“Head down! Head DOWN!” the instructor yells across the water. A head bobs out of the river just long enough to gasp for air, then disappears beneath the upside... Read More...
Some months ago, my friend Scott was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It’s the kind of news that would have me buried in pints of ice cream and trying to get a h... Read More...
I was new to trail running. Before I moved to Spokane, my race of choice was a smooth, flat half marathon. My familiar turf was a paved activity trail or wide g... Read More...
I was racing against the sun, and I was losing.
My progress up the trail could only be described as an awkward shuffle—half-jog, half-walk. My came... Read More...
I move carefully through the rocky Red Banks section on Mt. Shasta after summiting in the early morning. Traversing a little lower to one of many mass... Read More...
Our little home, from downriver (Photo: Bea Lackaff)
The Forest Service lady’s eyes shone like moss agates. “You’d be PERFECT,” she announced, “to be our pe... Read More...
We tend to think of our home ski hills in terms of specific days: the late-winter day it dumped an unforecast 14 inches; the day an old-timer revealed a new-to-... Read More...
Many of my favorite memories took place in some part of our nation’s public lands—lands held in the public trust for the benefit of all citizens. I was reflecti... Read More...
As the school year came to a close, my family and I were sitting around the dinner table discussing plans for the summer. Hanging out at the lake, a trip to Sea... Read More...
I took a deep breath before plunging under the overpass on my way back to work after a session at Wild Walls climbing gym. The smell of human excrement and unwa... Read More...
