SALMON FISHING -- While the fish have just begun entering the Puget Sound area, this year's big crop of pink salmon is already making itself known to anglers along the north Olylmpic Peninsula. From LaPush all the way to the western edges of Port Angeles,…
FISHING -- A group of players and friends from the Seattle Mariners took advantage of the All Star break to catch a nice pile of Lake Chelan mackinaw on July 11. At left, Aaron Laffey of the Mariners caught with the big fish of the…
SKIING -- He was far more than a soldier, of course. Among other things, Staff Sgt. Wyatt A. Goldsmith of Colville was a Green Beret and a ski patroller at 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort. Goldsmith, a medical sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special…
NATURE -- While a few snow patches still lingered on the upper slopes of Mount Spokane on the third weekend in July, the state park's wildflowers are making up for lost time and bursting into bloom. From delicate calypso orchids along Trail 110 to the…
HIKING -- When I hike through the forest this time of year, I can't help but note the resemblance between blooming beargrass and ....
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- When law enforcement officers arrived around 6 a.m July 5 to deal with three moose on Interstate 90 near Liberty Lake, they were armed with guns you can buy at a toy store. Washington state troopers blocked I-90 traffic while state Fish…
OCEAN FISHERIES -- Forty stocks of fish populations are subject to overfishing in U.S. waters, but progress is being made to rebuild stocks and reduce overfishing, federal officials say. The number of fish populations being fished at too high of a level at the end…
EXOTIC SPECIES -- Care for a nutria burger? Or maybe a dab of didymo "rock snot" on your ice cream? With a boost from creative marketing, the bloated American appetite could help control exotics while conserving imperiled native species. An invasive species called lionfish is…
BACKPACKING -- Tired of Ramen? Too cheap for freeze-dried? Get tips for organizing and preapring fun, easy meals on your next hiking adventure during a free intro to backpack cooking program Thursday, 7 p.m., offered by the staff of the REI store at 1125 N.…
BACKPACKING -- Ultra hiking specialist Jennifer Pharr Davis of North Carolina is trying to break her own speed record of 57 days, 8 hours, 35 minutes as she attempts to go from Maine to Georgia on the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail. Davis, who began her supported…
NATIONAL PARKS -- The Going to the Sun Road has been open for three days and the scenery's fantastic. But the photo gives you a hint of what it's like at the top of Logan Pass.
MOUNTAINEERING -- Near the top of Eastern Oregon's nearly 10,000-foot Sacajawea Peak, Steve Kominsky of Medford found himself staring at an all-too familiar barrier between himself and Oregon mountaineering history. A 25-foot snow cliff, slickened under the mid-summer sun, shouldn't be there in July. But…
SALMON FISHING -- Better late than never – the 2011 sockeye salmon run pouring over Bonneville Dam and heading up the Columbia River likely be the fourth largest since records were started in 1980. Most of the sockeye are headed for the Wenatchee and Okanagan…
WILDLIFE WATCHING-- One of the young eagles monitored on a popular Seattle-area EagleCam has died, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports. The fledgling eagles were just learning how to fly when one was found dead near the nest tree Tuesday. There were no visible…
SKIING -- Washington's Crystal Mountain ski resort near Mount Rainier says its ski season will end Saturday, nearly nine months after it opened in November. The resort (see map) says the longest season in its 48-year history was made possible by record-breaking snowfall and the…
NATIONAL PARKS -- On Wednesday, all 50 miles of the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road opened to the public and the crowds turned out in droves, heralding the official start to summer in this northern region. The Sun Road's opening was highly anticipated, according to a story…
SALMON FISHING -- Western Washington anglers are starting to get pink fever for the big run of humpies that pours into coastal waters on odd-numbered years. Returns are expected to be huge, and the first short at the front end of the runs starts Saturday…
HIKING -- Beargrass is to wildflowers what antlers are to bone. They grow long stalks incredibly fast and explode into a white plume of blooms. Now showing at Mount Spokane State Park and other IInland Northwest mountains near you.
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- An Arizona couple recently witnessed a wildlife spectacle outside their home hear Gold Canyon as a mountain lion launched an attack on a bobcat. In a desperate escape along the foothills of the Superstition Mountains, the bobcat sprinted up a very tall…
MOUNTAINEERING -- Even experienced mountaineers have been stopped in their tracks occasionally by the rare sight of a triangular shadow darkening the landscape in the distance away from a major peak. The triangle shadow phenomena is fairly commonly seen from the tops of large mountains…
PREDATORS -- Hunters will be able to shoot as many as 220 gray wolves in Montana this fall under rules adopted today by state wildlife commissioners. The hunt is scheduled to begin in early September and is expected to reduce the predator’s Montana population by…
TRAILS -- Forget the freaking Washington State Lottery. If you want a GOOD chance to win something valuable, join the Friends of the Centennial Trail. People who become members by Friday (July 15) get their name entered in a drawing to win a Trek 7.2…
HUNTING ETHICS -- Right-wing rocker/hunter Ted Nugent has come and gone from the Inland Northwest. Here's a column wrapup with a few of my final thoughts on the celebrity and his impact on the sport of hunting as I know it.
SALMON FISHING -- This year's huge and prolonged runoff down the Snake River system has dealt Salmon River fishing guides a tough hand -- until this week. "Salmon Fishing is on!" reports Amy Sinclair of Exodus Wilderness Adventures in Riggins. "We are done singing the…
TRAILS -- With more than 23 miles of trails to maintain on the South Hill bluff trail system below High Drive, a group is organizing to do the job right. Join them Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon, for a practical clinic on how to protect trails from…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
