If you spend any time at all in the Pacific Northwest, you’ll see evidence all around that wild salmon are the backbone of our environment, culture, and economy. Yet many salmon-bearing streams have been degraded by past land-use practices—the removal of large woody debris and riparian vegetation, the straightening and ditching of stream channels, and the installation of poorly designed …
Read More »Tag Archives: Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Mountain Stewards: Angels of the Backcountry
On a bright summer day in the North Cascades, a father is hiking along with his two sons, their mother trailing far behind sporting flip-flops. The uneven terrain makes her feet look painful, and a passing man offers that flip-flops probably aren’t the best footwear for the trail. “Oh I know, my husband—that idiot— said we were going to the …
Read More »The High Divide: Walking the Green Horizon
The High Divide, that long sinuous ridge that stretches from Excelsior Peak to Welcome Pass has long been a favorite autumn backpacking destination. I’ve spent some glorious October days and nights on the Divide when the sweeping alpine meadows are positively lurid with the golds, reds and yellows of the season. But my visits in mid-summer flower season have been …
Read More »The Wildflower Gardens of Skyline Divide
Each summer there are a few weeks when Skyline Divide may be the most beautiful place on earth. It is at this time – the apex of summer – that the wildflower gardens carpeting the Divide burst forth in a display of alpine color that is among the best in the North Cascades. The trail meanders along the ridge, offering …
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