Slip Sliding Away

One of the most spectacular geological events in Pacific Northwest history was when half of Table and Greenleaf Mountains came sliding down to temporary dam the Columbia River. This massive landslide actually forced the river to bend before it burst over the debris to flow again. Native people recount the story as the Bridge of the Gods. Christians have proclaimed that God can move mountains. He can and did (through a little tectonic action of course) those many years ago moving mountains to form a Bridge of the Gods. A time existed when you could actually walk over the Columbia between Washington and Oregon. And it probably was a better and quicker route than today's congested I-5! The Bonneville Dam has inundated the rapids that the landslide created after the river burst through mounds of boulders and earth, but from the Wauna Viewpoint near Eagle Creek you can get a great perspective of the earth-shattering landscape that was left behind.

Tomlike is White Mountains like

One of the neat places that I researched (hiked) last week was Tomlike Mountain in the Hatfield Wilderness in the Columbia Gorge. Near the popular Wahtum Lake, Chinidere Mountain and underrated Mud Lake, Tomlike only attracts a fraction of the visitors that its neighbors (except Mud Lake) do. Main reason? The trail to it is more of a scramble path and doesn't show on any maps. But the route is straightforward and quite an enjoyable hike and probably one off the nicest summits with the best views in the entire Columbia Gorge. One of the coolest aspects of this hike was that it felt like being back in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The one mile ridge walk trough krummholtz and shale was right out of the Franconia Range. The immediate surroundings of tree cloaked gentle ridges interrupted with outcroppings and ledges looked straight out of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. But the view of four towering snow-capped volcanoes (Hood, Adams, Rainer, and St Helens) reminds you that you are indeed in the Pacific Northwest. Tomlike Mountain is a little like the Whites-and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the region. Check it out-it'll be one of the 100 highlighted hikes in my upcoming Day Hiking Columbia Gorge Book (Mountaineers Books; spring 2011 release).

Back from my Eastern Washington (and a little bit of Idaho too) Whirlwind Tour

Last night at around 11:30 pm I returned from an 8 day trip that was quite productive and fun and a tad bit exhausting. I apologize for the lack of blog entries during my absence-but I don't travel with a laptop. Wouldn't have had any time to use it anyways even if I did travel with one. So where did I go and what did I do?
Okay-
Book and hiking talk and presentation in Wenatchee.
Run 6 miles on the Golden Tiger Rail Trail in Republic Washington
Hike 10 miles on the northern Kettle Crest and Little Vulcan Mountain
Hike 5 miles in 13 Mile Canyon Roadless area
Book talk and presentation in Spokane
Hike 4 miles on Tubbs Hill in Coeur d'Alene Idaho
Walk a few mils on the Centennial Trail
Run 10 miles on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes at Heyburn State Park, ID
Hike 14 miles on Tucannon River Trail and Hunters Spring in the Blue Mountains, Umatilla National Forest
Hike 4 miles in the Juniper Dunes Wilderness
Book talk in Walla Walla
Run 6 miles on the Mill Creek Trail and Bennington Lake Reserve in Walla Walla
Visit the Whitman National Historic Site
Hike Hat Rock State Park, Oregon
Hike Crow Butte
Run a 10K race in Moses Lake
Visit Dry Falls
Drive way too much thanks to a road closure on the North Cascades Highway

Quite a bit of activity there for 8 days uh? Tell me about it! I'm exhausted- time to rest on this Memorial Day Weekend. I'll tell you more about some of the places I recently visited in the my upcoming posts. Its great to be back home!

(photo-Garfield County Courthouse in Pomeroy-the middle of nowhere and one of my favorite corners of Washington)

Get Ready to Chisel

"National Scenic"

into that boulder!

There is still hope for National Scenic Trail status for the Pacific Northwest Trail and the New England Trail as well as hope for over two million acres of new wilderness from Oregon to Virginia. After the let down two weeks ago of the House failing to pass the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, a new version was taken up by the Senate last week and it passed overwhelmingly by 77-20. The House should be taking the bill up on Wednesday and it should pass easily. Still, I refrain from tipping my glass of Chianti until I see the final roll call. And unlike many of our public leaders who didn't read the Stimulus Bill before signing it-I actually read through this bill. There is a lot of things to like about this bill especially as an advocate of natural resource protection and historic preservation. Among the tidbits in this bill are several new Civil War National Historic Sites, a President Clinton Birthplace National Historic Site (C'mon people-he was one of our presidents and W will get one too) and enlargement of the Martin Van Buren NHS (I kid you not!), a Cold War NHS, a possible Harriet Beecher Stowe NHS, new National Heritage Corridors in New England and elsewhere, new wilderness areas in Michigan and West Virginia and a South Park National Heritage Area in Colorado! Wow, I never knew Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman were such national treasures. Seriously though-there is much to like about this bill-check here to see what is coming your way if the House follows through for us. I'm looking forward to all the new great places to visit coming my way.

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)