Promoting muscle-powered outdoor recreation at the local level.

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Alpine Trees

by W.O. Staff on 08/04/2008 08:00   0 comments ,30 views
Browse by Category: History, Nature Stories
Tags: chelan, subalpine firs, engelmann spruce, whitebark pines, east slope trees, entiat mountains, chelan sawtooth

Chester Marler's writings about the places and natural history along the East Slope of the Cascades are refreshing because they are not about rushing through this domain but immersing yourself in it. Here Marler takes time to really smell the flowers--or rather the trees of the alpine and subalpine zones.

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Super SUP

by Anonymous on 05/24/2008 07:00   0 comments ,98 views
Browse by Category: Paddling-Flatwater, Family Fun
Tags: lake wenatchee, central washington, stand-up paddling, sup, columbia river, lake chelan

Kim Anderson reports how SUP (Stand-Up Paddling) is taking water by storm. It's what snowboarding was to snow twenty years ago. It's a cross between canoe paddling and long-board surfing. And it can be done on the Columbia River, Lake Wenatchee, Lake Chelan, or even on high mountain lakes. 

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Floral Impressionism

by Andy Dappen on 05/21/2008 13:45   0 comments ,95 views
Browse by Category: Nature Stories
Tags: flowers, impressionism, outdoor photo techniques

Some viewers take in the aesthetics rather than the science of flowers. For such viewers the interplay of light and color can evoke an emotional response. These photos work on that level and, even if they are out of focus, they're fun.

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Ishmael - Old but Good

by Andy Dappen on 04/10/2008 17:46   0 comments ,126 views
Browse by Category: Books, Conservation
Tags: ishmael, daniel quinn, book review
My daughter asked if I’d read it.
    “Ishmael?” I thought and there was the smallest germ of memory. “Is the story about a telepathic gorilla?”
     “Re-read it.” my daughter suggested. “It’s your kind of a book…the gorilla is also an environmentalist."
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Wool or Cotton -- What's Greener?

by W.O. Staff on 03/31/2008 06:00   0 comments ,128 views
Browse by Category: Gear, Conservation
Tags: wool vs cotton, pesticides, greehhouse gases
Which is greener Wool or Cotton? It’s not a black or white or answer and boils down to this choice: Do you want to keep pesticides out of the ground of greenhouse gases out of the air? Read a fuller discussion of this question at this link.
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Trail Do's and Don'ts

by eric1968 on 03/14/2008 06:00   0 comments ,124 views
Browse by Category: Biking-Mountain, Hiking-Backpacking, Editorials-Issues, Conservation
Tags: trail building, erosion, responsible trail use, maintenance, stewardship, etiquette
How many times have you rolled into a trailhead parking lot, and hit the trail without so much as a glance toward the kiosk at the beginning? We are all guilty--especially at trailheads we use frequently. How many times do we really need to be reminded of staying on the trail, not cutting switchbacks, taking only pictures…? It all leaves us thinking that if we wanted to be under the thumb of regulations we could have stayed in town!

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A Skiing Triple Play

by W.O. Staff on 03/07/2008 10:28   0 comments ,131 views
Browse by Category: Skiing-Alpine

Triple play, three act play, Holy Trinity, we three kings, Triple Crown, treble hook, triumvirate…. It’s a reality of life that it often takes three to give a notion magic or weight. Three stooges, three blind Mice, Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld… Here’s a another reality of life: Three can also be the harbinger of disaster, a colossal mistake, or stupidity of the most memorable kind.

 

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Picture of the Week - 3/7/08

by W.O. Staff on 03/07/2008 06:00   0 comments ,132 views
Marc Dilley continues to create a string of impressive early-morning pictures. He believes in the light of early morning and evening for the that magic slanted, colored light adds to a photograph. He also believes that those times when most people are packing away their cameraw for safekeeping (rainstorms, snowstorms, and windstorms) are the times when you should be getting the camera out.
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The College of Skiing -- East vs. West

by W.O. Staff on 03/03/2008 06:00   0 comments ,157 views
Browse by Category: Skiing-Alpine, Features
Tags: mission ridge, stevens pass, downhill skiing, vermont skiing, new england skiing, east vs. west, allison dappen
Two years ago, I was forced to abandon my non-committal attitude about the future and consider colleges. After weeks of perusing college guides, I narrowed down the list of possibilities based on a few factors that were non-negotiable: I wanted a small school with a curriculum that was academically rigorous, a small town, an international outlook…and I needed to be able to ski.
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Picture of the Week - 2/21

by W.O. Staff on 02/21/2008 16:57   0 comments ,158 views
Tags: picture of the week, cashmere, wenatchee river, icicle ridge
Marc Dilley has been working hard at taking exceptional photos this winter. Here, he explains how he risked drowning to capture this shot. Obviously getting great photos isn’t just about being in the right spot at the right time, whipping out the camera, pointing, and shooting.
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