Life

In this September 2013 photo, Ryan Freeman, left, and Andy Gonerka, right, enjoy the view from the summit of South Sister, Oregon's third tallest mountain, which looks out at Middle and North Sister immediately to the north. near Sisters, Ore.(AP Photo/The Statesman Journal, Zach Urness)

Summit inspires generation of climbers

SISTERS, Ore. (AP) — As first-time climber Adam Rosalez stood in the shadow of Oregon’s third-tallest mountain on a perfect September morning, he couldn’t help… Continue reading

In this September 2013 photo, Ryan Freeman, left, and Andy Gonerka, right, enjoy the view from the summit of South Sister, Oregon's third tallest mountain, which looks out at Middle and North Sister immediately to the north. near Sisters, Ore.(AP Photo/The Statesman Journal, Zach Urness)
In this July, 2013, photo, from left, Robin Hanley, Bjorn Dihle, Lynnette Dihle and Nils Dihle watch bears on the shore of Middle Creek on Admiralty Island near Windfall Harbor, Alaska. The area around Pack Creek, a bear-viewing area on Admiralty Island, offers some amazing sights not too far from Juneau, Alaska.(AP Photo/Juneau Empire, Mary Catharine Martin)

Welcome to the bear show

Last summer, my boyfriend Bjorn and I went for a three-day sun-drenched kayak trip at Admiralty Island’s Windfall Harbor. We squinted into the merciless horizon… Continue reading

In this July, 2013, photo, from left, Robin Hanley, Bjorn Dihle, Lynnette Dihle and Nils Dihle watch bears on the shore of Middle Creek on Admiralty Island near Windfall Harbor, Alaska. The area around Pack Creek, a bear-viewing area on Admiralty Island, offers some amazing sights not too far from Juneau, Alaska.(AP Photo/Juneau Empire, Mary Catharine Martin)
Aerial view of the Kenai Flats, where 187 bird species have been documented over the past five decades. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Bird checklist of the Kenai Flats – It’s about time

My favorite place to birdwatch, or “bird,” on the Kenai Peninsula is the Kenai Flats. “The Flats” are not merely the wetlands you see from… Continue reading

Aerial view of the Kenai Flats, where 187 bird species have been documented over the past five decades. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

An Outdoor View: Long Live the King

On Aug. 8, I attended the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Kenai. One of the films really raised my hackles.“Long Live the King,” a… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS SEPT. 6-7 - In this Aug. 23, 2014 photo, Brook and Lisa Swanson are in perfect synch as they paddle their racing canoe in the Spokane River Classic in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Rich Landers) COEUR D'ALENE PRESS OUT

Truly efficient paddling takes practice, patience

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Anyone can move a canoe, kayak or stand-up paddleboard over the water, but precious few have savored the joy of paddling… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS SEPT. 6-7 - In this Aug. 23, 2014 photo, Brook and Lisa Swanson are in perfect synch as they paddle their racing canoe in the Spokane River Classic in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Rich Landers) COEUR D'ALENE PRESS OUT
The Tiglax at the Chowiot Island field camp, on a spectacular Aleutian afternoon. (E. Bella/Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: A journey through botanical time

While understanding the ecological system of the place where you work and inhabit is an invaluable, lengthy process, the chance to occasionally visit new places… Continue reading

The Tiglax at the Chowiot Island field camp, on a spectacular Aleutian afternoon. (E. Bella/Refuge)
This March 24, 2014 photo shows a bumble bee searching for nectar from a Rosemary plant near Langley, Wash. Honeybees are irreplaceable as pollinators but you can somewhat offset their loss by attracting beetles, butterflies and moths, dragonflies, feral bees, bumblebees and wasps, among others. (AP Photo/By Dean Fosdick)

Bees aren’t the only pollinators you can attract

The dramatic loss of honeybees to changing land use, viruses and pesticides is alarming, and they are irreplaceable as pollinators. But you can somewhat offset… Continue reading

This March 24, 2014 photo shows a bumble bee searching for nectar from a Rosemary plant near Langley, Wash. Honeybees are irreplaceable as pollinators but you can somewhat offset their loss by attracting beetles, butterflies and moths, dragonflies, feral bees, bumblebees and wasps, among others. (AP Photo/By Dean Fosdick)
Mike Yochim, 47, a National Parks Service planner, left, helps his friend Eric Compas decide on the meals to carry for a canoe trip on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Gardiner, Mont. Yochim was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in September 2013 and will be joined by three of his closest friends for one last wilderness trip around Yellowstone Lake. (AP Photo/Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez)

Once more into the wild

GARDINER, Mont. (AP) — Mike Yochim asked for help up from a blue chair in his living room with windows overlooking a cloud-covered Electric Peak.Using… Continue reading

Mike Yochim, 47, a National Parks Service planner, left, helps his friend Eric Compas decide on the meals to carry for a canoe trip on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Gardiner, Mont. Yochim was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in September 2013 and will be joined by three of his closest friends for one last wilderness trip around Yellowstone Lake. (AP Photo/Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez)

Restoring snowmobile history

CASPER, Wyo. — One of the snowmobiles looks a little like a 1970s space-pod with tracks.A rider sits inside, like a car, and the roof… Continue reading

Scottish kids and their chaperones pose in front of a historical 4-ton steam boiler (once used in a lumber mill) that they moved from the shores of Tustumena Lake to higher ground with levers, pulleys and sweat this past summer. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Scottish kids help restore cabins on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

In the summer of 2006 I was fortunate enough to meet Gary Titus and so began the story of this trans-Atlantic partnership between the Kenai… Continue reading

Scottish kids and their chaperones pose in front of a historical 4-ton steam boiler (once used in a lumber mill) that they moved from the shores of Tustumena Lake to higher ground with levers, pulleys and sweat this past summer. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

An Outdoor View: Fast fishing

Author’s note: This week’s column first appeared Nov. 13, 1987, in “The Tides,” a Clarion supplement.By looking back, we can see how different people helped… Continue reading

Aerial view of the Bluff Point Landslide taken at a recent minus-5.3-foot low tide. The slide originally extended to the edge of the boulder field, but has eroded back 400-600 yards to the present beach bluff. (Photo by Ian Reid of Eagle Eye Gallery)

Refuge Notebook: Geologists determine age of Bluff Point Landslide

Many Homerites remember when they first came down the Sterling Highway and stopped at the Baycrest Overlook. The view of Kachemak Bay, the mountains and… Continue reading

Aerial view of the Bluff Point Landslide taken at a recent minus-5.3-foot low tide. The slide originally extended to the edge of the boulder field, but has eroded back 400-600 yards to the present beach bluff. (Photo by Ian Reid of Eagle Eye Gallery)

An Outdoor View: Wondering what fish want

Besides the question all men have, “What do women want?” another question keeps nagging at me. What do fish want?Right up front, I confess that… Continue reading

Jared White paddles his packraft through a rapid on the South Fork Flathead River, in Mont. Packrafts allows adventurers to float wilderness rivers without needing a pack string to carry a full-sized raft, said Jared White, the Wilderness Society's regional communications manager in Bozeman. (AP Photo/The Great Falls Tribune, Erin Madison) NO SALES

Packrafting sees boom in popularity

BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS, Mont. — As Scott Bosse launched his packraft in Youngs Creek, it felt as if gravity disappeared.“I find it tremendously liberating,” Bosse… Continue reading

Jared White paddles his packraft through a rapid on the South Fork Flathead River, in Mont. Packrafts allows adventurers to float wilderness rivers without needing a pack string to carry a full-sized raft, said Jared White, the Wilderness Society's regional communications manager in Bozeman. (AP Photo/The Great Falls Tribune, Erin Madison) NO SALES
White spruce bearing heavy cone crop at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's Visitor Center, August 12, 2014. Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS.

Refuge Notebook: Spruce mast events – feast or famine

Peer out the window or take a walk around the neighborhood asking yourself if the spruce trees bear an unusually large load of cones this… Continue reading

White spruce bearing heavy cone crop at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's Visitor Center, August 12, 2014. Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS.
A guide waits to net a pink salmon caught by a member of military who spent two days fishing on the Kenai River Friday August 8, 2014 near Soldotna, Alaska. The Kenai River Foundation hosted the "Wounded Heroes" fishing event that brought more than 70 military members down to the Kenai River and paired them up with area guides who took them fishing August 8-9. Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion

Photo: Fish on!

… Continue reading

A guide waits to net a pink salmon caught by a member of military who spent two days fishing on the Kenai River Friday August 8, 2014 near Soldotna, Alaska. The Kenai River Foundation hosted the "Wounded Heroes" fishing event that brought more than 70 military members down to the Kenai River and paired them up with area guides who took them fishing August 8-9. Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Refuge Notebook: Wind carries insidious exotic plant seeds

Refuge Notebook: Wind carries insidious exotic plant seeds

Roses are red, violets are blue, but what are all the yellow flowers along Kalifornsky Beach Road?! Along almost the entire length of Unity Trail… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Wind carries insidious exotic plant seeds

DNA tests to start on zoo’s bison

HUTCHINSON, — Across developed Kansas, with its roads and communities, homes and farms, it’s hard to imagine that millions of bison once roamed freely across… Continue reading

In this photo taken on June 29, 2014, South Sister rises high above the Sparks Lake, a popular place for canoeing and kayaking, in the central Cascades in Deschutes County, about 35 miles west of Bend, Ore. (AP Photo/Statesman-Journal, Zach Urness)

Wilderness lakes offer escapes from masses

BEND, Ore. — With so many recreation-minded visitors descending on Central Oregon this summer, I’m almost hesitant to point this out: Besides Sparks, Elk, Cultus… Continue reading

In this photo taken on June 29, 2014, South Sister rises high above the Sparks Lake, a popular place for canoeing and kayaking, in the central Cascades in Deschutes County, about 35 miles west of Bend, Ore. (AP Photo/Statesman-Journal, Zach Urness)
Courtesy photo/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge A rehabilitated bank at Jim's Landing on the Kenai River provides a resting place for a tired sockeye salmon.

Fish need riparian vegetation

It’s that magical time of year once again when the salmon are flooding through the Kenai River and its tributaries. People and wildlife alike flock… Continue reading

Courtesy photo/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge A rehabilitated bank at Jim's Landing on the Kenai River provides a resting place for a tired sockeye salmon.