Posts filed under "Talking Story"

In the rock gardens

The Juan de Fuca Pillar, named for the old Greek navigator, is one of the most prominent of the many stacks and offshore rocks in the Cape Flattery area. When other early explorers like Cook and Vancouver came calling, one of the few landmarks they had already on their patchwork charts was this distinctive stone […]

Oil

The third beach south of La Push (named “Third Beach” by some creative soul in the map business), was once the site of an exploratory oil well. In 1902, what became known as the La Push Oil Well was dug at the western end of the beach, near the headland. Drilling was halted by a […]

Death on the Foss

A body was discovered floating in the Foss Waterway on Saturday morning. A white male, 40 – 50 years of age, according to Tacoma police, was reported by an employee of Foss Harbor Marina at about 8:30 AM. “As far as we know,” said TPD spokesman William Budinich, “there’s no foul play.” His identity has […]

Plans

Some of my favorite trips, my most interesting and valuable wilderness moments, have never happened. At least, they haven’t happened yet. I can think back on years, decades even, of backcountry adventures that never made it out of the planning stage, wild notions that never survived their first brush with reality. “The best laid schemes […]

The Cruise

The Olympics are not known for quality rock climbing. The rock in most areas is friable and tends to slough off in the hands at just the wrong moment… anyone looking for multi-pitch granitic perfection is going to be disappointed. With that said, Mount Cruiser may be among the best of the bunch, at least […]

A different Olympic circle

I should probably have mentioned this site a year ago. Steph Abegg, local Northwest climber and photographer (check out her awesome night shots – like the one above), has put together an impressive backcountry/climbing resume that should manage to inspire even the most lethargic of armchair explorers. I went to hear her speak last year […]

Signs of the times

Put it down to greed, poor organization, a lack of vision, an inability to articulate the benefits of kayaking… hard to say. It’s maybe a little of all of these things that has brought us to the point where we’ve lost the two largest sea kayak symposiums in western Washington in the same year. Not […]

A Bug

It’s been such a mild winter that I’d almost forgotten the colds and flu that circulate at this time of year. It hardly seems like winter anyway, more like a chilly spring. I was reminded yesterday of how bad it can get, and I am hopeful (though less than confident), that I am on the […]

Get your bids in…

The National Park Service is getting ready to put the Elwha dam removal project out for bid, with the contract to be awarded by the end of September. According to the Associated Press, proposal requests will go out around the end of March and the timeline on the job calls for the project to take […]

I’m doing a couple of presentations at the WWTA event tomorrow in South Seattle. The first kayak-related event of the spring. Many more to follow – tis the season, after all. This morning’s paddle was a beaut… calm as glass and easy gliding on strong and steady strokes. Like ice skating, smooth and natural. About […]