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 …

To the typical traveler, the words “Deception Pass” bring to mind a towering steel bridge with commanding views of Puget Sound, but there is much more to be discovered. That bridge is …

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 …

During the late 1900s, as Gen Z calls it, aurora borealis sightings at the 48th parallel were a rare, almost mythical event. But thanks to advances in cellphone cameras and the internet’s …

Lindsey and I awoke on a misty morning in Ireland, ready to stretch our legs. We had scheduled an extended layover on our trip home from Italy, allowing for a night’s stay in the little town of …

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 …

The Backyard Bird Chronicles Amy Tan Alfred A. Knopf 2024   We start our five-year sojourn in Amy Tan’s backyard with an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with a hummingbird who …

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, …

Mt. Vesuvius ascends from the water like a monolith above bustling Italian towns. From Naples to Sorrento, the 5,000-foot mountain is always in view while navigating the tight Italian roads and …

“Because it’s there,” never did much for me. This winter my partner Elie and I visited New Zealand during their summer. We bought a camper minivan and toured the wonders of the …

In 1931, just after the stock market crash, philanthropists Anna & Archer Huntington opened what’s considered to be the U.S.’s first public outdoor sculpture garden. Situated on more …

There’s no comparison to the sense of anticipation as the sun begins to rise over the waters of Wildcat Cove in Larrabee State Park. Its illumination foreshadows an epic day of adventure. …

“So, I’m a cowboy.” I gazed at my companion in the hot pool at Alvord Hot Springs. He shrugged. I’d asked what brought him to this ultra-remote spot in southeast Oregon, …

Daring travel adventure does not always involve towering heights, raging rivers, gnarly trails or precipitous slopes. This particular misty June morning, in a damp and mossy rainforest woodland, is a …

When the term “wildlife photography” comes to mind, one can often automatically surround the imagined photo with that famous, bright yellow border that makes National Geographic covers so …

I'm pondering microclimates as I paddle up a quiet flow of water, the Kalihiwai River, on the north shore of Kauai. Yes, there are “rivers” in the Hawaiian Islands, though they would be …

The ability to share our time in the wilderness with other people is a gift. We hike on trails and ski down slopes, taking in the scene together, locking in whatever images our minds are capable of …