Courses & Activities

On Monday, August 13, 2018, I attended a free presentation at REI by Dr. Michael Domingo, DPT, OCS entitled "Exercises for Healthy Hiking". I learned a lot about how to stay active in the outdoors as you enter your 'wiser years', and with Dr. Domingo's permission I want to share those tips with you. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Henry Romer, a volunteer leader and instructor with the Olympia Branch who leads for multiple activities and encourages new leaders to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge available within our Mountaineers community! Read more…

With the sun about to kiss the horizon, Liz Thomas, trail name: “Snorkel,” has places to go and needs the last rays of the day to illuminate her path. She is ascending and descending steps in Seattle, one of the hilliest and most publicly staircased cities in the country. This is not a task to be executed, at her pace, in complete darkness. Read more…

The Ozette Loop, often referred to as the Ozette Triangle, is located on the Olympic Peninsula and offers spectacular coastal scenery. Ozette is the ancestral home of the Makah, and the site of a world-famous archaeological discovery. Here are some ways you can enjoy the hike and learn more about Makah culture. Read more…

“Stuart, is that you?” I didn’t care that I said it aloud… nor did I care that Stuart is a mass of granite, incapable of a response. After traveling nearly 40 miles over the weekend with another 15 to go on an endless forest road, alone, I was relieved to see a familiar face. Exasperated, I pushed my poles to my forehead and let out a sigh that came from a deeper place in my psyche than I’d like to admit. Read more…

Gym climbing is a great way to engage your body, mind, and get vertical. With the accessibility of gyms in nearly every state and a high concentration of them in urban areas, you’re never far from crimps, slopers, or jugs. Whether you’re a first-time climber or advanced competitor, these tips will help you stay on the wall. Read more…

Tom Unger has been hiking, climbing, skiing, paddling, and sailing up and down the west coast for 25 years. He’s widely praised by students and participants for his outstanding communications, group facilitation, instruction, and collaborative leadership. In the summer of 2017, Tom led a two-week trip with The Mountaineers around Cape Scott with Barney Bernhard, Esther Ladwig, Marty Mayock, Charlie Michel, and Karen Cramer. In this interview, Tom discusses how he intentionally brought his group together around common goals, expectations, and trip styles. Read more…

In Wildfire: On the Front Lines with Station 8, journalist and author Heather Hansen embeds with Boulder, Colorado's Station 8 fire crew and follows them through an entire season. From these professionals, she learns what it takes to protect us from these ever more frequent conflagrations. She also interviews those who study these fires to report the reasons for them and how we can do a better job of mitigating their destruction. Following is an excerpt from Heather's book. Read more…

For the second weekend in August, the photography and naturalists committees teamed up for a weekend of events at Baker Lodge. We used the great opportunity to share our love of the outdoors together and develop an enhanced sense of connection. And to take in the Perseid Meteor showers - or so we hoped! Read more…

In April, the Olympia Branch of The Mountaineers issued a Stewardship Challenge to Mountaineers organization wide. The purpose of the Stewardship Challenge is to engage all members to participate in a rewarding day of stewardship. The Olympia Stewardship Committee believes this day of service will create closer connections to our magnificent natural resources, demonstrate our determination to support the public lands, and awaken a genuine spirit of service to our region in each participant. In short: we feel it's our duty to leave the trails better than before. Read more…

Three years ago, the climbing community rose up to fund a pit toilet at the Frenchman Coulee climbing area - better known as Vantage - in Central Washington. As it turns out, if you build it, they will poop. A lot. The toilet became a victim of its own success and fundraising was jointly undertaken by the Washington Climbers Coalition, the Access Fund, the American Alpine Club, and The Mountaineers to build a second toilet. Read more…

What could be better than sitting around a campfire with friends and family, telling stories and making s'mores? In the spirit of National S'mores Day, we caught up with Dave and Ilyssa Kyu, the editors behind Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks, to ask them a few questions.  Read more…

Many of the 100 peaks in Mount Rainier National Park are seldom visited and we believe under appreciated. In this sense they are “secrets” and worthy of being featured in this series. In this chapter of Secret Rainier we describe Goat Island Mountain, one of our favorite scrambles. Notable are the views of Little Tahoma looming above Rainier. It’s is a super summer scramble and a great destination to plan for in the midst of winter. Read more…

My first time as a photographer “in the field” is stored in a place in my memory banks reserved for other indelible firsts — kiss, published story, time I set my eyes upon my daughters. I remember slogging along in a flooded farm field with a small group led by Paul Bannick, the renowned owl expert and photographer and Mountaineers Books author. Well, I was slogging at least; I’m sure Bannick was prepared, as usual, wearing some sort of waders. I was stepping daintily in my duck boots, fearful of sinking to my thighs in water and mud that smelled faintly of rotten eggs.  Read more…

With Mountaineers summer camps celebrating their 7th birthday this year, we are expanding our overnight youth programming! This year we offered our second annual 3-day overnight camp on Mount Rainier in addition to our weekly themed summer camp options, and we're adding one more: a 5-day, 4-night getaway for kids aged 10 and up at our Mount Baker Lodge! Read more…

Picking the best 10 trip reports from an entire month of Mountaineers activities and courses isn't easy. Especially when that month is July. Mountaineers are out adventuring, and seemingly, only pause between trips when it's time to report on them.  Read more…

Name: Anita L. Elder
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Member Since: 2007
Occupation: Freelance Graphic Designer
Favorite Things to Photograph: Landscapes, animals, nature, and old architecture Read more…

The photography and naturalists committees have teamed up for a weekend of events at Baker Lodge. This is a great opportunity to share our love of the outdoors together and develop an enhanced sense of connection. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Ted Miller, a volunteer leader with the Bellingham Branch who strives to provide a safe environment for students to learn from their mistakes. Read more…

With its steep and rugged trail systems and its proximity to Olympia, the Mt. Skokomish Wilderness is a great training ground for the locals. It's not just for locals though - many of its mountains and trails are well worth traveling to visit.  Read more…

Our Global Adventures program is excited to announce another wonderful adventure coming up in February of 2019: join us for an adventure to the Hokkaido region of Japan! This trip is a great chance for powder hounds to get their fill when the Washington snow just won’t cut it. The trip includes visits to several ski areas as well as a visit to one of the famous ice festivals of the region. Read more…

We love exploring, especially the wild places that offer a serene tranquility away from it all. Sometimes, though, we get too far away. And that's when tranquility turns into bewilderment. So pack a map and take some tips from Wilderness Navigation by Mike and Robert Burns. Read more…

We sat down with Susan Elderkin to find out her favorite area hikes for young children from her new book Best Hikes with Kids: Western Washington. The following are kid-tested and kid-approved, to help you get your kids out and exploring nature at any age! Read more…

Join us September 20, 2018 to hear from Andrew Mclean, the first person to summit and ski the 'Alaska Family' of peaks Father Denali, Mother Sultanan, and child Mt. Hunter. Read more…

On June 2, members of the Everett Branch’s Lookout and Trail Maintenance (LOTM) Committee and partners that included  Washington Climbing Coalition, Summit Everett, and Friends for Public Use held a stewardship event for National Trails Day. We had a great time working on the 8-Mile Trail near Darrington. The trail leads to Three O’Clock Rock, a popular rock climbing site.  Read more…

Decision-making as a leader is hard and inevitable. There are times when you are forced to face these epic inner battles rivaling Middle-Earth wars and can choose to retreat or be defeated. Retreat equates to loss of pride, but you live to die another day. Defeat may bring you to the ultimate destination but may also ensure delicious victory in the clenching teeth of the Sauron of Summit Fever. Read more…

Other than for the sailors among us, strong winds are generally annoying. Camping, paddling, skiing, cycling – all better enjoyed without 30+ mile-an-hour gusts. We can layer up for cold and down for the heat. We’ve got Gortex to defeat the rain and snow. But wind often feels relentless in spite of our best efforts to cope with it. Read more…

The wind is howling; it’s pitch dark, and heavy snow is blowing sideways. I stagger, trying to stay on my feet while Jim shouts at me from the bivouac to get in. Struggling in the gale, I lift one leg, try to step into the sack, and am blown flat on my side. I get up and try again. “If you don’t get into the sack, you’re going to die,” I think. Read more…

Welcome to summer and all that it entails! At the Olympia Hiking & Backpacking committee, we've been very busy gearing up for summer. Learn what's new and say hello to Monty Pratt (pictured above, left), our newest committee member! Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Bernadette Lamarca, a volunteer leader with the Everett Branch who was hooked on The Mountaineers after three hikes ... and one fortuitous piece of chocolate! Read more…