Tag Archives: featured

There are certain regions where the landscape itself is the undisputed attraction, offering views that shape the entire travel experience. These are places defined by scale, from the height of the peaks to the depth of the waters. The following guide examines five of the world’s most visually striking spots, detailing the natural features that set them apart. From the …

Most public policy conflicts have well-defined opposing camps. Left vs Right, Rich vs Poor, Permissive vs Puritanical, the Yankees vs the Red Sox, etc. Yet sometimes a policy decision is so knotted that even similar minds find themselves at odds. This is where the finer points of ethics and morality become deeply explored. Such is the case with the barred …

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. …

Washington Trails Association (WTA) is the largest state-based trails non-profit in the U.S. But that wasn’t always the case. What began in 1966 as Signpost, a grassroots newsletter pioneered by Louise Marshall to share backcountry adventures and trail conditions, evolved into one of the most recognizable resources for hikers in the Pacific Northwest. Plenty has changed for the Washington Trails …

Lily Point is located at the southeast corner of Point Roberts with the waters of Georgia Strait on one side and Boundary Bay on the other, just a half-hour drive from Vancouver, B.C. To get there from Bellingham, you must cross into Canada and then again cross the border to enter Point Roberts, U.S.A. When Canada and the United States …

            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 …

          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.” …

One warm summer morning in early August of 2005, a small group of grad students from Western Washington University and I gazed across a small lake at one of America’s most spectacular mountain views. The lake was indeed small, really a small tarn, its glass-like surface reflected a perfectly clear upside-down image of Glacier Peak, a gleaming white volcano of …