The rain falls for two days and nights, drifting through the trees, chilled by the breath of oncoming winter. Here at the Klipchuck Campground in the Methow Valley at the tail end of September, Jesse, Al, and I are waiting for the weather to turn so we can head up into the mountains. The rain falling here is likely falling …
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A Mountain Poetry Pilgrimage
Time for Serenity, Anyone? I like to live in the sound of water in the feel of mountain air. A sharp reminder hits me: this world is still alive; it stretches out there shivering toward its own creation, and I’m part of it. Even my breathing enters into this elaborate give and take, this bowing to sun and …
Read More »Over the Top: The Epic Story of the North Cascades Highway
Washington State Route 20 (known as the North Cascades Highway from Marblemount to Winthrop) is the state’s longest and most scenic highway. If you’ve traveled in the North Cascades, you’re already familiar with it. SR20 stretches from Whidbey Island in the west all the way to the city of Newport on the Idaho border. Along the way, it winds along …
Read More »Rendezvous Huts: A Methow Tradition
Ski huts are ubiquitous in Europe. They’re common in Canada. But here in the USA, not so much. The Rendezvous Huts, located in the sublime mountains that rise above Washington’s Methow Valley, are a time-honored exception to the rule. Enoch & Shandra Kraft built the first two huts—on the Methow’s Diamond T Ranch—back in 1980. Today, there are five huts …
Read More »Fat Bike the Methow!
Fat Biking is perhaps the fastest growing winter sport in North America. The Methow Valley, with a growing network of groomed fat bike trails, has quickly become a regional destination for folks who want to expand their recreation options to include winter fun on two wheels. When it comes to fat biking, the Methow has it all: ideal two-wheel terrain, …
Read More »The Cascade Loop: Washington’s Ultimate Road Trip
I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the magnificent nooks and crannies of northwest Washington, enjoying untold splendor along the way. But I had never driven the meandering scenic excursion known as the Cascade Loop. Described as Washington’s Ultimate Road Trip, the 440-mile loop traces an oblong circle from saltwater to the Columbia Highlands and back to saltwater, crossing the …
Read More »Searching for Phantoms: Wolverines in the North Cascades
Inhospitable. That’s it, in a word. Inhospitable. The word for today—and for this landscape. The three of us were working our way across the terrain of the North Cascades, ostensibly out here recreating but more accurately, persevering. Here in the shadows of the White Salmon Basin, the sun will not crest the north face of Mt. Shuksan for some hours …
Read More »To Plow or Not to Plow? That is the Question along North Cascades Highway as Methow Valley Seeks Sno-Park at Silver Star Gate
After a conspicuously dry fall, the 2019 winter solstice was wet and wild in the Pacific Northwest as a Pineapple Express drenched the region with moisture. Seattle shattered a 120-year-old precipitation record by over an inch, but my hopes for liquid gold turning to powder in the high country after an agonizingly slow start to the ski season were dashed. …
Read More »The Art of Hokking
In the remote Altai Mountains of Northwest China the word for ski is “Hok”. For me, in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington, the word for fun is Hok! Ever since Nils Larsen introduced me to these short, fat skis I’ve had more fun than ever on snow days. Full disclosure here; I’m a professional. I ran a Nordic ski …
Read More »Where to Ski (and Eat) in the Methow Valley
You’re driving into the Methow Valley. The snow is perfect. Small mountain towns greet you, lined with alluring restaurants, tempting bakeries and thirst-quenching pubs. All good….. but where should you ski in the largest groomed Nordic ski network in North America? Hmmm, you only have two days, a long weekend, maybe a week. Difficult choices need to be made. The …
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