Here so early the espresso stands aren’t even open yet. Towns with names like Ravensdale, Enumclaw, Greenwater. Got to the ranger station two hours before they opened to be first in line. You can’t outcrazy me. Cracking the sun roof… Read More ›
Memoir
The Friday overnight
Few things I loved more than getting up really early to go backpacking. Better if it was with a friend or deeper in the year nearing autumn. But today was best because it was happening today and just about to… Read More ›
Jockey full of bourbon
My hair didn’t look the best. I’d been trying to grow it out but made the mistake of going into a cheap salon (“Great Clips”) before a job interview to hack a few inches off the back and now it… Read More ›
Waning crescent
Once it started to mellow I’d sit in the late afternoon sun in a far part of the yard with the dog and some honey bees lazing about the lawn. I’d stopped cutting it so the clover flowered over and… Read More ›
Wild life
The grass was now the color of a pale copper coin not yet brown, more golden. The grass color had varied hues and smelled sweet and the smell reminded me of the harvest festivals of my youth. Further up the… Read More ›
Going down the rabbit hole
Just like that, my daily morning routine of walking in Soaring Eagle state park came to an end. Not one, but three signs were posted by the trailhead: recent cougar activity reported. The signs were white with red lettering, all… Read More ›
The Fool
I woke at 0300 and broke camp, reacquired the ridge above the lake before sunrise. The lake was pale like a dime in the predawn as seen from above. From the ridge you could see the snow-covered peaks surrounding the… Read More ›
A different kind of fish
I got to the Marblemount ranger station an hour before it opened, at 6, one other guy in a van with long hair, bearded, already there. They had a Please Take A Number stand and an LED display showing number… Read More ›
The devil’s back side
Here was that spot I’d come to that day in the forest it was snowing. I’d been wanting to find this spot but the trails splinter off and I never look at the maps, I just splice the sections together… Read More ›
An ocean of clouds
July 11 It’s now been a week since I’ve been eating those chicken thighs I grilled on the Fourth. Somehow no one seems to vibe with my Jamaican jerk chicken. I marinaded it for 36 hours in habaneros, scallions, ginger,… Read More ›
Bill Pearse 