Stories of stranded and caved-in hikers have been dominating the local news in the past couple of weeks. Last week, two boys were rescued after an ice cave they were standing in collapsed. Both survived the cave-in but with serious injuries. Just this Tuesday, the sad news broke that an Oregon 15-year-old who was buried after a sand cave he was digging collapsed had succumbed to his injuries and died. Yesterday came the story of three hikers stranded on Three Fingers Mountain after one of them injured his back, and the group was forced to stay a wet and cold night above 5,000 feet. Two of the hikers had to be air-lifted off the mountain, while one was able to walk down on his own strength. more ›

Seattlest keeps waiting and waiting for the right weekend to head out for our inaugural hike of 2008. There are few things we love more than hiking through the cool misty forests of Cedars and Doug Firs; the monotony of one-foot-in-front-of-the-other up a mountain brings us a zen calm. After driving through the mountains for Memorial Day weekend, we were feeling especially itchy to head out on the trail. But we are going to have to wait, just like every other eager would-be hiker. more ›

Usually, when we hear about people dying trying to cross the border, it is the other border being discussed. However, North Cascade National Park employees recently discovered the body of a man who died trying to walk across the Canadian border this winter. The body of 37-year-old Peter Kim was found on Friday by park employees who were clearing trails near Ross Lake. The county coroner said there was no evidence that Kim died during a pleasant winter hike gone awry. Whatcom County sheriff's Chief Deputy Jeff Park said Kim also did not appear to be the victim of a crime, or engaged in any kind of illegal or smuggling activity. How and why the 37-year-old died of exposure and malnutrition crossing the border by foot in the midst of a rough Washington winter remains a mystery. Seattlest has enjoyed many a wonderful hike near Ross Lake, and we can assure you it is not terrain we would want to traverse in the depths of a Washington winter. more ›

There's no danger--they are in contact with the outside world and if they need supplies, City Light will helicopter some it. But they'll probably first finish what they've got. more ›

This past weekend turned out to be the perfect time to head to The Methow Valley, which is way out east of North Cascades National Park. The crowds were thin after Memorial Day weekend, the weather was beautiful (but hot) and the drive was amazing. more ›

MUSIC: Yeah, we're really not sure about this, it could go either way, but the Crocodile is hosting a Disney cover night, featuring members from Catch, Kane Hodder, Pris, and a bunch of other acts. That's right. Disney covers. If it fails, it should fail in a uniquely horrifying manner. more ›

Seattlest finds the fact that a team of rowers from the Northwest have almost completed a trans-Atlantic crossing very cool, despite a couple of things, but first, it's cool. It seems like a truly difficult endeavor and the bigness of the Atlantic (big waves, big distance, big cold, etc) and the smallness of a rowable boat are somehow attractive to us. It does smell a little like rich guys ballooning around the world in search of faux adventure at any price, but the guys aren't rich and they had to raise a lot of money to get their boat from the Sound to the East Coast. And the lack of technology is also double-sided: It's cool, yeah, that the strength of their biceps is propelling them across such a large body of water, but at the same time...it's a pretty large artificial handicap. We have engines now, or, if that's too high tech for you, sails. You can't get much more basic then rowing unless you want to Thor Heyerdahl it and depend only on buoyancy and the currents. more ›

This spring, the Forest Service will be increasing the permit range for camping in the ridiculously overcrowded highly popular Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. They were also contemplating a fee hike from $3 to $5, but the increase didn't move forward. more ›