Cispus Pass is a picturesque twofer — if you’re up to it
May 14, 2013
The hike voted by the Cascadian Trekkers as No. 3 on their list of “Big Five” outings is a lot like their No. 2 selection …
Photos: Girls 27th annual Best in the West AAU tournament
May 13, 2013
Photos from the final day of the 27th annual Best in the West AAU basketball tournament at Franklin Middle School in Yakima, Wash., on Sunday …
Summerland and Panhandle Gap trail touts climb, views and wildlife
May 7, 2013
YAKIMA, Wash. -- For many tourists, a trip to the Pacific Northwest means a trip to Mount Rainier National Park, where you might have a …
Wenas Creek home to unusual white-breasted nuthatches
May 7, 2013
YAKIMA, Wash. -- If you have a keen eye and know what to look for, any springtime you can spot about 130 species of birds …
AAU Best in the West championship results
May 6, 2013
2nd-grade boys: Seattle Rotary 30, Federal Way 29 3rd-grade boys: Seattle Stars 42, Toppenish Wildcats 36 4th-grade boys: Team Blackout 43, High Definition 34 5th-grade …
Kendall Katwalk has quite a reputation
April 30, 2013
Even if you’ve never been there, if you hike at all in the Pacific Northwest you’ve heard of the Kendall Katwalk. The route voted fifth …
Gorge hikes an early spring favorite
April 23, 2013
Let’s start this with a disclaimer: If your idea of a good time in the outdoors consists entirely of catching a few rays on a …
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Hatchery workers a welcomed sight at local fishing spots
April 16, 2013
NACHES — The baseball cap on Calvin Lehman’s head as he steers the hatchery fish-stocking truck into North Fio Rito Lake is a dingy red, …
Fast marathon times are gone with the wind
April 7, 2013
SELAH, Wash. -- Within the basalt-bracketed corridor of the Yakima River Canyon, Saturday was not a day to hold one’s hopes too high. The wind …
No slowing down for two Yakima River Canyon Marathon veterans
April 3, 2013
Neither Ron Fowler nor David Jones has ever missed a Yakima River Canyon Marathon, and they’ll be at the starting line bright and early on …
Wildlife moment: This festival is for the birds — sandhill cranes, to be exact
April 2, 2013
Othello is the place right now to experience one of Washington’s most spectacular wildlife events, the annual migration of thousands of sandhill cranes. Each spring, …
Outdoors topics will bring people indoors
March 26, 2013
A revisitation of one of the highest-elevation hikes on the planet. A research scientist whose study of the Clark’s nutcracker — an arresting-looking bird, bigger …
Wenatchee photographer takes on prescribed-fire issue
March 19, 2013
He is best known for his photographic images of nature’s beauty, but these days John Marshall has become quite the advocate for the occasional need …
White Pass instructors impart passion for skiing
March 7, 2013
The sight of children spilling out of a small room — dressed with just about every type of winter gear and wielding skis — might …
Photos: ‘Rogue taxidermist’ makes bone, skin art
March 7, 2013
TACOMA, Wash. — From the outside, it’s a cheery Hilltop home painted green with red trim. Inside, a mummified cat is mounted within a frame, …
Wildlife Moment: This hawk is a Valley newcomer
March 5, 2013
In late December, a Yakima birding enthusiast named Kevin Lucas was searching the cottonwood trees by the Parker Bridge south of Union Gap, following up …
Maybe dogs can’t talk, but they sure listen
March 5, 2013
I am not one of those guys who thinks dogs can talk, or that they understand everything we are telling them when we talk to …
Washington ski lodge is a step back in time
March 5, 2013
STAMPEDE PASS — The instructions for time travel are as follows: Step one: On a winter weekend, follow Interstate 90 to Exit 62, then drive …
Voyage of discovery on exhibit at Audubon Society meeting
February 26, 2013
If you can muster the time, the expense and the hardiness necessary to spend 30 days checking out the wildlife, topography and views of the …
Feds see early signs of Pacific fishery recovery
February 24, 2013
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — After one of the West Coast’s most valuable commercial fisheries was declared an economic disaster in 2000, California and other …
Fat tires make snow cycling a wild ride
February 24, 2013
WINTHROP — Anything this obscenely fat is bound to draw stares, especially in the Methow Valley, where it sometimes seems as though everything from the …
A climb becomes life or death
February 19, 2013
Seventeen years ago, a confluence of Himalayan weather, hubris and a human logjam on the upper slopes of the world’s highest mountain led to the …
Video / Photos: Yakima elk herd is 100 years old this winter
February 12, 2013
NACHES — One hundred years. That’s how long the Yakima elk herd has been here — at least in its current incarnation, the one that …
White Pass instructor Dick Kendall is a trail blazer
January 29, 2013
At the White Pass Nordic Center he is, according to the center’s director, “no doubt the most requested instructor we’ve ever had.” If you encounter …
Outdoors Happenings: Jan. 29, 2013
January 29, 2013
Senior shooters top W.K. Button Shoot The senior division stole the show Sunday at Selah’s Pomona range in the fourth week of the W.K. Button …
Wool is hot at outdoor-gear expo (photos)
January 25, 2013
SALT LAKE CITY — Wool instead of synthetic fleece, carbon skis and a spoon-shaped sleeping bag are among the hottest products at the world’s largest …
Wildlife Moment: Cormorants flock to Valley
January 1, 2013
I’m frequently asked the identity of the big, black bird with a long neck that flies in loose flocks along the Yakima River or seen …
Rob Phillips: Sometimes you’re going to ruffle feathers, even when talking fish
January 22, 2013
Those of you who know me know I’m not much of a feather-ruffler. I really try to avoid confrontation whenever I can. Once in a …
Outdoors Happenings: Jan. 22, 2013
January 22, 2013
Your chance to learn to XC ski or showshoe You live within an hour of a ski area and you’re closer than that to wide-open …
Rob Phillips: Something’s fishy in carp contest
January 8, 2013
What with the holidays and all, you probably missed out on some news that has rocked the sportfishing world. You might want to sit down …
Outdoors Happenings: Jan. 8, 2013
January 8, 2013
Salmon film features scheduled at YVCC Two films related to salmon fishing, one a feature-length documentary shot in Alaska and the other a short film …
Study: Food search drives Colockum elk herd
January 8, 2013
ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The search for edible vegetation, more than the disturbance by people driving snowmobiles and trucks, is the primary force driving the late-winter …
Retiring wildlife enforcement officer has reason to celebrate
December 25, 2012
YAKIMA, Wash. — As a man of faith, Alan Baird has much to celebrate today. Beyond that which so many celebrate on Christmas, Baird is …
It’s a gloomy forecast for spring chinook
December 18, 2012
VANCOUVER — A spring chinook run of 141,400 — the poorest in six years — is forecast to enter the Columbia River destined for upstream …
Phillips: It’s time to face down the man-eater
December 18, 2012
If you ask any of the guys I hunt with about the man-eater, you will get an immediate reaction. Some will shudder and give a …
Outdoors Happenings: Dec. 18, 2012
December 18, 2012
Agencies seeking input on Naneum area The Washington departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are asking recreationists for their advice by …
Last week’s snowstorm gets ski areas off to to strong start
December 11, 2012
YAKIMA, Wash. — For many people, snowy mountain passes mean sketchy driving conditions on trips to the other side of the Cascades. For winter-sports enthusiasts, …
Phillips: Double-dipping in the John Day River
December 11, 2012
Oregon’s John Day River is one of the premier smallmouth bass fishing rivers in the Northwest, if not in the entire country. What many anglers …
Last week’s snowstorm gets ski areas off to to strong start
December 11, 2012
YAKIMA, Wash. — For many people, snowy mountain passes mean sketchy driving conditions on trips to the other side of the Cascades. For winter-sports enthusiasts, …
SKIING PREVIEW
December 11, 2012
WASHINGTON White Pass Where: 50 miles west of Yakima on Highway 12. Elevation: 4,500-6,550 feet. Lifts: Eight — two express quads, one fixed quad, triple …
Outdoors Happenings: Dec. 11, 2012
December 11, 2012
New-look Red’s has its grand opening Anybody who has been around long enough to remember what Red’s Fly Shop used to be would have to …
Wildlife moment: Consider it an (un)common redpoll
December 4, 2012
Its name, at least in Yakima, is a misnomer. The common redpoll is anything but common in these parts. It can be a routine, ho-hum …
Wolf panel to host discussion Tuesday at YVCC
December 4, 2012
One of the two wolf biologists hired six months ago by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to oversee and hone the state’s management …
Wildlife moment: Consider it an (un)common redpoll
December 4, 2012
Its name, at least in Yakima, is a misnomer. The common redpoll is anything but common in these parts. It can be a routine, ho-hum …
Outdoors Happenings: Dec. 4, 2012
December 4, 2012
Sunday turkey shoot to benefit veterans The Yakima Valley Sportsmen’s Association will hold a traditional turkey shoot — well, call it a “meat shoot,” considering …
Outdoors Happenings: Nov. 27, 2012
November 27, 2012
ellowstone photos to highlight meeting Want to see Yellowstone National Park but don’t have the time or wherewithall to make it happen? Go to Wednesday …
Sasquatch: Does DNA say it’s human?
November 27, 2012
The whole Sasquatch thing may be moving from the realm of the weird to the level of “truth is stranger than fiction.” That will depend …
Phillips: Frankly, my deer, I could eat a steak
November 27, 2012
One of the best, most cut-it-with-a-fork tender steaks I have ever wrapped my taste buds around was a piece of venison tenderloin cut fresh from …
Outdoors Happenings: Nov. 27, 2012
November 27, 2012
ellowstone photos to highlight meeting Want to see Yellowstone National Park but don’t have the time or wherewithall to make it happen? Go to Wednesday …
Chouinard records Valley’s third-best series, first 800 by a women
November 21, 2012
Janice Chouinard will rarely pass up the chance to get to the bowling alley — and it led to a really good decision a few …
Hikers are a part of something -- The great outdoors
November 20, 2012
YAKIMA, Wash. -- According to Webster’s, kinnikinicks are “a mixture, as of tobacco and dried sumac leaves, bark, etc., formerly smoked by certain American Indians …
Wildlife Moment: It’s no leap, squirrels remain plentiful
November 6, 2012
When the first English settlers landed on the eastern shores of what for them was the new world, they kept to the coast for quite …
Crystal Mountain sets Wednesday opener
November 19, 2012
The storms of the last week have dropped enough snow on the slopes at Crystal Mountain that the resort has announced it will open this …
Stevens Pass becomes state’s first to open
November 28, 2012
Not to be outdone by Crystal Mountain’s Monday morning announcement of its Wednesday opening, Stevens Pass has jumped to the head of Washington’s ski-resort opening …
Phillips: Stay outdoors enough, you’ll get an up-close encounter
November 13, 2012
If you spend enough time out in the wilds, you are at some point going to end up getting up close and personal with a …
Outdoors Happenings: Nov. 13, 2012
November 13, 2012
Two road closures in Wenas wildlife area Durr Road, a commonly-used access road into the Wenas Wildlife Area, will be closed to motor vehicles from …
Two road closures in Wenas Wildlife Area
November 30, 2012
SELAH, Wash. — Durr Road, a commonly-used access road into the Wenas Wildlife Area, will be closed to motor vehicles from today through Sunday, Nov. …
Phillips: Too much hunting gear? No such thing
November 6, 2012
They say part of the fun of going any big trip is the planning and preparation for the anticipated event. I have no clue who …
Outdoors Happenings: Nov. 6, 2012
November 6, 2012
“NEPA 101” to precede regular TWIG meeting Tonight’s regular meeting of the Trails and Wilderness Interest Group (TWIG) will get rolling at 7 p.m. at …
No ordinary walk in the park
October 30, 2012
BEND, Ore. — Brian Mosbaugh says that walking a thin rope hundreds of feet above the ground provides no adrenaline rush. In fact, quite the …
Outoors Happenings: 10/30/2012
October 30, 2012
Salmon and wolves on commission agenda Two subjects of great interest to Washingtonians — salmon fisheries and depredation by the state’s newest (and oldest) carnivore, …
It’s field to boardroom for new wildlife region director
October 23, 2012
Jeff Tayer had been talking about looking forward to retirement as the state wildlife department’s Region 3 director overseeing South Central Washington for long enough …
New WDFW region director at Arboretum on Thursday
October 23, 2012
If you would like to meet the new regional director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and also learn all about the ecological …
13-year-old hunters hits her own kind of grand slam
October 16, 2012
Pop quiz: What would create the bigger thrill and leave a bigger impression in the mind and memory of a typical 13-year-old? Hitting one’s first …
Rob Phillips: Shush! We’re hunting
October 9, 2012
Sit down and shut up. That is pretty good advice anytime — in school, in church and, this year, it’s particularly good advice for hunters …
Having a clearing conscience
September 18, 2012
It took barely five minutes and one log — the sawing and removal of which constituted four of those five minutes — for the first …
Crane your neck: It’s a heron!
September 11, 2012
Considering its almost regal stature and appearance, and the fact that even its name carries a certain cachet, the great blue heron is surprisingly often …
Champs celebrate in Yakima
September 3, 2012
Start story here first for web. …
Monkeying Around
August 28, 2012
First things first: These are not professional auto racers for whom traveling at heart-pounding speeds is routine. They are car guys for whom an automobile’s …
Making goal with an assist in Yakima
August 27, 2012
Jose Hernandez gives his brother, Luis, a boost while the two were putting up the net on a goal before a Lige Mexicana soccer match …
Call them the not-so-Pokies
August 21, 2012
I was in trouble right from the start. Before the start, actually. I hadn’t done any Cascadian hikes in a couple of years, and I’ve …
Beavers: Nature’s master engineers
August 14, 2012
Headline: Beavers dam the Colorado! OK, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. The beaver dam in this photo blocks the Little Colorado River in Arizona, …