Vancouver Island mushroom picking

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on mushroom picking (led by a monk) in Canada's Vancouver Island.

Every September and October the popular mushroom-picking tours leave from Aerie resort, a 25-minute drive from capital Victoria.

"Brother Michael, a Benedictine monk and mushroom expert who is our guide for the day and has been leading the Aerie's outing each fall weekend for three years. From the Solo Dio monastery in nearby Duncan, Brother Michael spends four or five hours a day, five days a week, tramping among these steep hills, collecting pounds and pounds of mushrooms to supply Victoria's upscale restaurants, as well as the Aerie. His eyes are so well trained he can spot a potentially promising mushroom cache from more than 20 paces away."

After the three-hour hunt, happy pickers return to the resort for a gourmet lunch off of their mushroom find.

Read the full story: Mushroom hunting on Vancouver Island

Riding the old railway line, on bikes

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer keeps the theme of the last post (upswing in bike vacations) alive with their report on the scenic bike trip through Iron Horse State Park trail in Washington State.

The 109-mile trail is built on the old railway bed that connected Chicago to the Pacific Northwest and shut down in 1980.

A shuttle service now takes bikers to both ends of the trail near North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass.

"'It's a very friendly ride. The scenery is beautiful and I think my favorite part is the railroad trestles, and looking down on the tops of the trees," said Cynthia McMath of Lynnwood, a friend [of reporter Greg Johnston]. 'I like that as you ride down the trail and approach the creeks, you can feel the temperature change, and you can listen to the creeks as you're passing. The wildflowers are pretty, too.'"

Read the full story: Rolling on the old Milwaukee rail line

Wash. state's record snowpack brings waterfalls

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on the spectacular season for waterfalls this summer due to a record winter snowfall.

Around 10,000 waterfalls will spew forth from the Cascades.

Waterfall watchers say this year will beat the last record season of 1999.

And intrepid "baggers" are happy to go off the beaten path for remote sightings:

"Oh, it's stunningly beautiful," says Sprague Ackley of Seattle, a climber and whitewater kayaker who reached Service Falls [located] in a high and remote canyon on the upper Queets River in the heart of Olympic National Park."

Read the full story: The land of 10,000 waterfalls

British Columbia's eco-campaign

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports on the new eco-campaign "Be Wild in BC" by neighboring British Columbia.

It's a new publication dropping today that "will help you connect with eco-friendly vacations in British Columbia."

Sounds good to us.

Read the full story: Be wild and green in B.C.

Visit little-known national parks near Seattle

Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Getaways section highlights new and relatively unknown state wilderness areas worth visiting:

"Over the past 15 or more years, thousands of acres in dozens of plots have been acquired all over [King] county. Today the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks manages 180 parks totaling 5,000 acres, plus 20,000 more acres of open space, 175 miles of official trails and uncounted miles of unofficial 'local' trails that lace much of the newer lands."

Because a lot of these acquired lands are so new, they're not well-known and the county land managers are trying to get nature-lovers to come visit. Hiking, biking and horseback riding are just some of the outdoor activities welcome throughout the various terrains and trails.

And one of the best features about these unknown areas is that there are very few other visitors. The article's author Greg Johnston tried out a two-hour hike and encountered only four other people.

Read the full story: King County has acres of newly acquired public space, but few are using it

Enjoy a snowshoe hike safely

Seattle Post-Intelligencer reader/blogger Lauren Braden gives safety tips on how to enjoy a snowshoeing adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Although snowshoeing is a great way to get out into nature in the winter, she says a few extra precautions need to be taken:

"1) Always check avalanche conditions
2) Choose your destinations wisely
3) Let someone know where you are going
4) Always pack the ten essentials
5) Bring navigation skills"

Read the full post: Winter hiking/snowshoeing safety

Nature lovers flock to manufactured WA isle

Jetty Island, although made by man, is an oasis of nature - and even better - is just a free two-minute ferry ride away from the Washington State town of Everett. The recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer article says the island, originally built as a breakwater for ships pulling into the port in the 1980's, has become a wildlife sanctuary and a local "mini-vacation spot." Visitors can play on the sandy beaches, take hikes or go on naturalist tours.

This island shows that ecotourism can spring up from surprising places, even those originally intended for easing human purposes.

Another interesting albeit non-environmental aspect is that this article was extremely well-written by high school student Danielle Winslow who is participating in a Seattle University journalism workshop. She could put some so-called journalism professionals to shame, nice job!

Read the full story: Everett's man-made Jetty Island is all about nature