Adventure
A Return to Backpacking
It has been far too long since I’ve been backpacking. You would think that as someone who runs a hiking and backpacking website, that I would get out far more than I have in the past year, but the universe has conspired against me and kept me from overnight backpacking adventures. It wasn’t totally my […]
Read MoreWallowa Mountain Backpacking Loops
The Wallowa Mountains in Northeast Oregon are known for their beautiful granite peaks, clear lakes, and deep valleys. What makes the region even better, is a wide variety of loop trips that can easily be created to sample the wilderness. The hikes listed below require three to six days to complete. Swamp Lake – Wallowas […]
Read MoreThe Makings of an Epic Trip: Exploration
It had been circled on my map for several years. Up a small, trailless canyon was a waterfall that I had reason to suspect was at least mildly great. It was a beautiful, early spring day, perhaps one of those first days with a hint of truly warm summer heat in the air. We had […]
Read MoreFavorite Columbia River Gorge Hikes
While the Columbia River Gorge is a great place for a hike any time of year, April, May, and June could very well be the optimum season for a little exploration. The weather is warming up, the trilliums and other wildflowers are blooming, the waterfalls are running hard, and the muted hues of winter are […]
Read MoreWhat I Didn’t Expect Along the Pacific Crest Trail
How fast time goes by. It was four years ago tomorrow that we arrived in Campo, California to begin our six month hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (aka, “the PCT”). The trail was most definitely beautiful; the stark, subdued tones of the southern Californian desert, the jagged, whitewashed spires contrasted against the intense blue […]
Read MoreGreat Backpacking Loop Trips in the Northwest
It’s time to begin planning some epic summer backpacking trips! While getting out, strapping on a pack, and hiking is generally always a good time, I particularly enjoy loop trips – there’s just something satisfying about not having to backtrack while continually seeing new territory. I’ve hiked some fantastic loops, and I know I have […]
Read MoreWhy I Hike
We have been hiking all day, going on 12 hours of walking; through valleys, over passes, along creeks, through meadows, and now along a grassy cliff edge, with views stretching to the mountains to the north, which we had been walking through for the past several days and are now receding behind us. I feel […]
Read MoreThe Untapped Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range is often ignored by hikers. The large swaths of logged areas, roads, and other intrusions by man keep us away, thinking that we aren’t really missing much. Yet, whenever I drive to the beach, I am always impressed with the rugged scenery that blurs through my vision as I speed hastily […]
Read MoreThe Best Portland Spring Hikes
It’s that time of year when the skies are about to clear, we’ll get a few more dry days, and the temperatures will warm enough to make us seriously consider wearing short sleeves and shorts. It’s still too snowy in the mountains, but in the lower elevations the trilliums are beginning to bloom, leaves are […]
Read MoreLessons From the Pacifc Crest Trail
This article was originally written in November, 2007, right after our 6 month, 2650 mile hike from Mexico to Canada. Frigid river crossings and snow traverses, unending ascents over high mountain passes and soaking rain permeating through layers of waterproof clothing. Our Pacific Crest Trail adventure gave us plenty of uncomfortable situations, but the uncomfortable […]
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