Tag Archives: Desolation Peak

A River of Stories

The Skagit River sustains humans in many ways, from providing drinking water to irrigating crops and nurturing fisheries. Of course, the basin is also home to a profound richness of wildlife, including bears, salmon, bald eagles, otters, trout, voles, elk, swans, and the Pacific giant salamander. The river is a popular destination for recreation—camping, kayaking, rafting, fly-fishing, skinny-dipping—as well as …

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The Best Hikes in North Cascades National Park

Ten Trails That You’ll Never Forget… Stunning views, towering summits, prolific wildlife, primeval forests, glistening glaciers, resplendent wildflowers, and one of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48; celebrate the North Cascades National Park’s 50th anniversary with a hike. Here are ten of my absolute favorites—from easy day hikes to challenging backpacking trips in the North Cascades National Park …

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Outposts of Ice: John Scurlock’s Winter Fire Lookouts

Imagine a mythic hut – carved from frost and ice, fashioned into a form strangely familiar to our sense of what a house should look like, yet abstract and barely recognizable.   If you could travel to this strange hut sitting in perhaps the most inhospitable spot found in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, then you would have arrived at …

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