Unusually dry conditions have increased fire danger on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, according to a release just sent out.
The risk is much higher now than is typical for this time of the year, and with the July 4th weekend approaching, forest officials are asking people to be careful with fire on the forest.
They also are reminding visitors that fireworks are prohibited on national forest lands.
Folks like to complain about EPSN having an East Coast bias. It’s a valid issue in my mind, having lived in the Midwest and West.
I’m beginning to wonder if Field & Stream might not have a similar bias.
The magazine just released the list of contenders for its 2009 Total Outdoorsman Challenge.
The list includes last year’s top three finishers – including defending champion and three-time challenge winner Paul Thompson – and 12 other sportsmen who finished in the top three positions in one of four regional qualifier events earlier this month. The field will be
…The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest just announced it is closing several roads in the Interstate 90 corridor to target shooters starting this weekend.
Here is the release:
…The closure area encompasses the valley bottom that follows the I-90 freeway corridor from Exit 38 to the top of Snoqualmie Pass. The Tinkham and Denny Creek roads are included.
"We have a serious public safety concern," said Snoqualmie District Ranger Jim Franzel. "If we don’t do something immediately, someone will get hurt. We are closing the smallest land area possible to prevent an injury and provide
I stopped and fished Rocky Ford Creek for a couple of hours on Sunday. I was in the area on another assignment, and happened to have a fly rod along, and well … ya know … I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The water was clear, making the trout pretty wary. There were a growing mat of weeds growing along the creek edges, but the water was still fishable. Some of the trout were holding behind rocks and others were holding in holes in the weeds on the streambed.
From my vantage point, I could spot three trout
…I just got this press release from the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance:
…Companion bills, introduced yesterday in Congress, protect the rights of sportsmen to hunt on federal land while also recognizing hunting’s importance to all conservation.
The Hunting Heritage Protection Act, is made up of Senate bill 1348, sponsored by Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and H.R. 3046, sponsored by Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT).
Both pieces of legislation require that federal land be managed in a way that supports, promotes, and enhances access for hunting and mandates that an annual report be submitted to Congress detailing any
From the Portland Tribune:
A 27-year-old Seattle man was airlifted off Mount Hood Sunday afternoon after falling and breaking his leg near the Sandy Glacier area.
Clackamas County sheriff’s search and rescue members said Kristopher R. Haskins was taken off the mountain before 2 p.m. by an Oregon National Guard helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Haskins is an employee of the University of Washington in Seattle.
Hope you got a chance to read today’s articles about Scott Richards’ heroic 2004 attempt to save his best friend’s life on Mount Rainier’s Liberty Ridge.
As promised, here’s the account of the incident from the perception of climbing ranger David Gottlieb who shared his story with The News Tribune in 2004, just days after Peter Cooley died.
…
By Craig Hill
THE NEWS TRIBUNE, 2004
The first sign he was getting close was the sound of a distress whistle piercing the thin mountain air.
After more than 40 hours on the precarious
The road to Sunrise will open today according to the ranger at the Sunrise entrance ranger station.
It was originally scheduled to open July 3.
I spoke to the ranger yesterday before and after hiking to the Owyhigh Lakes as part of the Rainier 110 project.
If you go to Sunrise be prepared for snow on the trail. The Owyhigh Trail had snow over the trail near the campground. Sunrise (6,400 feet)is about 1,000 feet higher than the Owyhigh Lakes (5,400 feet).