SKYKOMISH - Evergreen Mountain lookout might be the best room with a view you can rent in Washington state.
The rustic lookout is perched at 5,587 feet among the meadows atop Evergreen Mountain on the edge of the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness. It offers a 360-degree panorama of peaks in the Cascade Range, including 10,541-foot Glacier Peak just about 30 miles away. In the distance to the south, of course, is the majestic crown of the Cascades - 14,411-foot Mount Rainier.
By Greg Johnston | September 13, 2001
Vesper Peak is a rugged peak in the north-central Cascades near Monte Cristo. It is a popular peak among scramblers and climbers. So why write it up as a hike? Well, when the snow has melted, a boot-beaten path leads toward the summit, and on a clear day hikers with route finding skills can travel cross-country on easy rock slabs to the official summit.
Many scramblers classify Vesper Peak as a tough hike. The peak is accessible to strong hikers when snow is gone from Headlee Pass (in late summer) and the weather is clear.
By Karen Sykes | September 13, 2001
Cascade Designs' Sherlock Travel Staff, $50.
Trekking poles are all the rage these days hikers around the world are finally discovering the advantages of having a third (and even fourth) leg when they are trudging up steep slopes, descending rough terrain or crossing rushing rivers.
By Dan A. Nelson | September 13, 2001
PORT TOWNSEND When thinking about movie towns, Seattle, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Toronto make the list but what about Port Townsend?
This Victorian seaport on the Olympic Peninsula, with a population of only about 8,000, supports a film industry that would be the envy of towns many times its size: a wildly popular new film festival; an educated audience hungry for film fare beyond Hollywood blockbusters, and a string of feature films shot within in its picturesque city limits.
By Moira Macdonald | September 13, 2001
PORT TOWNSEND Room decor, service, location often you choose a hotel for these features. But sometimes you seek out a place more for its unique aura or historical quirkiness.
The latter drew me to Manresa Castle during a recent trip to Port Townsend. I'd long been curious about this former private mansion and Jesuit seminary, which since 1968 has been one of the town's more unusual hotels.
By Misha Berson | September 13, 2001
