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Recreation / Outdoors

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Hitting the wall before the starting line

Posted Fri, Nov 6, 6 a.m.

As the Seattle Marathon approaches, a local runner fights age and ailments to get to his 17th long-distance race.

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A case of bike rage

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 6 a.m.

The dispute over an event at West Seattle's Lincoln Park unleashes a "cycle" of anger. Once again, parks make good battlefields.

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Completing an Ironman, virtually

Posted Fri, Oct 23, 6 a.m.

At more than 140 miles spread among three events, the Ironman race is a huge feat to pull off all at once. But what if you could spread out the pain over a week?

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This camp is your camp

Posted Thu, Oct 15, 6 a.m.

Using a state pilot project, the Cascade Land Conservancy has made it possible to preserve historic Hidden Valley Camp for future generations. It's more than a win for holding back sprawl, it also saves an incubator of the Northwest's conservation ethic.

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Shiga's Garden: fittingly, a story of sunshine and cooperation

Posted Tue, Oct 13, 6 a.m.

Volunteers, artists, and an absentee landowner are together creating a P-Patch honoring the father of the University District Street Fair.

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Bracing lessons for Northwest fisheries ... from the Northeast

Posted Fri, Oct 2, 6 a.m.

Newfoundland went centuries believing it could never exhaust its abundance of cod. Until it did. A reflection from the waters of Vashon Island and Mistaken Point.

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The classic ferries that got away

Posted Fri, Sep 11, 6 a.m.

The state should have found a way to save its 1927-vintage Steel Electric-class boats, ultimately sold to Mexico for scrap. Sinking one to create artificial reefs for divers, as B.C. has done, was one big missed opportunity.

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We need to enlarge the 'American Alps'

Posted Thu, Aug 13, 6 a.m.

When the North Cascades National Park was created in 1968, key lands were left out for reasons that no longer apply. There's a new push to add to the wildlands.

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A model for the Duwamish in Quebec?

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 6 a.m.

You can go for a gorgeous ramble along the St. Charles River in Quebec City and get lost in thoughts of how Seattle might pull off something similar.

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Climbing Rainier: Once is enough

Posted Tue, Jul 21, 6:03 a.m.

The author's toes still ache, 22 years later. And there was that Volkswagen-sized boulder speeding down the slope at 80 miles an hour.

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Save that old firehouse at Magnuson Park

Posted Fri, Jul 17, 6 a.m.

An architect counts the ways, environmental, economic, and architectural, for avoiding the wrecking ball now aimed at Building 18.

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Big, cold-hearted river

Posted Fri, Jul 10, 6 a.m.

The normally benign Methow suddenly shows its killing power

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Tracking down the right tool

Posted Thu, Jun 4, 6 a.m.

A search for a well-made scythe leads to an appreciation of the great toolmakers who lived here 13,000 years ago.

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Is it finally Spring?

Posted Fri, Apr 17, 6 a.m.

Mossback finds it hard to let go of winter, when it's easiest to get in touch with Northwest nature

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Back to the drawing board on spotted owls

Posted Fri, Apr 17, 6 a.m.

A new administration signals yet another deep examination about how to save forest habitats for endangered spotted owls. After decades of studies and litigation and administrative maneuvers, are we any closer to a solution?

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The lasting impact of the New Deal's CCC

Posted Fri, Apr 10, 6 a.m.

A new book looks at one spectacular legacy in the Colorado Plateau

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The Cascadian Dream

Posted Thu, Apr 9, 6 a.m.

Can a Pacific Northwest utopia be shaped on the shared belief that nature is sacred? This latest installment in a series on regional identity looks at the patron saint of the environmental movement, John Muir, and how his thinking informs the desire for a new, greener, and elusive entity some call Cascadia.

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Muddy waters of the Salish Sea

Posted Fri, Mar 27, 6 a.m.

A new name for the Northwest waters could be a setback for those charged with cleaning up Puget Sound. On the other hand, maybe a fresh start is what's needed.

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The Bush court sets back environmental litigation

Posted Mon, Mar 9, 6 a.m.

While Obama is undoing some Bush rules on endangered species, the Supreme Court renders a verdict that could be a serious blow to future environmental lawsuits.

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A desert town's dusty soul

Posted Fri, Feb 27, 6 a.m.

A feisty newspaper that carried on the Edward Abbey tradition in Moab, Utah, is closing. It's a sign, along with too much good coffee, of change in the West.

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Other media

Joel Connelly: Can't see the forest for the red tape Rigid forest rangers with rulebooks complicate a walk in the woods.

Seattle bike club holds 'Traffic Justice Summit' on behalf of injured cyclists, pedestrians Advocates want to expand negligent driving law so drivers can be prosecuted in accidents.

Danny Westneat: Poor Ira Spring is caught in a mountain-naming muddle The Northwest tried to do right by naming a Cascade peak after an outdoor hero. Turns out it's not that simple.

A one-man cleanup crew under the West Seattle Bridge Thinking about local birds and massive islands of garbage in the Pacific, Neal Chism has been on a mission: Picking up trash along the rocky shores of the Duwamish.

Hey airplane geeks: 10 spectacular cockpit photos A collection of incredible shots from the pilot's perspective.

Blog posts

Cliff Mass was wrong, thank goodness

Posted Mon, Sep 7, 8:58 a.m.

Shifty weather doesn't need to be a barrier to seeking beauty in the mountains.

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Don't look back

Posted Mon, Aug 24, 11:28 a.m.

Lessons while cycling the lovely curves of the Yakima River Canyon Road

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Signs of livability in Seattle and that other place

Posted Tue, Jun 30, 6 a.m.

More thoughts from the Seattle and Vancouver urban debaters on what makes their cities livable, or not.

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The complexity of Harvey Manning

Posted Sat, Jun 6, 10:45 a.m.

The wilderness champion tried to find a middle course between pristine preservation and getting more boots (and votes) on trails.

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Lessons from a failed luxury resort

Posted Wed, Apr 1, 3:03 p.m.

The problems with Tamarack Resort in Idaho, where the author worked, suggest that we should stop building such playgrounds for the wealthy.

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Saving the old New Deal

Posted Mon, Feb 9, 12:30 p.m.

The historic legacy of the original New Deal is endangered while we debate the the benefits of a new New Deal.

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Is Northwest nature worship neurological?

Posted Thu, Nov 20, 6:30 a.m. 2008

Our religious impulses toward the wilderness could be boosted by the way our brains work.

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A remarkable vote for the arts

Posted Wed, Nov 5, 3:54 p.m. 2008

Minnesota passes a generous program of dedicated funding for arts and outdoors, passing the measure despite economic hard times. Might Seattle be next?

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Bigfoot hunters must change tactics

Posted Thu, Aug 21, 4 a.m. 2008

I'm sure you were stunned by the headline: "Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber gorilla suit." Hard to believe, I know. If you are looking for answers, however, don't despair. Instead of wondering aloud, "how can this be," turn to your home Mossback library. I'm sure tucked in there somewhere is a copy of the book that has all the Sasquatch answers.

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Whassup with Wasilla

Posted Mon, Sep 1, 4:47 p.m. 2008

The day after a former Miss Wasilla was picked by Sen. John McCain as his running mate, I realized I'd been there. In 2004, I went to Alaska to see the start of the Iditarod. That's the grueling 1,150-mile sled dog race that starts in south central Alaska and ends in Nome on the Bering Sea. Often referred to as "The Last Great Race on Earth," it takes anywhere from 10-17 days for the teams of 12-16 dogs and their mushers.

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