Backpacking

A Spring Backpack Into Hells Canyon

Now that spring has sprung, we have our eye out for any weather windows to get out on the trails with a backpack (or hook the boat up and go fishing, or …well you get the idea). One such window opened at the end of March and we jumped right on it and packed for a couple nights in Hells Canyon. Besides being the deepest gorge in North America it is also intolerably hot in the summer, so it made for a good first overnight hike of 2026 before things get too hot there. We headed to Pittsburg Landing and headed up the Snake River from there.

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Backpacking the Sawtooths | Alice Toxaway Loop

Where did the summer go? I’m not sure, but I think it is now in the history books. As we moved into fall the forecast for the higher elevations indicated a chance of snow. Luckily following that mid-September snow forecast was a window of ideal fall weather. It was time to load the backpacks and get a few miles on the boots before more snow made backpacking out of the question for the rest of 2025.

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A Loop of Washington’s National Parks | Olympic Coast

After departing North Cascade National Park we headed toward Whidbey Island and hopped the ferry to the Olympic Peninsula. We swung through Port Angeles to pick up our backcountry permit at the Olympic National Park wilderness information center, and the next morning we hit the trail out to the Olympic Coast from Ozette. The “Ozette Triangle” makes for a nice overnight loop if you want to get a taste for the Olympic Coast. At just over 9 miles round trip it’s not too long, but far enough to leave a lot of the crowd behind and see a bit of wild coastline.

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