HEATHER MEADOWS -- They almost steal your breath in all their jagged, rocky, glaciated glory, these North Cascades.
From the top of the stony mesa called Table Mountain, from nearby Hermann Saddle on the Galena Chain Lakes Loop -- even from the trailheads here -- you can witness up close this spectacular landscape, wrought over millions of years of tectonic upheaval, volcanism, weather and erosion.
By Greg Johnston | August 12, 2004
Hike of the Week
We blew it. Any hike in the Goat Rocks Wilderness deserves more than a day. We suggest backpacking or overnight lodging in Packwood rather than planning a day hike with a long drive, as we did. From Seattle it is 246 miles round trip and it takes about 3.5 hours to reach the Snowgrass trailhead where the hike begins.
By Karen Sykes | August 12, 2004
Short Trips
LONG BEACH -- Norman Anderson gently placed his 6-foot-wide, triangular kite on the hard sand at just the right angle to the wind so it wouldn't prematurely lift off before he could stretch out the full 60-foot length of the dual control strings. The winds, he guessed, were gusting close to 20 knots across the beach, so the kite had to be sitting just perfectly or it might fly away on its own.
By Jeff Larsen | August 12, 2004
Birders' Top Spots
Location: Near Winthrop, Okanogan County.
Best seasons for birding: Spring through fall.
Habitat: Popular 580-acre state park with large lake and sandy beach surrounded by dry hills with shrubs and scattered groves of trees.
Birds commonly seen: More than 136 species have been recorded here, with reliable sightings of eagles, hawks, owls and warblers.
Watch also for occasional American redstarts, Lewis' woodpeckers, Clark's nutcrackers, black swifts, red-eyed vireos, Brewer's sparrows, veeries and lazuli buntings.
August 12, 2004
