camping

Head east to Soap Lake for a weekend of fun in the mud

Sara Kennedy — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:37:55 -0700

The town of Soap Lake is filled with bikers. Harley bikers, decked out in leather and traveling en masse. But there's a softer side of Soap Lake -- one well worth visiting for a quick weekend getaway covered in mud.

What to do:

1. Get muddy

The main reason to visit Soap Lake is to envelop yourself in its mineral-rich, oily-feeling water and the jet-black mud that sits below it. Pre-penicillin, people with skin ailments flocked to the lake for treatment.

Launching a new era at Cama Beach State Park

Kathryn True — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

CAMANO ISLAND — Celebrating its opening here the first day of summer is a new state park with a patchwork of histories as varied and colorful as the fabric swatches in the 100 quilts stitched by local volunteers for the park's cabins.

In a unique partnership, Washington State Parks has teamed with Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats to manage the park, with a grand opening June 21 on the site of the Cama Beach family fishing resort, which dates to the 1930s.

Camping gear goes to the dogs

Jen Harper — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:07:12 -0700

My two Labs can't speak in human terms (even though I keep telling them that I wouldn't tell anyone if they decided to start talking), but they do have a solid understanding of a handful of words, namely "ball," "eat," "treat," "walk," "swim," "hike" and "camping."

A newcomer's guide to summer in Seattle

Brian J. Cantwell — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

So you're new in town.

You might have noticed that Pugetopolis isn't, well, exactly like the rest of the world.

We rarely honk our horns in anger. You'll more often get a perky wave from another driver than a one-finger salute.

We do tend to have two coffee houses at every corner. We dig clams. We wear Gore-Tex to the symphony. And we have mountains, water and forests that don't in the least resemble Indiana.

Think outside the tent: yurts, cabins in parks

Kathryn True — Thu, 03 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Is your Therm-a-Rest thinner or are your bones just more tender? Is the tent bigger or is your trunk so full of baby gear that you can't fit in the spare tire? Is it summer yet?

These are just a few of the questions plaguing Washingtonians who love to camp. Then there are those who have discovered the yurts and cabins popping up like mushrooms in parks across the state.

South Sound's sweetest paddle takes you to a place called Hope

Greg Johnston — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700

SHELTON -- Hammersley Inlet is the narrowest of the glacially carved waterways that curl around south Puget Sound like the gnarled fingers of a witch, funneling and propelling the tides to create what local kayakers call the "Shelton shuttle."

You can ride the rippling currents from Shelton seven miles out to the Sound, past forested green bluffs through seal-rich eddies and otter-visited coves. Then wait for the tide to turn and you can catch the briny currents of the flood back.

Weekly find: Backyard Fire Manual

Kathy Schultz — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:05:24 -0700

Enjoying the outdoors in travel-trailer style

Jeff Larsen — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800

I noticed recently that one of my colleagues, along with some friends, camped in the snow at Paradise in the shadow of Mount Rainier and wrote about how much fun it was. She heralded how relaxing it was -- no crowds or noise, plus the sheer beauty of it all.

Guess what? It also was cold, wet and icy, and Mother Earth was covered with five feet of snow. It was so cold her group woke up in the middle of the night with a layer of frost on their sleeping bags. She said her water bladder even froze. I bet that's not all that froze.

Winter camping at Reflection Lakes is just short of paradise

Phuong Cat Le — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Before you make any assumptions about cold and ice, about white-out storms and shivering sleepless nights, remember this key point about snow camping: no mosquitoes.

For those of us who attract them like happy hour beckons drunks, this alone is incentive enough to camp in the dead of winter. But the truth is that snow camping can be immense fun and in some ways even better than its more popular summer sibling.

Getting in gear: More good gifts for gear-heads

Dan A. Nelson — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 08:45:43 -0800

Once again, we've enlisted the help of a few gear-heads to help sort through an assortment of outdoor gear and garments and present some of the things that any outdoor enthusiast would be happy to get as a gift.

CAMP AND TRAIL TOOLS

There's always one more piece of gear that will be welcomed by most hikers, bikers, trail runners or climbers. Here are a few items that might be perfect for your hard-to-buy-for buddy.