Spring 2012 issue now ONLINE!
Featured Stories
-
More Faster Backwards: Restoring the David B
On June 16, 2006, the David B left Bellingham, Washington, bound for Juneau, Alaska, on her maiden voyage as a passenger vessel. Eight years earlier, Christine and Jeffrey Smith had... -
More Fun than Work: Joining a Washington Trails Association Trail Crew
Looking to diversify your winter workout? Need an excuse to do some year-round hiking? Let me recommend volunteering for the Washington Trails Association (WTA) trail crew. Sure, it’s “work,” but... -
Sailing Fast, Sailing Past
“You are my…?” “Peak!” comes the unified cry of a dozen or so people holding the inch-thick line opposite me on the boat’s port side. Chris Wallace, the ship’s mate, turns to... -
Getting High
Pedaling up McNeil Canyon, a hella steep hill over near Chelan, I’ve got that tune from “The Sound of Music” stuck in my head. But my version goes like this: The... -
Imagine being there. Being there. Golden Ears
The twin peaks have occupied a spot in my imagination since I first took note of them many, many years ago. Slate blue and stately in the summer, bedecked in... -
Attitude: Anything Goes
Ryan once told me that he and Jacob follow the Hardmanisfesto of the Velominati (an irreverent cycling website (velominati.com) in which toughness, both mental and physical, are its touchstones). “Especially... -
Preservation vs. Recreation: Tense times in the Glacier Peak Wilderness
|| story by John D'Onofrio || photos by or courtesy of John D'Onofrio || Ah, wilderness! The open country, uncrossed by roads. The silence, unbroken by the clamor of machines.... -
Mountain Runners | Remembering the Mount Baker Marathon
The year was 1911 and Bellingham was a sleepy town on the northern reaches of the Salish Sea. Aside from the logging industry and the salmon canneries, not much was...
Selected Stories
-
More Faster Backwards: Restoring the David B
Posted on February 28, 2012 | 2 CommentsOn June 16, 2006, the David B left Bellingham, Washington, bound for Juneau, Alaska, on her maiden voyage as a passenger vessel. Eight years earlier, Christine and Jeffrey Smith had found the David B tucked behind a breakwater on Lopez Island, in the San Juan Islands. The tired old wooden boat, built in 1929, was showing her age. When the young couple stepped aboard the neglected vessel, her sturdy work-boat style captured their hearts with an ageless beauty that only the young dreamers could see. Their desire was to own and operate a small expedition cruise ship in Alaska. With their love for one another and without much income, they pinned their hopes and sheer will on rebuilding the dying boat. What they thought would be a two-year project became an eight-year tug-of-war between time and money as they raced to finish rebuilding the David B before it was too late. More Faster Backwards is the story of Christine and Jeffrey’s uncertain struggle to rebuild the David B and their journey to Alaska on an untested seventy-seven year old boat to begin the life of their dreams. -
More Fun than Work: Joining a Washington Trails Association Trail Crew
Posted on February 18, 2012 | 2 CommentsLooking to diversify your winter workout? Need an excuse to do some year-round hiking? Let me recommend volunteering for the Washington Trails Association (WTA) trail crew. Sure, it’s “work,” but here are some secrets: it’s more fun than work, it adds satisfaction to your day-hike, and if I can swing a pulaski without maiming myself, you can too. -
Imagine being there. Being there. Golden Ears
Posted on February 18, 2012 | No CommentsThe twin peaks have occupied a spot in my imagination since I first took note of them many, many years ago. Slate blue and stately in the summer, bedecked in a gown of snow in the winter, the peaks, just north of the United States-Canadian border, stand slightly apart from their Garibaldi Range brethren—two “ears” that, on a clear day, you can see anywhere from Vancouver, BC, south to Bellingham, Washington, where I live. I often wondered what the view would be like from atop. -
Preservation vs. Recreation: Tense times in the Glacier Peak Wilderness
Posted on January 20, 2012 | No Comments|| story by John D'Onofrio || photos by or courtesy of John D'Onofrio || Ah, wilderness! The open country, uncrossed by roads. The silence, unbroken by the clamor of machines. Here in the Great Northwest, wilderness is a cherished concept, a chance to refresh our... -
Sailing Fast, Sailing Past
Posted on February 25, 2011 | 6 Comments“You are my…?” “Peak!” comes the unified cry of a dozen or so people holding the inch-thick line opposite me on the boat’s port side. Chris Wallace, the ship’s mate, turns to us. “You are my…?” “Throat!” we on the starboard side all yell out. “Peak and throat—haul away!” she commands, and we commence raising the largest working mainsail on the north coast. -
Getting High
Posted on November 20, 2010 | No CommentsPedaling up McNeil Canyon, a hella steep hill over near Chelan, I’ve got that tune from “The Sound of Music” stuck in my head. But my version goes like this: The hills are alive, with the sound of …Huh! ... Huh! ... -
Attitude: Anything Goes
Posted on January 20, 2012 | No CommentsRyan once told me that he and Jacob follow the Hardmanisfesto of the Velominati (an irreverent cycling website (velominati.com) in which toughness, both mental and physical, are its touchstones). “Especially Rule Five,” he adds, which reads: Harden the f**k up. "... a thirst for shared adventure and discovery can be a lifelong pursuit." -
Mountain Runners | Remembering the Mount Baker Marathon
Posted on May 25, 2011 | No CommentsThe year was 1911 and Bellingham was a sleepy town on the northern reaches of the Salish Sea. Aside from the logging industry and the salmon canneries, not much was going on. The Mount Baker Club, a business group at the time, wanted something to draw attention to their corner of northwest Washington. Inspired by Mount Rainier National Park, which had been created in 1899 and had become an instant tourist attraction, club members resolved that if Rainier could draw a steady stream of gawking (and well-moneyed) tourists from back east, then surely nearby Mount Baker could too. -
Lessons from the wilderness: how to live at a fire lookout
Posted on February 20, 2012 | No CommentsAs a park ranger based at a remote fire lookout in the North Cascades, my work is not only about maintaining campsites, fixing sign posts and talking to backpackers. It is also my task, as an inhabitant of this ridge, to seek out details that are imperceptible yet fundamental to this landscape. I have the opportunity not only to work in these mountains, but to live among them, and in doing so recognize the intersection of the sacred and the mundane. -
Snowflakes: A Primer
Posted on January 20, 2012 | No Comments|| story by Abigail Sussman || photo by Zachary Treisman || Every so often, my sweetie and I will see a snowflake—not a real one but a child’s drawing, a logo for a ski movie, or one of the ubiquitous cut-out decorations that appear just...