Life

An Outdoor View: Shooting around the house

Author’s note: This column first appeared in the Clarion on Sept. 23, 1993. It has been edited slightly for brevity. — LPOne advantage of living… Continue reading

This undated photo provided by the Olympic Regional Development Authority shows a person taking a skeleton ride at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y. For $75, visitors on winter Saturdays can take a sled ride belly down, head first on a sled the size of a throw rug. While racers take running jumps onto their sleds and can exceed 80 mph, visitors are pushed off about halfway down the run and can hit 30 to 40 mph. (AP Photo/Olympic Regional Development Authority)

On the wild slide: Lake Placid site offers skeleton rides

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Sledding can be pleasant and pastoral, with big toboggans, snowy hills and rosy cheeks. And then there’s skeleton sledding: belly down,… Continue reading

This undated photo provided by the Olympic Regional Development Authority shows a person taking a skeleton ride at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y. For $75, visitors on winter Saturdays can take a sled ride belly down, head first on a sled the size of a throw rug. While racers take running jumps onto their sleds and can exceed 80 mph, visitors are pushed off about halfway down the run and can hit 30 to 40 mph. (AP Photo/Olympic Regional Development Authority)

An Outdoor View: Clams and Kings

Not many years ago, if you wanted razor clams, you simply drove to the beach. Clams were plentiful, the digging was easy, and getting a… Continue reading

The bronze statue of a bull moose at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's new Visitor Center needs a name. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Finding the meaning of the moose

I have a confession. I am terrible with remembering people’s names. I can remember the Latin names of trees, insect, animals, and even recite lines… Continue reading

The bronze statue of a bull moose at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's new Visitor Center needs a name. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
In this Feb. 1, 2015 photo, Holy Trinity church stands illuminated at Russia's Bellinghausen station on King George Island in Antarctica. Holy Trinity is the world's southernmost Eastern Orthodox Church. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Antarctica: Mystery continent holds key to mankinds future

DECEPTION ISLAND, Antarctica — Earth’s past, present and future come together here on the northern peninsula of Antarctica, the wildest, most desolate and mysterious of… Continue reading

In this Feb. 1, 2015 photo, Holy Trinity church stands illuminated at Russia's Bellinghausen station on King George Island in Antarctica. Holy Trinity is the world's southernmost Eastern Orthodox Church. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Refuge Notebook: Records fall during 115th Christmas Bird Count

A consistently warmer than normal November and December, with scattered days and even nights above freezing, resulted in a mid-winter landscape exhibiting a dearth of… Continue reading

An Outdoor View: Don’t just sit there

According to WebMD, in 2014, new studies found that sitting for long hours is linked to worse mental health, a higher risk of death from… Continue reading

This Dec. 2014 photo provided by Amy Rockwell, Kristi Neznanski carries her daughter Hazel in a pack during a Salem Hike It Baby outing at the Croisan Trail system in South Salem, Ore. The group called Hike It Baby, which recently opened a branch in Salem, is encouraging new parents to get outdoors by offering a supportive atmosphere on organized weekly hikes. A collection of 118 people are part of the Salem group, and during the last two weekends, they've had hikes at the Croisan Trail system in South Salem and Kezier Rapids Park. (AP Photo/Statesman-Journal, Courtesy of Amy Rockwell)

Hiking with kids takes a bit more planning

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Once upon a time, going for a hike was a simple activity.Toss a few snacks, water and appropriate gear into a… Continue reading

This Dec. 2014 photo provided by Amy Rockwell, Kristi Neznanski carries her daughter Hazel in a pack during a Salem Hike It Baby outing at the Croisan Trail system in South Salem, Ore. The group called Hike It Baby, which recently opened a branch in Salem, is encouraging new parents to get outdoors by offering a supportive atmosphere on organized weekly hikes. A collection of 118 people are part of the Salem group, and during the last two weekends, they've had hikes at the Croisan Trail system in South Salem and Kezier Rapids Park. (AP Photo/Statesman-Journal, Courtesy of Amy Rockwell)
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, FEB. 16 - In this photo taken Jan. 17, 2015, curling enthusiasts participate in a curling clinic hosted by the Bozeman Parks and Recreation Department at Southside Park in Bozeman, Mont.. Participants learn the basics of the game and help raise interest in the sport. (AP Photo/Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez)

Curling surges in popularity

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Bozeman’s hottest up-and-coming winter sport, it turns out, doesn’t have anything to do with mountains.Instead, it’s curling — perhaps best known… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, FEB. 16 - In this photo taken Jan. 17, 2015, curling enthusiasts participate in a curling clinic hosted by the Bozeman Parks and Recreation Department at Southside Park in Bozeman, Mont.. Participants learn the basics of the game and help raise interest in the sport. (AP Photo/Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez)
File--In this Feb. 6, 2012 photo, with Mount Bachelor in the distance, from left, Denny Knowles, 29, and his wife Natasha Knowles, 28, enjoy the view from the top of Tumalo Mountain, Ore., during a snowshoe trip. Snowshoeing does not require as much gear and as many logistics as other wintertime sports such as cross-country skiing or downhill skiing and snowboarding. You basically just strap on the shoes and go. (AP Photo/The Bulletin, Andy Tullis, file)

Snowshoeing offers solitude – if you can find snow

BEND, Ore. (AP) — First of all, I must admit that I have never snowshoed simply for the sake of snowshoeing.Until last week, my only… Continue reading

File--In this Feb. 6, 2012 photo, with Mount Bachelor in the distance, from left, Denny Knowles, 29, and his wife Natasha Knowles, 28, enjoy the view from the top of Tumalo Mountain, Ore., during a snowshoe trip. Snowshoeing does not require as much gear and as many logistics as other wintertime sports such as cross-country skiing or downhill skiing and snowboarding. You basically just strap on the shoes and go. (AP Photo/The Bulletin, Andy Tullis, file)
Quaking aspen continue to photosynthesize in their greenish-tinged bark even after their leaves have dropped in winter, a season when other deciduous trees are completely dormant. (Photo by E. Bella/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: The lively winter life of quaking aspen

From the warmth of my office, the view includes a magnificent stand of quaking aspens along the ridge near Headquarters Lake. During particularly frosty days… Continue reading

Quaking aspen continue to photosynthesize in their greenish-tinged bark even after their leaves have dropped in winter, a season when other deciduous trees are completely dormant. (Photo by E. Bella/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

An Outdoor View: Dream fishing

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream about fishing. Upon awakening, I was smiling and feeling good, unlike my usual early-morning feeling. I… Continue reading

After nights of cold, clear weather, hoar frost decorates most surfaces near Peterson Lake Cabin, north of Juneau, Alaska, in this Dec., 2014, photo. The winter of 2014-15 is not one that has yet brought large amounts of snowfall to Southeast Alaska, but even so, winter outings require attention in areas where summer outings do not. (AP Photo/Juneau Empire, Abby Lowell)

A winter’s night at a cabin in Southeast Alaska

JUNEAU (AP) — There was a collective sigh of relief as our group reached the Peterson Lake Trail parking lot. A few inches of crusty… Continue reading

After nights of cold, clear weather, hoar frost decorates most surfaces near Peterson Lake Cabin, north of Juneau, Alaska, in this Dec., 2014, photo. The winter of 2014-15 is not one that has yet brought large amounts of snowfall to Southeast Alaska, but even so, winter outings require attention in areas where summer outings do not. (AP Photo/Juneau Empire, Abby Lowell)
Bruce Edgerly, vice president of marketing and sales with BCA, a Boulder, Colorado-based company, holds their float avalanche airbag at their exhibit at the Outdoor Retailer Show Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Salt lake City. "It makes you a bigger object. In an avalanche, the biggest objects, like the biggest pieces of debris, end up on the surface." Air bags become more affordable and easy to use in recent years, Edgerly said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Technology improves avalanche gear for backcountry skiers

SALT LAKE CITY — As outdoor recreation companies increasingly cater to skiers and snowboarders who like to venture beyond the groomed slopes at ski resorts… Continue reading

Bruce Edgerly, vice president of marketing and sales with BCA, a Boulder, Colorado-based company, holds their float avalanche airbag at their exhibit at the Outdoor Retailer Show Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Salt lake City. "It makes you a bigger object. In an avalanche, the biggest objects, like the biggest pieces of debris, end up on the surface." Air bags become more affordable and easy to use in recent years, Edgerly said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Hikers in pursuit of the Alaska Dream looking over Doroshin Bay and the Skilak Glacier outwash plain in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Following the Alaska dream

When I was 6 years old, my family traveled the Alcan Highway from California to the Arctic Circle in Alaska. We visited relatives who lived… Continue reading

Hikers in pursuit of the Alaska Dream looking over Doroshin Bay and the Skilak Glacier outwash plain in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

An Outdoor View: Together again

Author’s note: A loyal reader recently noted that it has been two years since I bamboozled readers into learning about fish by slipping a little… Continue reading

Roger Phillips rides down a snowy trail near Eagle, Idaho, Jan. 2, 2014, in this self portrait. Regular mountain bikes can be ridden on trails with hard-packed snow. Dropping tire pressure by about 5 pounds improves traction. (AP Photo/Idaho Statesman, Roger Phillips)

Don’t let winter keep you off your mountain bike

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — I used to think winter mountain biking was a stunt you did once to say you’ve done it. That was before… Continue reading

Roger Phillips rides down a snowy trail near Eagle, Idaho, Jan. 2, 2014, in this self portrait. Regular mountain bikes can be ridden on trails with hard-packed snow. Dropping tire pressure by about 5 pounds improves traction. (AP Photo/Idaho Statesman, Roger Phillips)
A fourteen-spotted lady beetle from Headquarters Lake, one of the species identified in samples processed by next-generation sequencing methods. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Futuristic method to identify insects becomes reality

Last week I actually lost sleep in excitement over receipt of our first set of “next-generation sequencing” data, our latest step in a years-long effort… Continue reading

A fourteen-spotted lady beetle from Headquarters Lake, one of the species identified in samples processed by next-generation sequencing methods. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

An Outdoor View: Trouble with gill-netters

For years, I railed against subsistence fishing in the Kenai. I dreaded that it would mean gill nets in the river. I feared that it… Continue reading

Robyn McGinnity leads her dog, Millie, and her daughter, Mia, on the family's first try at skijoring during a free clinic at Winterfest held on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, in Mount Spokane State Park. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Rich Landers)

Winter enthusiasts with dogs discover joys of skijoring

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Cross-country skiers are harnessing their dogs’ pent-up winter enthusiasm in a fast-growing sport that’s finding a niche in the Inland Northwest.Skijoring… Continue reading

Robyn McGinnity leads her dog, Millie, and her daughter, Mia, on the family's first try at skijoring during a free clinic at Winterfest held on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, in Mount Spokane State Park. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Rich Landers)