Not Impressed!

While Giuseppe may not be impressed with my Best Hikes with Dogs Inland Northwest Book, you may be. Now, while definitely catered to hikers of the canine persuasion, dog-less hikers will find much to their liking in this book too. For one thing, this guidebook is the most comprehensive of any on the Kettle River Range in Northeastern Washington. You'll also find some great hikes in the Selkirks, Palouse, Tiffany Highlands, Idaho Panhandle, Cabinet Mountains of Montana and the Bitterroot Divide of Idaho and Montana.

And if you live in Spokane come see my slide show and book talk on hiking with your dog at REI on Monday October 20th. Come back on Tuesday October 21 and see my talk and presentation on hiking in the Kettle River Range and other wild areas of Northeastern Washington. I think Giuseppe is going to pass on those events. He wants to know when I'm going to give a talk on the Missing Lynx, Catamount Trail, and Kendall Catwalk instead.

Where the hell did Summer go?

Okay, two weeks of serious rain in August-this is too much even by Northwest standards. We had a winter that lasted until Memorial Day this year-then finally summer came-we even got a few hot days-then this dreary crap! Cold, wet, and gray!

I like this weather in November when I'm plugging away on a manuscript-but not in August when I need to be doing some serious field work-like heading up Evergreen Mountain for my Day Hiking Central Cascades Book. Bad enough the Forest Service probably won't reopen the road until I'm in my grave-if even then-but then to have to bike up a steep logging road over downed trees and around washouts in a down pour. Forget it! I have a good mind to not even put this hike in the book-who knows if it will ever be a day hike again!

Ahh-but that is why I wish to spotlight it-because if I don't the rains and Congress's inability to fund our National Forests properly will render yet another Northwest trail into the annals of history. And that would suck worse than this weather. I'll get there one way or another-and in the meantime-please sun come back and grace us with your warming and bright rays.

(photo-Heather heads over the Badlands in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness WA)

Coming to a Bookstore near You...

Backpacking Washington! Talk about being booked! Just as I am putting the final touches down on my fifth book, Day Hiking Central Cascades (Mountaineers Books, spring 2009), I've already begun on book number six, Backpacking Washington. Now as you can imagine, this title will involve a considerable more amount of research. It will take me two years to complete the on-the-trail research and write the manuscript, unlike the breakneck one year pace I have been on with my previous three day hiking books. There'll be less hikes in this volume, 70 as opposed to 125-but a considerable more amount of mileage!

Backpacking Washington is meant to complement the Day Hiking Series, picking up from what was left out of those volumes. Where the maximum roundtrip with few exceptions was 12 miles in the Day Hiking Books, most of the trips in the Backpacking book will be in the 18-25 mile range. And unlike most backpacking books that concentrate on a few long distance multiple day trips, this volume will concentrate mostly on weekend trips- what you can backpack to for a 2 or 3 day adventure. There will be a few longer tidbits in the line-up and almost all of the trips will have details to extend it into a multi-day adventure if you so desire. And one of the neatest aspects of this book is that it covers all of Washington! The Olympics, The South Cascades, Mount Rainier, Snoqualmie Region, Central Cascades, North Cascades and eastern Washington! You'll find trips in the Kettle River Range, Trapper Creek Wilderness, Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, Olympic Coast, and Goat Rocks Wilderness among the line-up. How cool is that?

This weekend I did a little research -about 22 miles worth with my wife to Lake Augusta, the Badlands, and Painter Creek in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. What a great outing-and being true to a Washington hike we even had to endure a little rain-but it was during the last 3.0 miles-so who cares at that point! Among the highlights on this trip was meeting another passionate backpacking and hiking couple, Anne and Rick Matsen. It was just us and another couple tucked in the larches somewhere with the entire Lake Augusta basin to ourselves. Who says you can't have solitude on a weekend in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness?

Well, you'll have to read my book for details on how you too may have this special place for yourself as well as 69 other prime Evergreen State destinations. Okay-I'm back in the woods tomorrow for more research . Ciao.

(- Heather and Me at Lake Augusta-photo by Rick Matsen)

Mountain Bike

The 11th Essential
With so many Forest Roads washed out in Washington these days, my mountain bike has become my 11th essential when out hiking. I need the rig just to get to the trailhead. Now, granted it can be a drag pumping up a steep incline with a heavy load on your back-but-you are so happy to have the bike waiting for you at the end of your hike when you can cruse back to your vehicle. I've got one more bike-hike left for my Central Cascades book-this one to Evergreen Mountain. Then after that-its mountain biking and backpacking for my next project, Backpacking Washington. Whoo-boy-that'll be fun with 40 lbs on my back-but once again it sure beats hiking back all those extra miles on boring road. Now get those damn roads open! I'm ready to just do some hiking!

Giuseppe says "Meow the Vote"

If you're a Washington State Voter, today is primary day. Don't forget to get your ballot in. And this year you'll be voting in a blanket primary-which means that you can vote all over the place on the party spectrum. Which is good-and despite the fact that I tend to favor one party, I do split the ticket. In 2004 I voted almost fifty-fifty Democrat and Republican. I vote for the person-not the party. And while its tough today finding candidates that I relate to-there are a few out there. I do hope that we'll see the likes of Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt, Dan Evans, JC Watts, and John Chafee again. And I do hope we'll see the likes of Democrats like Harry Truman, Al Rosellini, Scoop Jackson and Warren Magnuson again. Unfortunately the parties are coddling too many extremists likes Republicans "Home-makover king" Ted Stevens and Larry "I am not Gay-yeah right" Craig; Democrats Jim "I love you Saddam" McDermott and Maxine "What's wrong with socialism?" Waters- total extremists all of them! Vote for the person, not the party!
I'm casting my ballot for Rick Larsen my Democratic Congressmen and Dino Rossi Republican for governor. I'm especially supportive of Dino. Gregoire has been a financial disaster-and as far as our public lands-they don't seem to be of much importance to her-she's too busy doling out tax dollars to bureaucrats and to fund entitlement programs. Dino cares for our state parks and while state senator he served as a director with the Washington Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and the Mountains to Sound Greenway.
Now Giuseppe, named for one of the greatest Italian statesmen in history, Giuseppe Garibaldi, loves the idea of voting for a fellow Italian-American for governor, but he thinks the Demo-cats sound good. That's Demo-crat, Giuseppe and just like many of their fellow GOP solons, most of them are far from purr-fect!

Spring Time in the Forest Three longtime friends of pioneer guidebook author Ira Spring would like to have Spring Mountain officially changed to Ira Spring Mountain to honor this champion of hiking trails and Washington wilderness. The mountain lies on a ridge just north of Pugh Mountain and west of Bingley Gap. Not an imposing or well-noted peak, but a worthy one never-the-less to carry the name of one of the Northwest's most known and beloved conservationists. Draped in old-growth forest and surrounded by some of the most spectacular wild-country in Washington, Ira Spring Mountain would be in the center of it all-yet not the center of it all. A lot like Ira! Read the recent story in the Everett Herald about the name change move and attend the hearing if you can.

(photo- Doug Romano looks out over (Ira) Spring Mountain (in front of Sloan Peak) from Mount Pugh)

North Cascades National Park is almost Over the HillOn October 2nd the North Cascades National Park turns 40! Yahoo! The Park Service and many others have started the celebration.. Terry Wood of the Seattle Times wrote a nice piece in yesterday's newspaper on this occasion and what it means to various writers, conservationists, and others connected to the park.

Below is a reprint from my book Day Hiking North Cascades about the creation of the park. Let's celebrate as well as move forward with the next set of parks and preserves.

Preserving America’s Alps

On October 2, 1968, President Lynden B. Johnson signed into law a bill establishing the North Cascades National Park and adjacent Lake Chelan and Ross Lake National Recreation Areas. Today, nearly 93% of the North Cascades National Park complex is comprised of federal wilderness- to be managed in an untrammeled state. A cause for celebration among the conservation and hiking communities, establishment of America’s 34th national park was no slam dunk.
Originally proposed by the Portland, Oregon based Mazamas in 1906, there was little threat to the greater North Cascades ecosystem at that time. In 1937 the Department of Interior (who administers the National Parks Department) agreed that the North Cascades was of national park caliber. However, still no action was taken. By this time, the region’s great river, the Skagit, sporting two dams with another on the way was wild no more.
By the 1950s and 60s mining and timber interests, especially the latter were well entrenched in the region. Roads pushed back deeper into the wilderness. One of America’s largest remaining roadless areas was in danger of being seriously and irreparably destroyed.
In 1956 a group of concerned citizens including guidebook pioneers Harvey Manning and Ira Spring formed the North Cascades Conservation Council intent on finally establishing a national park for the region. Congressman Thomas Pelly (R-WA) introduced a bill that year that failed. The Council however continuously campaigned, lobbied, and publicized (partly through books intended to make people aware at what was at stake) for a park. Their tireless efforts came to fruition in 1968 when Senator Henry Scoop Jackson (D-WA) and Representative Lloyd Meeds (D-WA) successfully pushed through Congress bills for park establishment. Forty years later we continue to enjoy that legacy.

(photo- Mount Ruth)

The Benchmark of all Alpine MeadowsRoad washouts suck! And we here in Washington State are in real danger of losing permanent access to so many of our hiking trails because of the large number of them. Take a look at the Skykomish and Darrington Ranger Districts' lineup of accessible trails. Not much, uh? And no wonder trails like Dickerman are even more crowded than before. Some of our trails have been de facto closed now for over five summers. Enough! This country has the money to fix roads and hiking trails. When are we going to make this a priority? Boy do I long for another president like Teddy Roosevelt. He'd get the job done and there wouldn't be much red tape in the way either!

I only hope that whomever replaces the less-than-environmentally stellar W; McCain or Obama, that they make public lands and public funding of public lands a priority again. And that goes too for our governor. Give me another Dan Evans any day. Ms. Gregoire has nearly bankrupted our state and her budgets are forcing state parks to raise their fees again-new parks have been put on hold-and DNR was given no funding for trails. So much for Washington Democrats caring about public lands and providing adequate public funding so that the public may enjoy these lands. And Washington Republicans-here's your chance to win over some folks. Do something postive for the environment like what Mr. Evans was so proud of doing. And Dino, in 2004 properly funding our state park system was part of your campaign platform? Is it still?

In the meanwhile however-here's something positive-kind of. If you are tenacious enough to bike past some of these road closures you will be guaranteed an amazing wilderness experience in our backcountry. I recently spent a couple of days at the end of the North Fork Skykomish River Valley and hiked back up to Benchmark Mountain, one of my absolute favorite places in the Central Cascades. The meadows are stunning! The views are breathtaking! And the trail is in excellent shape! No one up there except me and the bears. If you can work up the extra energy to bike 3.5 miles of closed road with one mile of it being covered in downed trees- this wilderness can be yours! Enjoy-and remember to hold your public officials accountable-maybe even try to get some of their sorry butts out on our trails so they can see this mess they've left us with!

(photo- Benchmark Mountain-August 2008)

The Bear Facts

It has been a week since the terrible shooting death of a hiker by a juvenile hunter on Sauk Mountain in Skagit County, Washington. While accusations and emotions have been running high and an investigation is currently being conducted, it is important to keep the situation in perspective. This is an extremely rare occurrence and hikers have more to worry about being killed by an errant driver on their way to the trailhead than an errant hunter on the trail. Of course, for the shooting victim and her family this is a terrible accident-a horrible tragedy-and my thoughts and prayers go out to her. To the hunter, we'll soon find out if this was a terrible accident, or worse-reckless endangerment-manslaughter?

But for hunting in general-this is no proxy on its merits. This is an isolated case of an armed unsupervised juvenile that should (a) have never been without adult supervision in the first place, and (b) should have been looking for bear elsewhere. Which is what I wish to discuss right now. Among the banter flying around on the Internet about this terrible incident are many silly, inane, and irreverent remarks. One I found interesting was a hiker who questioned whether there were even enough bears in the Cascades to hunt at all. He stated that he has been hiking for over 15 years in the Cascades and has never seen one bear.

Boy-where have you been hiking?! Get off of Mount Si and leave your noisy hiking companions behind and I assure you that you'll see a bear. They are all over the Cascades and this year in particular I have seen more than my fair share of them. Why just last week on a two day trip in the North Fork of the Skykomish River Valley I saw three bears! On my hike to Cady Ridge-via mountain bike on the washed out North Fork Skykomish Road, I spooked a big ole black bear early morning on the road -then another big ole black bear early evening on the trail on the return. Look around! Bear scat-bear scratches-bear digs everywhere! Yes there are plenty of bears in the Cascades. And yes there are plenty of bears to warrant a hunt. And yes, you won't see them on popular trails. So why the hell were those two hunters on the Sauk Mountain Trail where tons of hikers roam and nary a bear does? If I was a bear hunter I'd be up the North Fork Skykomish right now. And with the washed out access and long approach my chances of encountering fellow hikers are slim. I saw no one in 23 miles of hiking. My chances of encountering a bear however, are damn good. I saw two and they and their furry buddies are up there right now.

(Photo- freshly bear scratched tree along Quartz Creek in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness)

Subtle Beauty Perhaps it's because my first introduction to the natural world was in the rolling emerald hills of Southern New Hampshire. Rock walls and white pine groves and crimson leaved maples and golden beech leaves reflecting in placid ponds-the fading cry of the loon-all reasons why I have such a love and affinity for what I call subtle beauty mountains. Don't get me wrong- Mount Rainier casts her spell on me every time I see her. And I have hiked in the Andes, Alps, Rockies, Apennines, Pirin, and Pyrenees Mountains. Alpine Alaska, Alberta, and Argentina I have witnessed first hand too and they're simply awesome!

But I love the Appalachians, too. Their rolling pastoral hills soothe my soul. In the east Nature was painted by a French impressionist while out west its all post modernism. Now, we have subtle beauty mountains in the west too-and I am equally drawn to them-among my favorites are the Entiats, Blues, Selkirks, and my dearest, the Kettle River Range. The Kettles in particular feel like the Smokies in the Northwest. Nothing awesome here-just soothing-stimulating-and embracing. And of course one of the things I love most about these gentler mountains as opposed to the rock and ice in-your-face peaks is their biological diversity. The subtle beauty peaks are more inviting to critters and they support a far wider range of flora than the pointy top snow covered big bang peaks. Don't know what I mean? Take a hike in mid-spring in the Appalachians and stop and listen to how many distinct bird calls are ringing in a forest of well over 100 tree species. Subtle indeed!

(photo- Cougar Mountain- south Entiat Range, Wenatchee National Forest, WA)

The Shot heard around the Cascades

I heard the tragic news late yesterday afternoon. A hiker was shot and killed on Sauk Mountain, apparently mistaken for a bear by a teenage hunter. This all happened right here in my backyard in Skagit County. The young hunter is from nearby Concrete. The hiker is from Oso (ironically which means bear in Spanish) not too far from here over in the Stillaguamish Valley. This is a tragedy in so many respects. An avid hiker's life has been cut short. She will never be able to enjoy her passion for the mountains again. A young man must live with this for the rest of his life. Assuming that he has been raised with a value system and conscious (not so common these days) he will carry this awful burden to his grave. He was out with his father who also will have an anguished soul because of this incident. The hiker's friends and family will carry the pain of losing their loved one with them for the rest of their lives and will constantly keeping asking, "Why?!"

A lot of questions will be asked. A lot of soul searching will occur. And there will be lot of wishing that the clock can be set back. And I hope that we in the outdoors community will learn something from this horrific event and begin healing. What we don't need however- which is happening in a few hiking circles in these parts, is self-righteous blaming and knee-jerk reacting.

Let's get something straight here folks. Accidents happen. Cars crash. People fall off of mountains. Teenagers do stupid things. Children drown. Adults too. Hikers die in bad weather. And hunting accidents happen too. But lets remain rational here. Hunting accidents are rare. To turn this tragedy into an anti-hunting diatribe is ludicrous. Do we ban driving after every car accident- regardless if bad judgment caused the accident? And that's what we need to learn here- was it bad judgment that caused this and how can we make things safer for hikers and hunters in the future?

Should hunting be banned from certain high use trails? Should all outdoorspeople be required to wear orange from Aug 1 to Dec 1? Should there be a minimum age for hunting? Should certain areas of public lands be closed to hiking during hunting season?

But ban hunting? Ridiculous! Most hunters are responsible outdoorspeople and good conservationists. They are great allies for protecting open space. Regulate hunting? Absolutely-but how much-and how far-and at what point must we simply just trust people to use proper judgement? After all, driving is the most dangerous thing we do and no matter how many regulations we pass, we are always in danger of being hit and killed. So the only thing that would guarantee your safety on the road is to stay off of the roads. Not gonna happen. And I'm not staying off the trails either. And I don't expect my fellow citizens that hunt to give up their rights to the woods either. And as far as banning guns- this is America-not some communist nation where only the government owns guns. Thank you Supreme Court for upholding our constitution.

So-what all this comes down to then is that this is a tragedy-a terrible accident- and one I pray does not happen again. I pray too for the family of the hiker and for the hunter. Making the woods safer for all of us is what we are left to contemplate. And we don't need any grandstanding and knee-jerking and self-righteous proclamations from left-wing and right-wing ideologues.

Giuseppe has an idea

... and its to take a nap! It seems that's his answer to everything these days. Looming deadlines-take a nap. McCain versus Obama-time to snooze. High gas prices-e tempo por il mio pisolino. Nutty right-wingers who want to drill for oil everywhere- shut eye please. Wacky libs who want to drill for oil nowhere- zzzzzzzzzzzz. Iraq, Iran, Turdistan-please I'm trying to get some sleep around here. Yep, Giuseppe has it all right- viva la doce vita! We should learn from this piccolo gattino. What's important in life? That you live life to the fullest! Even if that means chasing shadows, batting stuffed animals, eating, and sleeping 20 hours a day. So be it! Just how much trouble can you get in with that schedule? Then again...