Hike/Climb

Windy Pass The hike to Windy Pass is one of the most user-friendly hikes in the North Cascades. Suitable as a day hike or (better still) backpack, this stretch of the PCT literally glides along an open ridge with splendid views, starting right at the trailhead. In fact, the Windy Pass Trailhead is the highest automobile-accessible trailhead in Washington. Round-trip …

          Three decades ago, while wandering through the Himalayas, I ventured from the Vale of Kashmir to Ladakh, a mountainous realm where some of the planet’s tallest peaks rise above a high plateau. Now, thirty years later, as I gaze into Deception Basin in the Olympic Mountains, the scenery is so reminiscent of Ladakh—green vegetation fringing …

Everything feels familiar driving up Glacier Creek Road to the Heliotrope Ridge trailhead. I’ve been backpacking for decades, to more trailheads than I could possibly remember, and I’ve been on this trail on more than one occasion. But today is different. For the first time, my goal is the summit of Mt. Baker. We shoulder our packs and start hiking, …

With its extremely steep topography, the North Cascades is perhaps North America’s most rugged mountain range. Traversing along its crest is no simple feat.  I am not talking about using hiking trails since they are predominantly in the valleys.  I am talking about trekking on the ridges, staying as close to the crest as possible. “Humility is directly correlated to survivability.” …

Your mother used to shout, “Go outside and play.” I know. I lived next door and could hear her through four walls and a carefully manicured hedge. Like dogs that join in when they hear another K-9 in the distance, every other mom in the neighborhood followed suit, forming a twilight bark of sorts that was more about moms needing …

In September, my husband, Jake, fell to his death on his favorite mountain, the North Twin Sister. My geologist friend Jackie tells me that the Sisters Range is a rare outcropping of the earth’s mantle; the olivine rock a distinctive rusty hue. Mountains were as necessary as air for Jake, and he’d summited this one dozens of times. Every year, …

When out on a trail, most of us look at the wilderness around us, absorbing the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors. Sure, we look at the trail because if we don’t, we’ll trip over a root before we know it. But how many of us look at the trail with “trail eyes”—that critical observation of the trail itself?  …

Table Mountain The trail that climbs to the top of Table Mountain from the bustling parking lot at Artist Point is a dream come true for hikers who have only a few hours to commune with the Mountain Gods. The climb—zig-zagging up the cliff—is steep and somewhat exposed in places, but it’s only a half mile  (600’ of elevation gain), …

Point Whitehorn   The hike to Point Whitehorn is a delight in any season, a leisurely stroll through luscious rainforest to a rocky beach that invites extended exploration. But it’s especially sublime in spring when the forest comes alive after a long northern winter. Three-quarters of a mile of walking through the effervescent greenery will bring you to the captivating …

You want to keep moving forward, but shrubs form a wall at the forest’s edge. You see no way in. As you explore the tangled greenery, you push and probe. Two branches swing open like doors—the first with a gentle push, the second with a vigorous shove. The branches close behind your back as you wander into the mansion of …