Crunch time with MAG

Crusty, crunchy snow, that is. And, MAG stands for Marie's Adventure Group. I had to escape the cold, fog that has settled in over the Puget Sound region and if I wasn't on the next plane to a tropical destination, the second best option was to head up and get above the cloud bank. So, I replied to Marie's mass email blast for some snowshoe fun up at Snoqualmie Pass. Marie is one of my teammates from one of the hockey leagues that I play in Seattle. At the Issaquah park and ride lot, I met up with her and five other shoe'ers (I apologize in advance for any misspellings :-)): Josh, Gary, Jean, Sharon, and Katie.

Then, we headed east on I-90 to Summit East, aka Hyak. For the non-Puget Sound residents, Hyak made the news recently when a huge rainstorm caused a massive mudslide which took out 3 towers of one of their chairs (Keechelus) and damaged some vacation houses located towards the base of the hill. The downhill ski area is now closed for the season as you can see in the pictures I took, but the nordic trails remain open on the weekends for the season. From the lodge, you either ski up or hop on a shuttle to the Silver Fir Express chair for an easy ride to the top.

We chose the latter and it was also my chance to ride the newly, opened Silver Fir Quad. Back in the day, that area to the east of Summit Central was a little known stash of some fun runs through the trees....but through the years the word got out and now it's a quad :-( Oh well...today, I was happy to be on snowshoes and not on my skis. It's been a very disappointing year for skiing. Since the first part of this new year, we've had rain up in the passes, and then nothing since and today is Jan. 19!! I looked over some of my favorite runs and saw a lot of exposed trees, rocks, and a lot of ice. I still have to bring my skis in for repair after Blackcomb shredded the bottom over New Year's.

At the top, we hooked up with the nordic trail system and meandered starting first with the Rockdale Loop. I've forgotten the names of the other trails because I too busy trying to stay up with Josh when we jogged or sprinted on some parts of the trail (the uphills were especially fun...love hills even off the bike!). Afterwards, we returned to Issaquah and headed to Issaquah Brew House for a round of their home brews (we tasted everything from chocolate porters, hazelnut ales, and 'Dead Guy' ales) and some good grub.

It was a cold, blustery day, but the sun came out at the top, the clouds parted for a while, and good times added to the warmth. It was great meeting you all and I look forward to more outdoor fun.

Northern Elephant Seals - Año Nuevo State Reserve, CA

For about five years in a row, I kicked off the new year with a visit to the Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve located just south of Half Moon Bay, CA (about 55 miles south of San Francisco). Año Nuevo means 'New Year' in Spanish and the state reserve is also the location of the largest mainland breeding colony of Northern Elephant Seals in the world. They typically haul out on islands located far off the mainland. About this time of the year is the peak season for birthing and breeding and it's an incredible sight to witness live. I would go several times - first, in December to watch the males come in and stake out their territory. I've seen some incredible battles between males that are about 14-16 feet long and can weigh up to 2.5 tons! Actually, the best battle I saw was down in San Simeon, which is just down the road from the Hearst Castle on the California central coast. I went down there with family and actually told them to take the tour of the castle (I seriously couldn't be bothered, anyway) while I watched the behemoths battle it out for over an hour. Exhausted and bloodied, one bull finally headed back out to the water and went to find a spot further down the beach (awww...I always root for the underdog).

At the end of December, the females (much smaller in size averaging 10-12 feet in length and weighing about 1,000 - 2,000 lbs) start to show up and haul out on shore to form harems and give birth. This peaks at around end of January. I would time my second visit of the season around or soon after the new year to check out this process. Then, typically, through the end of March, the females are nursing their young then mating with the dominant bull in their harem. Finally, the adults head back out to sea leaving the young weaners to fend for themselves and learn to swim. And, this is when I schedule another visit to gawk at the weaners who have grown and gained so much weight in a very short amount of time. Most will stay until the end of April before heading out to feed along the coasts of northern Washington and British Columbia. They will return to Año Nuevo to molt (shed all their hair and skin) during the spring and summer months.

It's an amazing sight to see and hear in person. The bulls' sounds are deep and guttural to match their immense size. So many pups are crushed by males who continue to fight off other harem-less males (again, awwwww) who try to poach on the females lying on the outer part of their harem. At the Marine Mammal Center, located further north in Sausalito in the Marin Headlands, I used to be a docent and I would stand next to a life-size statue of a fully-sized Northern Elephant Seal bull. Yeah, you don't want to be in his way when he decides to charge. And, don't be fooled by their size because they can move extremely fast on land. For this reason, you can only visit the reserve during breeding season on scheduled tours with a docent. Tickets do sell out fast so purchase them in advance. It really is worth it and an excursion that the entire family would enjoy.

Journey into Canada's Great Bear Rainforest with Ian McAllister

I am so excited about Ian McAllister's upcoming presentations in Seattle at REI on the Great Bear Rainforest. He will be at the Redmond REI on 1/27 and at the Seattle REI on 1/29. The Great Bear Rainforest is the only coastal rainforest where the wildlife, environment, and aboriginal cultures exist as they did many, many, many years ago. In California, there are still remnants of the coastal rainforest but the grizzly, that is on the California flag, no longer exists in that region. The salmon runs down there is close to seeing a similar fate. But, up along the coast of British Columbia, the rainforest continues as-is, relatively speaking of course, but we all know that it's a precarious balance. So far, the bears still exist, the wolves continue to roam, the marine life thrives, and the salmon returns. Ian McAllister, an award-winning author and amazing photographer, is one of the most vocal people for protecting the rainforest along the coast of British Columbia. He heads a non-profit organization called Pacific Wild whose main goal is protecting the Great Bear Rainforest. They work closely with all communities, businesses, and individuals in the area to ensure biodiversity protection is the forefront of decisions and actions. I hope you get to attend this lecture because you will be blown away by the pictures he has taken. There is also a DVD produced by National Geographic on the Great Bear Rainforest that includes a lot of footage with Ian. Look for it at your local library!

One of the best ways to experience this region is by sea kayak. Tantalus Adventures is one of a handful of outfitters that can guide you on this special journey. Here is a link to one of my previous post about the Great Bear Rainforest that contains some pictures that I took up on my trip to the area. The article also features Norm Hann, the owner and lead guide for Tantalus Adventures. We guarantee that this trip will be special and one like no other. In fact, the picture that I use at the heading for my blog is from one of the beaches we camped at overnight (Home Bay on Princess Royal Island). Breathtakingly beautiful. You may contact Norm at norm@tantalus-adventures.com or myself at jocelyn@adventurecontact.com for more information. We hope you can join us.

In the meantime, enjoy this 10-minute video from Pacific Wild showing a lone wolf eating salmon in the Great Bear Rainforest.

(Video source: YouTube, Pacific Wild)

Happy 2009!

The beginning of a new year....it's like a breath of fresh air. New beginnings, new goals, new paths to take, and new experiences to relish and embrace. I will spare everyone the rehash of 2008. You can read my blog for that. But, one thing for sure, it's been over a year outside of a 9-5 office job and it's one of the best decisions I made in my life. What's in store for me in 2009? Who knows, but it will be a good time, 'fo sho.'

I ended 2008 and kicked off the year with a trip up to Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort in British Columbia. Not the time of year I want to be up there because of the annoying mayhem, and unbearable crowds and lift lines. However, I wanted a good, positive start to the new year so I decided to celebrate it with with some new friends that I've met up here in Seattle. The other downside: because of the late start of the snowfall and extremely cold and windy conditions, there were a LOT of exposed areas and now the bottom and edges of my skis are so trashed with deep ruts and gouges (whimper). On top of that, what snow that has come down is so unstable. While we were there, 2 more tragedies occurred due to avalanches - one was actually inbounds though it was roped off. Avy's, rocks, and exposed ice....not the best conditions but then again, the past several years have been pretty good up there so maybe we're just due for an off-season. **it happens. It's also still pretty early in the season.

The day I left, it was a bluebird day up in the mountains, albeit, butt ass frigid cold....oh well, just a reminder that life is always about trade-offs. I got to ride the new Peak 2 Peak Gondola from Whistler to Blackcomb. I thought all of the gondolas had a part of the floor that was see-through but it's only 1...the silver gondola. So, for those who aren't vertigo-challenged...look for the silver gondola and enjoy the view through the floor. I'll wait for that gondola the next time I'm up. In the meantime, Crystal Mountain in Washington got 18" the day after New Year's. Steven's Pass also got hit with a large amount of snowfall. Should've stayed state-side, but it was a good time north of the border, nonetheless, and that's what really mattered. Just so happy to have so many options within a 5-6 hour drive of here. Looking forward to 2009 and coming up with new stories to fill this silly blog. Happy New Year!