Tag Archives: featured

Mountain treks through indigenous territories require careful planning that honors the land’s original stewards and their living cultures. Many popular trekking routes, including those leading to ancient sites in the Andes, cross lands that indigenous communities have managed for centuries. Travelers who approach these journeys with cultural awareness contribute to preservation efforts while gaining a deeper understanding of the regions …

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 left my cabin in the drizzle and dark. Beyond a bluff on the Oregon coast, gulls hovered and wheeled, their cries riding the wind above the waves. I pedaled my bike past pools left behind when the ocean abandoned the land. Haystack Rock stood in the surf like a mountain risen from the sea. On its grassy slope, puffins …

For nearly half my life, the Cascade Mountains have shaped how I see the world. Mount Baker, in particular, called to me the first time I hiked its flanks in 2002. I knew then I needed to live here. That instinct became a life. For 24 years, this region has been both home and muse, offering endless variations of light, …

Wildlife travel works best with planning and preparation, while remaining flexible to local conditions. These destinations offer reliable opportunities to see animals in their natural habitats, though sightings can depend on season, weather, and timing. Guided experiences improve both safety and success, and in many locations, permits or advance arrangements are required. The reward is seeing wildlife in ways that …

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 …