Tag Archives: Hurricane Ridge

After decades of debate, draft plans, and environmental assessments, the National Park Service (NPS) has decided to eliminate mountain goats from the Olympic National Park and the surrounding National Forest areas. They plan to employ their Record of Decision, Alternative D: a combination of relocation and lethal removal. This means relocating at least 50% of the Olympic area mountain goats …

I quoted Tennyson, “My mariners…you and I are old,” when I proposed the Olympic Crossing to my friends. Quoting Tennyson was standard for me, but proposing a mere hike was not. We were climbers. For thirty years, every wilderness trip we’d taken had set a mountain summit as its goal. But I’d capped last summer’s climbing season with my fourth …

Here in the Pacific Northwest we are fortunate to have some of the nation’s most beautiful National Parks. They are all popular – and busy – in summer but the winter season offers its own unique pleasures. If you are looking for a great outdoor experience in the Pacific Northwest, consider snowshoeing through the silent, pristine landscapes of one of …

This was our third attempt to explore the Olympic Mountains in mid-winter. The first two tries had been thwarted by storms and we had ended up on the beach instead. Not this time. After procuring our permits at the Wilderness Info Center in Port Angeles, we drove up the Hurricane Ridge Road in a thick fog, emerging above the cloud …