Seattle - June 2007

My hometown, our current residence, and the start of the trip. Bounded by Puget Sound and surrounding Lake Washington, the greater Seattle area is the urban home to over 2 million people. Wilderness and environmental causes are popular in this left-leaning city with more than its fair share of outdoor enthusiasts. But transportation issues, sprawl, and pollution continue to plauge Seattle.

Cascade Mountains - June 2007

The Cascade mountains have the only active volcanoes in the continental U.S., and are its youngest and most active peaks. The range stretches from Northern California to British Columbia (where it joins the Coast Range), but we'll be hitting it a little North of I-90, east of Seattle. I grew up with the Cascade mountains as my stomping grounds, on numerous hikes and backpacking trips from age 4 on up. They are a beautiful and craggy set of mountains, with forested valleys (where they haven't been cut) transitioning into alpine parkland and lakes, then into high rocky peaks (the larger ones glaciated). As the playground of the greater Seattle area, the Cascade range east of the city is crisscrossed with hiking trails, and can be quite crowded on nice summer days. Few people venture off the trails, however, especially in the northern part of the range, or in the off season, so there is solitude still to be found. Wildlife is present but squeezed in the Cascade mountains, dealing with the ever increasing pressure of development and roads. While this area used to have a sizeable population of grizzly bears, only a few now venture south from Canada.

Wild Sky - June 2007

Short for "Wild Skykomish", this could be the first new wilderness in Washington State since 1984.
Much of the Wild Sky is alpine, but (unusually for a WA state wilderness)there is also a significant amount of lowland forest and salmon habitat that would be protected in the North Fork Skykomish valley (logged at lower elevations, but not since the 1920s).
Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen have been pushing for this in Congress since 2002, and have just reintroduced the bill. This time it has a much better chance of passing, since the bill’s major opponent in the House: Rep Richard Pombo, lost in November.
More info from the Wild Sky campaign

Skagit River - June 2007

Like most Washington Rivers, the Skagit is dammed for hydroelectric power. Three dams above the town of Newhalem in the Cascades supply power for Seattle City Light. But unlike most Washington Rivers, the Skagit still maintains fairly healthy poplulations of all native salmon species, as well as steelhead. The Skagit and its tributaries are part of the Wild and Scenic River System. Each winter, the chum salmon run attracts a large number of migratory bald eagles - one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles in the lower 48. The Skagit valley is heavily farmed, and well known for its spring Tulip Festival. Tide gates keep salt water out of fields on the lower Skagit, but also block young salmon and other fish.