Big Views: Sleeping Beauty Hike

If your calves and quads were snoozing from the car drive to this remote Washington hike, they are bound to wake up as you ascend Sleeping Beauty. Short but steep, this 2.6-mile round-trip hike rapidly gains 1400 feet of elevation to pop out of the tree-tops. Featuring views of four mountain peaks (Adams, Hood, Rainer,

A Look Back at 2020: Adventures During a Pandemic

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a hell of a year. Looking back on the last 12 months, I feel like it’s all a fog – a blurry merge of months, virtual meetings and happy hours, walks past the same houses, and long, lonely days spent indoors. And unfortunately, the hope

5 Winter Walks in Washington

Winter is in full swing around the country (well…at least west of the Rockies), which means it’s time to get out an enjoy the cool, crisp air, the snow flurries on the ground, and the leave-less wonders. In Washington, get out and about this season with these five fun walks! Wildside – De Leo Wall

A Hidden Hike: Panther Creek Falls

  A long drive from Portland, down an obscure road, Panther Creek Falls is a hidden gem worth an afternoon away. From the parking lot, it is just a short hike (like really short) to a viewing platform. But if you are up for an adventure, take the scramble trail off to the left to

Exploring the Tatoosh Range: Plummer Peak

While riding in the back seat of my dad’s Nissan Pathfinder truck up a curving road to cascade forests, all my childhood memories of hiking as a family rushed back. That amazing view from Tolmie Fire Lookout, the wildflowers and bees at Spray Park, hot afternoons, and cold camping nights. I definitely inherited the adventure

Take a Hot Hike to Cool Off at Falls Creek Falls

After weeks in the mid to high 90s in Portland, it was time for me to get out of the city and cool off with another waterfall hike. So this last weekend, I headed over the the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge to check out a few that I’d never been to before. Half

Fourth of July Trail in the Middle of Winter

You can’t hike in the winter, said no one. And especially this season in the Pacific Northwest. With less than 10% of the typical annual snow-pack on most of the ski resorts around Washington and Oregon, you don’t have to look far to find snow-free trails to hike. On a birthday trip to Leavenworth –

A Rainy Mt. Rainier Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, I attempted my first glacier mountain climb. I practiced, gathered gear and got as much sleep as possible before heading to Mt. Rainier for the early morning start. And after a summer of record heat in Washington and Oregon, alas the climb didn’t go as planned. Rain, rain, rain, downpour and

Starting the New Year on Table Mountain

I hope my first hike of the year isn’t a sign of things to come in 2014…or maybe I do? Beautiful yet grueling, Table Mountain from the Bonneville Dam Trailhead stretches your endurance along 15.8 miles of weaving paths and tests your resolve to make it to the top with 3350-feet elevation gain. With some

Ape Caves and Lava Canyon

Crawling over boulders 100 feet below the earth’s surface, I was consumed by excitement and pitch black. A damp chill clung to the walls of the lava tube and any exposed skin. The only light, the one I carried. Behind the shadow of the south rim of Mt. St. Helens, ancient lava tubes known as