A Sign of the Times?

Somewhere out in the mossy, rain drenched hills above the Clearwater River on the Olympic Peninsula lies this unique road sign; ET wearing a seat belt commanding that you do as well. Did the WA DOT and State Legislature collude to bring extra terrestrial beings into enforcing this law? Strange indeed. Stranger too when you consider that this sign lies a short distance from the Clearwater Correctional Institute. Is it meant to intimidate inmates from bolting down the road, worrying them into thinking they'll be abucted by aliens. Better that than being brisked away by some of the scarier beings that hole up in these stump-studded hills on the far end of Jefferson County. Be sure you buckle up when out exploring the Clearwater. And don't stop for strangers either!

Onward to Ontario

Over the past several years I have been contributing recreational material on Canada's national and provincial parks for the Weathernetwork.com. The Weather Network is the Canadian equivalent of America's Weather Channel. My most recent fact finding mission for content was this past September on a trip to Thunder Bay, Ontario. On that trip I backcountry canoed to Quetico Provincial Park, Float planed to Turtle River Provincial Park, and strolled the pleasant shores of Sandbar Lake Provincial Park. I hiked and camped at Kakabeka Falls and Sleeping Giant Provincial Parks and was able to do a little exploring at Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park as well. Read about these adventures:

Kakabeka Falls

Quetico

Sleeping Giant

Sandbar Lake

Turtle River

I'll be returning again to Ontario this year to do some more superb hiking, camping, and paddling. Canada's most populated province is bursting with amazing outdoor destinations as well. Its park system is top notch, one of the largest and best run in the world. Perhaps it's time you rolled out a map of Ontario and start drooling over all of those green spots!

(photo- The White Otter Castle in Turtle River Provincial Park- 09/07)

Doggone good skiing

Check out the winter issue of CityDog magazine for my article on the Top 10 Dog-friendly ski resorts (downhill and cross-country) in the Northwest. Have you always wanted to take your pup along while schussing groomed trails? Well, you'd be surprised at how many Nordic Centers are opening up some of their trails for your snow bound hound. Enjoy the story and the rest of the magazine as well. The cuteness factor in the photography will have you panting with oohhs and ahhs.

Lodging A Compliment

As a world hiker and traveler I certainly spend a considerable amount of time in a tent. But I like comfort too-especially in the form of a lodge-rustic or a tad bit plush. I especially enjoy returning to a warm and cozy adobe during the wet, dark and cold months of November through March. Now, while I don't get out to ski as much as I would like (too busy working on the next hiking book) I do occasionally sneak out to cut some tracks. And when I head off on a little skiing sojourn you can bet I enjoy staying at a cozy lodge afterwards. In this month's Outdoors Northwest I have a feature on great Northwest lodges to head to after playing all day in the snow. One of my favorite places is the the Scottish Lakes High Camp. Its not in the feature-too rustic for this story-but I have written about them in the past and I encourage you to check them out. Nothing else like it in Washington-and the owners, Don and Chris Hanson know how to run a great operation. So dislodge your butt and head out for a fun filled weekend of staying at a cozy lodge.

(photos- Scottish Lakes High Camp in autumn and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort)

Flood of Support for Land Protection in Skagit County

Last night Heather and I, thanks to Skagit Land Trust Board Member Janice Martin spent an enjoyable and profitable evening at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon (WA) attending the Skagit Land Trust's annual Auction and Dinner. It was enjoyable for all us attendees and profitable for the land trust. They were successful in raising thousands of much needed dollars to help procure properties throughout the county for protection. Heather and I are proud to be members of this fine organization. Proud to be making a positive difference here in Skagit County - our home since the summer of 2007.

And here's some more exciting news for lovers of good outdoor reading and advocates of land protection, I am part of a team of writers and photographers working on a new coffee table book on the Skagit Land Trust and the special natural areas of the county. I'll fill you in on more information as we advance through the book building process. Great-just what I need to be working on yet another book! Its a labor of love and a love for protecting our special and very threatened natural places. I hope you too get involved with your local land trusts to help leave a lasting legacy for the next generation and for the myriad of species that are depending on us not to pave over the whole darn planet.

(photo- Skagit River at Rasar State Park- july 07)

Record Year for Forest Society

I've been a member of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) for over 25 years now. Of all the conservation groups that I am a member of and support, the Forest Society is my dearest. They are doing more than any other organization or agency in making sure that my beloved home state retains its natural beauty and wild and open spaces. The Forest Society has been active in keeping the Granite State one of the prettiest and most livable states in the nation since 1901. This past year was a record year for the Forest Society's land conservation efforts.

According to a January 23 press release, the Forest Society conserved more than one acre of land per hour in 2007 in New Hampshire for a total of 10,335 acres. In all, SPNHF completed 48 conservation projects which included: working forests, water resources, critical wildlife habitat, historic farmland, and important community lands.

This is keeping right in plan with the Forest Society's “New Hampshire Everlasting,” initiative that they launched in 2002 which calls for protecting over one million additional acres by the year 2026. The Forest Society has set out to conserve 25 percent of that total, or 250,000 acres, on its own by 2026. The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (http://www.forestsociety.org/) is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation organization. In order to preserve the quality of life New Hampshire residents know today, the goal of the Forest Society, in partnership with other conservation organizations, private landowners, and government, is to conserve an additional one million acres of the state’s most significant natural lands for trails, parks, farms and forests by 2026.

All a reason to celebrate, be proud of, and continue supporting SPNHF. A reason too why New Hampshire continues to lead the nation in conservation and land protection. Other states can learn from SPNHF. There is far too much at stake to lose.

(photo- me at the SPNHF Hay Reserve on Lake Sunapee, 12/07)

Now Playing:

Life of a Guidebook Writer

Venture on over to Green trails maps.com and download my podcast interview of what its like to research and write a guidebook. Green Trails cartographer Marc Rothmeyer interviewed me on a cold and wet December day about hiking in the Olympics. What did we talk about? Well, some of my favorite hikes of course. And places you can explore right now during the winter months. We talked about just what goes into such a project like writing Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula. We talked about what's next, too. Anyhow, visit the site-download the interview-play it on the way to the trail. Hope you enjoy it!

(photo-Mount Olympus from the High Divide)

The First Child in the Woods

Who are we? We're more than our genetic make-up. We are our experiences. And the strongest foundations to who we are were set as our early experiences. I am an outdoor writer, conservationist and lover of the natural world. Where did that come from? It was forged into my psyche as a child growing up in a small town in New Hampshire during the 1970s. My coming of life came to be during hundreds of restless days wandering down old woods roads, probing swamps for frogs, exploring old farm lands, and lying in fields staring up at the clouds. The Boy Scouts also helped get me tuned into nature.

I spent a lot of time in the woods when I was young. Unsupervised too-Gasp! It instilled in me independence, wonderment, a creative spirit, and a green bond with the natural world. If I grew up today however it just might not have turned out so well. Today's youth are being formed by their experiences inside; in the mall, in tidy urban and suburban developments where they are not allowed to play outside-and if they do venture outdoors it is never without adult supervision. I am currently reading Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods. You should too. I would hate to think that I am part of the last generation that was allowed to play free in the great out-of-doors. I would hate to think that a whole generation is growing up that has no connection (real-not scholastic) to the natural world. An entire generation of nature-disconnected urban and materialistic overloaded-techno junkies can not be good for our planet.

Perhaps too we should spend less time filling up our kids' heads with doom and gloom about global warming and rainforest destruction and show them what is happening right up the street from them-where it is real to them and they will have instant empowerment to act. Get them outside now! Let them play-let them discover-let them bond to our natural world before there is nothing natural left to it. Let them feel and understand nature before they dive into the more complex global problems our world is facing. Perhaps after they connect on a personal level-they will gain the love, creativity, and passion to make lasting changes-and more importantly, the spirit to be great lifelong stewards of our planet.

I would hate to think that my childhood was merely idyllic. It was formative-it's what made me love the natural world. I dread to think that a childhood like the one I was blessed with is no longer feasible for subsequent generations. If that is true, than we face a threat far worse than climate change. We face a world of people indifferent to the systems and organisms that support us. And that attitude most certainly will not sustain us.

(Photos-Windham Rail Trail still provides a walk in the woods-Windham town hall, rural remnant in an urbanizing society)

To the Printers (finally!)

This morning I stumbled down to the post office and mailed back to my publisher the galleys for my Day Hiking North Cascades Book. The final read and proof of my latest book-all 85,000 words, 125 maps and 140 photos worth. Wow-what a project! I've said it before and I'll say it again. Writing a book is like running the longest marathon in your life. So much training, focus, and energy. Now I can sit back and reap in the reward of finishing another book, my fourth! It should be on the shelves by late March and you can already pre-order it on Amazon. I'll be out this spring promoting it, so I hope to see you at an event or two. Meanwhile, I'm busy working on book number five-and books six and seven are breathing down my back. No rest for this writer!

Another Good Year On the Run, too!

Hiking and running are my two greatest passions. Greatest recreation passions that is! This year saw me putting more miles in on my running shoes than my hiking shoes. A reversal from 2006. I ran just shy of 900 miles in 2007. I tackled the marathon once again that year-running in the premier Eugene Marathon in Eugene, Oregon. A great race and I once again managed to run a sub-4 hour marathon. All 7 of my 26.2 mile races have been sub-4. But I long for the days when they were in the low 3 hours. Oh, to run Boston again someday!

I ran 17 races in the 2007 calendar year, from the one mile to the marathon, a couple of trail runs, and in three states and Canada.

Here they are-

29th Annual Peanut Butter Cup 5K
Temple, New Hampshire
January 1, 2007

28th Annual Nookachamps 10K
Mount Vernon, Washington
January 13, 2007

Steveston Icebreaker 8K
Richmond, British Columbia
January 28, 2007

5th Annual Chehalis Matchmaker 5K
Chehalis, Washington
February 17, 2007

Orcas Island Fat Ass 25K Trail Run
Moran State Park, Orcas Island, WA
February 24, 2007

Resolution Run
Fort Steilacoom, WA
March 24, 2007
20 miles

Eugene Marathon
Eugene, Oregon
April 29, 2007
26.2 miles

Gold Rush Run 10K
Republic, WA
June 9, 2007

River Fest 5K Cross-country Run
River Meadows Park
Arlington, WA
August 11, 2007

Run to End Hunger 5K
Mount Vernon, WA
August 25, 2007

Lake Chelan Shore to Shore 10K
Chelan-Manson WA
September 15, 2007

Manchester City Half Marathon
Manchester, New Hampshire
November 4, 2007

3rd Annual Muckfest 8K
Sedro-Woolley, WA

November 24, 2007

25th Annual Christmas Rush 10K
Kent, WA

December 8, 2007

29th annual Pink Cheeks Holiday Run
5.4 miles
Burlington, WA

December 15, 2007

Winter Solstice Headlamp Run
5.0 miles
Sedro-Woolley, WA

December 21, 2007

9th Annual Millennium Mile
Londonderry, NH

December 30, 2007

My combined running and hiking miles for 2007 were 1670 miles. This comes out to an average of 4.5 miles of hiking or running every day. How come then I am still gaining weight! Sheesh! Time to up the totals this year. See you on the trails and at the races!

(photo-Me running on Pre's Trail in Eugene, Oregon)

2007: Another Great Year on the Trails

Being a guidebook writer and outdoor adventure writer would mean spending plenty of time on the trails, right? Well at least you would hope so! In the case of this guidebook and outdoor writer the answer is a resounding yes! This past year had me on the trails a total of get this- just shy of 800 MILES! Not as much as last year's 1,050, but an impressive amount of time on the trail never-the-less.

Now most of that was spent in the North and Central Cascades of Washington where I continue to work on a new series of day hiking books. The North Cascades Book is due for release this March while the Central Cascades Book will be out next March.

Along with my stomping in the Cascades, I managed to get a few trips into the Olympic Mountains as well as three trips back east to New Hampshire and Ontario. This was the first year since 2001 that I did not go to Europe. I miss the Pyrenees but I have been more than busy tramping trails right here in my own backyard. This current year, like the last should be another high miler. Hope you get out often, too!

(photo-Mount Shuksan from Goat Mountain, Mount Baker Wilderness, WA)

And the Winner in New Hampshire is the Pine Barrens!

With the New Hampshire primary now over and all the political buzz shifting to Michigan, South Carolina and elsewhere, I'd like to report on a real winner in the Granite State. Just before Christmas news was released that the Ossipee Pine Barrens received $2.34 million through the federal Forest Legacy Program.

This is great news for one of New Hampshire's most endangered ecosystems. And great news indeed in the Bush years, an epic that won't go down in the history books for environmental stewardship.

The Pine Barrens has been a top priority of the NH Nature Conservancy and they will take the newly appropriated money and acquire 715 acres of this threatened habitat in the towns of Freedom, Madison, and Ossipee. These new lands will increase the Conservancy's Pine Barrens Preserve to nearly 6,000 acres. Great news for our planet. Thanks to Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu and the Nature Conservancy for helping protect this special ecosystem.

Now back to your regularly scheduled presidential campaign. While my predictions for the winners in NH were only half correct, here's a prediction that I'm making that will be 100% on target. No matter who replaces George W. Bush in 2009, Republican or Democrat, it will be better news for our planet than what we've been dealing with in the past eight years. Still, I don't see any of the candidates, Republican or Democrat making the environment a priority. And not including Global Warming fear-mongering here. I'm talking about land protection, population sustainability, increased funding for our parks and forests, alternative energy sources that are truly sustainable, and the need to reduce our destructive and narcissistic levels of consumption. Put that in your campaign rhetoric McCain and Clinton!

(photo-Pine Barren trailhead in Ossipee)

Primary Urges

Well, the 2008 race for the White House is under way. All the buzz is on my home state New Hampshire. My predictions: Obama and McCain will win the primaries. Granite Staters, this one included, are notoriously independent. We're straight shooters, we hate spin, and we can smell political doo-doo when its flung in our faces. We New Hampshirites also like to shake things up. We voted for McCain in 2000, Tsongas in 1992, Hart in 1984, and McCarthy (that's Eugene not Joe) in 1968.

I miss not being back there for the primary. (although I was just there savoring the anticipating buzz). I'm proud of my home state's political prowess and its civic participation. New Hampshire has one of the strongest voter participation of any state. And all this crap about New Hampshire not being a good state to begin the presidential picking. Bunk! Because we force candidates to actually talk about the issues. We cut through the political spin. My home state has a long history of true democratic representation. The New Hampshire house is the third largest representative body in the free world. Live Free or Die!

And lack of diversity? Give me a break. There's more to diversity than skin color. We have plenty of diversity in NH! People of French, Irish, Scotch-Irish, Italian, Puerto-Rican, Polish, and Greek descent sprinkles the hills and old mill cities. And immigrants from Somalia, India, Korea, and China have recently been finding their way to the Granite State. NH is populated with Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Mormons. New Hampshirites, and this one included tend to be fiscal conservatives, social liberals, protectors of the environment, and believers in a strong America. We vote green, both Republican and Democrat.

We never left our roots. Its the national parties that have drifted-the Republicans with the religious right and the Democrats with the loony left. Give me JFK, Harry Truman, Scoop Jackson, Dan Evans, Warren Rudman, and pre-Watergate Nixon (Tricky Dick was one of our best environmental presidents ever) any day! We Granite staters don't care for Huckabee religion in your face or Kucinich no religion at all. We don't care much for Giuliani grandstanding or Hillary standing all over the place. Obama and McCain appeal to Granite State sensibilities.

Personally I like Obama and McCain. Obama as a statesman, McCain as an executive in chief. I think both of these men have a lot of integrity. And I do like Huckabee too, for his religious convictions and his compassion. I think he's a great guy, just not presidential material. Romney and Richardson as governors had my respect and I admit, I like Rudy faults and all. He's a New Yorker and he's a paesano! Ron Paul I agree with many of his stands but he is unelectable. Kucinich is out there but I respect his integrity-he's not a hypocrite. Edwards? Well, let's just end my analysis on a positive note, shall we?

Let the Democratic Process Begin!

(photo- NH voter Phil Germain shows his political colors!)

Millennium Mile raises Thousands

Heather and I once again participated in the Millennium Mile Run back in Londonderry, NH. The race was started in 1999 on the cusp of the Millennium as a way for a bunch of serious runners to reunite for the holidays and possibly run a sub-four minute mile. Well, what began as a laid-back get-together has evolved into one of New Hampshire's biggest running events and one heck of a fun one too!

I interviewed race co-founder John Mortimer a few years back for a piece I did in Northwest Runner. And I met race co-founder Andy Downin last April while doing a story and participating in the inaugural Eugene Marathon. Both Andy and John are great people, not to mention great runners. But what I really found impressive about these guys and the race is how they turned it into a fundraiser for the Jack and June Mortimer Memorial & Millennium Mile Scholarship Fund. Both of John's parents succumbed to cancer, and John wanted to find a way to honor them. He did it by starting this memorial which awards scholarships to promising young runners from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Now, here's the kicker. One hundred percent of the race proceeds go directly into the scholarship fun. You heard me correctly-100%. The race's sponsors have picked up all of the costs for running the event.

Now perhaps someone over at the Seattle Marathon can give these guys a call. It seems that they have a little image problem after it was reported in the Seattle Times that not one penny of their race fee went to their sponsored cause, the University of Washington Medical Center. You heard me correctly, not one penny! Runners had the option of donating extra to the race's cause-extra on top of the $100 the race charged to sign-up. How much was donated to the marathon's charity- a mere $12,000 on an event that pulled in over $1 million . A mere pittance too when the race had over 11,000 participants.

The Millennium Mile which cost $10 to enter raised over $6,000 with their 600 plus runners. Now that's impressive and a race truly worthy of stating that they support a cause! Good job Millennium Mile people! We'll back at the end of this year to give that downhill course another whirl!

(photo-me at race headquarters!)

Sanctuary Shattered

It is with great sadness, grief and anger that I make this post. Missing Georgia hiker, Meredith Emerson has been presumed murdered in the mountains of north Georgia. Her blood stained clothing and hiking companion black lab have been found. A suspect has been arrested. Ironically, she chose Blood Mountain as her New Year's Day destination.

We hikers here in the Pacific Northwest know all too well what it feels like to lose a member of our hiking community to such senseless and unwarranted violence. We have our own Blood Mountain in the form of Pinnacle Lake. It was there in July of 2006 that two hikers; a mother and daughter from Seattle were shot to death in cold blood. No suspects have been arrested. The killer is still at large. And the hiking community of Washington remains anxious and restless to the prospect that a killer may remain at large on our trails.

The murder of Meredith Emerson once again reinforces the fact that even when we escape the "civilized" world for the sanctuary and solace of nature, the ugliness of Man is never truly left behind. Sure, murders and violence is rare in the backcountry. But like a house of worship, I expect to enter the woods unscathed by the evils and harms of the outside world. Must we be forced to hike with ever-increasing vigilance? To eye every passing hiker with suspicion? To lose more of our humanity? When the reason we head for the hills is to restore our humanity.

I say a prayer for you, Meredith. For your family and loved ones. For all of us who cherish the sacredness of life and the redeeming qualities of taking a walk in the woods.

Fred T. Darvill M.D.

1927-2007

Rest in Peace

One of the Pacific Northwest's most-dedicated wilderness and hiking advocates recently passed away. Fred T. Darvill of Mount Vernon, WA died a few days after Christmas day after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease. I never met Mr. Darvill, but like Harvey Manning, Ira Spring, and Robert Wood he was a great influence on me as a hiking guidebook writer and advocate for land preservation in Washington.

My first trip to the North Cascades was back in July of 1985. I had Fred's Hiking the North Cascades Sierra Club Tote Book with me as my guide. In my new release Day Hiking North Cascades (Mountaineers Books-March 2008) in the section on Hidden Lakes Peak, I give acknowledgement to Fred for helping me fall in love with these mountains. Fred first fell for the North Cascades after hiking to Park Butte near Mount Baker. Park Butte was my third hike in these mountains after back-to-back trips to Cutthroat Pass and Sourdough Mountains. All grand destinations indeed.

Now I live in the same community that Fred called home for the last 40 years. I'll try to carry forth what Mr Darvill worked so hard for-protecting the wildlands of Washington. Rest in Peace, Fred. Thanks for all of the inspiration. Your spirit will live on in this beautiful corner of God's great planet-especially on Park Butte and Hidden Lakes Peak.

(photo-the view of Mount Baker from Park Butte)

Peanut Butter Chip Chase gets iced!

Well, actually just snowed on in a big way! Once again, Heather and me along with my parents headed to the little town of Temple, New Hampshire in the Monadnock Highlands to partake in the annual Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5K New Years Day Run. We've been attending this great little race now for the past four years. After a long streak of running the Hangover Classic as my New Year's Day Race, I decided to change races after the Hangover Classic changed courses.

What was once run over nice countryside in Salisbury, Mass was moved to Salisbury Beach. Salisbury Beach to put it mildly can best be described by Morrissey in his song "Everyday is like Sunday," in the line about the coastal town that they forgot to bomb! Salisbury Beach is a pit and just not my idea of New England quaint and cute. Temple, New Hampshire however is a picture-perfect village and a great place to start off the New Years.

This year's Peanut Butter Chip Chase was the 30th and my 15th New Years Day race back in New England since moving to Washington in 1989. Now I've run these races in 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, and even a balmy 40 degrees. I've run in wind chills of zero, on roads frosted in ice and heaved by the cold. Have run after snow, ice and rain. But this year was the first time I got to race in a snow storm! What a treat! A good 2 inches must have fallen just in the 26 minutes it took me to complete this 5K.

The course is a tough one without the snow, climbing 200 feet in the first one mile. But this year it was exceptionally challenging. Running uphill in powder snow is like running up a sand dune, only colder! Running downhill was fun-but I couldn't see half the time with a frosted face! Anyhow, it was a race to remember. Over 130 people attended and once again race director and former Washington resident Bill Moore and the Souhegan Lions Club did a great job. We'll be back again next year rain or shine, snow, sleet or heat!

(photos- Runners at the finish of the race and Heather at the beginning of the race)

Happy New Year 2008!

Cool, crisp morning back here in New Hampshire. Getting ready to partake in my annual New Years Day tradition of running in the Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5K in Temple, NH (pop. 1,200). Snow is on the way. It'll make for an interesting run-and drive back! Yesterday's snowfall here set a record. Nearly 4 feet of snow has fallen on much of the Granite State in the month of December, beating a record set back in 1876 (the year Colorado joined the union-and is currently dealing with a little snow of its own)!

I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2008. Hope you are too. I have some great projects that I'm currently working on-a new book release in March and lots of new places to explore and new experiences to add to my life list of life pursuits. Happy New Year everyone. Stay well-celebrate life-seize the moment!

(photo-Paradise at Mount Rainier, WA. Plenty of snow falling in the Cascades this winter too!)