When I pitched this article, I had a preconceived notion of what it would be. I had visions of hiking deep into the forest in search of remote owls. I’ve seen owls over the years, but infrequently. …

Four decades ago, when North Cascades National Park was still one of the newer national parks on the scene, a group of park rangers, educators and environmentalists were working to get an educational …

When Eric Gilbertson climbed Colfax Peak in 2024, it was as straightforward as mountaineering gets in the North Cascades. One year later, it was a different story. “The bergschrund had melted …

It was an eerie feeling, watching the twin engine Otter disappear into the clouds after leaving my friend Bill and I alone on a rocky outwash plain at the headwaters of the Ambler River, well above …

Fall shots from Mt. Baker, B.C. and beyond.

"Paddles up, and ... hoe!” Six paddles switch sides on the outrigger canoe, then slice through the crystalline water. If the next stroke is done in perfect harmony, you'll feel the catch …

This is no ordinary clam. Its scientific name, Panopea generosa, gives a hint: something large … something very large. I've dug clams since I was a kid, but I'd never dug Panopea generosa, …

O n a trip to Stewart Island, I found myself hiking through its forested landscape with a guidebook of the island’s birds in hand, clasping it possessively like a valued treasure map. …

Can’t see the trees for the forest. It’s easy to be distracted by the big picture when you’re standing on a western Washington alpine trail in summer. At Cascade Pass, for …

In the fall of 2024, climate change on the glaciers of Whatcom County likely took its first victims. Two individuals fell on separate mountains, one on Mt. Shuksan, one on Mt. Baker. And in each …

Hell Hill stretched out below me. This section of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) Heritage Trail earned its nickname mostly from hikers going the opposite direction, grinding up an endless …

As the world gets louder, quiet places become scarce. Humans now seek out these places to find solitude in the quiet, but are they truly quiet? From the rustling of leaves and the creaking of trees …

MBE Winter 2024/25 Publisher's Note: Speaking atmospherically (which is not a word for some reason), November was pretty interesting. We had a Super Beaver Moon, the last Supermoon of 2024 which …

It took two trips to haul everything down to the beach: buckets, burlap sacks, a rake, a gas lantern and – of course – a couple cold beers. This happened in the middle of the night, the …

They look ever so much like candles at dusk, the larches that decorate the high country of the Pacific Northwest in autumn. And, as candles do, they light up and burn out in finite periods, making …

Wildfire, mudslide force closure on North Cascades highway Serious wildfires throughout the North Cascades forced multiple closures of Highway 20, better known as North Cascades Highway, …

Northwest Tune-Up announces music lineup Northwest Tune-Up (NWTU), Bellingham’s three-day cycling, music and beer festival July 12-14 in Bellingham’s downtown waterfront district, …

From snowflake to sea swell, water has a cycle. A circulatory system whose seasonal heartbeat pumps snowmelt into this green and gracious land so many of us have come to call home. Yet any …

For most hobby anglers, getting out on the water and casting a line is a way to decompress, enjoy nature and maybe even grab lunch. For a select group of hardcore anglers on the Columbia and …