education nonprofit organization that serves as an “outdoor classroom” for all ages of folks in the Pacific Northwest.

Buher was working in NCI’s Environmental Learning Center – a field campus inside the national park – and said his crew was monitoring the fire like they do every summer. But as this fire crept nearer to their forest sanctuary, Buher knew this one was different.

“It started to feel more intimidating,” Buher said. “Particularly because it was on the hillside directly above the access road between the dam and our space. The concern grew that it could block us in and prevent us from escaping in any way except loading everyone onto canoes.”

On August 3, NCI got the call to evacuate the center, and Buher had the job of informing the roughly 15 employees who live and work in the ELC that they were leaving, unable to say when they could return. Or if there would be anything left to return to.

“We have had to lay off some staff going into the fall,” Buher said. “Because we know that what we’re going to be able to do is not that same as it used to be. That’s been hard. We’re looking to make the best that we can out of a bad situation, but it won’t be the same fall that we had planned.”

The North Cascades Institute was founded in 1986 by a group of North Cascades National Park Rangers that wanted to drum up support for the relatively new park. Mt. Rainier has enjoyed the dedication of “National Park” since 1899, and Olympic since 1938.

NCI operated entirely out of the field until the learning center was built in 2005. In the nearly 20 years since, Christian Martin, communications director for NCI, lists avalanches, rockslides, the pandemic, and “smoke-outs” all as causes for the ELC’s past closures.

“It’s in a remote, rugged, wild place, and we’re a bit accustomed to nature having a say,” Martin said. “We’ve incorporated that into our business model and our safety and risk management.”

As of August 28, the fire continues to burn north into the alpine terrain of the park, and firefighters have established a southern front along State Highway 20. To date, the fire has consumed 6,000 acres of protected forests and has forced the closure of nearly the entire North Cascades National Park.

Never has a summer wildfire forced the closure of the ELC for the rest of the calendar year. That is, until now.

The NCI board of directors released a statement in late August announcing the closure of the learning center for the remainder of 2023, citing revenue lost during what should have been peak season, and the failure to find alternative sites on short notice.

“We have all these steps to carry out before we can welcome guests,” Buher said. “So even if we could go in tomorrow and start that work, we wouldn’t expect to see things operational before the middle of October. And we aren’t getting in tomorrow. We probably aren’t getting in for a while.”

Eric Buher had another tough job of calling the dozens of elementary school principals in Whatcom and Skagit counties that enroll their 4th and 5th graders into NCI’s “Mountain School.”

The school is an opportunity for kids to get out in nature and learn more about the ecosystem that they’ve grown up in, Martin said. It’s a chance to learn about the science behind climate change and how it impacts the fragile glacial ecosystem of the North Cascades. This year, however, the lesson came a bit too close to the schoolhouse.

“We’re teaching about climate change and its impacts on our planet to high school students and then we’re looking out our back door and saying, ‘there it is,’” Martin said. “[Climate change] is happening now. For any of our staff and our students, it’s not a hypothetical, scientific proposition; it’s bearing down on Diablo Lake and all of the North Cascades in real time. It’s very, very scary.”

Although there won’t be any Mountain School, or famous boat tours of Ross Lake put on by Skagit Tours, or hiking the numerous trails scorched or cut off by the blaze, or enjoying campfires anywhere in the park, NCI’s program director Eric Buher still sees this as an opportunity for learning.

There are multiple species of tree residing in the North Cascades that evolved specifically to take advantage of the openings that a wildfire provides, Buher said. The metaphor isn’t lost on him.

“This is hard, and it’s painful to go through,” Buher said. “But coming out the other side, there’s opportunities for new growth and new exploration that we can do. We want to follow the forest and find that way through.” x

Cultural Bias in Risk Management

By Jason D. Martin

iversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) trainings teach us about biases that society has programmed into us. The trainings are meant to help us understand these biases in order to overcome them. But unfortunately, wilderness risk management training seldom takes this kind of bias into account.

When bias is discussed in wilderness risk management, it is explored from the perspective of decision-making. Heuristics are the processes from which we make decisions by using mental shortcuts that are influenced by an individual’s unconscious – and sometimes conscious – biases. When these biases influence us to make a potentially dangerous decision, this is referred to as a heuristic trap.

The research indicates that there are several heuristic traps that can impact decision-making in outdoor adventure recreation.

Familiarity Bias

This is where we develop a deep level of comfort in a given area. We know the area well. We’ve recreated in the area a lot. In the back of our minds, we believe it’s unlikely anything bad will happen there.

For backcountry skiers in our area, this is Bagley Basin. For rock climbers, this might be Mt. Erie.

Consistency Bias

Sometimes, after an initial decision has been made, it’s easier to stick with that decision than it is to make an error correction. For example, descending onto a potential avalanche slope where taking off skis and hiking uphill will be much harder than going down. It’s always easier to stay committed, even if it can be the more dangerous decision.

Social Acceptance Bias

When we engage in activities that we think will get us noticed by those we like and respect, we are leaning into a social acceptance bias. The mountain biker might do a jump that’s too technical in order to be noticed by his friends. The climber might go a little too far without adequate protection. In each case, a person may be doing this to be seen, liked and accepted by their group.

The Expert Halo

Sometimes there’s a formal or informal expert in the group. In some cases, the person earned this role as an expert; but in other cases the person is just more assertive. Regardless, if a group perceives a person as an expert, they may not speak up when something appears dangerous. They assume the expert will mitigate the hazard.

Social Facilitation

Sometimes people engage in risky behavior in a group that they wouldn’t engage in alone, because there are people

around them. The need to impress is strong, and group dynamics can often degrade common sense.

Scarcity Bias

When a resource is scarce (e.g. powder for skiers), people will engage in risky behavior to be “first.” In some cases, basic safety protocols are not addressed.

Non-Event Feedback Loops

Sometimes people say that they’ve always done something a certain way, and since there’s never been a problem, they believe that what they’re doing is safe. Unfortunately, when this is pointed out, some are unwilling to change. This can be particularly true with men and people in leadership positions.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

When an individual has a little bit of knowledge, they can occasionally conflate that with expertise. This is particularly true when the individual is the only person that has had some training in a particular type of adventure outdoor recreation.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect can easily be combined with an unearned expert halo, creating a heuristic trap that could impact a group as negatively as a landmine.

Cultural Bias in Outdoor Adventure Risk Management

Cultural biases are a combination of conscious and unconscious biases that we learn throughout our lives. These are biases that we’re intentionally and unintentionally taught through our upbringing, our education, our media choices and through the communities that we exist within. These are the biases that are more commonly explored in traditional diversity, equity and inclusion training.

Though there has never been a definitive study, anecdotally there is strong evidence that cultural biases – especially unconscious biases – may enhance heuristic traps in outdoor recreation.

Following is an abbreviated list of potential cultural biases:

• Racial Bias - bias for or against a person due to their racial makeup or the color of their skin.

• Gender Bias – bias for or against a person due to their gender.

• Socioeconomic Bias – bias for or against a person due to their real or perceived socioeconomic status.

• Agism Bias – bias for or against a person due to their age.

• Weight Bias – bias for or against a person due to their weight or physical fitness.

• Disability Bias – bias against those who are differently

abled. This bias may include mental health or addiction.

• Heteronormative Bias – bias for those who fit into heteronormative stereotypes and against LGBTQ+ people.

• Religious or Political Bias – bias for or against a person due to their religion and/or politics.

Each of these may be viewed on a spectrum. For example, one might have a deeper racial bias against a person of color with darker skin than a person of color with lighter skin.

So that brings us back to heuristic traps and cultural bias. Imagine a situation where a group of skiers is trying to decide whether or not to ski a slope given the potential avalanche hazard in the area.

One common refrain in the backcountry ski world is, “everyone has a veto.” In other words, if someone feels uncomfortable, they can call the trip and the team will turn around. But if there are unknown cultural biases stacked on top of classic wilderness risk management biases, it may make the decision to turn back much harder.

Imagine a group that includes six men and one woman. Without knowing anything else about the group dynamics or their interpersonal relationships, how likely is it that all of the men will immediately respect a veto if it comes from the woman, if she feels uneasy in the setting? What if it’s an LGBTQ+ person? A young person? A person who struggled with their fitness? And what if the person checks more than one box, if there’s intersectionality? In addition to that, we must ask if one of these people would even speak up given the cultural dynamics of their identity?

Though every classic wilderness bias listed here has some cultural bias within it, the social acceptance bias, the expert halo and the Dunning-Kruger effect are much more deeply affected by cultural bias than the others.

Those who have a perceived lower cultural status may wish for acceptance by the group by making risky decisions or tolerating a higher level of risk than they would normally be comfortable with. Conversely, a well-intentioned person may push an individual to do something dangerous to help that person change their perceived status in the group.

It is no secret that our culture has an unconscious (and often conscious) bias toward older, white, cisgender, heterosexual males. This allows them to fall into both the expert halo realm where others perceive that they have a higher skill level than others – whether earned or not – as well as into the Dunning-Kruger realm, where they think that they have a higher skill level than they actually have.

So What Can We Do About This?

There’s some evidence that affinity programs (programs specifically for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc.) decrease learned cultural biases in a group. Some people certainly feel safer speaking up about potential hazard in affinity groups.

It is important to note that affinity does not completely eliminate cultural bias as a potential heuristic trap. Many people are intersectional and live in multiple spaces where there’s bias. Affinity cannot erase all of these potential cultural biases.

Smaller groups where people know one another well are always better at making decisions in outdoor adventure recreation. The longer people know one another, and the more they recreate together, the less likely they are to lean on cultural bias when making risk management decisions.

When it comes to smaller groups of people who don’t know one another well, or larger facilitated groups, it is imperative that people understand all the common biases that lead us into heuristic traps. Noting these biases exist and creating a culture where everyone really does have a veto, can increase the margin of error in outdoor adventure risk management decision-making.

The impact of cultural bias on other heuristic traps is a relatively new thing and will need continued study. Unfortunately, the best way to study this is to study accidents and their aftermath. The hope here is that those of you reading this will become aware of the issue and will not be a statistic in a future study. x

Jason Martin nears the summit of Mt. Rogers.

Photo: Jim Mediatore

Mountain woman: SUMMITING MT. OLYMPUS

Proving yourself as the only woman in the group

By Madeline Downie

After driving six or so hours from Bellingham to the Hoh Rainforest Campground in Olympic National Park, I was happy to be out of the car and stretching my legs. It was still early morning, and while I and the three guys I was with finished securing our ice axes and helmets to our packs and lacing up our boots, other campers filtered in and out of the bathroom, paying little attention to us.

As we started to make our way to the trailhead, I fell briefly behind the boys, trying to untangle my headphones, and by the time I’d caught back up, they had been stopped by a chatty older man leaning over the bed of his white Ford F250. He noticed me approaching, quickly did the math in his head as I stopped to join them, and blurted out, “Oh, there’s a girl?”

I want to say that it escaped his mouth before he could stop it, mostly by the way that he cheesed up his smile when I met his eyes. He had a short white beard, leather skin and a provolone grin. And he held eye contact when I acknowledged him.

As we left the parking lot and headed into the woods, I tried to brush the comment off, but it stuck with me, like a nagging in the back of my head as we fell into the brisk pace that would get us through the next 15 miles to camp.

The boys and I were there to summit Mt. Olympus, the glaciated and most prominent peak in the Olympic Mountains. At 7,969 feet, it’s a baby compared to its volcanic neighbors, about 3,000 feet lower than Mt. Baker. However, unlike Baker, Olympus is hidden in the middle of the Olympic Rainforest.

The approach just to the Blue Glacier on the north side of the mountain involves about 18 miles of wet, gray, hiking along the Hoh River, which is enough to deter many from summiting it. Jeff Smoot, in his “Climbing Washington’s Mountains,” mentions the “blisters, cramps, and shoulder-strap bruises” that come with the “trudge up the trail to the base camp at Glacier Meadows,” then the aches and pains of the next day’s summit. All this suffering for a mountain you can’t even point out on a clear day; it was mythical in that way, and I wanted to be on top of it more than anything else.

But several miles into the trek and I couldn’t shake the old man’s observation. That’s the thing about it: It wasn’t insulting, so I couldn’t get mad about it. It was simply just a fact. I was the only girl of the group, and apparently it was noticeable. Noticeable in a way that made me self-conscious.

I began to get anxious. Suddenly, I felt like I had to prove that I could be there. But it wasn’t like I was accomplishing

anything new or great by being part of that team. I was certainly far from the first woman to summit Mt. Olympus, but as any woman in the climbing and mountaineering world knows, it’s an uphill battle to be seen as equal in the sport. Mountaineering was originally a man’s sport; in fact, Albert F. Mummery, an early English mountaineer in the Victorian era, gave Alp Mountains three difficulty levels: inaccessible peaks, the hardest climbs in the alps, and an easy day for a lady. Mummery believed that once a mountain had been summited by a woman, it was no longer considered difficult. Though much has changed in terms of equality in the sport since then, it’s hard not to notice the small remains of that belief that’s been left behind in the mountaineering community.

And, to make matters worse, I became increasingly self-conscious that one of the guys in our team was my partner. I started to question my own sanity: Am I just the girlfriend along for the ride?

By the fifth mile, my mind was set: I had to prove myself. I was not going to be just the girl or the girlfriend, I was going to keep up, no, out-do my male counterparts.

So, I picked up my pace. No matter how quickly they hiked, I was right on their heels. I jumped at the opportunity

Maddie balances on a thin log while crossing a creek about a mile from camp on day one.

to filter water for the group during our breaks at the river. I traversed slick log crossings without giving away my nervousness. I made a point to swallow my tiredness and not let it surface.

Even after making it to camp, my feet throbbing and swollen from the 15-mile trek, I made sure to pull my fair weight by helping pitch the tent, filter more water from the river and boil it for our freeze-dried meals. You know, all the tasks that any helpful team member does to help the operation go smoothly. But, paranoid, I assumed all eyes were on me to see if I would step up and do so or if I was going to let the boys pamper me.

The next day, summit day, was much of the same: I pushed myself to keep up and keep quiet. This time, with the elevation gain, I couldn’t keep the exhaustion and nerves from creeping up into my face at each new obstacle. I kept my

concerns to myself over having to descend the long, wooden ladder that was suspended just off the ground all the way down a massive landslide that carried away the trail in 2011. It tipped and wobbled like a rope course in a waterpark with each step I made.

After the ladder, we crossed what was left of a melting snow bridge over a creek. In my wobbly post-ladder daze, I stepped onto a thin piece of snow and went crashing through into the creek. In my fall, I caught my thumb between my trekking pole and a large rock. I yelled out in pain and immediately regretted it, pushing my partner away when he rushed over to help me. Desperate to escape the situation, the embarrassment of my poor decision, I dashed out in front of him and into the woods. There, I felt my chest tighten, and I caught my hands on my knees. Overwhelmed, I thought to myself, you can’t do this. Not here. Not now. Not as the girl.

For the rest of the climb, my thumb throbbed with my heartbeat, quickening as we went up and up and up. On the glacier, we passed by foot-wide crevasses and through thick, white-out mist until the base of the final climb to the summit. The last 150 feet consisted of a low-fifth class rock climb. I followed behind the boys.

It seemed fitting that the top of that hidden mountain that the horizon would be nowhere to be found. Dense clouds filled in the space where the Hoh rainforest, the Pacific Ocean and the land on the eastern horizon should have been. And to everyone below us, we were invisible, non-existent. It felt bittersweet to know that the old man from the parking lot would never see that I did it, that I kept up all along. But, in those moments, before our rappel back onto the glacier, the top was just for me and the boys who probably didn’t care that I was a woman all along. x

The two rope teams take a brief break near the middle of the Blue Glacier as fog rolls in.

Washington Awards Nearly $190 Million For Outdoor Recreation and Conservation

Washington’s Recreation and Conservation Funding Board has awarded nearly $190 million in grants to support outdoor recreation and natural habitat conservation across the state this year.

The grants can range from a few thousand dollars to teach scout troops about horsemanship, to more than $14 million to a single Kittitas County ranch to preserve the surrounding wildlife, according to a July 18 release by the state Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO).

Northwest Washington counties have not been shorted on the allocation of these grants, according to recent funding reports provided by the state.

Whatcom County was awarded $5.4 million in RCO grants, San Juan County earned $6.4 million, Skagit County collected $1.2 million, and Island County was granted $1.5 million.

All told, the nearly $190 million doled out by the state will go towards protecting lands that are home to endangered and threatened plant and animal species, and to preserve the state’s storied agricultural and forestry legacy by funding farms and forests.

“These grants advance our priority to protect Washington’s world-class outdoor recreation offerings enjoyed by locals and travelers from across the globe,” said Governor Jay Inslee. “I’m proud of these investments. They will go a long way to ensuring Washington’s outdoor areas are healthy, open and usable by everyone.”

Multiple Fires Burn In North Cascades

The North Cascades, and specifically traffic along State Highway 20 (SR20) that bisects the national park, has been in a state of flux all summer due to a series of wildfires in the region.

The Sourdough Fire and Blue Lake fires have forced partial or full closure of certain portions of SR20 three times. As recently as August 26, the entire highway from milepost 120 in Newhalem to milepost 171 at the Silver Star Campground is closed off to allow firefighting crews to safely combat the fire.

The highway sits below countless mountaintops, and the fires have been eating away at vegetation, causing freak rockslides and boulders to careen onto the road, according to reports from incident management teams on the ground.

“The current suppression strategy involves obtaining full containment along the southern portion of the fire, which includes SR 20,” read an August 28 report from Northwest Incident Management Team 8.

A total of 157 personnel is currently on site to combat the fires along SR20, but the expecta tion is for the fires to be ultimately extinguished by fall rains.

For a deeper dive into the unfolding Sourdough Mountain fire, which has burned over 6,000 acres and forced the closure of most of North Cascades National Park, read our story on page 12.

Continued from page 11 More

NW Tune-Up

Livens Downtown Bellingham

Story and photos by Jasmine Long

Awarm breeze and a cold beer on a hot summer day in the Northwest give us pleasant memories to hold through our cold dark winters. Enjoying these pleasures amongst friends and live music is just the cherry on top. Northwest TuneUp gave everyone in attendance a little something to look back on with a smile and much to look forward to in the coming years.

This little festival has big aspirations and every indication of growing better and better year over year. From bluegrass to EDM, Sunday’s sets had a beautiful fluidity that could be felt throughout downtown. Onlookers gathered atop the overpass, every set, from diapers to gray hair – everyone dancing.

Talking to attendees and organizers, everyone was stoked. Tune-Up has tangible grassroots, homey charisma oozing through its atmosphere. With big names like STRFKR on stage and the intimacy of a smaller festival, getting up front to see your favorite musician isn’t a struggle.

Long gone is the need to commute to The Gorge or British Columbia to have an immersive festival experience, we’ve got it right here, without the traffic and stressful hours waiting to get through security. As the sun set on the final day, painting the sky pastel pink, young bikers flew through the pump track. With the massive mural painting beside the stage, you can feel something special blooming in Bellingham. x

Tumbling Down a Hillside with Holly Koon

by Luca Williams

Watching Holly Koon hike down a mountainside is kind of like watching someone roll a ball down a hill. She’s in free fall, trusting every footstep, no matter if the native blackberries get tangled in her feet. Suddenly, as she’s trekking through the duff in a forest of fir trees, she spots a Western Coralroot, a type of orchid. Squatting down, she brushes the magenta lip-like petals with her fingertip, “Look how beautiful,” she croons, then stands up, and continues her controlled tumble down the slope.

This sense of wonder and complete confidence in her ability to navigate the woods began early, while recreating and working in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula. Her mom worked as a nurse while her dad, who was mostly self-employed, made a living by diving commercially for sea urchins, salvaging logs from timber areas, and farming pigs, chickens, geese and cattle, Holly and her sister often worked alongside him.

When all she wanted to do was read book number 47 of the Nancy Drew Series, her dad had her chopping thistles to keep them from taking over their field. As a teenager, he’d hire her, her sister, and their friends to throw the bark and rotten wood off the logging roads after a helicopter picked up the salvaged wood that he had cut, stripped, and loaded in slings. When they weren’t working on the farm or in the woods, they hiked, backpacked, and picked mushrooms.

Holly’s childhood sounds larger than life. On Sunday, May 18, 1980, when her sister and her were teenagers in a town near Port Angeles, they woke up to a “boom.” Their dad yelled up the steps, “Hey, what the hell are you girls doing up there?’ When he discovered that they had been sleeping, he said, “There are two things I’ve never heard before: intercontinental missiles going off and the other one is a volcano.”

Photos courtesy Holly Koon

“The world is full of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

– Williams B. Yeats

Figuring that it was a volcano blowing up, he called up his best friend, a geology professor at a local college and a pilot. His friend, who had scientific clearance to fly around Mt. Saint Helens, took them in a four-seater plane to see the aftereffects of the explosion. Below them, the Toutle River was flooded with ash and debris while rescuers did their best to save livestock and people. Even with all the adrenaline of watching the devastation caused by the explosion, Holly could barely stay awake because the air was too thin at that elevation. Their pilot friend finally said, “We gotta turn around because nobody knows what volcanic ash does to the air filters of a plane.”

Seven years after the volcano exploded, Holly spent eight seasons, from 1987-1994, working as a wilderness firefighter and Hot Shot for the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. Working on fire crew during the summers taught her to push through pain, to navigate rough terrain, and to work with a crew, but it also gave her time to pursue her degrees in education and biology. As much as she deeply cares about the woods, she also deeply cares about people, and she wanted to share the wonders of the natural world with the teenagers at Mount Baker High School where she teaches biology.

For many years, she juggled teaching,

building a house in the woods with her husband, and raising their son with hiking, skiing, and rafting on their days off. Then Covid-19 hit. Like most people, Holly was forced to slow down. In her extra free time, she took more walks in the woods and became even more curious about the native plants and fungi that surrounded her entire life. They had always been there, waiting for her to revel in their magic in a deeper way. She watched the Western Coralroot’s life cycle. She learned more about the interconnection of the firs, cedars, fungi, and understory plants through books and online native plant groups. The more she got to know the fauna and flora in her backyard, the more important they became to her.

To feel connected to the natural world doesn’t mean it’s necessary to free-fall down a mountain side in a controlled tumble, or fly in an airplane around an exploding volcano, or even to vanquish a fire breathing dragon. To feel connected to nature means devoting time in a variety of ways. Holly’s life exemplifies this. When she’s not encouraging a sense of wonder and curiosity in her biology students, she works in the woods gathering firewood and food, shares adventures and recreates in nature with friends and family. And sometimes she just spends time in nature to revel in the beauty and mystery of the interconnection of all things. x

GALLERY

Opposite top: Fall color drapes the slopes of Sourdough Mountain, and leads the eye towards the turquoise waters of Diablo Lake and the glaciated peaks of the North Cascades. With the recent fires on Sourdough Mountain, these views will be changed for many years to come. Photo by Christian Murillo. Opposite Middle: KC Deane riding at Brundage Mountain in McCall, ID. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Opposite bottom: Photo by Christian Murillo. Below left: Jon Hansen riding the 5620 trail on Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Below middle: KC Deane and Jon Hansen biking in Bellingham, WA. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Below right: Zack Giffin (background) and Tess Grolling (foreground) backpacking the McKenzie River Trail, OR. Photo by Grant Gunderson.

Left: A harbor seal finds protection in a bull kelp forest at Deception Pass, while two gray whales swim by. Kelp forests are critical in the Salish Sea ecosystem not only for the habitat they provide, but also for the carbon they sequester. Photo by Christian Murillo. Top right: Kalen Thorien hiking in Zion National Park, UT. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Bottom right: Jenny Abegg enjoys a morning coffee, just as it should be enjoyed – on a chilly morning with a splash of sun and a spoonful of color. Glacier Peak Wilderness. Photo by Jason Hummel. Opposite left: Molly Baker (left) and Zack Giffin (right) backpacking near Appleton Pass in the Olympic National Park. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Opposite right top: John Ellings and Sarah Nelson prep morning coffee when and where it’s meant to be, at sunrise. Photo by Jason Hummel. Opposite right middle: Eric Brown, trail director of the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition, in Bellingham, WA. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Opposite right bottom: Jenny Abegg prepares for sleep with high peaks and stars for company. Photo by Jason Hummel.

Below left top: KC Deane biking in Bellingham, WA. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Below left middle: Alex Borsuk (right) and Matt Hasenohr (left) trail running in Ticino, Switzerland. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Below left bottom: Jess LeVee (left) and Ben Pippenger (right) running through Discovery Park, Seattle, WA. Photo by Grant Gunderson. Below right: The last light of the day strikes a serac on the Sulphide Glacier on Mt. Shuksan. The lighting is representative of the fleeting amount of time we have left to decrease our carbon footprint and preserve these alpine ecosystems. Photo by Christian Murillo. Opposite top: High ridge walking with the DaKobed Range and smoky haze low in the valleys. Photo by Jason Hummel. Opposite bottom: Carston Oliver and Brice Shirbach mountain biking in Verbier, Switzerland. Photo by Grant Gunderson.

Newsroom Notes

Continued from page 17

Bigfoot Festival Celebrates Maple Falls Park

The fourth annual “Bigfoot Festival” at Maple Falls Park was held in the foothills of Mt. Baker on August 5 to celebrate all things extremely local.

But the festival also served as a fundraiser to keep Maple Falls Park operational and a joy for the people of eastern Whatcom County.

The park was originally the site of the former Maple Falls Elementary School that was demolished in 2013. After the controlled burn, a new green space was opened up for the people of Maple Falls, and the decision of what to do with it came under the control of a non-profit called the Maple Falls Park Committee (MFPC).

MFPC collected over 130 signatures in support of building the park, which now serves as the only municipal park for not only the town of Maple Falls, but also for nearby Glacier and Kendall – neither of which have a park.

Bigfoot Festival was conceived to fund efforts to keep the park maintained, and now it just rang in its fourth year of “FUNdraising,” as their ads put it.

Thanks to the funds generated by four years of Bigfoot Fest, and the countless hours of volunteer work put in by the Mt. Baker foothills community, the park boasts a basketball court, kickball field, walking trail and bicycle pump track.

To donate for the upkeep of the park, go to maplefall

big and small from around the region

Forgotten Gold Mines of the North Fork

by Michael Impero

Jack Post of Sumas discovered gold on Bear Mountain in the North Cascades on August 23, 1897. There had been many previous claims filed in this area, but this was the first one that proved to be of real value.

A miner is preparing to go inside and start drilling for his day shift. The structure behind him was the compressor building where the bulk of all the hand tools were stored. Note the battery-operated headlamp and also no visible ear protection.

(M. Christy)

When this discovery was made public, the influx of men heading into the North Cascades in search of gold was unbelievable. A disadvantage of the late August discovery was that it was quite late in the season, and so the real gold rush would begin in 1898. A mining district was organized in the area and identified as the Mount Baker Mining District. The reason for the organization of these mining districts was that by doing so they could then somewhat govern themselves; and in some cases, they were so far removed from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office that this provided that the law be upheld.

Within the next year the gold rush town named Shuksan was created at the intersection of Swamp/Ruth Creeks and the Nooksack River. This little town grew quite rapidly, although no one having the knowledge on how to build structures that could resist the tremendous snowfall that they would receive became one of the biggest problems.

I believe within the next 10 years there had been over 6,000 mining claims filed in this area. There were only two which really proved to be of value: the first being the Lone Jack and the second one being the Boundary Red.

What follows are descriptions of four of the mines that turned out to be failures.

Nooksack Mine Stone Safe Put in place in 1910, the safe can still be found. (M. Impero)

Miner with Air Drill

GOLD RUN/ GARGETT MINE

It was midsummer, and the Gargett family picnic/reunion was being held at the Gargett farm. Three generations of family were present as was normal and when the feast was complete, the discussion turned to family history.

As usual the subject of the Gargett Mine came up as it almost always did, and the tales started to fly. The members noticed that Roy Gargett, the senior family member and driving force of the Gargett Mine, had tears in his eyes. Slowly, he stood, excused himself, and walked out into the field alone with his thoughts.

The third-generation family members continued to talk about all the years and money that was spent on the gold mine that did not produce one cent of return. They mentioned that Roy was saddened about the bad decisions that have been made concerning the mine.

After listening for a period of time, Marie Christy, daughter of Roy, cut into the discussion. “First, my dad is not upset by bad decisions or bitter over anything or his life at the mine. Dad has repeatedly stated that those years and all the effort at the mine were the best times of his life. To be in a beautiful alpine country and to wake each day to the magnitude of nature was unbelievable, and he would not have traded it for any other type of life. He is not bitter, but sad because his body could not make the hike; and he

knew that if he were to tunnel another 50 feet, he was sure that he would hit the vein.”

In 1901, the Gargett family had become involved in the mine and that involvement continued for 43 years. For all those years Roy Gargett was the driving force of the operation. In the beginning others owned the mine, but over time the Gargett family became the sole owner of the original, plus additional claims.

The operation was situated on the south side of Red Mountain, which later became known as Larrabee Mountain. It was one of the most inaccessible mines in the Mt. Baker Mining District.

The trip in and out from the town of Sumas where the Gargett family resided and operated the Gargett General Store was a major task. In the original days before the train, the trip involved horseback or horse and wagon to the Loop Ranch above Maple Falls, and from that point on it became either a walk or partial horseback ride. The early constructed trail went through Glacier to the small town of Shuksan, and then up the Lone Jack Trail and through Gold Run Pass, then down almost to Tomyhoi Lake, and then back up to the mine site.

In later years a new trail was constructed, this being the one from Twin Lakes to Low Pass, to High Pass, and down to the mine.

The location of the mine required that it start operating much earlier in the spring than any of the other mines in the area. The reason being that the water source to operate the equipment drained out of a large basin

Roy had the confidence that one day soon a sample such of this would come from the gold-bearing vein. (M. Christy)

at the base of Red Mountain; and this water source would run out by midsummer, thus shutting down the operation. They would go in at such an early point that they had to do a tremendous amount of snow shoveling just to get into their building and to find their equipment.

For payment for working in the mine, a miner would receive stock certificates for ownership. However, when the depression was on, any young men around Sumas would go in to work and be very satisfied with getting three square meals a day.

Revenue from the Gargett Store was the main source of money used for the opera-

An ore cart is pushed by two men from the point that it was loaded inside the mine to the outside. The grade of the tracks in the mine was kept at a constant, slightly downhill, slope. The man in the left of the picture is Roy Gargett. (M. Christy)

tion of the mine.

No mine’s location in the Mt. Baker Mining District compared to the beautiful setting of the Gargett.

Upper Elevation of the Excelsior Mine

At the Excelsior many different modifications were made, some of them brought about by the fact that the original equipment was not suitable for the removal of the minerals. (Whatcom Co. Museum)

EXCELSIOR

The Excelsior Mine was located on the hillside above the confluence of the Nooksack River and Wells Creek. The location is almost across from Nooksack Falls to the south.

The Excelsior was somewhat different from the other mines that were successful in the Mt. Baker Mining District in that it was at a lower elevation and in dense timber. This mine could operate almost year-round without being affected by the winter. Today, an overgrown road that goes off the Dead Horse Road leads to the operation.

Excelsior Big Stope

The big stope refers to a very large mined out area inside the mountain. The rock here is so hard that there is no need for shoring. This is a time delay photo. (G. Mustoe)

The mine went through many different ownerships, each trying a different method of recovering minerals from the ore that was of questionable value. As time went on with the new ownerships, the struggles became greater with environmental issues. The size of the proposed mining operation was going to be of major proportion and create a significant environmental scar. The legal battles continued until the spotted owl came into the picture. With owls in the region, the developers finally gave up, and no further development has been done or is planned at this time.

Roy Gargett with Promising Sample

Exiting Mine with Ore Cart of Material

SILVERTIP

Up and down Ruth Creek to the summit of Hannegan Pass there were numerous reports of a grizzly, or silvertip, bear being seen.

Jack Post and Lumen Van Valkenberg, the two prospectors made famous by their discovery of the Lone Jack Gold Mine, discovered gold in a creek coming off Goat Mountain on June 10, 1897.

The claims sat inactive for many years, but in 1937 Ray Block of Seattle rediscovered three of the original ones.

Work on developing the mine began in 1943 and took four years to complete. The most interesting fact in its development was the construction of a two-bucket cable tramway to a length of 2,600 feet and a difference in elevation from the mine portal to the mill of roughly 1,000 feet.

In the years 1943 and 1947 actual ore and concentrates with a low value were shipped to a smelter in Tacoma.

The winter of 1947/1948 brought down a major snowslide from high on the south face of Goat Mountain that totally destroyed the tramway and mill. Fortunately, it stopped short of Ray Block’s cabin.

Digging out the Adit

After spending a couple of hours to get the sluff material out of the mouth of the adit, it is time for a cup of coffee. To the left one can see the murky muddy drain water flowing. Within a few years with a major earth slide in the area, the adit will be blocked forever. (M. Impero)

NOOKSACK

Beginning on September 18, 1899, and continuing into 1900, a small group of men quietly staked eight claims, including water rights, on Lodge Creek, located on the west side of Sumas Mountain, east of the town of Nooksack.

As soon as these actions were made public, all sorts of questions arose. There had never been any gold discovered in this area, and secondly, they were miles from the Mt. Baker Mining District where the gold was being discovered.

C. F. Bernard and J. Swinehart were the recorded owners. From the very beginning, all the activity up on the mountainside was kept relatively secret. The first thing that was constructed was a wagon road from the town of Nooksack to the mine site.

The normal process in a discovery is to first develop the

Silvertip Main Entry

The Silvertip had many adits to enter Goat Mountain, but currently, there is only one still open. This one is shown above and is right above the stream. Within a few years it will obviously slide shut and be lost to history. (M. Impero)

mining portion of the work. This would include items such as following the gold vein into the mountain, extracting numerous samples to be assayed, and then from that point, depending on the riches, the rest of the facility would commence being developed.

At the Nooksack, however, everything was done in a reverse order. From the very beginning they started building a hotel, dance hall, several bunkhouses, and a large, framed office building, and then a very modern gold recovery facility.

The Nooksack Mining Company managed to operate this gold mine and resort for over two years. They were bringing in hundreds of potential investors, showing them the gold on the walls, and then also showing them a very good time.

The question of the riches of the Nooksack continued for years, and finally an old prospector from Sumas snuck up to the mine, worked his way past the security guard, and went

into the adit. He took many samples; and then sneaking past the guard again, returned to Sumas where he had the samples assayed. The assay report came back with absolutely no gold to be found, and with that report, the total value of the mine was nothing. Its walls had been seeded by removing the shot from shotgun shells and replacing it with gold flakes, then firing them against the walls. This was done in many locations within the mine to attract the investors.

On February 17, 1906, the property of the Nooksack Mining Company was sold on the steps of the Whatcom County Courthouse to the highest bidder. The two original owners of the mine, Bernard and Swinehart, disappeared one night and were never heard from again.

The only consolation for the hundreds of investors was that these two-bit crooks were not ordinary swindlers, as all 370 stockholders did not receive a dime of any kind. x

What to eat and when?

These tips from a PeaceHealth dietitian can help you finetune your plan

Are you planning to run the Bellingham Bay Marathon or another long-distance race? We asked PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center dietitian Victoria Witrak, RD, for advice on the right fuel to get you to the finish line, prevent injury and help you recover.

Q: What foods should I avoid when preparing for a marathon?

A: I should start with saying that a big takeaway when it comes to nutrition and training, is that everyone’s metabolic needs and race goals are different.

I am constantly working with patients on changing our narrative around food restriction and thinking about how we can add more nourishing foods vs. taking foods away. The only solid recommendation I have is to avoid adding a totally new food within the week prior to race day. Leading up to this week, make sure you’ve been eating the foods you plan to consume day-of, so your body is used to them. You might also want to consider eliminating alcohol one to a few weeks prior to the race as alcohol is an inflammatory and can further deplete crucial minerals and electrolytes.

Q: What is “carb-loading” and when should I do it?

A: Carbohydrates are our primary source of fuel burned during prolonged exercise, so eating carb-rich foods before race day can help maximize your glycogen – the source of stored energy in the liver. Inadequate glycogen stores on race day can lead to unnecessary fatigue and decreased endurance. Carb-loading involves consuming a higher amount of carbs than normal two to three days leading up to the race. A general rule of thumb is to aim for at least three grams of carbohydrates per one pound bodyweight with a max of five, depending on individual and training needs.

Q: On the morning of a big race when and what should I eat and drink?

A: I recommend a carb- and protein-rich breakfast two to three hours prior to start time. Try to eat at least 50 grams of carbs in this meal. An example would be two pieces of toast with nut butter and one banana. Then eat a carb-rich snack 15 to 30 minutes before racing, such as a pureed fruit pouch.

In terms of fluid, try to consume 16 to 20 ounces with electrolytes before a race. It’s important to emphasize here that you should start your race properly hydrated and not even slightly dehydrated. Hydration and electrolytes during training becomes just as important as your fuel plan. Only consider drinking coffee if you’re used to it, and don’t go overboard, as it can cause GI upset and is also a diuretic.

continued on page 43

Trail Running in the North Cascades

Story and photos by Tony Moceri

The feet in front of me deftly navigate the rocks and roots as they scamper up the trail. Quickly, the trail running shoes I’m following reach another switchback and leave my view momentarily while I slog around the corner. With the gradient increasing, I pick up my feet just high enough to keep from tripping. Up and up we go with no sign of slowing down, let alone stopping.

I was told that when the trail got steep, we would hike instead of run, but it’s clear that “steep” is not a universally agreed-upon measurement. I try to dig deep to prove I can keep up, but really, I’m just hanging on for dear life. As I consider if my vomit would attract bears, I say “uncle” so that I don’t have to find out.

The person I was chasing was Dale Nelsen, and I was doing so because of all the cool places his legs take him. Nelsen’s social feeds are worth following for the beautiful viewpoints and fun races he regularly posts about. He tags so many locations that I could not figure out how he got to them all, so I asked him to show me. It wasn’t until I was ready to pass out when I realized the way he got to see all these places was simple. He just ran.

Nelsen wasn’t some star cross-country runner in high school, and he was never a professional racer. One day, he just decided that there were so many cool things to see, and he could see them faster if he ran. Without a running background, Nelsen started by going on some jogs and slowly added to them. He now finds himself logging impressive amounts of weekly miles, all in the name of reaching another viewpoint.

On the day we went out, we headed to the Cascade Pass Trail, which is approximately 20 miles outside Marblemount in the North Cascades National Park. This trail that begins with a shady switchback trail eventually opens to views of rocky peaks. As we hiked along the path flanked by rocky slopes on either side, we were greeted by a black bear enjoying a sunny morning. We nervously walked below, pausing just long enough to snap a couple pictures and wonder if we could outrun the other people on the trail should the bear decide the humans looked appetizing.

As we made our way along the trail, we reached an obstacle of slippery snow across the path. A slip in my running shoes, which lacked traction, would not have resulted in death, but would have been quite the ride to the bottom, with some large boulders to greet me at the end. While I was undoubtedly ill-prepared in the footwear category, I felt that Nelsen was the one who lacked preparedness the rest of the way.

While I had a full bladder of water on my back, accompanied by a granola bar, dried mangos, and trail mix, Nelsen had only a little Gatorade and a package of Sour Patch Kids. I didn’t realize that what he lacked in his backpack, he more than made up for in fitness and toughness.

As he flew up the trail, I asked for breaks to sit down, eat a snack, and hydrate. As his fluids got low in his hydration pack, he shoved in some snow or drank from a creek flowing down the hill.

While I suffered from fatigue and the onset of a sunburn, it was impossible to not be in awe of my surroundings. We were greeted twice by a family of mountain goats and saw multiple marmots warning us with their high-pitched calls. We gazed down at picturesque Doubtful Lake and up to the peaks that seemed to go on forever.

On our way down, we ran a bit more so I could get a taste of what Nelsen’s runs are like. Normally after our 10mile hike, I would be heading for the couch, but Nelsen was in a hurry to return to go on a trail run with another group. This was all before a weekend that would include three races, one of which was a triathlon.

While many of Nelsen’s runs are solo missions exploring the local trails, he also loves being around the running community. He is an ambassador for the Run Super Series, an organization putting on races all over Washington. In these races, ranging from 5 kilometers to 50 miles, Nelsen finds himself racing people of all levels and teaming up to complete relays. While his hard work and consistent training now allow him to tackle long

miles and steep trails, this wasn’t always the case. He started off with a jog and built from there. He sees running as something anyone can do. They simply just need to get out and go for it.

While there is no doubt that his dedication to running has contributed to his growth in the sport, I will give away his secrets to give everyone a shortcut to success. At the end of any long run, he finds the nearest gas station and refuels with milk, an energy drink, a pepperoni stick, and some chips. He also always has those Sour Patch Kids along with him for a boost of energy on the trail and one of his famous pictures with them prominently displayed. x

Flying on Water

Wing foiling is the newest and by far fastest-growing wind sport. An inflatable hand wing and a hydrofoil board allow you to harness the wind and fly above the water. Ethan Fritzberg rides a wave at Squalicum Beach. Photo by Aaron Knapp.

Kiteboarding uses a twin tip kite board (similar to a wakeboard) and a large four-line kite to propel riders across the water. This is the best wind sport for big air and freestyle riding. Rider Aaron Knapp and photographer Ethan Fritzberg both work at Bellingham’s Kite Paddle Surf, a local surf shop with expertise on all these sports and more. Info about lessons, rentals and more at kitepaddlesurf.com

Kite foiling uses a hydrofoil board and a large, four-line kite. The high efficiency of a hydrofoil combined with the power a large kite can generate makes this the best wind sport for lighter winds. Pictured: Aaron Knapp. Photo by Ethan Fritzberg.

Words by Ethan Fritzberg

Photos by Ethan Fritzberg and Aaron Knapp

Book Reviews by Meg Olson

Knowing the Trees: Discover the Forest from Seed to Snag

Ken Keffer Mountaineers Books

Towering, ancient, massive: trees inspire wonder and curiosity all on their own. They also create the scaffolding for the layers of interconnected diversity that make up the forest. From the whirling maple seed to the nursery log where it will sprout, author Ken Keffer takes us on a journey through the life cycle of trees but also invites us to “see the forest and the trees.”

This is a good book for sipping, with chapters divided into short sections that stand alone as satisfying micro-reads. Meaty science lessons, quirky trivia and slices of history weave together to create a biography of the forest biome.

On mistletoe, we learn that this holiday kissing ornament is a hemi-parasite, who conducts some photosynthesis (you can learn all about that 20 pages earlier) but gets most of its food and water by sucking it out of the host tree like an arboreal vampire. The Anglo-Saxon roots of its name basically translate to “poop-on-a-stick,” because it spreads through bird droppings. Isn’t that romantic?

Honey locust trees mostly spread by suckers because their seed-spreading friends are extinct. As evidenced by seeds and pods found in preserved mastodon scat, the giant herbivore used to spread the seeds of the honey locust, not minding the sharp thorns and leathery casing on the fruit. Theses days no animals are willing to brave it, so the tree has no way to spread its seeds.

The world’s largest living organism is a grove of quaking aspen named Pando. While the oldest of its 50,000 stems are 150-years-old, its root system is 80,000-years-old. The oldest individual tree is a 4,850-year-old bristlecone pine named Methuselah. The tallest redwood measured is higher than the Statue of Liberty.

Trees are the heart of the book and the thread that ties it all together, as they are to the ecology of the forest. Beyond being a compendium of tree lore, “Knowing the Trees” highlights the relationships between the land, plants and animals of the forest and our own connection to them.

How to Read a Tree: Clues and Patterns from Bark to Leaves

Tristan Gooley

The Experiment Publishing

If you were to take a walk in the woods with Tristan Gooley I imagine it would be a slow one. Known as “the natural navigator,” Gooley has spent decades learning what nature can tell him about where he is and teaching others to see and interpret those signs. His newest book, “How to Read a Tree,” lets you take his powers of observation on your next hike or neighborhood stroll, and mundane details suddenly become full of meaning. From southern facing “eyes” on trunks or bluish needles, to “elephant’s toes” and asymmetric shapes, trees can speak volumes about where they are and what’s going on. A hallmark of Gooley’s books is his joyful bantering about what he sees while he’s exploring the natural world, and what he learns from it. His enthusiasm is contagious and makes you want nothing more than to get a little lost in the woods and let the trees lead you.

The Zen of Fishing

If you’ve ever taken the Whatcom Chief out to Lummi Island, you’ve probably seen reef net fishing gear on the water or being hauled up across from Legoe Bay. With only 12 such gears in the world – and all of them located here – it’s hard to imagine that at one time there were dozens of similar setups that allowed fishermen to haul in migrating salmon without running the risk of incidental bycatch, overfishing, or polluting the local environment.

What’s past is passed

More than two centuries ago, inside the same bay, members of the Lummi tribe hauled their canoes into the saltwater surrounding their ancestral land. During the summer months, salmon by the thousands rushed through the bays and inlets of the Salish Sea enroute to the Fraser River to fulfill their life’s goal of returning to their home river to spawn.

The Lummi made note of the salmons’ migratory patterns, observing the life cycles of different species: when each one arrived, what their

habits were, how many could be counted. And they honored the fish – an animal revered for its life-giving force. For the Coast Salish people, the annual salmon return, and its celebration assured the renewal and continuation of life.

Intricately linked to that sense of reverence for the salmon was the way in which the Lummi fished for them.

“Two canoes with a scoopedshaped net between them were positioned parallel to each other in the path of the salmon running on the incoming tide,” note the authors of Shared Heritage: A History of Lummi Island. “The fish were guided to the net by long, false reefs that extended in a V-shaped formation from the canoes to buoys anchored to long rocks. When salmon were spotted from the canoes, the net was swiftly raised to trap the fish.” This method of fishing eventually became known as “reefnetting.”

In the early 1900s, the Lummi were forced to give up their traditional method of reefnetting when large

fish traps, built by non-natives, were placed directly in front of their centuries-old fishing sites. However, in 1935 those environmentally destructive traps were outlawed—which opened the door for the return of reef net fishing. But the difference was that this time, non-Lummi fishermen were the ones waiting for the salmon to return.

Plunging into the present

In place of cedar-bark, nettle fibers, stones, and beach grass, the reefnetters of the 20th century employed more modern materials and techniques. Collectively called a “gear,” this new equipment saw the evolution of canoe boats into more stable barges, artificial reefs constructed from high-performance plastic, and the introduction of solar-powered panels, sonar equipment, underwater cameras, and mechanical winches.

But what didn’t change was the way in which the salmon were caught.

Riley Starks has been fishing for 50 years and owns one of the dozen licenses available for reef netting. Orig-

Past, present, and future come together on Lummi Island in the practice of reefnetting.

Story by Erin Deinzer • Photos by Travis Moose Historical photos courtesy of Washington States Archives

inally working as a crab and gillnet fisherman in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, he was introduced to reef net fishing on Lummi in the early 1990s and realized that the island was destined to become his home.

“Reef netting truly defined the culture of the island,” he says. “Everybody either was a reefnetter or knew someone who was. Back in Bristol Bay, so many of the fishermen were only excited to talk about the money they’d made; but here, it was different.”

Because in reef netting the fish come to you (versus actively pursuing them or setting out a purse seine to drag them in), the practice is more intuitive – allowing the captain and his crew to form a special kind of bond.

“When you’re out on the water, waiting for the guide fish to lead the salmon into the net, you’re either on the platform or up in the tower,” explains Starks. “Everyone is waiting for the same thing, so it feels very tribal. It’s quiet out there; there’s no noise from any motors. In those moments, it truly is the Zen of fishing.”

Nevertheless, everyone onboard the gear remains alert so as not to miss the opportunity they’ve been waiting for—and once that happens, all hell breaks loose. The spotter calls out from the tower to the crew below that the fish are heading into the net; then they’re immediately hauled up into live wells on deck. Once the fish are in those holding pens, they’re hand-sorted, and the accidental bycatch is safely returned to the water.

“Every other type of gear causes injury to the fish,” Starks

says.

“But not reef netting.”

Fishing for the future

Because reef net-caught salmon can be live-bled as they swim around the pens there’s no accumulation of lactic acid. The result is a high-quality product that is 100 percent sustainable, and that’s where Ian Kirouac comes in.

As president of Lummi Island Wild Co-op (LIW), Kirouac is responsible for getting the reef net-caught fish to market.

“Through Lummi Island Wild, we’ve built relationships with customers who seek out this type of quality. We don’t use polluting diesel engines, we return non-targeted species back into the water unharmed, and we are the only solar-powered commercial fishery in the world.”

Kirouac came to reef netting via a circuitous route that led him from a planned career in marketing to owning two gears in Legoe Bay. Out on a schooner in 2003, the ship was passing by Lummi Island and the younger Kirouac saw the reef netters out on the water. He got himself invited onto one of the gears and “fell in love with it.”

“This is seafood you can be passionate about,” he says. “We are at the apex of quality and sustainability. The genetic fat content of the Fraser River fish is truly spectacular. In preparation for their metamorphic transition from salt-to-fresh water they burn up a lot of fat; with every kick of their fins, they lose some, so we’re catching Fraser River-bound fish at their prime.”

To prove his point, LIW tested some of the sockeye they’d

caught, and it yielded almost a 15 percent fat content versus 9 percent of those in Bristol Bay. “This salmon is about as close to medicine as you can get,” he says. In fact, Kirouac—an avid hiker who’s now training for his first Ironman competition at age 49—is convinced that the LIW fish he’s eating will help power him to success on the course. But what will insure reef netting will continue in the future?

For Riley Starks, it lies in internship programs to teach the next generation of reef netters what it feels like to fish in harmony with nature, and to see Lummi tribal members return to the practice. But it’s also about working to save the Salish Sea itself. To that end, he founded the Salish Center for Sustainable Fishing Methods to educate people about the fragility of the sea, and how intricately linked the survival of the salmon is not only to reef netting, but to the southern resident orcas who also depend on them.

Ian Kirouac’s vision is likewise focused on public involvement, but from a different perspective. “The only thing that’s going to ensure the survival of reef netting as a viable commercial fishery is market demand. People need to be willing to pay a bit more for quality, because without that, there is no chance for a future.

“Patagonia Provisions (a major buyer of reefnet-caught fish) says it best: Eating is activism,” he says. “There are reefnetters out there doing it right, but we need the public’s support to keep this practice alive.” x

Author’s note:

Lummi Island is the only place in the world where this fishing method is used and where passionate reefnetters live and work.

For more information about reefnetting and the products mentioned:

salishcenter.org

lummiislandwild.com

www.patagoniaprovisions. com/collections/salmon

Working Waterfronts: Seafood Connection. Mikayla Evans of Seafood Connection in Westport, WA loads a 50-gallon pail with tuna so they can be weighed, and then moved to the ice box to await processing. This photo is part of a series about our state’s vibrant working waterfronts, available at maritimewa.org. Photo by Jeremy Johnson.

Maritime communities receive new support networks through Maritime Washington National Heritage Area

by Madisun Tobisch

When Jessica McVey closes her eyes at her home in the forest of Point Roberts on a quiet day, she can hear the ocean’s high tide calling to her.

Twenty years ago, McVey swapped the golden state of California – which she said was always more dusty brown anyway – for the evergreens of Washington state.

“Once you’re here for a while, you get what’s called the Point Roberts Awe,” she said. “You cross the border and come down Tyee Drive surrounded by evergreens on both sides. Straight ahead is the Salish Sea, and across the way is Orcas Island. It’s just gorgeous.”

Point Roberts’ rich history of maritime culture compelled McVey to attend a meeting for the local historical society. Three months later, she found herself as the organization’s president.

In her five years with the Point Roberts Historical Society, she worked on projects such as the town’s new history center

and a history trail currently in progress. A consistent goal for McVey has been getting people to visit the secluded community of just over 1,000 residents, according to the 2020 census.

“We are extremely isolated,” she said. “Covid-19 really made that obvious.”

Travel was limited in and out of Point Roberts to essential trips only during the pandemic due to the town’s unique position about 25 miles past the Canadian border before re-entering the U.S. and traveling down the tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula.

Earlier this year, the nonprofit Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service officially launched the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. The project works to connect 3,000 miles of maritime communities from West Point to Point Roberts in a network for upcoming events, celebratory stories and historical insights.

Women on the Waterfront: Vanessa Castle, Fisheries and Wildlife technician for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, stands on one end of a rotary screw trap – a piece of equipment used to determine the numbers of juvenile salmon in the Elwha River. Visit maritimewa.org to read Vanessa’s story and learn more about the women that work Washington’s shores. Photo

from this program, what they found to be special about maritime heritage in Washington. And so now we get to start implementing what we heard there.”

The organization’s website, maritimewa.org, was launched earlier this year and is dedicated to sharing and celebrating stories from various maritime communities within the heritage area. The interactive Maritime Mapper highlights almost 100 locations, including beaches, parks and tribal centers stretching along Washington’s coast.

When McVey discovered the Maritime Washington project, she reached out, hoping to have Point Roberts featured. Lily Point Marine Park is now the northmost destination on the Maritime Mapper. She hopes the addition of a state-wide resource will help bring more tourism up to the Point Roberts community.

“We encourage people to come visit because it is beautiful,” McVey said, adding that the historic canneries that surrounded Point Roberts on three sides were once the heart of the town’s industry.

Gradwohl said maritime towns up and down the Washington coast are sharing similar sentiments about finding a way to bring tourism in and get people excited about maritime culture.

“There’s all these people who know the resources really well, and they’re like, ‘we have these great resources, and people don’t know about them.’ And then we heard from the public, ‘I want to do maritime stuff, but I don’t know where to go,’” Gradwohl said. “I was like, great, this is our role. We’re the matchmaker.”

Maritime Washington chronicles stories from the waterfront, such as the Women on the Waterfront series and trip itineraries, including a three-day tour through the San Juan Islands and a Bellingham seafood journey. As of now, Gradwohl said she’s looking forward to getting more people aware of their presence.

More trip itineraries, newsletters and stories celebrating the cultural significance of maritime communities are in the works, Gradwohl said. Maritime Washington has also been involved with the ongoing construction of the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend.

“Developing interpretive projects always takes a long time because you have so many different voices that you want reflected there,” Gradwohl said. “The Northwest Maritime

“We spent a long time planning for this program,” program director Alex Gradwohl said. “We had three years where we did a lot of listening to folks about what they wanted to see continued on page 42

by Pat Beggan.

EATS

BLAINE

DRAYTON HARBOR

OYSTER CO.

685 Peace Portal Drive

360/656-5958

draytonharboroysters.com

Long local tap list and global wines tide-to-table oysters Cozy atmosphere, beautiful sunsets. Dinein, take-out, shuck-at-home.

PACKERS KITCHEN & BAR

AT SEMIAHMOO RESORT

9565 Semiahmoo Parkway 360/318-2090

semiahmoo.com

Enjoy seaside dining with stunning views and a fresh menu of seafood, hand-crafted pizza, and local specialties.

BELLINGHAM

BELLINGHAM CIDER

COMPANY

205 Prospect Street, Suite A105 360 /510 8494

bellinghamcider.com

Bellingham Cider Co. is a local craft cider producer and solar-powered restaurant with a full bar overlooking Bellingham Bay. Our food is prepped fresh and sourced from local farms and businesses.

DIAMOND JIM’S GRILL

2400 Meridian Street

360/734-8687

diamondjimsgrill.com

Local diner serving breakfast & lunch. We’ve been making our popular 10” pancakes in Bellingham since April Fool’s Day of 1998. Order online for take out & delivery, open Thurs - Mon 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

BOUNDARY BAY

BREWERY & BISTRO

1107 Railroad Ave

360/647-5593

bbaybrewery.com

Boundary Bay Brewery is a familyfriendly community hub. Unwind in the taproom, bistro, deck or beer garden with handcrafted brews, fresh local food. Open every day at 11 a.m.

HOLLY’S MEAT PIES

1306 Commercial St. 360/778-1111

hollysmeatpies.com

Washington’s original pasty company. Artisan hand pies made from scratch. Order online.

LARRABEE LAGER

COMPANY

4151 Meridan St. Ste 100 360/230-8334

larrabeelagerco.com

Opening summer 2023.

PENNY FARTHING BAR AND RESTAURANT AT CHUCKANUT

BAY DISTILLERY

1309 Cornwall Avenue 360/738-7179

chuckanutbaydistillery.com

Featuring a variety of delicious, shareable “small plate” dishes and creative craft cocktails, Penny Farthing is the perfect downtown Bellingham destination for any occasion.

RED GINGER ASIAN CUISINE

1208 E. Maple St. 360/306-8629

redgingerbellingham.com

Newly renovated family restaurant serving classic Asian cuisine with fresh ingredients. Open Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and 4-9 p.m.

THE NORTH FORK BARREL HOUSE & BEER SHRINE

1900 Grant Street, Suite 101 360/224-2088

northforkbrewery.com/thebarrel-house

Open Thursday thru Monday . Ages 21+. Our new taproom in Bellingham! Here you’ll find some of our sour projects, other ales, and lagers from our Deming brewery. Happy Hour daily until 5 p.m.

BURLINGTON

SKAGIT’S OWN FISH MARKET

18042 Hwy 20 360/707-2722

skagitfish.com

Offering the highest quality in local seafood. Daily lunch specials freshly prepared. Local jams, jellies, salsas, honey and sauces.

CONCRETE

ANNIE’S PIZZA STATION

44568 State Route 20 360/853-7227

anniespizzastation.com

Family-owned pizza restaurant focusing on fresh, homemade quality Italian fare. Friendly service, helpful information and great food combine for an unforgettable experience.

DEMING

THE NORTH FORK BREWERY

6186 Mt. Baker Highway 360/599-2337

northforkbrewery.com

Handcrafted beer and hand tossed pizza. Order online for to-go orders. New covered beer garden. Weekday Happy Hour Mon-Fri 12-5 p.m.

WAKE ‘N BAKERY

6903 Bourne Street 360/599-9378

getsconed.com

Open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. serving breakfast burritos & sandwiches, quiche, soup, paninis, and freshly baked goods. Savory and sweet gluten-free and vegan options. Organic espresso and coffee.

MOUNT VERNON

SKAGIT VALLEY FOOD CO-OP

202 S. 1st Street 360/336-9777

skagitfoodcoop.com

We make our deli food from scratch using fresh, quality ingredients, sourced from local and organic suppliers whenever possible. Stop in for entrees, side dishes, soups, salads, sandwiches, or our handmade, organic ice cream. We offer vegan, vegetarian, raw, gluten-free, and whole food choices for every meal.

SLEEPS

BLAINE

SEMIAHMOO RESORT

4565 Semiahmoo Parkway 360/318-2000 semiahmoo.com

A casual northwest beach resort surrounded by the Salish Sea. An authentic Pacific Northwest experience for everyone – from families looking for a fun getaway to couples and friends seeking an easy-going retreat.

GLACIER

SERENE MOUNTAIN ESCAPES

Glacier, WA/ Mt. Baker 360/961-0123

serenemountainescapes.com

Serene Mountain Escapes offers quality vacation rentals that sleep from 1-12 guests. Choose from pools, hot tubs, dog friendly & more. Check out our great reviews! Contact us for shoulder season specials!

THE KNOTTY LODGE

360/303-2887

VRBO.com/563675

Explore, Relax, Repeat Premier Mt. Baker vacation rental. 3BR, 2BA luxury timber home with modern amenities, hot tub, WiFi, gourmet kitchen, fireplace, fire pit. Your perfect getaway base camp!

MAPLE FALLS

MT. BAKER LODGING

7425 Mt. Baker Hwy. 800/709-7669

mtbakerlodging.com

Find your perfect accommodations - from rustic to luxury getaways, from studio to 12+ bedrooms. Open 7 days a week.

continued from page 40

Center, in particular, is being very thoughtful about the way that different communities and tribes contribute. That kind of collaboration just takes a lot of time.”

Grassroots style collaboration is a value Gradwohl said Maritime Washington strives for. The organization’s partners range from competitive boating groups to city governments to historical societies throughout the heritage area.

“Working with this range of partners has been overwhelming in the best way possible,” Gradwohl said. “What I found is really consistent is the passion, like, people care a lot. I think that’s a wonderful thing to be harnessed.”

In Bellingham, maritime culture culminates at the annual SeaFeast, a celebration of food, culture and industry, held on the second weekend in October. SeaFeast and the Working Waterfront Coalition of Whatcom County (WWC) got involved with Maritime Washington this year.

“There needs to be a better understanding of our waterways and the responsibility we all must have in preserving the healthiness of our oceans and respecting the people, traditions and culture that help make our waterways what they are,” said SeaFeast program director Kevin Coleman in an email.

Dan Tucker, WWC program manager sees the rich maritime roots of his own community and is excited for the opportunity to continue working with other like-minded organizations state-wide.

“Every community along our waterfront, I think, feels and recognizes the importance of what we have here,” Tucker said in an email. “All of them know that it will be a community-led effort to preserve and improve it.”

Within the heritage area are the traditional lands of 21 federally recognized tribes, many of which Gradwohl said already have robust maritime education resources for community members and visitors. She hopes to continue to foster a place where maritime and tribal communities can celebrate their unique cultures as well as their common ties to the salt waterways.

“Often people hear heritage, and they think of the past when really I think heritage are the things that we get from the past that influence today,” Gradwohl said.

Tucker values Bellingham’s enduring maritime industry background in commercial fishing fleets, logging, paper mills and shipbuilding.

“Every trade you can think of associated with the maritime sector has, or still does, business in this region – woodworking, metal fabrication, foundries, yards – you name it,” he said.

Part of the Bellingham maritime mission is to not only celebrate the tribal communities and historic industries, Tucker said, but to maintain and preserve these ways of life in the future. He said Maritime Washington’s goal of getting the public invested in the waterfront as being accessible to the public can go a long way in making sure it stays that way.

“The more that the public is aware of what their waterfront can provide them – recreation, industry, culture and connection – the more they will seek to preserve the balance of use along the waterfront,” he said. “Once you allow the waterfront to over-develop with exclusive, expensive and restrictive properties, it never goes back. The culture and connection to the place and to the people can become lost forever.”

With the sun still setting on summer, Gradwohl said Maritime Washington is looking forward. Plans are underway to compile a list of regional maritime celebrations in time for next summer.

“I swear if you’re willing to drive, you could probably go to one maritime festival every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” she said.

As a fellow Washington transplant from the Midwest, Gradwhol knows what McVey means when she said the beauty and heritage of the Pacific Northwest can’t compare to other regions.

Getting to know Washington’s maritime culture has helped Gradwhol plant her own roots as a Washingtonian, she said.

“The more you know about a place, the more you care for it and the more you want to take care of it, and I think that that’s a really powerful tool,” she said. “You can’t underestimate the power of getting to know the place that you live better.” x

continued from page 33

Q: What should I eat during a run?

A: There is significant evidence for the benefits of consuming carbs and limiting fat and fiber during intense exercise, especially if exercising more than two hours and starting carb intake within the first hour. Consider consuming around 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour. Eating carbs during exercise also helps drive water into the cells.

As mentioned before, you should be eating foods you have been eating during training. Some examples: dried fruit (apricots, plums, bananas, strawberries) fig bars, peanut butter and jelly, sweet potatoes, waffles and gels, which are typically made from a blend of sugars without any fat, fiber or protein. They are designed to replenish carb stores and glycogen that are depleted when running. With gels especially, you should use them in training and consume them in intervals like your plan for race day to make sure you can tolerate them. An alternative to gels could be sports drinks with easily digestible sugars.

Q: How much water should I drink during a race?

A: Losing up to two percent body weight through sweat/dehydration when exercising is enough to reduce performance so hydration during exercise becomes really important. You should consider also consuming electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride, as these are used inside and outside the cell so we can essentially use our muscles. A rough recommendation during races is around 16 ounces of water and/or electrolytes and at least 300 milligrams per hour, depending on how much you sweat.

There is also an equation called the Galpin equation that is tailored more for the individual where you essentially take body weight in pounds and divide it by 30. The number you get is what you consume in ounces every 15 to 20 minutes.

Q: Is there such a thing as drinking too much water?

A: Yes, and this can lead to hyponatremia (low sodium), which – if it gets too low – can be fatal. This is not to scare runners away from drinking water, but you should aim for a safe middle-ground in your strategies, as discussed above.

Q: What should I eat and drink after the race to help me recover?

A: Try to prioritize balanced snacks and meals with protein and complex carbs because they both support proper recovery by repairing muscle and replenishing glycogen stores. Consuming food within 30 to 60 minutes post-exercise is optimal.

Generally, we lose one to five pounds of sweat per hour while exercising, depending on weather conditions. A general rule of thumb for fluids post-race is drinking 125 percent of the fluids you lost during physical activity. Chocolate milk can be a great, quick graband-go snack post-exercise.

If you’re someone with a sensitive stomach, it’s recommended limiting foods that could cause you GI upset. Some common culprits include high fructose/hypertonic food/drink, fat, fiber, sugar alcohols and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage).

Q: Why do some runners throw up right after a race, and is there a way to prevent it?

A: This can happen for several reasons, including not prioritizing the digestive system during training and not being accustomed to eating during intense exercise. Another factor may be the ingestion of too many energy gels with not enough water, imbalanced hydration or too much acidic food. Sometimes intra-abdominal pressure from high intensity running can create a squeezing mechanism on the stomach, causing the runner to throw up.

Victoria, a casual runner herself, earned her master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Bastyr University in Seattle, then completed a distance internship through the University of Texas—Houston with rotations in the University of Washington system. She has a special interest in sports medicine and gut health. x

RACE, RUNS AND EVENTS

MT. BAKER SKI AREA

SEASON LAUNCH PARTY:

September 8, Bellingham.

Celebrate the launch of another winter season at Mt. Baker Ski Area. Free entry to Kulshan Trackside Beer Garden (all ages welcome) in downtown Bellingham, featuring musical guests, games, prizes, and live screen-printing by Iron Street Printing. More info: mtbaker.us/ the-mountain/upcoming-events/

GOAT RUN (GREAT OLYMPIC ADVENTURE

TRAIL RUN):

September 9, Port Angeles.

Point-to-point half marathon, full marathon and 50k trail race finishing at Lake Crescent inside Olympic National Park. More info: peninsulaadventuresports.com

RUN WITH THE CHUMS:

September 9, Birch Bay.

11th annual 5k fun run & Smolt Sprint obstacle course celebrating healthy water, healthy habitat and healthy people. Free event with beautiful views of Birch Bay beaches and shoreline. More info: whatcomcd.org/run-with-the-chums

SEPTEMBER EAT LOCAL

MONTH BIKE RIDES:

September 9, 16, 23, 30, Ferndale. Celebrate Whatcom County’s food systems and the bounty of food we enjoy in our backyard. Each Saturday in September will feature a bike ride starting at Appel Farms and ending at Twin Sisters Creamery. More info: expint.org

TRANSELKIRKS RUN:

September 10-14, Revelstoke, B.C. Running solo or as a team of two, the three- or five-day trail running race attracts athletes from around the world to revel in the stunning views of remote Revelstoke, British Columbia. More info: transelkirks.com

NORTH CASCADES

CLIMATE SUMMIT AND TRAIL FEST:

September 13-17, Mt. Baker. Take a four-day trail running adventure through the North Cascades, based out of the historic Mt. Baker Mountaineers Lodge. Every day is full of beautiful, scenic trail running, and every night is capped off with climate action presentations and workshops, bringing trail runners together to deepen their relationships with the fragile glaciers of the Cascade Range. More info: aspireadventurerunning.com

MT. BAKER HILL CLIMB:

September 17, Glacier. Ascend 4,462 feet from Chair 9 in Glacier to Artist Point (5,140’ elevation) in 22 miles along the Mt. Baker Highway, one of the most scenic paved roads in the country. Steep elevation, but the views are stunning. Awarded the #2 Hill Climb in the U.S. by Gran Fondo Guide. More info: bakerhillclimb.com

BELLINGHAM BAY MARATHON:

September 24, Bellingham.

Full and half marathon, 10k and 5k designed by runners for runners and walkers. 100 percent of net proceeds benefit Whatcom County youth non-profit organizations. More info: bellinghambaymarathon.org

BIG HURT:

September 24, Port Angeles. A four-leg test of endurance, strength and tenacity intertwined with the beauty of the North Olympic Peninsula. More info: bighurtpa.com

SKAGIT FLATS:

October 1, Burlington.

Full and half marathon, and 5k. The 46th annual race boasts the flattest Boston qualifier in all of Washington state. More info: skagitflats.skagitrunners.org

BAKER LAKE 50/25K:

October 7 & 8, Baker Lake Kulshan Campground.

The 50k on Saturday is a trail run through the old growth forests of the North Cascades. The classic 25k was added due to high demand for a point-topoint route from the north to south ends of Baker Lake. More info at ultrasignup. com

NWAC BENEFIT:

October 12, Bellingham.

The Bellingham winter community comes together for a Mount Baker Experience-sponsored super fun event and fundraiser for Northwest Avalanche Center in the Beer Garden at Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro. Raffles for outdoor gear and fun with your ski buddies. More info: mountbakerexperience.com

TRAILS TO TAPS RELAY:

October 15, Bellingham.

Team up with friends and run from brewery to brewery with a part at the end. 10 stops at breweries and cideries with 30+ miles of trails, roads and parks with leg lengths between 1.6 and 5 miles. 5-10 runners per team. More info: trailstotapsrelay.com

SALT CREEK 24:

October 28-29, Port Angeles.

The first of its kind on the Olympic Peninsula, this all-day, all-night event circles the 1.3-mile route around Salt Creek Recreation Area. Walking or running, solo or as a relay team, test your endurance and see how many laps you can make in 24 hours. More info: peninsulaadventuresports.com

Next

PARTING SHOT

KC Deane mountain biking in Hakkuba, Japan.

Photo by Grant Gunderson.

OCTOBER 14-15, 2023

FISHERMAN’S PAVILION & ZUANICH POINT PARK / BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

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