Restless Souls in the Alpine Lakes

That would be the souls of my trail running shoes. They're restless and my feet are beat! My spiritual soul is just fine-very at ease actually! As most of you know I am currently working on a backpacking book. It is a little different than the standard backpacking books out there. It is meant primarily to be for weekend backpacking. Most of the trips are in the 18-25 mile range making them perfect for a one nighter for strong hikers are an extended trip for those who wish to linger. The book will include 70 trips from the Olympics to the Blues and almost all of these trips do not require a car shuttle-another hindrance to convenient trekking. The book is also meant to compliment the Day Hiking series--so if you like/have my day hiking books you'll want to add this volume to help you go a little farther down the trail. The research for this book is demanding. I currently have 49 more trips to complete --and mind you that I only have a few months to do it. So, how am I doing it? Well despite that the book is a backpacking book-I'm not actually overnighting on every trip. I'd like to-but time is a ticking. So, good thing I am a marathon runner because I am putting in some serious mileage-making sure the trails are fine-water sources are good- campsites are decent-all of that good stuff. I just finished my last two days over in the Salmon La Sac Area. Thursday did a 21 mile day hike to Waptus Lake and beyond- and yesterday did a 16 mile hike to Deep Lake. Good stuff-you are going to love hiking to these places-but do me a favor and spend some time-will ya? Okay-this week I'll probably be over in the Rainier area-and back in time to do my presentation on the Entiat at WTA's Trailsfest. Stop by and chat-I'll let you in on a few of the places in the new book. Some are popular-but others are hidden gems-all good stuff. Okay I need to rest before I head out again. Ciao.

(photo-Deep Lake from above-boy was it a big drop-1,200-feet worth-and climb back out!)

World Hiker

coming to the airwaves soon! Yesterday I was on Steve Scher's Weekday program on KUOW 94.9 FM to talk about local hiking options and my new book Day Hiking Central Cascades. We ended up chatting a little about hiking in South Korea, France and Italy. Steve was intrigued to know more about hiking in Europe and I had so much fun on the program that I'll be coming back soon to do a segment on hiking in Europe. Now, I won't be talking about the Alps and the Cinque Terre- that and the pot bars of Amsterdam are Rick Steve's specialties. I'll be talking about hiking in the Apennines, Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, the English Lake District, Ireland, Slovenia, Bulgaria and the Pyrenees. Stay tuned here for when the program will air-I'll give you a head's up.

In the meantime-if you missed my talk yesterday- click here and advance the podcast 20 minutes-that's when the fun starts. And if you're interested in hiking in Europe visit Mountain Hiking Holidays-they're a great Northwest-based European (and World) hiking outfit that I have guided for. A bien tot!

(photo- trekking across the rooftop of Bulgaria-the Pirin Mountains)

On the Radio!

This week Tune in -Turn on-Hit the Trail!
I'll be coming at you over the airwaves twice. On Wednesday I'll be on Steve Scher's Weekday on Seattle's KUOW 94.9 FM. To you conservatives out there-that's an NPR station. Hey-I voted for McCain, so you guys can listen in for an hour! You might learn something!

On Friday I'll be on Lisa Bradshaw's show on Wenatchee's KPQ 560 AM. For you liberals out there, that station carries Rush Limbaugh first, so don't tune in too early. But don't worry- I think Rush is a fool too when it comes to conservation issues, so lend me your ear. You might learn something too! And Andy Dappen will be joining me for this program.

Seriously, both shows will be a lot of fun and the emphasis will be on hiking in Washington with a few conservation issues intertwined. I'll be looking forward to your call when we take them from the audience.

Lions and Bears and Owls-

Oh My!

Well, it finally happened to me. It was only a matter of time before I would be attacked by a wild animal. After all I spend an inordinate amount of time in the woods-and it was bound to happen eventually. A bear? Nope! A mountain lion? uh-uh! A randy moose? Nah! How about an owl! Yep! I was off on a trail run in Alice Lake Provincial Park just north of Squamish, British Columbia, when a large barred owl flew onto a nearby limb. Gorgeous creature indeed. I tried to photograph him with my small point-and-shoot that I was running with. Watched him for awhile-tried to focus on him- (her actually) when she swooped down at me! Yikes! I have heard of this happening-now it is involving me! I started running down the forested trail and she came down at me a couple of more times. I start running faster- and that blasted owl kept flying down the trail at me. I picked up a stick and started singing in as a I ran- this would have made good video coverage- a crazy Italian lancing at the air with an alder limb! After about a third of a mile or so, the owl let me go! It was exhilarating and a bit unnerving. Of course there are bears and cougars in this park and I was out on an evening run all alone-but it was the owl that got me! Trust me- her chicks have nothing to worry about-I will not be returning anytime soon to look for them. Be careful out there-its a jungle outside!

Scruffy Gray has returned!

The abandoned matted-fur (no more-he was shaved!) kitty that showed up on our deck about a month ago is now a permanent fixture in our home. We couldn't bear to let this gentle older cat spend the rest of his days in a shelter. He is slowly acclimating to our house. Meanwhile, top cat Giuseppe is not quite sure what to think about all of this. You can read some of his thoughts here in his blog. He'll give you his purr-spective on things!

Trailcasts are back!

Click on over to Green Trails.com and download a Trailcast or two. What's a trailcast? It's a pod cast of a selected hike from one of my many guidebooks. And once you get it downloaded into your preferred listening device-its like taking me and Marc the Cartographer along as your guides. Heck-we'll even bring along Bodhi the wonder dog on occasion. So check it out and let us take you for a hike. You'll have to pack your own lunch though. We haven't figured out yet how to get some grub over to you via the web!

Has Spring finally Sprung?

Okay, it hit 55 degrees yesterday. Still a degree below the normal high for this time of year-but heck, I'll take it! Heather and I participated in the 28th annual Tulip Pedal bike event. It was fairly well-attended, but not fairly well structured. You were pretty much on your own-so after we left the 40 mile group behind, it felt like we were on our own-and we pretty much were! But--this is our backyard so we were familiar with the roads and we had a great time putting in 63 miles. It was the longest bike ride the both of us have done in awhile. The sun was out-Mount Baker was out and a handful of daffodils were out as well. No tulips yet-it'll be another week or so for them-hopefully in time for our big Tulip Run next weekend. I'd like to see the Tulip Pedal organized as well as our run which is sponsored by the Skagit Runners. Hopefully we'll be able to give them a few good pointers to grow their event and make it a much stronger one. Never-the-less when the sun is shining and you're out exercising in a beautiful environment how can you not be enjoying yourself!?

Let's Go For a Moonlight Hike

on the Olympic Peninsula!
Well, not a moonlight hike in a lunar sense-you'd be hard-pressed to do one of those right now in the rainy Olympics. No, I'm talking about a hike into the Moonlight Dome roadless area. I am leading a hike here along with James Johnston of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. James and I worked together on the Columbia Highlands Book. Below is the press release. You're invited! Please join us! We look forward to sharing this special, remote, and little-known corner of the Olympic Peninsula with you.

You’re invited to a Moonlight Dome Hike!
March 29, 2009
Please join Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics for an interpretive hike into the prospective (not federal wilderness yet!) Moonlight Dome Wilderness in Washington’s incomparable Olympic Peninsula.
We’ll be accompanied by outdoor writer Craig Romano, author of seven books about the Pacific Northwest, including "Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula." Craig and FSEEE’s James Johnston will talk hiking, ecology, and opportunities to create new wilderness areas in the coastal old-growth forests of the Olympic Peninsula.
We’ll be doing an easy to moderate difficulty 3-4 mile round trip day hike along the West Fork Humptulips River Trail, through spectacular groves of old growth and views of rugged peaks.
We will meet at the Starbucks Coffee House on 1213 E. Wishkah Street in Aberdeen at 9:00 AM on Sunday, March 29.
Bring a lunch.
Come prepared for rain!
All FSEEE’s events are free, and this event will be fun for almost all ages and ability levels.
Please call or email James to RSVP or if you have any questions.
The proposed Moonlight Dome wilderness
photo Craig Romano
(Contact James at 541.484.2692 or james@fseee.org)
See you in Aberdeen on the 29th!

Back to Being in a Cold Garage

Well our garage is once again a cold lifeless place. Scruffy Grey had made it his home for three nights adding a little life and warmth to the place. He's at the Skagit Valley Humane Society now safe and warm and waiting to be groomed and checked out by a Vet. And after that he'll be waiting for a loving family to adopt him. He's a gentle loving cat and one that'll warm up your home like he did our garage. I'm sure Giuseppe has more to say about Scruffy, so you may want to venture over to his blog to see what he's purring about. And no-I am not Giuseppe's ghost writer in case you are wondering. I have enough things to write about without penning for my cat!

Picture of Scruffy Grey

Okay, Scruffy Grey might not be as beautiful as Dorian, and he's not wild either (sorry, Oscar!), but this little kitty has definitely touched our senses. Three days ago while Giuseppe and I were enjoying our lunch break, Scruffy Grey came out of the blue trotting across my deck. It was about 38 degrees outside and he plopped himself down in the sun soaking up the heat from the warmed planking. Giuseppe said it was okay for me to bring him some food. Scruffy Grey was quite thankful for this offering.

While he apparently appeared abandoned, his fur badly matted, little Scruffy was quite affectionate and has obviously been around humans. He pretty much stayed on the deck all day-and once nightfall arrived, temperatures now in the 20s, Giuseppe said it was okay for Scruffy to spend the night in our garage. We lined Giusppe's dreaded travel carrier with soft blankets and transformed it into a makeshift cat bed. Scruffy slept well that night.

The following morning we let him out hoping that perhaps he had a home. At 9:00 pm he was on my deck again hoping to come in from another night of 20 degree temps. Back into his makeshift bed he went. Yesterday, Scruffy hung out all day and spent the night once more. Heather, Giuseppe and I talked about what to do with this very affectionate loving kitty. As much as we'd love to keep him we are not in the position to do so. Having Giuseppe is challenging enough with our lifestyle. We'll be bringing Scruffy up to the Skagit Valley Humane Society today to get him cleaned up and ready for adoption. By all means, if you'd like a loving kitty, consider taking home Scruffy Grey. He will definitely appreciate it.

I am guessing the word is out in the kitty circles that we are the house to come to if abandoned! Ever since we rescued Storm on a snowy cold night the other kitties have heard of our compassion towards felines. Storm is now in a loving family's home. We hope Scruffy Grey will be too-real soon!

For more information about Scruffy, visit Giuseppe's blog, Giuseppe Gattino. And no, I am not Giuseppe's ghost writer in case you are wondering. Ciao! I mean meow! And yes, Karen and Kim, I'm turning into one of those weird cat people- you can relate, right?

Happy Anniversary

This past weekend Heather and I headed up to Surprise Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to celebrate a special anniversary. It was 12 years ago that Heather and I took our first hike together (our second date) and was here at Surprise. Back in June of 1996 we started out in pouring rain and had the sun coming out. This year we started in light rain and had pouring rain at the lake! And it was cold too!

Back then we just went to Surprise and back and those 9 miles were enough for Heather. This year we kept hiking- to Glacier Lake, then up and over Trap Pass to Trap Lake-onward to Hope and Mig Lake and out the Tunnel Creek Trail. It was then a run down Forest Service road number 6095 and a run down US 2 until trail (or rather highway) angel Steve Leary (a fellow hiker who took pity on us) stopped and gave us a ride back to our truck at the Surprise Lake Trailhead. It was a 17 mile hike at that point and another great memory created in our 12 wonderful years together.