This week’s topic for the #NatureWritingChallenge really had me thinking! “Your most memorable encounter with a stranger on public lands” should have been easy because we meet new-to-us people ALL the time while out on public lands. It is inevitable that we run into people we don’t know, even when we are trying to escape…
Tag: washington
Dear Santa, I’ve Been Really Good This Year (My Wish-list For The Pacific Crest Trail)
Dear Santa, I hope it isn’t too soon to be writing out my Christmas wish-list but see, there is this Nature Writing Challenge thing and this week’s theme is “Your wish-list for Public Lands” and you seemed like the perfect person to share my wish-list with. You the professional procurer of wish-lists and all. Santa,…
When A Mountain Becomes A Memorial
For my birthday a few weekends ago, I was able to head out with some of my family (the ones who love to scramble up mountains) and revisit a summit that I was not able to reach a little less than two years ago when I was there by myself. Fear (and maybe sensibility) got…
How To Have A Two Day Weekend Getaway On The Cascade Scenic Loop Byway: Golden Larches, Good Food and Adult Time
As October (gasp!) and fall come around again, I am making plans for a weekend road trip on the Cascade Scenic Loop Byway similar to one we did this same time last year. And guess what, I haven’t shared that weekend with you yet! So, as I look forward to what possibilities could present themselves…
Who Is Your Favorite Hiker?
A few Fridays ago, on a grey and wet morning typical of the Pacific Northwest we all know and love, I received a phone call. I had just settled in at the dining room table in my sweats and slippers to write up some new résumés, when I heard my phone ring. Very few people…
Reaching New Heights
Last month I had a chance to take my friend Elle up the old trail to West and Middle Beckler Peak, a decommissioned route I first told you about in my post, One of Those Days. In that story, I talked about how I had almost been able to scramble up to the middle (sub)…