Writer's Desk Essentials Surrounding my PC are some of my best non-tech writer's tools. My dictionary, various grammar guides, thesaurus; French, Spanish, and Italian dictionaries, and my cat Giuseppe peering down on me making sure that I'm staying on task. Which often I admit I am not. As much as I love crafting words and the art of being creative, I just can't get motivated sometimes. Blame the Internet! I surf from the Seattle Times to the Vancouver Sun to the Manchester Union Leader to Bloomberg to the Drudge Report-and then God knows where I end up from there. But, hey I have a deadline looming. Get back to work.

Giuseppe is a great distraction. He doesn't seem to be bothered at all at the leveraging of America's future on pork-barrel spending or the total meltdown of the financial markets. He just wants to play, sleep, eat, and stare outside at the more fascinating elements of our world. The cloud catching hills, flanks of swans and geese flying by, and that annoying fly that wants in. You know something- I think Giuseppe is on to something. The craziness of my (and your) world can take a backseat. I think I'll spend a little more time trying to see the world through the eyes of my cat. Okay, I'm taking a nap-catch you later. Ciao-or should I say Meow?

State Park Closures You Can Believe In!

Well, here we go again. Back in 2002 Washington State under Democrat Governor Gary Locke and a democrat controlled legislature saw that it was economically prudent to close (translated-get rid of) a handful of our state park gems. Well now in 2009, its Deja-Vu all over again except worst. Ms Gregoire, a prototype of Mr. Locke has upped the ante and wants to liquidate from our state held heritage 13 of our parks! Yes, that's right, Ms Gregoire wants to help rectify the reckless spending of her first four years by getting rid of some of our parks. (Sorry Christine- you can't blame this on Bush- you and your free-spending dems spent state money like there was no tomorrow-and guess what? Tomorrow has come!)

Now, I must admit I have never been a fan of Gregoire-but to much of my surprise she is making some necessary cuts in the budget- particularly in bloated areas like social services. But still she got us into this mess by increasing the budget by 30%. Evidently John McCain wasn't the only one who thought that our economy was just fine. The handwriting was on the wall; that a recession was approaching but Gregoire continued to spend with reckless abandonment! But our state parks don't deserve to be punished for her irresponsible fiscal practices. Our state parks department was never a bloated agency. It has continuously been underfunded by both democrats and republicans.


Surely Christine, do you really believe that by getting rid of 13 state parks and shaving a meager 5.2 million dollars from the budget that this is worth it? That saving 5.2 million is worth more than the value that these parks bring to local residents and the tourist dollars that they help generate- surely much more than $5.2 million. Out of your 13 parks, 4 of them are on the economically depressed Olympic Peninsula. The poor souls of this region are losing their jobs and now their parks! They need decent places to recreate! All of us in Washington state (You too Ms. Gregoire) need decent places to recreate. Our state has grown by 1.5 million people in the last 20 years. We need more parks not less!


How can you justify shaving 5.2 million from the budget when you are going to spend millions and millions more on some silly climate bills? Save our land first! Don't waste our tax dollars on questionable climate controls bills! Paving over parkland I assure you is not good for our climate!


And former-Governor Dan Evans, a true champion of the environment, where is your outrage? You a are going to help let these parks fall by the wayside while you lobby for $150 million for a football stadium!?! Are you nuts? Five million will keep our parks open and you want to spend 150 million for a football stadium! I see where your priorities lie. Pretty sad.


In Illinois they planned on doing the same thing-closing parks because of reckless state spending. The Illinois people revolted. The state found some money. So where is the outrage here? Washingtonians need to let the governor and our legislators know that we care about our parks. We can't be as lucky as Illinois and get rid of our governor- but we can be as lucky as Illinois and keep our parks!


And in case you think I am just being critical of the governor without giving a solution. I gladly welcome back a day-use fee to keep my parks open. My parks are worth $2, 3, 5 dollars a visit. They are worth much more than 5.2 million and they are worth far much more than being a quick kill in the budget. Let's get a day use fee back on them and perhaps open a few to concessionaires (food service for example at certain parks) where we can collect some extra revenue. We can't have it both ways-services with no taxes. I for one support equitable user fees. Okay, I put my 2 cents in, time for you to put yours in- and preferably in Olympia.


For the Illinois story and to the WA parks at risk of losing click Here


(photo- lovely Lake Sylvia -highlighted in my Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula Book is on Gregoire's chopping block)

Meet the Author

And that author would be me! If you live on Seattle's east side, consider coming down to the King County Library Service Center in Issaquah tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm. I'll be giving a book talk and slide show on the North Cascades. I'll be talking about current trail issues, displaying some of my favorite places in the North Cascades and help inspire you to get out and do some exploring this year. I'll also be signing and selling my book, Day Hiking North Cascades at the Recession-busting price of $15 (tax included). So come on down. I'd love to meet you and talk about one of my favorite topics, Hiking in the Northwest.

Happy New Year!

Today marks the beginning of the Chinese (Lunar) New Year. Welcome to the year of the Ox!. I was born in an Ox Year which means I am supposed to have the following characteristics:

Leader, dependable, calm, modest, patient, tireless in work, capable of enduring hardship, set in their ways, determined, logical, pragmatic, caring, strong-minded, stubborn, individualistic, highly intelligent, independent, self-reliant, sincere, wary of new trends, sociable and relaxed when secure.

The calm, modest and patient you can throw out when describing my traits- I think my Italian heritage has more to do with who I am here with terms closer to- high strung, assertive, and restless!

Making me even more rigid is that I am a metal ox. So add- this according to that ubiquitous Internet source Wikipedia-

The qualities associated with metal are unyieldingness, rigidity, persistence, strength and determination. The metal person is controlling, ambitious, forceful and set in their ways as metal is very strong; and they are self-reliant and prefer to handle their problems alone. The metal person is also materialistic, business oriented and good at organization and stability. However the metal person can also appreciate luxury and enjoy the good things in life. Just as metal can conduct electricity, the Metal person has strong impulses and generative powers and can bring about changes and transformations for those who come into contact with them. Metal is believed to govern the lungs, nose and skin. The negative emotion associated with metal is grief, while the positive emotion is courage.

And what kind of year will 2009 the year of the Earth Ox be? Hopefully a hell of lot better than last year, a Rat indeed! Happy New Year Everyone!

(Photo- Richmond, BC, one of my favorite Chinese cities)

Buon Compleanno Sr Rosellini!

Happy 99th Birthday Governor Albert Rosellini. "The Gov" is doing well and just celebrated his 99th birthday yesterday in Seattle. The first Italian-American governor west of the Mississippi, Democrat Rosellini entered politics in 1938 and served from governor of Washington state from 1957 to 1965. He is generally regarded by most historians, this one included as being one of the best governors this state has ever had. Along with Dan Evans, the Republican that beat him in 1964, they are in my opinion the two best governors this state has seen in a long time! One of the things that I greatly admire about Rosellini was his ability to get things done! This is something we Italians are known for and our current slough of Washington governors are not known for! We definitely need the likes of more governors and mayors like Rosellini, Giuliani, LaGuardia, Cellucci, and Cuomo. Their mottos can best be summed up by the very non-Italian Larry the Cable Guy- Get er done! Or as we succinctly say in Italian, "Andiamo!" I look forward to your centennial celebration, Alberto. Grazie mille for your outstanding public service.

(photo- Governor Rosellini in Olympia after winning the Nov 1956 governor's election. Photo by Nat Farbman courtesy of Life Magazine)

Northwest Trails Now in Outdoors Northwest

Check out this month's issue of Outdoors Northwest for my new column, Northwest Trails. I'll be taking you around the region to places popular and obscure showing you some of the best places to explore by foot. This month's feature highlights snowshoeing on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Give it a read, then give it a whirl to Hurricane Ridge. And after exploring that wonderful part of the Olympic Peninsula you desire to seek out more trails in the region-consult Hikeoftheweek.com where you'll find a archived section of scores of Olympic Peninsula Hikes. And of course don't forget about my wonderful Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula book which has been receiving rave reviews from 1,000s of Northwest Hikers. See you out there!

(Photo- The NW's favorite weather forecaster Michael Fagin snowshoes side by side at Lanham Lake with Heather Romano)

Inaugural Thoughts

Like many in America I too am glad to see the end of George W. Bush's presidency. I never voted for him. But I don't think he is the devil incarnate, just not one of our better presidents. Probably one of our worst down there with Carter, Buchanan and Pierce. Lost opportunity is best how you can sum up his presidency. However, while I look forward to the post Bush era I am part of the 46% of the electorate that didn't get swept away with Obamamania. I never jump on bandwagons. I analyze and don't get swept away with irrational exuberance. This pragmatism has protected me from the Tech Bubble and the Real Estate Bubble and all the worthless crappy fads that are thrown at us every year to part with our money. There are things about Barack Obama that I admire. I think that he is intelligent, articulate, and genuinely a decent person. However, his politics leave me with much to desire. He talks well and has reached out to the other side and that is admirable. But, what does he really stand for beyond "hope and change?" We'll soon find out. It is wonderful that our country has overcome the racial divisions of the past, yet at the inauguration Rev Lowry delivered a racially tinged insulting "sermon." Reverend Warren's sermon however was enlightening and it is nice to see that Obama is not afraid to wear his spirituality on his sleeve. After all, Abe Lincoln, Obama's inspiration was one of our most religious presidents-and one of our best. Secular progressives must have had to swallow hard all of the references to God yesterday. But it is going to take more than God to get us out of the economic mess that we are facing. Spending our way into massive debt won't be the answer. This is what Bush tried to do and Obama is following suit- hardly change. Its good to see that if Republicans won't hold Obama to task on bailoutmania at least the Blue Dog Democrats will. Keep your eye on Heath Shuler-he's the type of Democrat that can lure me back to his side of the aisle. On environmental issues, there is clearly much to celebrate. One of the reasons that Bush never got my vote was his overt hostility on environmental issues. Under Obama I feel confident that conservation issues will at least get a better hearing- but I'm still worried about radical environmental initiatives. They have the unintended consequences of bringing in reactionary counter measures later on. Stick with the book of Teddy- Not the book of Al. And finally, I end this musing on a lighter note. Bring back Robert Frost. Was that the absolute worst poem at an inauguration you have ever heard or what? It was downright painful and another reason why most poets deserve to stay in darkly lit bohemian coffee houses. Praise song for my indigestion! Good Luck President Obama- I wish you the best. My nation and my future are counting on you.

Let Freedom Ring!

Today is truly a day to reflect on just what makes this country the greatest nation on earth! On Martin Luther King Day we celebrate here in America that all people (at least here in America) are created equal! Of course we all know that ALL people throughout the world are created equal-its just that many of the other nations don't subscribe to this theory. Whether its black Africans in Sudan, white Africans in Zimbabwe, Kurds in Turkey, Indigenous people in South America, Gypsies (Roma) throughout Europe, and women throughout most of the Middle East. I could go on-but today we celebrate and hope that our American model soon catches up with the rest of the world. America of course doesn't have clean hands. No nation or people does. Every ethnic group has been discriminated against at one time or another in the world. But lets look at America today. We have just elected a president of African origin. His chief of staff is Jewish. The Speaker of the House is an Italian-American woman, the Senate Majority Leader is Mormon. Even the outgoing administration exemplified Dr. King's vision. We had a Mexican-American Attorney General and an African-American woman, the descendant of slaves as the Secretary of State. Now, I'm no bean counter and I'm no fan of political correctness. I don't vote for someone because of what they represent. I vote for someone for what they believe in. If that person is black, brown, yellow, red, white or blue- who cares?! As long as they are qualified and represent my philosophy-not my cultural or ethnic background. And that's what true color blindness is. We are all truly different and people from different ethnic and religious groups are different! But under the eyes of the law in this great nation, when it comes to civil rights- we aren't different-and that is what make us unique from the rest of the world! And we walk our talk! Of course Dr Martin Luther King, a man of the cloth, a man rooted in deep Christian values fought hard-giving his life to wake this nation up to that! I'm sure he is looking down from that great mountain right now and singing out-
"My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."


(photo- The Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN where Dr King was assassinated on April 4, 1968-now part of the National Civil Rights Museum)

Nookachamps at 20!

I concluded another successful running of Mount Vernon's Nookachamps Winter Runs. This year's race marked my 20th consecutive Nookachamps! It is my longest race streak and it has more significance than just my resolve to run this race over and over again. I have run this race every year that I have lived in Washington. This years marks my 20th year out here and I now live in the town that this race is held in-talk about fate! Sure glad that I didn't target my streak in Federal Way! I have now been running religiously for 20 years! That's a lot of miles and races and a lot of great cross training for my hiking. But you know, next to hiking, running is the best! It is simple, freeing and you can do it anywhere! Running up here in Skagit County is great. We have wonderful parks, communities, trails and a great running club! Nookachamps is known for its swans and they were out today on the course-although it was tough seeing them in the fog. In 20 years I have run this race in all kinds of weather- mild 50s back in the early 90s, 20s in the late 90s-sunny- icy-rainy- foggy- all kinds of weather. The swans are always there and much of the course remains as it was back in January of 1990 when I first ran this race. Many of my running friends and acquaintances from throughout the Puget Sound region continue to come back to this race over and over again too-and it is always great to see them here.The race celebrated its 30th year today- I have been with it for 20 of those! And while Nookachamps is named after the creek and flats the course runs over and along, I couldn't quite find out what exactly Nookachamps means. But in Hawaiian Nooka means sleek and in French champs means field- so how about sleek field? Why not? Its the only time that I can be part of a sleek field of runners! See you in 2010 for Nookachamps number 21!

Get on the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009

On a positive note for sound environmental legislation, the US Senate voted 73-21 to pass a massive wilderness bill! Yahoo! Twenty-one senators voted no, all republicans including John McCain. Ouch-

The following republicans voted yea; Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, Christopher Bond of Missouri, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Mel Martinez of Florida, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, John Barrasso and Michael Enzi of Wyoming , Michael Crapo and Jim Rirsch of Idaho, and George Voinovich of Ohio. Wow- the entire delegation from Wyoming, Idaho Tennessee, and Mississippi- not exactly environmentally friendly delegations mind you voted yea!

Now back to McCain- Why the no vote? On January 6th senator McCain introduced 3 environmental friendly bills:

Arizona National Scenic Trail Bill – Cosponsored by Senator Jon Kyl, Senator McCain introduced the Arizona National Scenic Trail Bill to designate the Arizona Trail a National Scenic Trail. Approximately 807 miles long, the trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial on the United States-Mexico border and extends to the Arizona Strip bordering Utah.

Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic River Act – Cosponsored by Senator Jon Kyl, Senator McCain introduced the Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic River Act designating segments of Fossil Creek, a tributary to the Verde River in the State of Arizona, as a Wild and Scenic River.

Walnut Canyon Study Act – Cosponsored by Senator Jon Kyl, the bill would provide for a study and report on how to best manage public lands surrounding the Walnut Canyon Monument to ensure adequate protection of the canyon’s cultural and natural resources.

So, Senator McCain- why the no vote?

Now let's get this bill onto President-elect Obama's desk so he can sign at least one bill that I'm in favor of in his first 100 days!

(photo- Heather hiking on Mount Hood's Cooper Spur. Oregon Wilderness will expand greatly under this bill)

A Carbon Footprint You Can Believe In!

This from David Harsanyi of Real Clear Politics:

The carbon footprint of Barack Obama's inauguration could exceed 575 million pounds of CO2. According to the Institute for Liberty, it would take the average U.S. household nearly 60,000 years of naughty ecological behavior to produce a carbon footprint equal to the largest self-congratulatory event in the history of humankind.
The same congressfolk who now are handing out thousands of tickets to this ecological disaster mandated only recently the phased elimination of the incandescent light bulb -- a mere carbon tiptoe, if you will. The whole thing seems a bit unfair.

And I may add hypocritacal and absurb. Once again it so evident that the people who scream the loudest about the impending doom of the planet do nothing about it-in fact they do more that counters what they believe that YOU and I should be doing! This is all pure insanity. And it would be laughable if it wasn't so detrimental to our country's economy and our individual liberties. I look forward to a climate change back to sane and rational thinking. God help us!

Global Warming on Mount Washington! It's a good time right now NOT to be hiking in my home state of New Hampshire. With wind chills in the -50F range right now on Mount Washington, it's colder than Al Gore's disposition up there! Montreal is looking at a daily high of -5 and that's not Celsius. Over in Michigan the cradle of American industrial output, Flint (the hometown of hot air balloon Michael Moore) just beat a 95 year record for cold. Now before the Disciples of Doom and Gloom Global Warming, Climate Change, Climate Disruption- or whatever the heck they are going to call it next syndrome start chiming in-I am not denying Climate Change! Never Have! It happens all the time and there isn't much we can do about it! So stop all this silly nonsense about fighting the weather and lets address some real environmental problems that we can change. How about stop consuming and wasting so much? Reigning in our out-of-control immigration mess that contributes to urban sprawl and the need for more energy and material consumption. Protecting habitat- expanding parks and wilderness areas- stop paving over farmland and stop thinking that we can curb our industrial output when we keep growing our population by leaps and bounds. Here in Washington, our state (thanks to the governor-not the president-he's responsible for the national mess) is facing a 6 billion dollar deficit and Gov Gregoire wants to spend money on fighting climate change! Good grief! She is going to close parks and instead throw money into the wind on something that won't help our environment or economy. The only Climate Change I would like to promote is getting rid of the current climate in Olympia and DC and put into place sound conservation and economic policies. Meanwhile the economy is melting down and we are going to throw money at one of the biggest scams in history-trying to stop the climate from changing! Maybe we can stop the sun from shining while we are at it too! Sheesh!
(photo- a group of hikers stare out at Mount Washington and try to imagine being up there when its -50F!)

Running Commentary: 900 Miles in 2008

Last year saw me put nearly 900 miles on my running shoes. Nine hundred sixty miles of hiking, and nine hundred miles running-that's 1,800 miles of recreational pounding on my dogs! Now what's really cool is that in 2007 I logged 883.5 miles running- in 2008 that total was 888.5. I ran nearly the exact same amount of miles for the year. Uncanny! I did some great races last year in Washington, British Columbia and New Hampshire. Just one marathon, the Edge to Edge in Tofino on Vancouver Island. How many races total? 15! In 2007 I ran 17-and last year's number would have been the same too if it wasn't for this December's snow cancelling two races I was signed up for. This year-lots of new races are on my running calendar including a couple of marathons. It'll be tough putting in the marathon training while working on a backpacking book-but the cross training doesn't hurt. Next race? See you at Nookachamps in Mount Vernon this weekend.

(Photo- Me at the finish of the Historic Half Marathon in Fort Langley, BC- a great race!)

The Year in Review: 960 Miles Hiked!
While 2008 saw my portfolio spiraling downward (yours too I imagine) one thing that was up was my hiking mileage from the year before. I logged a total of 960 miles on the trail beating 2007's 800 miles but not anywhere near 2006's 1050 miles. All of these miles were spent hiking-they don't include the 100s of miles I put on the trail running. And while I'm thankful that my job as a guidebook writer forces me on the trail, I occasionally do a little recreational hiking too. So where did I hike last year? All over Washington from the Olympic Rainforest to the Salmo-Priest Wilderness, Vancouver Island in BC and the Georgian Bay Islands in Ontario. Of course I hiked New England too, logging miles in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Among the highlights of last year was my 4 day trek from Trinity over Buck Pass across High Pass (pictured above) to the Napeequa Valley to Boulder Pass and out the White River. Thanks Don and Chris Hanson of Scottish Lakes High Camp for inviting me along on that one-it was awesome! This year I continue researching Backpacking Washington (Mountaineers Books spring 2011) and there may be another book too (I'll let you know next month) -so I'm sure I'll be looking at the 1,000 mile mark again. How about you?

Rain in the New Year!

Well, the heavy rains that the Pacific Northwest is well known for have returned. Good- kind of-'cause we certainly didn't need any more low country snow. Unfortunately, all that snow we received before Christmas melted fast with the recent heavy rainfall creating a rash of floods in the western half of the state. Up here in Skagit County, we dodged another inundated bullet. Well, barely, there were plenty of mudslides up valley and the Samish River created quite a mess-but the big ole Skagit for the most part behaved herself. Farther south, the Stillaguamish, Puyallup, White and Chehalis Rivers did not. Widespread flooding, mudslides and general havoc was the scene. I empathize with those who incurred property damage-especially on top of this dismal economy-and I can only imagine how much more damage has been done to our trails and access roads. A lot of us will be out of work this year and we won't even be able to access our trails or go to our parks after the state closes a bunch of them-more on that later. Its going to be a rough year- extreme weather and a terrible economy means plenty of hardship. Oh, I never thought that I would miss the 80s.

(photos- Heather and I went for a run on the flood plain to see the new lakes that have formed.)

Russian Christmas Gift to Neighbors: Freeze!

It never ceases to amaze me how hard Russian President Vladimir Putin is competing to be Russian butthole of the 21st century! On this year's Orthodox Christmas he decided to let millions of people freeze in Bulgaria and Serbia by cutting off their natural gas because he is still upset that the Ukraine has a will of its own. Life is tough enough for many people in these emerging economies. I had the opportunity to visit Bulgaria in 2005 and saw stark poverty in the countryside (like in this predominantly Muslim village pictured here). Putin's latest ploy of playing politics with energy and Iran's call to cut off the spigot for countries supporting Israel's right to defend itself from terrorists is yet another wake-up call that we in America (and other sovereign nations as well) absolutely must work toward becoming energy independent! I don't care if you're republican or democrat, liberal or conservative, we must make it a national priority to become more energy efficient, explore viable alternative energy sources such as nuclear (not corn based ethanol which creates food shortages and makes a few Agri-businesses rich) and work for a sustainable population-like addressing our out-of-control immigration- an issue that no one seems to want to talk about. You can't add one million plus people to the population every year and expect that your energy consumption will go down. It'll only be a matter of time before our "good friends" in the Middle East will take a lesson from Putin. They did it in 1973 and they'll do it again. And for Russia, "Tear down your medieval mindset walls!"

The Way Life Should Be?

Freezing Cold!?!

When I was growing up in New Hampshire, the welcoming signs to neighboring Maine proclaimed "Welcome to Vacationland USA." Of course living in a state with no shortage of beautiful lakes, mountains and forests, that moniker wasn't enough of an enticement to get me to spend more time in the Pine Tree State. Now I see Maine has changed its welcoming slogan to "Welcome to Maine, the way life should be." I read that sign shortly before stopping at a toll booth to fork over $1.75 driving north to beat an incoming snow storm. The following day with my brother, Jeff, his wife Maria, their son Anthony- all Mainards, and my wife Heather we attempted to do a little bird watching at Popham Beach State Park. Beautiful place. There's a reason why Maine's beaches don't look like Florida's with wall-to-wall condos. It's damn cold on the Maine Coast! The Way Life should be my frozen fanny! But seriously, Maine is in many ways the way life should be! It is uncrowded, unhurried, and full of small tight-knit communities with strong senses of community. Ironic when you think that this is our easternmost state, and Americans over the years have headed west for a better life only to end up in crowded, crime-ridden, faceless communities in western states! But, still even in Maine there are a few down sides. Taxes are high, jobs aren't exactly abundant, and limousine liberals from crowded areas south buy up prime tracts of ocean and lake front properties, build mega-cottages, post no trespassing signs, then complain that there are trailer parks nearby and lose sleep over the prospects (remote I may add) that they may lose their investment property to rising tides due to global warming. Good grief! I guess no place is perfect-but boy do those lobstas, cups of chowda and authentic maple syrup make Maine pretty darn close! And the scenery ain't too shabby either!

(photo- A group of frozen birdwatchers on the Maine coast)

Frosted on New Years Day

at the 2009 Peanut Butter Chip Chase

There's an old saying (I think its an old saying, but don't ask me where it originated from!) that goes something like this: Whatever you do on New Years Day, you'll do all year. So trying to live a healthy and outdoorsy life, I run a race every New Years Morning. For the last five New Years Days I have been heading with my wife Heather to tiny Temple NH (population 1,500) in the Monadnock Highlands of southern New Hampshire to participate in the annual Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5K. The race has been going on for 31 years. We jumped in five years ago. Heather and I used to run in the Hangover Classic 10K in Salisbury Massachusetts on New Years Day, but ceased since they moved the race course from the Salisbury countryside to Salisbury Beach, a God-forsaken place where rows of ramshackle beach homes, ticky-tacky shops, and 1970s era dance clubs sporting smoke stained disco balls and mystery stained carpets don't exactly sit well with me for ringing in the New Year!

I grew up in small town New Hampshire and my idea of inspiring scenery is rolling pine, maple and oak covered hills, black-shuddered white trim colonial homes, two-hundred year old meeting houses, churches with cloud-piercing spires, babbling brooks, pastoral byways, picture-postcard surroundings and plenty of friendly folks. I found it in Temple!

While the race can always be counted on for delivering a great experience with lots of friendly volunteers, and ample amounts of home made hot soup and scrumptious home baked cookies afterwards. What can never be counted on is the weather. You just never know what the New England Weather gods have in store for you. This year's race was yet another meteorological surprise. Ten degrees with -15 degree wind chill! Brrrr! And with a storm that dumped 6 inches of dry white fluff the day before, meant that once again I'd be running a course that never saw pavement! But, boy does all of that snow make it pretty.

I finished 1 minute faster than last year when the race was actually held during a snow storm. Never broke a sweat on the course both times. And once again no matter the weather nor my race time, I had a great time! We'll be back again next New Years- you can count on that like you can count on the weather not being something you can count on! To Race Director Bill Moore (a former Washingtonian- hey Bill, we traded places!) and the Souhegan Lions Club, the race's sponsors, thanks and may you have a happy and prosperous New Year! Thanks to your event we have already started our new year on the right foot!

(photo- Brrr is it cold! Race volunteers try to stay form at the finish line)

Felice Anno Nuovo!

Happy New Year's Day 2009! Wow-here we are entering the last year of the first decade of the new millennium. Where did the time go? This will be a tough year financially for many out there and certainly one bringing plenty of anxiety. Stay positive and focused and we'll get through it. And while I did not vote for Barack Obama, I join those who did in welcoming him to the White House and saying arrivaderci to George W. Bush. I look forward to a post-Bush America (and post-Clinton and Kennedy too- but I'll have to wait longer for those!). Today in Skagit County in Western Washington it is 40 degrees and raining. In southern NH it is 4 degrees and windy! And if you think its tough to go for a hike today in NH with the chilling weather, this year will be especially tough for irresponsible NH hikers. A new law goes into effect that according to this AP article in the Boston Globe "aims to make people think twice before heading into the woods unprepared or under the influence." It states further:

The state Department of Fish and Game currently fines lost hikers who recklessly venture into the woods to pay for the cost of the rescue, but now the department will have the power to revoke the driver’s licenses of those who don’t pay. Hikers can also lose licenses with the state Health and Human Services Department, and hunting and fishing licenses.
The law also gives the state more power over who they decide to fine. Previously, the state had to prove someone acted recklessly before charging a hiker for repayment for a rescue. This meant the state had to show the hiker or hikers were aware going into the woods posed a substantial risk but they did it anyway. Now the state only has to prove the person was negligent.

With this year's winter currently shaping up to be another doozey, it'll be interesting to see how this law pans out. In the meanwhile- Happy New Year everyone and may you resolve to live life fuller, healthier, and more connected to the Natural World!

(photo- Town hall from the old homestead in chilly New Hampshire)