As a kid growing up in Medical Lake, Washington, Shawn Graves wasn’t much different than his buddies. As a self-described “outdoors type person”, he used to love to to ski, snowmobile, hike and fish. Just about anything that would get him outside. “Now,” he says, “I can’t do anything like that alone for fear of […]
Can Nature Heal The Wounds Of War? Read More »
A Different Kind of Outdoor Adventure WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK of outdoor adventure it involves visiting remote areas, by themselves or in small groups, and taking calculated risks to experience something beyond their static everyday lives. Those words certainly describe mountain biking, rock climbing, or backcountry skiing. They could also describe hopping freight trains. Only
Illegal. Dangerous: Train Hopping Read More »
Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest Lincoln Hall Tarcher/Penguin, 2008, 294 pages While not quite Lazarus, Lincoln Hall is a “resurrected” veteran mountain climber from Australia who was left for dead on Mount Everest by three Sherpa members of his expedition team on May 25, 2006. Hall—age 50 at the time of his
Book Reviews: June 2008 Read More »
Forget Me Not Jennifer Lowe-anker Mountaineers Books, 2008, 276 pages ALEX LOWE DIED in an avalanche on the Himalayan peak Shishapangma in 1999 at the age of 41. The same disaster also took the life of fellow expeditioner and filmmaker David Bridges, but spared Alex’s best friend and notable climbing partner Conrad Anker. Alex left
Book Reveiws: May 2008 Read More »
Chances are, if you are drawn to the wild, you might, someday, have to survive in the wild. Whether you’re a hiker, biker, floater, fisher, hunter or gatherer, there is always the inherent possibility that, at any moment, mother nature is capable of reminding you and your iPhone just who is in charge. Any number
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As the summer cools off a bit, this time of year is great for bike touring. The Internet is chock-full of information about bikes, gear, destinations, how-tos and every other aspect related to loading up your bicycle and hitting the road. In this column, I’ll just focus on the why. Why tour by bike? The
Everyday Cyclist: The Ecstasy of Bike Touring Read More »
Moscow, Idaho’s Village Bicycle Project is on the Cutting Edge of Two-Wheel Economic Development One of the best programs in bicycle-related economic development operates right here in the Inland Northwest. The Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute, in Moscow, Idaho operates the Village Bicycles Project. This program has been shipping bikes to Ghana for almost a decade.
How did that bike get to Africa? Read More »
Family Rafting on the Spokane River Terry Bain IF YOU’RE ANYTHING like me, you look at Spokane River downtown and think, “Oh, nice river.” You take out-of-town visitors to Riverfront or Riverside State Park, and they take pictures. How often do you actually interact with the river? Most of us probably spend a scant few
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BOOK REVIEWS Weekend Rock: Washington David Whitelaw Mountaineers Books, January 2006, 240 pages. When the opportunity to review the guidebook, Weekend Rock: Washington by David Whitelaw presented itself I was excited for two reasons. One, after reviewing the book I might have new climbing destinations to visit, and two, I would have beta
Dangerous Astronomy Sherman Alexie Limberlost Press, 2005 (Hand-sewn, letterpressed) Limberlost Press, a small publisher in Boise, Idaho, has gathered together ten of Sherman Alexie’s poems in Dangerous Astronomy. Perhaps Alexie’s poetry is best known for fierce and insightful attacks against the eradication of Native American culture and history. In One Stick Song, for example, Alexie
Book Reviews: March 2006 Read More »
