I like to explore non-built environments. I enjoy hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, urban biking, snow-shoeing, skiing, and especially backcountry scrambling. Scrambling is something between climbing and hiking, except that neither trails nor climbing gear are used; it is a real test of mountaineering technique, navigation skills, physical endurance, and how much bushwacking one can tolerate. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, situated in the north-central Cascade Mountains, is a special favorite stomping ground of mine. The latest twist that I have added onto these adventures is getting to the trailhead without a vehicle, using only my bicycle, public transit, or sometimes a decentralized ridesharing system.
I usually take a lot of pictures on my travels, and you can view these all here.
If you don't want to sift through that semi-sorted mass of pictures, follow these links for some of my more recent outdoor trips with good pictures:
- Climbing up Carbon River via Bike, Curtis Ridge on Mt. Rainier via foot, and then back
- Tricouni Peak in SW Canada via train, bike, and foot
- A very wet September on the Alpine Lakes High Route
- Tour de Mountain Loop
- Following the Milwaukee Road to the Columbia River on a single-speed
- Moonlight snowshoe trip at Mt. Baker
- Chiwaukum Creek, Painter Creek, and Ida Lake
- Horseshoe Lake & Mt. Stuart
- Upper Baker River
Sometimes, I post trip reports to my blog. You can jump to posts that I have categorized into the following:
Here are some useful outdoor links:
- National Weather Service Northwest Region. - The primary source for regional weather forecasts in Washington State.
- UW Probability Forecast - Good source of highly-localized weather info, and second opinions.
- Cliff Mass Weather Blog - For a more in-depth discussion of current events in the local stratosphere.
- Dial 511 from your cell phone - if you're out and about and need current weather info.
- Washington Trails Association - A site full of current trail reports and other useful backcountry information.
- The Terraserver - Aerial photos and topo maps; often of higher resolution than Google Earth in mountainous areas.
- Northwest Avalanche Center.
- Washington Mountain Webcams - Get answers to questions such as: "Is there snow on Mt. Si today?"
