Water

Sculpted landscapes emerge above the shimmering sea.  Whether dappled in sunlight or tucked inside fog, the San Juan Islands are as magical as the waterways that flow between them. The trees, water, and rocks are alive with personality. Stella Blue is my floating studio. She’s a 27-foot-long sailboat, 52 years old, and decorated with accidental dabs of oil paint, a …

Rising as always with the first glimmers of dawn, we wake to a scorching gale pushing us hard against the anchor, heeling us over with the heavier gusts. Tucked into a side channel of the Ugashik River, we have spent the night just inside the bar. Watching the strong tendrils of wind scurrying across our anchorage, I wonder what we …

The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River sparked a remarkable environmental success story. With so much doom and gloom about environmental disasters all around the globe, it behooves us to acknowledge the successes we’ve had in protecting the natural world. After nearly a century of destruction, the restoration of the Elwha has become an …

I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. At the current moment, I find myself sitting on the couch next to my wife–the kids are in bed, and I’m staring down the barrel of my 35th birthday. I suppose you could accuse me of “Peter Pan Syndrome”, never really wanting to grow up, …

            Paddling futilely like a one-winged albatross, I watched the bow of the balloon-like inflatable kayak swing inexorably broadside into the muddy four-foot waves. I struggled to straighten the lethargic rubber boat with my one good arm, but found myself wallowing imbalanced in the deepest trough.             “Oh my God,” I thought incredulously, “I’m going to flip.”              I clenched …

18 -20 mph winds and three to four foot swells met us as we paddled our kayaks out of Lund Harbor heading north. Waves sloshed over the boats, and, even though we had skirts and rain gear, they soaked us. Steering was next to impossible. Our intrepid group of seven was just beginning a trip to Desolation Sound with the …

My morning watch began the way it had all summer. At 03:56 a.m., I stepped into the wheelhouse of the MV David B and wrote in the logbook: August 10, wind calm, depth 110 feet, barometer 1012.  Comments: rain and fog. Then I walked back to the galley, turned off all the lights, save one dim lamp under a cabinet. …

Explorers who combine rivers and trails create journeys that move beyond a single discipline. Kayak-hiking routes invite immersion in landscapes where water and land shape each other, from mountain tarns to coastal deltas. The design of such routes requires a balance of mapping skill, environmental awareness, and technical understanding. Selecting compatible terrains and managing transitions between them demands careful preparation, …

“I need you to calculate the layline,” the skipper shouts at me through the darkness. I thumb through our historic track in Navionics and try to piece together a heading. There’s a bright light off in the distance that I assume is the windward mark in Neah Bay. The goal is to turn at exactly the right time. Too soon, …

            In the summer of 2023, our tight-knit community of White Salmon, Washington, was rocked by tragedy. Three young men, all bright stars in their own way, died within the span of six months, by suicide, an unintended drug overdose, and a kayaking accident. The first had been a childhood friend of my son Che. The second was a …