New Hampshire honing in on all time snow record

While it continues to snow here in Washington state, my home state of New Hampshire on the opposite side of the country continues to receive its fair share of the white blanket as well. With over 112 inches of snow fallen this winter on NH's capital city, Concord, only the winters of 1872-73, and 1873-74 were snowier (well at least since they started recording back in 1868). And while 112 inches is a lot of snow -over nine feet worth- other parts of the state were buried deeper. Pinkham Notch in the White Mountains has recorded over 135 inches this winter. Mount Washington, New Hampshire's highest point (6,288 feet) has seen over 170 inches of snow. And Diamond Pond near Quebec in NH's North Country has been buried with over 200 inches- almost 17 feet worth of snow! While warm weather is currently arriving in the Granite State, Concord may not see its record shattered this year (but then again, who knows?) but certainly points north will still see some more snow. And here in Washington state? Same story-lots of snow-except we are still waiting for our warm weather to arrive. Please....

(photo- Francestown, NH in December 2007 at the beginning of this crazy snow year)

Magic Juan!

All of this snow got you down this year? From Maine to Mississippi to Washington State it seems like it has just been one heck of a winter this year! You can go head to your nearest coffee shop and argue whether global warming is real, an illusion, an occurance that only happens during leap years and election years, something that is real only in the Democrat's headquarters or something that is on the order of the tooth fairy in the Republican's headquarters....or....whew... how about heading to the San Juan Islands to do a little snow free most excellent spring hiking! The days are longer now if not warmer and the crowds won't arrive on the San Juans for three more months. My newest book, Day Hiking North Cascades has an entire chapter devoted to the San Juans. My book is the first to include the brand new Turtleback Mountain Preserve on Orcas Island. I've got directions to Shark Reef, Obstruction Point and Mount Finlayson too-check it out. And if you can't get to the San Juans right away, I have a handful of snowfree hikes you can check out on Fildalgo Island, the Chuckanut Mountains and the Skagit Valley. So, let it snow! Go enjoy these hikes!

(Photo-looking over Deer Harbor from Turtleback Mountain)

Happy Easter!

While the sun may not be shining this year in the Vatican on this holy day (it's not shining here either in western Washington) there's still plenty of light being shone. Easter is a time for rejoicing, rejuvenating and reflecting. I vividly remember Easters back on the East Coast. Giant chocolate bunnies, church adorned in showy Easter Lilies and my Sicilian grandmother serving rabbit for Easter dinner. You gotta problem with eating the Easter Bunny?! Buona Pasqua tutti.

(Photo- Citta del Vaticano May 1995- dove il Papa?)

What are Trails For?

The latest issue of the Conservation Northwest Quarterly, the newsletter for Conservation Northwest poses the question just, what are trails for? Do they include use by ATVs? Many of our wilderness trails and roadless eastern Washington wilds are currently being threatened by ATV use both illegal and with the blessing of misguided land and government officials. Motorized recreation (wreakreation) next to lack of funding is the biggest threat our trails face this decade. Find out what you can do to thwart the conversion of our wildlands and trails into speedways and backcountry race tracks. Join Conservation Northwest and get involved. And when you read the latest issue of their magazine enjoy my photography! I shot the cover and an inside spread. Both pictures were taken in the Columbia Highlands of Northeastern Washington.

(photos- cover Abercrombie Mountain, and Heather hiking on Hall Mountain)

Lanham Lake? Where?

Great day today snowshoeing to Lanham Lake near Stevens Pass in the Central Cascades. Its a fairly straightforward trip- about 1.6 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation gain- old growth forest for almost the entire way and no avalanche danger. The lake is small and sits in a quiet basin below Jim Hill Mountain. What was impressive about today's outing was not so much the locale (although it is quite lovely in winter coat) but the amount of snow. There must be a good 8 feet of it. It is amazing! Spring is here in a few days but it'll be July before most of the Cascades see it. This year may very well be a repeat of 1999 when certain areas in the Cascades never melted out. Looks like I'll be doing some snowshoeing and skiing well into summer this year! So much for worrying about our water supply this summer and global warming? It ain't happening around here this year either!

( photo- Michael Fagin and Heather Romano "walk on water")

The Ides of March Were Good to ole Granny

Madeline Korcsmaros was born on March 15, the Ides of March in the year 1910. And while Shakespeare's Caesar was warned to beware the Ides, Madeline, better known as Granny Kush was blessed on that date. She lived nearly 98 years-and saw quite a bit in that near century. Wars and the Great Depression, inventions and prosperity-all while living a good life with good family and good health. Ironically, Granny was a worrier, convinced she'd die of cancer or some other ailment-and there were many she worried about! But, she lived to be nearly 100! Granny left us in October and is now in a better place. I just hope they have rocking chairs and good restaurants up there in heaven! We miss you Granny and we hope that you passed along a little of that longevity gene to the rest us.

(Me and Granny at a young 96 December 2006)

Washington State Once Again Disses its Parks System!

Well here we go again. The Washington State Legislature which is overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats has once again given our State Park system the short end of the financial stick. What the heck?! They manage to find money in the budget to spend millions of tax payers dollars on educating illegal immigrants and dimwit home owners who can't figure out what they can afford- but no money for expanding our park system! I'm getting pretty sick of this and from the tone of this entry you can see that I'm angry! I blogged on numerous occasions a couple of years ago on this topic and here we go again.

Democrats have controlled the state house since 1985 and what have our parks gotten under them? We had to buy day passes to support our parks under Gary Locke while he closed a handful of our parks for good. What a travesty! Meanwhile our population base has increased by 1.5 million in that time and our park system has grown by nary a park. Now the Republicans don't exactly have a great record here too-but Dan Evans was probably our last good governor when it came to our parks. And in 2004 Dino Rossi (who sat on the board of the WA Nature Conservancy) made part of his platform to better fund our state park system. All I can say now is, Dino are you ready to make good on that promise again if (re-) elected?

We need somebody in our state house who cares about our parks. Voters-think about this as new parks like Miller Peninsula (which I write about in my Day Hiking Olympic Book) and Mashel Valley are now put on hold. Parks that were supposed to be showcases for the upcoming 2013 centennial. This is getting tiring. I would like to enjoy these parks before I die and before the legislature takes more of my money away to give to social welfare programs and sports franchises. When will this state's legislature start showing that parks are important to our natural and cultural heritage, our economy, and to all of our residents regardless of their social status? When?

(photo- Miller Peninsula State Park)

Romano's Endangered Trails

Gee Point

As a guidebook writer I've hiked my fair share of trails over the years. Here in Washington State- well over 1,000 of them. The fate of many of these backwoods byways is grim. While 20 years ago logging and logging roads were obliterating many of them off of the face of the Cascades, Olympics, and Selkirks, now they are fading because we aren't logging anymore! Say what? You heard me correctly. Because we are no longer logging in many of our national forests (thank the global market place and a few environmental zealots, but mostly the global market place) funding for trails and other recreation programs on our national forests has all but disappeared.

Now you can blame Bush and the Republicans, they certainly are responsible for much of the fund gutting-but it was happening under Clinton, too-and the current Democratic Congress hasn't amounted to too much either when it comes to funding our forests. (I miss Scoop Jackson!) The situation looks dire in the future even under a president Clinton, Obama, or McCain. Unless Americans start demanding that we fund our national forests better and perhaps stop wasting so much of our public dollars on wars, social welfare programs and entitlements.Our national Forests benefit all Americans-and wildlife-and provide a break from the rapidly urbanizing landscapes that we just can't seem to stop (think no population policy-think uncontrolled immigration-think unsustainable development).

Anyhow, I've digressed enough. I wish to share with you from time to time some of my favorite endangered trails in Washington State. One is Gee Point in the Finney Block of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest located between the Stilliguamish and Skagit Rivers. Pockets of gorgeous old-growth still exist on this former lookout point with spectacular views of Mount Baker and the Skagit Valley. One of my favorite highlights on this trail is its "Mini Grand Park." The first .25 mile of this trail is brushy hell-but beyond, some good tread still exists. All this trail needs to bring it back to life is a handful of trail lovers one weekend brushing it out and doing a little tread work-perhaps adding a trailhead sign would be nice too. I've highlighted it in my new book, Day Hiking North Cascades. It is a peaceful trail and I want more people to discover it before we lose it forever. Will you heed my call and go hike it this year?

(photo- Gee Point's "Mini Grand Park" and thanks to WTA for the Endangered Trails inspiration)

BC Guidebook Author Shares Similar Concerns

As a guidebook author I have a fondness for my fellow guidebook authors- well at least a good number of them! One whose work I've enjoyed over the years and have used his books to help guide me, is Jack Bryceland of Chilliwack, BC. His 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia is indispensable for any hiker exploring the lower mainland of BC. Jack's best selling guide book (over 120,000 copies) is now coming out in its 6th edition! Nice work-and I can only hope my Day Hiking Books have a similar run.

Upon reading a recent interview with Jack in Straight.com I found that many of the same concerns Jack has for trails and conservation in BC are similar to ones that I have for trails and conservation here in Washington. Among Jack's concerns:

The increase in Motorized recreation and illegal ATV use. He cites one hike he had to remove from a previous edition because, "all-terrain vehicles have torn up the meadows."

He's also concerned that conservation of public lands, as well as access to trails, is in decline across the province. This is one of my biggest concerns too and its coming at us from several fronts.

1. Lack of funding and commitment from government sources

2. Decline in natural resource jobs leading to decline in funds for road and trail maintenance

3. Elite misguided extremist environmental organizations who champion road decommissioning at the expense of public access

And while I believe motorized users have a right to recreate I agree with Jack when he makes the following statement, “Nonmotorized outdoor recreation is not sufficiently appreciated as a maintainer of good health, and I think we need to get that publicized, recognized. Riding your ATV doesn’t do anything for you healthwise, and causes all sorts of environmental degradation.”

We guidebook writers can learn from each other and its nice to see that Jack is taking a chapter from the Washington play book. He plans to devote a portion of this year to laying out the groundwork for an organization like the Washington Trails Association to help protect and maintain hiking trails in B.C.

Bravo- my new Day Hiking Books donate 1% of their proceeds to the Washington Trails Association. A small amount, but a needed amount and a commitment to our trails. And what can you do? Buy Jack's book for one thing and explore some of those great trails. Get involved with a Canadian Trails or Conservation group like the British Columbia Mountaineering Club or the Wilderness Committee and of course support the Washington Trails Association here!

Run Portland, Too!

Also in this month's Northwest Runner is my On the Run column highlighting the running scene in Portland, Oregon. Check it out for suggestions on where to run in the Rose City. On the Run was a column that I designed back in the fall of 1999 showcasing the running scene in communities throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia. Upcoming destinations this year include Fort Langley, British Columbia, Chelan, Washington, Longview-Kelso, Washington, and Tofino, British Columbia among others. And keep watching this blog for a big announcement pertaining to On the Run. I'll be letting you in on an exciting project shortly.

(photo- running along the Willamette River in downtown Portland on a beautiful November day)

Oh Canada- Gotta Run!

Pick up a copy of this month's Northwest Runner magazine for my feature story on running in Canada. I have run races in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan and have gone on some great runs in Quebec. I love the country and I share with you in this issue some good travel pointers and let you know about some excellent BC races and countrywide marathons. I have a story on the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay, Ontario too. I'll be writing a feature on running in Langley, BC in the May issue and I'll be running in the Edge to Edge Marathon in Tofino, BC doing research for an upcoming story. See you on the run up north!

(Magazine cover-running in Vancouver's Stanley Park- my photograph)