The Capital Bicycling Club will host Willie Weir’s latest bicycling show on Wednesday at the Olympia Center. The show, “Cycling and Wild Camping through Portugal,” starts at 7:10 p.m. is $10 at the door or $5 for those registered for the Intercity Transit Bicycle Commuter Contest.
Weir is well known in the cycling community for his books, photography and radio and public performances.
The State Department of Natural Resources will impose a statewide burn ban on all department-protected lands from July 1-Sept. 30. That includes all forest lands in Washington under DNR fire protection, but does not apply to federal lands.
The threat of wildfires from escaped outdoor burning is high during the summer months due to dry forest vegetation. Each year, DNR strives to keep all wildfires under 10 acres. Already this year, DNR has had 35 wildfire starts simply from escaped outdoor burn piles, which have burned approximately 434 acres.
“Wildfires are dangerous for people and property and result in large …
A statement released today by the the National Park Service (It wasn’t the first incident like this at the park last month):
On April 13th, Blue Ridge (North Carolina and Virginia) National Parkway rangers received a report that state police had a man in custody who may have been involved in a possible accident in the area where the parkway crosses over Interstate 77. Upon arriving on scene, rangers learned that a man travelling the parkway drove his vehicle off the road and through a field, eventually striking a fence that parallels I-77. He then decided to take off …
I was at Mount Rainier National Park Thursday and en route saw signs warning of the pending closure of a portion of state Route 7.
The closure, from milepost 21 to 27, will take place from Monday through May 11.
The stretch being closed runs from the Alder Cutoff Road north to the intersection with state Route 161.
With the closure, Tacoma area residents headed to the Nisqually entrance to the park will have to take a detour through Eatonville using state Route 161 and the Alder Cutoff Road.
A scenic but longer option for Olympia area residents would …
Mountaineering icon Lou Whittaker, bird watching enthusiast Ben Gomez and the world famous (in our own minds) Adventure Guys are speaking in a 3-week lecture series sponsored by Pierce College.
The presentations are free, open to the public and staged at the Health Education Center at Pierce College’s Fort Steilacoom Campus.
Here’s the schedule (All presentations begin at noon):
May 9: The Adventure Guys (Craig Hill and Jeff Mayor) share 10 Hidden Gems of the Washington.
May 16: Lou Whittaker, Memories of Mountain Climber.
May 30: Ben Gomez, Bird Watching in our own Backyard.
Crews from Washington State Department of Transportation hope to open at noon on Tuesday Cayuse Pass, on state Route 123 on the eastside of Mount Rainier National Park. That is, if the weather allows.
They had hoped to open the pass today, but Thursday’s storm brought more than 6 inches of new snow to the area, forcing the delay.
Plow crews broke a path over the pass more than two weeks ago, but have been working to clear the remaining snow from the roadway. At the pass, snow was at least 12 feet deep, said Kris Olsen, department spokeswoman.
In …
Craig Hill has sent a text that the OAR Northwest team is within sight of their landing spot. Under cloudy skies, but comfortable weather otherwise, the team is nearing the completion of their nearly three-week circumnavigation of Vancouver Island.
There is no WiFi at Vanier Park, the team’s destination, but Craig will send …
Two bodies were found in the Grand Canyon last week according to a pair of statements released recently by the National Park Service. Here are the statements.
Missing Man’s Body Found Below South Rim
Last Thursday afternoon, rangers received a report from a Peregrine Fund staffer of a possible body below the South Rim in the Mather Point area. Due to poor weather conditions and the late hour, rangers had to wait until Friday to confirm the report. They spotted the body that morning and rappelled 500 feet to the victim’s location. The body was retrieved by helicopter and