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 One of the first things I spot when entering Olympic National Park is the gray shirt, dark forest-green trousers, gold national park badge, and iconic flat-brimmed hat of a park ranger in uniform. I have to wonder: What is it like being a ranger? What makes up their typical day? On a mission to find out, I call the park …

In 2011, two mountaineering friends had an audacious idea – get people off the streets and to the summit of Mt. Rainier (also known as “Tahoma) Along with a team of committed volunteers, Mike Johnson and Mark Ursino led groups of men and women from the Seattle Union Gospel Mission through a 10-month training program culminating in a successful summit …

Washington State Route 11, also known as Chuckanut Drive, is a beautiful scenic byway that never makes the cut in lists of America’s great scenic drives. Perhaps, at 21 miles long, it isn’t epic enough to rate. But as an experiential journey, it is easily one of the finest ribbons of road in the United States. It is a gorgeous …

My horse, Joey, and I were nearing the top of a ridge, glad that the last 15 miles back to the trailhead were downhill. The area had changed since our previous trip many years ago. Although fires had devastated the forest, in its aftermath it had left vast vistas and fields of wildflowers. As we approached the ridgetop, mountain peaks …

            Last October, while in Bellingham for the launch of my book Teaching in the Rain I was asked several times whether I was hopeful about the future of the planet and the environment around us, and if so, what cause for hope buoyed me in these difficult times. I answered as best I could, citing the wisdom of my …

When I heard about Jasper burning, I wept. This little town, long a venerable outpost in the Canadian Rockies, is (was) one of my favorite places in the world. Located way up at the northern terminus of the world-renowned Icefields Parkway, Jasper was a special place, a throwback to the days of old-fashioned mountain civility, embodying elegant beauty and inspiring …

Since 1984, Whatcom Land Trust (the Trust) has worked to protect and steward Whatcom County’s special places for future generations of all species. Adventures Northwest readers have likely experienced that impact without realizing it—perhaps while hiking, biking, or exploring in one of the 19 Whatcom County public parks created with the help of Whatcom Land Trust over the past 40 …

Washington State Route 20 (known as the North Cascades Highway from Marblemount to Winthrop) is the state’s longest and most scenic highway. If you’ve traveled in the North Cascades, you’re already familiar with it. SR20 stretches from Whidbey Island in the west all the way to the city of Newport on the Idaho border. Along the way, it winds along …

In the three years I spent photographing and writing my new book, Soul of the Skagit, I listened to countless people affectionately refer to the river as the “Magic Skagit.” Sure, it has a ring to it. But I was relatively new to the Pacific Northwest, and besides the obvious beauty of the Skagit River and the North Cascades, I …

Harlan Kredit was raised in Lynden, the epicenter of conservatism in the rural northwest corner of Washington State. Lawns were expected to be manicured, but lawn mowing on Sunday was forbidden. With 29 churches, many of which are Christian Reformed, Lynden is said to have one of the country’s highest per capita ratio of churches—one church per about every .09 …