Hike of the Week
Spring is magical anywhere, but for a truly intense spring experience, visit the Columbia Basin. The Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is in Grant County and has much to offer hikers, naturalists and photographers.
Time almost seems to stop there and it is perfectly acceptable to merely sit and partake of the magic. The air is sweet with the smell of sage, and flowers are popping up everywhere. Skies are dramatic with towers of white clouds contrasting against blue skies, and if rain is in the forecast, you can see it coming from miles away.
By Karen Sykes | May 8, 2003
"Paddle. Paddle. PADDLE!"
Mike Tennant, who is leading me down the Powerhouse stretch of the lower Snoqualmie River, has turned his kayak to face me as he shoots backward down the drop so he can talk me through the rapid.
I can hear the words, but in my state of fear (in boating terms, I am "gripped") my paddle flails uselessly. The hard shell of my kayak swerves into the first crest and instinctively I thrust my paddle up in the air as if to ward off the impact of the waves.
Wrong.
"Paddle!"
By Carol Smith | May 8, 2003
Take a Walk
Location: Greenbank, Whidbey Island.
Length: Several miles.
Level of difficulty: Level to moderate dirt/gravel/bark/grass trails (muddy in spots after rains). The main garden loop is accessible.
By Cathy McDonald | May 8, 2003
Add a restorative commune with nature to your weekend on a paddling adventure through Bellevue's Mercer Slough, the largest wetland on Lake Washington. No paddling experience? No problem.
Basic training, equipment and Bellevue Park Ranger guides will have you gliding a canoe through the lake like a real Northwest adventurer. Chances are you'll spot some otters, herons, turtles and other wetland wildlife as you glide through their habitat on a three-hour journey from Enatai Beach Park to Mercer Slough Nature Park.
By Madeline McKenzie | May 8, 2003
Short Trips
TOFINO, B.C. -- Late in the evening, a bright orange Zodiac, full of whale watchers sitting at attention in orange survival suits, throttles down as it glides into its Tofino moorage.
Shortly afterward, a floatplane, highlighted by the golden light of the late sun, turns on final approach and gently sets down in the harbor.
The same light creates a mosaic from the wave and paddle action of two kayakers as they dash across the harbor from Vargas Island toward their moorage at a small dock at the west end of town.
By Jeff Larsen | May 8, 2003
