For two days, I resisted going, afraid of what I might feel. I told myself I did not want to be a look-y-loo hovering over a dying creature, but the truth was I wasn’t ready to face my own emotions.

It is incredibly easy, and I mean incredibly easy, to let the dark things overtake you. And while I understand that it’s important to be informed, it’s also important to not let life get you down.

Soaking wet, hair whipping back and forth across my face, and shouts of joy muffled by the raging water soaring 70 feet over my head. I fell in love with Sahalie Falls the moment I met her.

Eventually, I left the rivers behind almost entirely and got a stillwater-dedicated boat to access the more well-known lakes of the Cascades. I still fish rivers on occasion, but I will remain a stillwater junky from here on out.

I drove to a different area up higher in elevation near the snowline… I slept in my van that night, feeling a little guilty that I had likely wasted a tag someone else could have put to better use.

Ski touring isn’t about proving anything. It’s about breaking trail, earning turns, moving thoughtfully, and learning to listen—to the snow, the weather, and our own instincts.

Starting in March and running until about mid-June, the spring fishing season not only shows up, every once in a while, it shows out, too. Whether it’s mayflies, stoneflies or early caddis, spring trout fishing can be epic.

One day without rain, and the sun making a warm appearance, me and some of my buddies parked where we normally would for the hike. My friend knew of the rock wall here, and he had some spare harnesses and rope. We decided to spend a day on the wall, sheltered by the looming Douglas fir and incense cedars that surrounded us.

Ask Jayson Hayes about wooden drift boats and you’re in for a good trip… He wants to give a good answer, an answer that does justice to the feel of rivers, to the tradition of the McKenzie, its drift boats, the builders that came before him. And, like the boats he builds, the answer you get is well worth the wait.

The story of Willamette Pass is not just about one ski area trying to survive climate change and legal headwinds. It’s about what happens when a community decides that access to the mountains is worth fighting for.

Although hunting and conservation may seem at odds with one another, hunting and the conservation movement are intrinsically tied to each other, and this connection is often summarized by a simple phrase: hunting is conservation.

This past year I started taking a closer look at what I ate on backcountry trips. I asked Nicole Joyce, a nutritional expert and digestive health coach for help understanding better ways to fuel during these expeditions, and she shared some mind boggling insights.

The day after a big storm is the moment every beachcomber waits for. The sea has churned through its layers, pulled back its blankets of sand, and rolled its treasures to the surface. It’s a game of timing, luck, and persistence.

The first time you hear a grouse flush, you would think something is jumping out of the brush at you. Seeing a small, rotund chicken-sized bird fly through the woods at thirty plus miles per hour seems physically impossible and ridiculous.

“One of the great things about making up lists of obscure objectives to pass the time in the rainy season is that the crowds will be elsewhere.”

It’s a Friday afternoon in February, and our NWAC weather forecasts come bearing good news. A forecast of several new inches of snowfall means the group text is popping off with weekend plans and ecstatic friends.

When I chaired the Lane County Board of Commissioners, the board denied Ed King permission to blow up a butte in Oakridge to create another gravel mine, which would make him millions of dollars… two new commissioners, David Loveall and Ryan Ceniga, apparently serve money over people and voted to allow the gravel mine to move forward.

I love a good scary story; as a matter of fact, I have a few of my own that I’ve relayed to both friends and strangers over the years. And so, in honor of the spookiest time of the year, I’m offering to you, the reader, one of my many strange personal experiences.

At first glance, the Southern Willamette Valley appears to have everything the outdoor lover needs to maintain high levels of stoke. On any given day you can visit the jagged Cascades, head to rivers spilling over boulders, or drive to the ocean. Yet our area can also lure even the most adventurous into a beguiling sense of comfort.

Fall through early spring—those months when the soil is still workable and the weather is cooler - is your plant’s happiest window to settle in and get a healthy start. It’s time to flip the script and rethink the planting calendar.