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Silver Star Mountain

July 2, 2015August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

On July 4, 2013 as I was working on my 30 peaks by 30, I climbed up Silver Star Mountain. It seemed like an appropriate choice for the holiday and I was happy to see that the flowers were in full bloom for the occasion. The hike is not difficult and from the summit you can see Mt Adams and Mt St Helens. But as nice as the summit is, this trail is all about the flowers. Get lost along the many trails that wander this mountain and see how many red, white and blue flowers you can find.

Happy 4th of July!

Hikes Featured in this Post:
Silver Star Mountain

Outdoor Life

Juneau

June 20, 2015August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

If you haven’t noticed by now, I kind of have a thing for Alaska. A few weeks ago Passage to Juneau watched me from the seatback pocket as I was once again giddy with joy on an airplane headed north. I had every intention of reading a good chunk of the book during the flight but I couldn’t tear my darn forehead from the window. I know. I should have been contemplating the epic journeys of Captain Vancouver and Jonathon Raban via sailboat from my hometown of Seattle along the inside passage to Juneau as that same brilliant blue water snaked along below me. After all, I was watching their entire route condensed in a few hour flight. But I wasn’t thinking of them.

I was thinking of my husband. He’s flown this exact route countless times and has never taken a single photo! He never calls me upon landing and exclaims the joys of the great fjords and glaciers he just witnessed! This I will never understand. But it didn’t really matter much, I was coming to see him. His work shift was ending and I had quit my job three weeks earlier. My quick trip to Juneau was my last hoorah before starting a new job. And the forecast was all sun and 75 degrees.

There were really only two things on my list to do in Juneau: visit the Mendenhall glacier and climb Mt Juneau. I left the rest up to my husband. We set up camp at Mendenhall Lake Campground (which is amazing) and headed out for an afternoon hike to Spaulding Meadow. The trail starts out on an old courderoy road and then quickly narrows into a muddy mess. But the views from the meadows are lovely, enticing us to explore more.

Later we had a barbeque dinner with friends on the beach. We chatted about life in Juneau and the differences between it and Seattle, and of course, the weather. A fishing boat pulled up on the beach and some more people joined us (sadly empty handed), and we watched the most beautiful sunset that seemed to go on forever.

The next morning we ate breakfast on the lakeshore near our campsite and then headed to the glacier. We were early enough to beat the crowds and enjoyed the short hike to the waterfall with only a few others. We slowly wandered back along the shoreline looking for an iceberg we could catch. We found one just a few feet out and my husband picked it up and raised it like a trophy as I snapped photos.

Later we headed out on the same boat that had visited us the night before. We spent the day chasing whale spouts and flukes and changing bait as we crept around the shoreline looking for the elusive king salmon. Late in the day we finally had a bite. Our captain friend reeled in a monster 35lb king salmon! He said it was the biggest fish he ever caught. On the way back we spotted two whales breaching and splashing about with their tails. They appeared to be playing in the water in front of us. We watched for awhile, mesmerized.

The last morning we headed downtown and up the tiny narrow streets to the Mt Juneau trailhead. The trail starts out on the Perseverance Trail. This trail was originally used by the native people as a hunting and berry picking route and later became the first road ever built in Alaska. It was constructed after gold was found in the Silverbow Basin in the 1880’s. As we climbed up to the Mt Juneau trailhead, we passed an abandoned mine shaft and looked down on an old mining building turned into a museum and even spotted some tourists panning for gold in the creek.

From here the trail climbs quite abruptly to the meadows below the summit. The trail then weaves and eases ever so slightly into switchbacks. There were only a few patches of snow along the trail and at the summit, quite unheard of typically in early June. From the top we counted the cruise boats below and spotted the airport. We pondered the abandoned shack and cables that were built in the 1970’s intended for an aerial tramway from town. The tram project was cancelled for some reason (probably because it proved an impossible task) but was revitalized in the 1990’s. This time the tram was built on the adjacent Mt Roberts where it still operates today.

We took off that night for Seattle and climbed through rain clouds. The forecast in Juneau for the foreseeable future was rain and 60 degrees. I thought about how incredible the trip had been. Everything was perfect: the campsite, the glacier, sunsets, playful whales, king salmon catch, weather and, most importantly, the company.

Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban

Raban’s journey in the 1990’s was not quite as happy and romantic as mine, but then he did choose to sail from Seattle to Juneau alone on a 35-foot sailboat. His journey was more dark and foggy, riddled with loss and the realities of the hard hit logging and fishing towns of coastal Canada. Raban weaves his own narrative with the stories of Captain Vancouver and the first peoples of this once rich land. It’s long and contemplative and easy to get lost in, just like the inside passage.

See Also: A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans (A plaque about Romeo is on a rock along the short path to Mendenhall Glacier)

More info about Juneau:

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and Trail Maps

Perserverance Trail History

Hikes Featured in this Post:

Spaulding Meadow

Nugget Falls Trail to Mendenhall Glacier overlook

Mt Juneau

Outdoor Life

Lake Chelan

June 12, 2015August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

Oh, Lake Chelan, you sparkling emerald among mighty peaks, you snake of a sea! Adventure awaits behind your every curve, mystery fills your depths. Your Lady carries us as we crane our necks in wonder. Oh, Lake Chelan, you beauty of a lake, you jewel of a sea, you are the greatest lake, perhaps the greatest that will ever be!

I’ve been intrigued by Lake Chelan since I moved to Seattle in 2006. I heard about tiny isolated places only accessible by boat like Stehekin, Holden Village and Lucerne nestled In the towering North Cascade mountains along a sparkling lake. From there you could access the remote Glacier Peak Wilderness and places like Lyman Lakes, Spider Gap and Image Lake. These distant and hard to reach places are just far enough away from Seattle to be truly remote and I was fascinated by them.

Finally a few years ago we decided to check out Stehekin. The tiny town sits at the northernmost tip of the lake and the only way to get there is to fly or take the ferry boat, Lady of the Lake, fifty miles from the town of Chelan at the southern terminus of the lake. So I booked a couple nights at the historic Campbell’s Resort and reserved our spot on the boat for a day trip to Stehekin.

When we arrived in Chelan in April the weather was beautiful and sunny, a welcome contrast to the spring rainy season in Seattle. I received a notification that there was an issue with the ferry boat and that we would be traveling on the ‘slow’ boat since the ‘fast’ boat had a mechanical issue. I called them and the very nice lady explained that the trip up the lake would take 4 hours each way with only a short layover in Stehekin. She suggested we reschedule the trip (free of charge) and I did so, this time I arranged it for an overnight so that we could backpack the Chelan Lakeshore Trail in May.

Needless to say, we did not suffer in the least by our change of plans. We happily lounged in the pool and visited the local wineries. We hiked up nearby Chelan Butte through the blossoming balsamroot and marveled at the lake and the Columbia River. We drove to Manson and visited more wineries, enjoying the intimate and friendly atmosphere. With the windows rolled down and wine bottles clinking in the trunk, we made our way back to Seattle. We smiled at each other, our pink noses kissed by the sun. We would be back soon.

We returned in late May, this time with our backpacks to hop on the ferry boat. It was the weekend before Memorial Day and I felt very clever as I told my husband that we were totally beating the crowds. I carefully inspected the fellow passengers, trying to determine how many trekkers we would be competing with for camping spots. As we pulled away from the dock I breathed a sigh of relief, I counted only three other groups that were possibly hiking the Lakeshore Trail as well. I was confident that we would outpace them.

After about a half hour the boat slowed as it came upon another dock. My husband and I looked at each other. Huh, must be another pick up spot… As we got closer my eyes grew wide in disbelief. There were at least 30 backpackers on the dock waiting to board. We looked at each other with our jaws dropped as the others packed themselves on the boat. As we scooted to make room I thought so much for having our pick of the campsites.

We waited our turn to debark the boat at the quaint landing at Prince Creek. Even with 30 of our fellow backpackers the place felt remote. As soon as we hit the trail the crowds dispersed and we hardly saw anyone on the whole trip. It’s a 17 mile hike to Stehekin from the drop off point and the trail rises and falls along the shore of the lake. We made our way through lupine and rock-hopped across numerous creek outlets: Rattlesnake, Pioneer, Cascade, Meadow, Fish, Hazard carving their way down the high mountains. We set up camp at the Moore Point campground and lounged on the shore. We built a fire and studied the map excited to continue on to Stehekin the next day.

Civilization began to reappear the following day as we skirted the backyards of cabins and spotted boats anchored offshore. We stopped at the ranger station to learn a bit of history as we moseyed to Stehekin. Sadly, everything was closed for the season including the Stehekin Pastry Company (they would open a week later on Memorial Day) and we didn’t get a chance to go into town since we had to catch the boat. We did manage to get some burgers and beers and ate outside overlooking the water and seaplanes. I sat and took in as much as possible as the boat approached, savoring every mountain peak in sight. Although I was a little disappointed we didn’t get to fully experience the town, I smiled to myself. Once again my lack of good planning turned into an excuse for another trip up Lake Chelan. We will be back soon.

Lake Chelan: The Greatest Lake in the World by John Fahey

Fahey, who spent a good portion of his life on Lake Chelan, goes on a mission to prove that his beloved lake is the greatest lake in the world. Each chapter alternates between his quest around the world, the natural and cultural history of Lake Chelan and his stories from living on the lake. The best part is that it’s laugh-out-loud hilarious. I was so sucked into this book that I stayed up very late one night to read it.

Hikes Featured in this Post:

Chelan Lakeshore Trail

Outdoor Life

A Foraged Meal

May 1, 2015July 26, 2019
by Ashley Gossens

There is something so satisfying about foraging a meal. Putting in the extra effort to pick or catch dinner makes the food that much more special and delicious. Whether it’s the first ever salmon catch, a traditional family crab feast or some nibbles of miners lettuce while hiking on a trail, there’s a bounty of plentiful cuisine in the Pacific Northwest to savor and share. Recently my husband and I tried our own hand at foraging for some new things. We were willingly forced to slow down, really notice our surroundings and get our hands dirty.

Appetizer: Nettle Cream Soup
Nettles are pretty much the worst. Just a small brush up against the stinging plant will leave you in pain for a few hours. After picking these nettles my husband and I both had severe stings that persisted through the next day. We need thicker gloves. But this off-putting plant is secretly a plant of many uses. They are used to remedy ails such as arthritis, allergies and ironically, skin irritation. Fibers from the plant can be used to make clothing which most famously was used by the Germans during WW2 as a substitution for cotton. The key to harnessing the nettle is cooking it. The chemical cocktail that is injected into us when we touch it is leached out into the deep green water. Nettles can be used as a cooked spinach substitute and makes a great pesto or soup like this one. There are many simpler recipes for this soup but I figured if we go through all the trouble to pick the stuff we might as well make a fancy soup. The nettle puree is a radiant shade of green that turns the soup a lovely minty color.

Recipe: (adapted from Food & Wine Magazine)
(serves 4)

6 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, chopped
4 celery sticks, chopped
1 leek, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut in 1/4″ cubes
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups water
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup heavy cream
creme freshe or sour cream
salt & pepper

Using gloves, soak nettles in water and rinse under running water to remove bugs and debris. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the strained nettles. Cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove nettles from heat, strain and put into ice water. Strain and put nettles into blender or food processor and puree. Add water if needed. Set puree aside.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan. Add shallots, celery, leek and potatoes, cover and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally until softened, approximately 8 minutes. Add wine and lemon juice and cook on high until evaporated. Add water, tarragon, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on low to medium heat until veggies are tender, approximately 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup, or working in batches, carefully blend the soup in a blender or food processor. Strain the soup into a clean saucepan through a sieve. Stir in the heavy cream.
Warm the soup on the stove by bringing it to a simmer over low heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and strain in the nettle puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of creme freshe or sour cream.

Main Course: Steamed Varnish Clams & Cockles
I never really thought about all the life that lives below the sandy beaches. I knew that there were shellfish down there just waiting to be cooked up for dinner, but I never knew how much fun it is to dig them up. We conveniently chose a day when the low tide reached it’s lowest at about noon, giving us plenty of time to hop on the ferry and head to Whidbey Island. Bucket and shovels in tow we scoured the beach for small breathing holes indicating where to dig. It was so satisfying to find them and we spent the better part of day collecting and showing off our goods. Our dog Nali had a blast helping us dig in the sand as this is one of her favorite things to do. She even dug up a few clams for us. To dig in Washington you’ll need to purchase a shellfish license and check to see what beaches are open and safe from biotoxins and of course, follow the local rules.

Recipe:
(serves 4)

4 tablespoons butter
4 lbs clams (approx. 1 lb per person)
1/2 onion
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 cup dry white wine
salt & pepper

Scrub clams with hard brush under cold running water. Discard clams with broken or chipped shells. Soak clams in 4 quarts cold water with 1/2 cup salt and a handful of cornmeal for 1/2 hour to 3 hours to purge.
Put onion, garlic, wine, butter and water into large pot and bring to boil ensuring butter is melted. Allow mixture to boil a few minutes and then add the clams.

Dessert: Blueberry Pie
Blueberries are an important year-round staple in our home. Luckily the Cascades are bursting with them in late summer. Every year we spend a couple weekends backpacking in alpine country and stocking up on the delicious blue orbs. A couple years ago my husband got me the best thing ever: a blueberry picker, and my life was changed forever. We restrain ourselves from straight up bringing buckets with us, but we do bring gallon-size ziploc bags to fill until bulging. We freeze them to enjoy all year in Sunday pancakes, muffins, pastries and the occasional pie. My husband, who is totally obsessed with blueberries, only allows me to make mini versions of my favorite pie so as not to use too many of the prized berries. But that’s ok, the mini version is a perfect treat to share while reminiscing about the first time we had this recipe: at our wedding.

Recipe:
(this recipe makes a full size pie – it can be scaled down to make the mini version)

Crust:
2 cup flour
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

Filling:
6 cups frozen or 4 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3-4 Tablespoons butter
dash salt

Cut shortening into flour and add water. Mix to form dough and divide in two. Roll out first dough ball and put into round pie dish. Save remaining dough for top crust.
Combine all ingredients for filling and spoon into pie dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and dot with butter.
Roll out remaining dough ball to top the pie. Brush melted butter on top and cut vent holes.
Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes.

More information on foraging:

NW Foraging Classes, Instructors and Blogs

Ultimate NW Family Clamming Guide

Pacific Feast by Jennifer Hahn

This is the essential book for the Northwest forager. It is mostly a cookbook for foraged finds, complete with recipes from Seattle’s famous restaurant chefs, but it also gives informative snippets for each of the species and stories from Hahn’s foraging adventures. This book covers the forest to the sea including trees, ferns, plants, berries, shellfish, sea vegetables, mushrooms and weeds. Hahn is an avid kayaker and often relies on foraging for her long kayak trips to reduce pack weight. She also teaches foraging classes. Find out more on her website.

Fat of the Land by Langdon Cook

Langdon Cook has a passion for the land and wild food of the Pacific Northwest. His enthusiasm jumps off the page as he tells his stories of foraging through the years. Divided into four sections for each season, each chapter tells a foraging tale of a specific species and finishes with a recipe. He does it all from plunging into the chilly Puget Sound for a giant ling cod, digging for razor clams, and fly fishing with ghosts to picking fiddleheads, mushrooms and dandelions. Cook leads foraging classes and writes for various magazines including Seattle Magazine. He also has a great blog called Fat of the Land where he continues to share his stories.

Outdoor Life

Inspired: Mar / Apr 2015

April 24, 2015July 30, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

These past two months I’ve been keeping myself busy doing as many outdoorsy things as possible. In March I got to spend two consecutive weekends with each of my two sisters, one in Big Sur and the other in Portland and the Columbia River Gorge. I took two foraging classes and went clamming with my husband (more about that next week). I took a rock climbing class with a friend and volunteered for trail work three times working toward my goal of earning a WTA hard hat. I’ve been reading a ton of outdoor books (of course) and I introduced myself as a writer for the first time ever. I actually haven’t been hiking that much, but I’ve found that celebrating the outdoors in other ways with my family, friends, and fellow volunteers, writers and students has been just as rewarding, if not more so, than hitting the trails on my own.

Here are some more people and things that have been inspiring me lately:

Gina Begin’s Interview on Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast
Gina Begin is my hero. She’s been all over the US and Canada traveling by road on her own, skiing, climbing and backpacking. She is an amazing writer and just an all around kind and compassionate person. She founded the Outdoor Woman’s Alliance to create a space for outdoor women to connect and learn from each other. She encourages others to follow their passions and realize their dreams however big and daunting they are. Listen to Kristen Carpenter-Ogden’s interview with Gina, check out OWA and Gina’s blog and basically follow everything she does, trust me.
website, twitter, instagram

Environmental Writers Workshop at the Burke Museum
A few weeks ago I attended an environmental writers workshop at the Burke Museum here in Seattle. The workshop is held every year with three guest authors. The three guests this year were Craig Romano, Sierra Nelson and Priscilla Long, all with different areas of writing expertise. I was especially excited to meet and learn from Craig Romano as he writes our local trail guide books. These books line my bookshelf, a rainbow full of adventures waiting for me. Craig has so much energy and is passionate about trails, history and conservation, and his enthusiasm is contagious. I also enjoyed learning from Sierra who is a brilliant self-proclaimed cepholopod-loving poet and Priscilla, a wonderful teacher and science writer. I will definitely be returning for years to come.

Phenomenal by Leigh Ann Henion
Leigh Ann Henion, after becoming a new mother, set off on a quest to observe seven natural phenomena around the world: the Monarch butterfly migration, bioluminescent waters, the Catatumbo lightning, a volcanic eruption, the northern lights, the great migration of Tanzania, and a total solar eclipse. This is a compelling travel story on it’s own, but Leigh Ann gives us so much more. She looks for meaning in these unexplainable wonders, learning not just the scientific explanations but also the cultural aspects and the overlapping of the two. She contemplates spirituality, mythology and ultimately what it means to be human. Meanwhile she struggles with being away from her son and her husband. But she learns that by making her life fuller, she can in turn enrich her son’s life and instill in him a sense of wonder. She is an inspiration to all mothers or those who are contemplating parenthood, showing us that you can be both a good parent and have an adventurous and full life. I treasure this original, brilliant and smart book and can’t recommend it enough. This is a book I will surely be revisiting again and again. website, facebook, twitter

Drawn: The Art of Ascent Film & Book by Jeremy Collins
After Jeremy Collins, a climber, artist and parent loses a close climbing friend and mentor he goes on a mission to spread his friend’s ashes in the four cardinal directions from his home in Kansas. The film documents his journey to Yosemite Valley, the Yukon in Canada, China and Venezuela to climb. It’s a story of the celebration of life told with both video and his animated art. The unique companion book is more like a graphic novel, the pages full of Jeremy’s original sketches and art collected from his adventures. There’s a lot of heart in Jeremy’s work. His love of nature, wildlife and mountains is evident, but he also makes a point to show that adventure and family don’t have to be separate endeavors, they can be one and the same. Be sure to check out the documentary, book, and his clothing / print shop, Meridian Line.
website, instagram, facebook

What I’ve Been Reading:

New Books I’m Excited to Read:

Coming Soon on the Blog:
Foraging / San Juan Island Road Trip / Camp Reads: Long Distance Edition / Trailblazers / More!

What has been inspiring YOU lately? Have you recently discovered an inspiring person, read a great book or attended an exciting event? Tell me about it in the comments!

Outdoor Life

The Wild Backyard

March 16, 2015July 30, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

*I’m excited to announce that this week’s post is part of the PNW Nature Blog Scavenger Hunt! To participate, head over to the Metropolitan Field Guide Website before midnight on Friday, March 20 and answer questions based on several different PNW blog posts. This is a fun way to discover some great PNW blogs and you can win prizes! We are lucky to have such a wonderful community of bloggers here in the PNW, I hope you discover a new one to add to your reading list. Thanks to Metro Field Guide for organizing!*

One of my favorite things about hiking in Western Washington is the rich, diverse and vibrant green plant life. After moving to Seattle I started photographing and identifying plants I saw on hikes and around the city parks. Over a few years I became more and more familiar with the plants along the trails. This ability to identify the native species of the Northwest created a connection to this new place and made it feel more like home. As hikers, I think we all have a special appreciation of our native plant species. Creating native gardens around our homes brings the joy we experience while frolicking through high alpine summer wildflowers into our backyards.

One of the best wildflower shows I’ve ever seen on Rock Mountain in the Cascades.

While our backyard does not exactly look like this gorgeous high alpine meadow, we have been taking small steps over the years to incorporate our favorite native species. Next I will share a bit of our journey and goals for “wilding” our backyard in the following 5 steps.

1. Remove Invasive Species

When we moved into our first home back in 2009, the yard was a mess. The garden beds were neglected and overgrown, the grass tall and jungle-like. We spent the whole spring cleaning it up and getting rid of the weeds. Since it was our first house we didn’t really know which plants were weeds and which were planted on purpose. We both grew up on the East coast and didn’t recognize most of the plants. So I did some research and found a list of the invasive species in Seattle. We found many of these species in our new backyard and removed them. Removing invasives is a great first step in creating a healthy backyard and making room for the native species we love. Some common invasive species in Seattle:

I n v a s i v e s

English Ivy // Scotch Broom // Cotoneaster // Holly // Knotweed // Himalayan Blackberry

More info about invasive species:
King County Invasive Species List & Info
Noxious Weed List by State (USDA)

2. Plant Native Species

There are so many good reasons to plant native species in your backyard. Here are just a few of them:

To create a simplified ecosystem that preserves the biodiversity of the area where you live. More housing and development around the country is leading to a serious lack of green spaces for our native plants and wildlife to thrive. Our backyards can be a sanctuary for wildlife with shrinking habitat.

Native plants are perfectly built for the local climate and conditions and require little or no maintenance, fertilizers, herbicides and watering.

To create a sense of place and beauty that connects us to the land we call home.

You don’t have to spend a ton of time and money ripping out all your gardens and replanting with natives. We have been slowly incorporating more natives into our landscape over the years. As the older plants die we remove them and replace them with a similarly sized native species. This year we want to get rid of some of our moss-ridden grass, so we are expanding our garden beds out into the yard and will eventually fill them with more native plants. I’m especially excited to dig up a new bed this spring that will be completely dedicated to delicious native blueberries! Here are some of my favorite Northwest native species that make a great addition to the backyard.

T r e e s

Douglas Fir // Western Red Cedar // Western Hemlock // Pacific Dogwood // Madrone //
Vine Maple

S h r u b s & F e r n s

Salal // Oregon Grape // Red-flowering Currant // Rhododendron // Nootka Rose //
Snowberry // Elderberry // Sword Fern // Maidenhair Fern // Lady Fern // Pacific Oak Fern

E d i b l e s

Blueberries // Strawberries // Sorrel // Watercress // Nettle // Salmonberry //
Miners Lettuce // Thimbleberry

F l o w e r s

Columbine // Camas // Bleeding Heart // Violets // Bunchberry // Harebell // Star Flower //
Trillium // Lupine // Oregon Iris // Tiger Lily // Monkeyflower // Fireweed // Goats Beard

More info about native plant species:
Guide to Northwest Native Plants from Seattle Audobon
Find Native Species in Your Region of the US

3. Welcome the Good Bugs

Insects are a vital part of the wild backyard as they help to create balance. If you think about the plants along the trails you will notice that some may have a little insect damage, but rarely do you see entire plants taken over or destroyed by bugs. We should see the same in our backyards. The problem is that we (I include myself here) have become accustomed to immediately killing off any bugs we see in the garden leaving a sterile environment that endangers our plants. Without a healthy population of beneficial insects, our backyard plants are susceptible to invasive insects that destroy plants without any resistance, requiring us to go running for even more pesticides. So, this year I intend to pay more attention to the bugs and learn how to attract the beneficial ones.

I n s e c t s

More info about beneficial bugs:
Attracting Beneficial Insects to Your NW Garden
Identification Guide to Beneficial Insects in Your Garden from Washington State University

4. Attract Wildlife

The ideal hike in the mountains definitely includes a wildlife encounter. Whether it’s hearing the staccato beating of a woodpecker call, seeing a chipmunk scurrying up a tree or catching a glimpse of an elk or bear, these experiences fill us with excitement. Why not try to have these experiences in our backyard? Ok, we probably don’t want to attract a bear to our yard, but I was super excited to find that we had some neighborhood flickers and Anna’s hummingbirds that occasionally grace our space. Here are some tips for attracting wildlife:

Put up a bird feeder or bird house. Pay attention to where you place the feeder to avoid attracting unwanted visitors like squirrels or rats. Don’t put them next to high bushes or anything they could climb or jump from. If you want to attract squirrels, put out corncobs or dedicated feeders with nuts in a separate area for them. Native trees are the best habitats for birds and squirrels, or you can add a bird house to accommodate more birds. If you are taking steps to attract birds and you have an outdoor cat, you may want to consider keeping the cat indoors. Domestic cats account for a staggering amount of bird deaths every year.

To attract hummingbirds, put up a red feeder with a sugar solution. Anna’s hummingbirds overwinter in Western Washington, so keep the feeder full all year to create a reliable source of food. Plant nectar rich native species (see list below) and avoid buying pre-made feeding solutions that may have additives or coloring. You can make your own by dissolving 1 part sugar in 4 parts boiling water (our feeder takes 1 cup water with 1/4 cup sugar).

Using leaf litter as compost in the garden creates habitat for insects and provides food for birds and small critters. If you live in a more rural environment you can place old tree trunks and litter around to provide shelter for wildlife (this is not advised in the city as it will attract rats).

Add a water feature. It’s not just the birds that enjoy a fresh bird bath: insects, squirrels and hummingbirds will all appreciate the thirst quenching station, especially in the city where there are not many fresh water sources. Be sure to refresh the water regularly and give it a good scrub once and a while.

A butterfly bush is great in theory, but in reality they do not provide everything a butterfly needs to survive (in fact, the butterfly bush has been added to the King County noxious plant list). Butterflies require two types of plants: a host plant for their eggs and larvae, and a food plant with rich nectar. The butterfly bush is a great food plant but it is not a host plant. Be sure to plant at least one of each in your yard or seek out native plants that both host larvae and provide food (see list below).

B i r d s

More info on birds:
Attracting Birds to Your Garden
Instructions we used to build our bird feeder
Instructions for building a bird house

H u m m i n g b i r d s

NW Native Species that Attract Hummingbirds:

Madrone // Western Crabapple // Manzanita // Ocean Spray // Twinberry Shrub // Rhododendron // Trumpet Honeysuckle // Red-flowering Currant // Salmonberry // Elderberry // Snowberry // Red Columbine // Bleeding Heart // Fireweed // Lupine // Penstemon // Nettle

More info on hummingbirds:
How to Attract Hummingbirds from the WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife

B u t t e r f l i e s

NW Native Species that are both Host and Food Plants:

Bitter Cherry // Sitka Willow // Manzanita // Red Elderberry // Kinnickinnick // Aster //
Stone Crop // Goldenrod

More info on butterflies:
Butterflies of the Puget Sound Region and their Host / Food Plants from the WA Butterfly Association
Guide to Creating a Butterfly Garden (Nationally)

What if I don’t have a backyard?

You can still enjoy the wonder of our native species even if you don’t have a backyard. If you live in an apartment you can put a bird feeder or hummingbird feeder on your balcony, or plant some native species in planters. Ferns and succulents make great indoor plants or you can make a stylish terrarium and include some rocks, moss and sticks you find at a nearby park.

Instructions for a DIY terrarium

5. Do your research

Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy

In Bringing Nature Home, Tallamy makes the case that we all can do our part in preserving biodiversity by embracing native species. Much of the country’s rich habitat is disappearing at a staggering rate, leaving wildlife with no place to go. By creating native gardens we are providing important habitat for these animals. Tallamy goes on to explain how to create a balanced ecosystem and highlights important native species of North America.

Encyclopedia of Northwest Native Plants for Gardens and Landscapes
by Kathleen A. Robson, Alice Richter & Marianne Filbert

This ultimate comprehensive guide to the native plants of the Northwest is for the serious NW gardener. Full of beautiful color photos, this reference covers the native plants from the Oregon – California border north to Southeast Alaska and east to Idaho.

Outdoor Life

Mount St Helens Climb

February 25, 2015August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

I awoke at 4am to the hooting of an owl. I was snuggled in my sleeping bag in our tent at Climber’s Bivouac, a small campsite at the beginning of the Mount St Helens climbing route. The apprehension of the last few days gave way to excitement as I rose and put on my headlamp. From now on the mountain was in charge. I recalled the previous day’s walking through the underground lava tubes of the nearby Ape Caves and reading interpretive signs of the destruction that took place here, pondering the potential of a mountain that could create such things.

I was not yet born when the news broke on May 18, 1980 of a massive eruption in the Pacific Northwest. The volcano was displaying the realities of it’s name, Loowit, meaning “smoking” or “fire” mountain by the Klickitat people. A landslide triggered by the explosive blast sent two-thirds of a cubic mile of mountain top hurtling into the valleys below. A mushroom cloud of ash towered above as hot mud and debris flowed downward, taking with it the living things in its way. In all, 57 people were killed, 250 homes and almost 200 miles of highway were destroyed along with 230 square miles of forest and countless animals. On that day the summit dropped from 9677 feet to 8365 feet and it’s beautiful cone replaced with a mile wide crater.

As the sun began to rise my husband and I climbed above treeline. The forest we passed through was not only recovering but thriving in the thirty years since the blast, surprising scientists who expected this process to be very slow. But as we continued onto the rocky ridge, the moon-like appearance and ash on our boots reminded us that this is still a mighty volcano. The sun beat down on us from the cloudless August sky above and I imagine the unthinkable heat that formed the young rocks around me. We continue straight up the sandy ash, one step forward, two steps back, finally gaining the crater rim.

Standing at the top of the crater rim one cannot deny the fragility of life. Here we are, tiny vulnerable specks on this mass of a mountain. Yet this mighty dome has been weakened, it’s thousand foot top torn away in an instant. To stand on the crumbling rim looking out into the crater is to observe the incomprehensible power of this planet we call home. I am humbled while gazing upon the hardened mudflows of decades ago and the ghostly waterlogged carcasses of 500 year old trees still drifting like toothpicks in eerie Spirit Lake.

But ultimately this story is one of renewal and restoration. Mount St Helens is rejuvenating itself with fresh forest and wilderness, making room for new species of plants and animals to thrive and providing nutrients to the soil of the valleys that nurture our gardens and agriculture. In the decades to come this mountain ecosystem will become more lush and diverse than it was before. This same principle applies to life: change is essential. And it’s how we navigate these times in our lives that make us the people we are. Like the ever changing mountains we must be adaptable and resilient to change. We can choose to resist or we can embrace it and in the process allow ourselves to renew and grow into better people.

Find out more about Mount St Helens:

Climbing and Permit Information

Mount St Helens Institute

Mount St Helens VolcanoCam

National Geographic Gallery

In the Blast Zone edited by Charles Goodrich, Kathleen Dean Moore and Frederick J. Swanson

This post was very much inspired by this wonderful collection of essays and poems about Mt St Helens. In 2005, a group of scientists, writers and poets embarked on a 4-day trip to discuss, observe and ponder the changes happening to the mountain inspiring the writings collected here. I consider this essential reading for anyone considering visiting St Helens for the first time or those who have been visiting it for years.

Hikes Featured in this Post:

Monitor Ridge, Mt St Helens, WA

Ape Caves, Mt St Helens, WA

Outdoor Life

Inspired: Jan / Feb 2015

February 19, 2015July 30, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

When I started the blog back in November of last year, I knew that I was in need of inspiration. I was stressed about my job and in a rut, just going through the motions of everyday life. I had this pent up energy that was dragging me down. I knew that being in the mountains made me happy and I wanted to somehow invite that mountain high into my everyday life. So I created Alpine Lily. By surrounding myself with all things outdoors, joining social networks, reading outdoor blogs and writing, I immersed myself in a world I was always somewhat a part of, but never fully. So I shared my stories and put myself out there, and in doing so, I found my people. And let me tell you, these people are truly inspiring.

Here are some of the people and things that have been inspiring me lately:

The Case for Females Hiking Solo
After discovering the amazing community over at the Outdoor Women’s Alliance, I offered to write a guest piece for them about hiking solo. I had previously written about hiking alone on the blog, but I wanted to write something different, something honest and open about how I became a confident solo hiker. I had no idea what the response would be. I feared people would say I was crazy or stupid, or that I was encouraging women to do something dangerous. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I was bombarded with an overwhelmingly positive response. Women from all over the world commented to say that they’ve been solo hiking for years and they love it because it empowers them. Wow. These women are inspiring. OWA website, facebook, twitter

More Great Outdoor Communities I Discovered for Women:
Misadventures / She Explores / Rad Girls Collective / Hike Like a Women / Outdoor Book Club

Melissa Arnot at The Mountaineers
I went to hear Melissa speak at the Mountaineers in Seattle. She is a world-renowned professional mountain guide. She started guiding on Mt Rainier and since then has climbed Mt Rainier over 100 times, summited Mt Everest five times (she’s the record holder) and has climbed many other prominent peaks around the world. She spoke about how she got started climbing, some trials on Mt Everest and the non-profit she runs, The Juniper Fund. With all her accomplishments she has a quiet humbleness about her that I admire. You can bet she will show up on my Trailblazers segment, but for now you should follow her and be inspired. website, facebook, twitter

Imaging the Arctic at The Nordic Heritage Museum
This exhibit is a collaboration of three women with different disciplines: scientist Dr. Kristen Laidre, artist Maria Corywell-Martin and photographer Tiina Itkonen and showcases Greenland and the effects of climate change on the delicate and beautiful Arctic environment. Maria’s beautiful field artwork and Tiina’s stunning photographs are accompanied with the science of a polar bear’s claw and the details of what a narwhal tusk looks like. Maria’s watercolor paintings made me want to bundle up and go outside to paint. If you are in Seattle you can see the exhibit until Febuary 22. website

Art of the American West at Tacoma Art Museum
The new exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum shows the complicated and beautiful history of the artwork of the west. The collection spans 300 years, beginning with the romanticized and dramatic pieces often painted by Europeans who had not even stepped foot in America. Some pieces are accompanied by comments made by Native Americans on how their people were incorrectly portrayed. Contemporary paintings, like the one shown here, light up the space with their brilliant bright colors. website, facebook, twitter

Island on Fire by Alexandra Witze and Jeff Kanipe
I went to see Alexandra and Jeff at Seattle Town Hall as part of their science lecture series. I was super interested in this book since it is about two of my favorite things: volcanoes and Iceland. They presented a fascinating and entertaining story of the volcano that changed the world, Iceland’s Laki. The 1793 eruption lasted for eight months and had lasting effects on Europe for many years to come. I’m excited to read the book and learn the whole story.

The Trail Show Podcast
I just discovered this podcast and it might be my favorite thing ever. Basically, it’s four long distance hikers chatting about beer, favorite trails and well, hiking. They just have great conversation and let us listen in. I appreciate the Princess of Darkness’ female point of view and I love that they talk about hiking books. But my favorite is their gear reviews. They’ve reviewed tin foil, plastic bags and Gatorade bottles, you know, the really important stuff. When I listen to them I feel like I’m back on the East coast with my best buds chatting about the trails. facebook, twitter

Upcoming Events:

BeWild Series at The Mountaineers
I’m excited to attend the BeWild speaker series at the Mountaineers in Seattle. Topics include paddling the Columbia from source to sea, a life of climbing, night photography and the joys of sagebrush country.

What I’ve Been Reading:

New Books I’m Excited to Read:

Coming Soon on the Blog:

Volcanoes! / Spring Road Trips / Camp Reads: Wolf Edition / Edibles & Gardening / More!

What has been inspiring YOU lately? Have you recently discovered an inspiring person, read a great book or attended an exciting event? Tell me about it in the comments!

Outdoor Life

Backpacking Chugach: Part 2

February 11, 2015August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

When we discovered our food stash had been raided by ground squirrels we panicked a little. But after taking inventory of our remaining stock we found we had enough meals to continue with no extras and little to snack on. We were thankful that we threw in some emergency ramen noodles when we packed. We spent our second night just below Ship Lake Pass relieved that we could continue.

The next day we wanted to climb a couple peaks before continuing on to the next camp. The Ramp and the Wedge rise above either side of Ship Lake Pass. We started with the Ramp, the higher of the two, and then traversed over to the Wedge like traveling from the horn to the cantle of a saddle. Ship Lake glittered below us like an aqua bike seat shaped jewel. Clouds clung to the tops of the high peaks around us saturating the vibrant green of the valley below.

Our destination for the day was Deep Lake in the next valley parallel to us. We could follow the trail back down the way we came and then climb up to a pass and up the Ball Park to Deep Lake or we could stay up high and traverse the scree around O’Malley Peak to meet up with the trail at the pass. We were hesitant to walk back down and then up another steep climb so we decided to off-road it in the alpine for a shortcut. Anyway, it didn’t look far to the pass.

Looks can be deceiving in Alaska. Things that look close are actually quite far, slopes that look gentle end up steep, rock that looks solid from afar can end up being unstable. I was cursing this land as I took two steps in the scree only to slide down three. Meanwhile the bottoms of my feet felt like they were being sheared off and my ankles ached from traveling perpendicular to a steeply sloped mountain for hours. We gingerly circumnavigated massive boulders in the scree. It was slow going to say the least. We didn’t get to the pass until early evening. I praised the joys of a level trail on my aching feet as we climbed the gradual trail through the Ball Park to Deep Lake. That night we longed for that extra food we lost to the squirrels. We made a list of all the food we could eat: pizza, burgers, snickers and faded to sleep.

On the fourth day we left our base camp at Deep Lake and took a day hike to the Walliwaw Lakes. We made our way to another pass and descended to Black Lake, a good description for this dark water lake. As we were walking down from the pass we saw some black dots moving above us. We took out the binoculars and watched two wolverines chasing each other in the snow.

Then we explored the Williwaw Lakes. The chain of picturesque lakes is nestled at the feet of colorful mountains. The lakes had a top layer of crystal clear water and below they were a pure blue. It was as if glacial silt had settled to the bottom of the lake and stayed undisturbed for millennia.

We returned for another night at Deep Lake (which should really be called lake in a deep, steep hole) and the next day returned to the busy trailhead. As we arrived some clean tourists were looking at something excitedly through the binoculars. A bear! they exclaimed. We laughed and exchanged knowing glances. We knew that the real threat out there was those darn ground squirrels. We got a ride back to town from a nice man and his young son and finally got the pizza we were craving at Moose’s Tooth.

It was quite an adventure for our first backpacking trip. We prepared the best we could- we studied the map, brought bear spray and extra food, but still there were issues unexpected. I don’t regret anything we did on this trip but rather remember it as creating an important foundation for life in the outdoors. I know I must take risks, make mistakes and learn in order to make myself a better person, both in outdoor endeavors and in life.

chugach_route — Our route in yellow (the dashed line is our approximate off-trail route), map from http://dnr.alaska.gov.

Chugach State Park: Alaska’s Backyard Wilderness by Bill Sherwonit with photos by Carl Battreall

If you have ever flown into the Anchorage International Airport then you’ve probably flown over Chugach State Park. Although these mountains dominate the skyline of the most populated city in Alaska, they are often overlooked by tourists. They are predominately visited by locals and few have witnessed the most remote parts of the park. This book shows off the beauties of this area over all four seasons, highlighting just some of the stunning scenery, plants, and wildlife in the park. I picked up this book in a tiny bookstore in Anchorage just after our backpack trip, it is now a treasured part of my book collection. Click on the title link above to see a slideshow of some of the photos in the book. You can also purchase a signed hardback version of the book on the website.

The great Alaskan photographer Carl Battreall is currently working on an ambitious project to document the entire Alaska Range for a large format photo book which has never been done before. You can see his photos and follow his story on his blog, The Alaska Range Project.

Hikes Featured in this Post:

Chugach State Park, AK

Outdoor Life

Backpacking Chugach: Part 1

February 6, 2015August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

As the plane descended over the mountains I wondered what we got ourselves into. My forehead was glued to the window as I gazed out at the smooth emerald green mountains. They were so beautiful, but also rugged and desolate. I got butterflies in my stomach and a huge smile on my face. We were on our way to Anchorage for our first backpacking trip.

We planned for five days in the Chugach State Park just outside of Anchorage. We bought a brand spanking new tent, thankfully free of the suffocating wet dog smell of my husband’s hand me down tent of his youth. I suffered through a few car camps in the thing but I refused to spend a good portion of week in basically a leaky, smelly tarp, not to mention that it weighed approximately ten pounds.

So with our shiny new tent and lightweight gear we headed to REI to pick up fuel, bear spray and some dehydrated meals. We stopped next door at the Middle Way Cafe to get breakfast before hitting the trail. At that nondescript cafe nestled in a strip mall I had the best breakfast in my life: french toast with whipped blueberry butter and fresh blueberry compote. We were ready.

We took a shuttle van to the Glen Alps trailhead with other tourists looking to hike the popular Flattop Mountain. We waded through the people to find the Powerline Trail. We hoisted our packs and started our journey. The trail winds through low vegetation with a few stream crossings, gradually climbing up the valley. Not long into the hike some people told us there was a moose with her calf up ahead and to be careful. About ten minutes later I looked over and saw two brown humps poking out of the bushes. The moose looked up at me nonchalantly chewing leaves. I screamed and ran away, then returned to take a picture. Not exactly what you are supposed to do. Luckily the moose didn’t seem to mind.

We took a side trail to Hidden Lake and set up our first night’s camp. We blew up our sleeping pads for the first time (how luxurious!) and cooked our first dehydrated meals. We explored the rocky arm above the lake and wandered on the lichen rich scrub. We took in the alpine view and waited for a sunset that never came. We finally went to sleep in our cozy new outdoor habitat. It was comforting to know that the wildlife could not approach unseen and there was no darkness to be scared of.

On the second morning we packed up and headed to Ship Lake Pass. We set up camp before heading over the pass and down to Ship Lake so we wouldn’t have to carry our packs back up the pass. We decided not to keep the food in the tent but we were above treeline and there was nothing but rocks in all directions. We decided to bury the food under some rocks so a bear would not get to it and took off for the lake. We crested the top of the pass and were blown away, literally it was quite windy but the lake and the mountains towering behind it were breathtaking.

We wandered in the flowers around the lake for what seemed like hours. There were no trails here, it felt truly wild even though in reality we were not all that far from downtown Anchorage. We climbed back up to the pass and to our campsite. As we approached we saw that our things were disturbed. There was no sign of the much dreaded bear, but rather the tiny chew holes of the ground squirrel.

They chewed through our towel, our large collapsable water jug and chewed tiny holes through my backpack. Luckily the damage was minimal. Then we remembered the food we buried in the rocks nearby. We rushed over to see if they breached our cache and sure enough they did. We were horrified to find the remains of our tastiest meals and our big bag of gorp. We took inventory of what was left. Would there be enough to continue or would we have to turn back, cutting short our first backpack trip ever? Stay tuned for Part 2!