Have a Merry Christmas!

No have a happy 'holiday'. It's Christmas! A magical and to many, a blessed and sacred day. No matter your faith, have a wonderful and joyous Christmas! Back here in New Hampshire it is quite mild this day. We just finished our Christmas morning run and it was one of the few time that we have run it in shorts. Meanwhile back in my adopted home of Washington state-it is colder- a little more New England like as far as the weather goes. It has been a blustery December in Washington and a mild one in New Hampshire. Here's a photo from last year's Christmas in New England-just like the ones I used to know! Have a wonderful Christmas today!

I'm Dreaming of a Wild Christmas!-Part II

New England Wilderness Bill Passes

The 109th Congress- the lamest since 1946 has at least managed to pass a few bills of substance that are good for lovers of nature and all things wild. The New England Wilderness Act passed, protecting 76,500 acres of new wilderness in New Hampshire and Vermont. New Hampshire's White Mountains will see 34,500 acres added to its wilderness inventory. This new designation will expand the existing Sandwich Range Wilderness area and create a new wilderness area at Wild River. Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest's total wilderness has now increased to over 100,000 acres, nearly 25% of the entire National Forest

The part of the bill dealing with New Hampshire's share was authored by Senator Sununu and co-sponsored by Senator Gregg, both republicans. Nice to see the GOP move back into the conservation department-after all it was the party that gave us some of the strongest pieces of environmental legislation, ala T. Roosevelt and R. Nixon in our nation's history. The Vermont portion of the bill which proved to be a bit more controversial was added to the New Hampshire bill to be presented as a single New England bill. This proved to be a wise move, providing passage and a great outcome. Nice job!

I'm Dreaming of a Wild Christmas!

New Nevada Wilderness Bill Passed!

Rejoice lovers of wildlands. The Do-Nothing Congress has finally passed a handful of meaningful pieces of legislation. Among them-A Nevada Wilderness Bill protecting over 500,000 acres of White Pine County Wildlands. White Pine County is a massive sparsely populated region in the heart of the Great Basin. Bristlecone pine forests, 12,000 foot plus peaks, and sparkling alpine lakes adorn this little-known and little explored part of the American West. Two summers ago I had the opportunity to do some hiking in this region and it is an amazing place. Pictured above is Great Basin National Park. The nearby Mount Moriah Wilderness area was one of the regions affected by this new bill-it has been increased in size. Rejoice wilderness lovers, with Pombo on the out-we are sure to get some more wilderness bills passed soon.

Rain Reigns in Seattle!

It's official-The monthly record for the most rainfall in Seattle has been broken. November 2006 will long be remembered by Seattlelites for its 15.66 inches of rainfall and for the destruction it left behind. Trails and roads leading to many of our National Park and Forest trailheads have been severely washed out, thanks to the deluge of 06.

All of that wonderful weather we enjoyed from February through October had a price! Next year's guidebook research is going to be a whole lot tougher due to those washouts. But in the meanwhile-let's celebrate the record rainfall. Today was sunny-what a nice celebration prize.