Hiking & Backpacking

The West Coast’s winter was wet and soggy. The forecast for the spring and summer is lingering snowpack, muddy trails … and bugs. Lots of bugs! Read more…

Ahhh, there’s nothing like heading out on your favorite trail to take in the fragrant smells of spring... only to catch the putrid stench of crap. Dog and human alike — it seems lately there’s been a proliferation of poo plopped along our trails and streams of toilet paper flowers soiling our backcountry. And this abundance of trailside turds isn’t just an affront on our visionary and olfactory senses, it’s a major affront to our health and the health of our wild places. Read more…

Mountaineers and friends are invited to join a free webinar, Tuesday, June 20, 7pm. Get tips for starting what for many is a bucket list item: hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) across your state. The presenter for this online event is Eli Boschetto, author of the new book, Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon. Eli will talk about how to plan to section hike the Oregon length of the PCT, but his tips will be relevant to anyone planning  to hike the Washington PCT, too. Read more…

Are you looking to beat the crowds, and to get out on the trail when it’s a bit less busy? Do you have a flexible schedule mid-week? If so, you should consider a Mid-Week Hike! Read more…

Attendees of our Leader Seminar will learn what it means to lead a Mountaineers hike or backpack. We'll cover how to prepare and lead your participants in a safe and enjoyable outing and how to handle some common on-trail leadership challenges, as well as how to post a hike or backpack and a post-trip activity report. This seminar  will get you started toward becoming a certified trip leader for the Seattle or Foothills Branches. (this seminar can count toward certification for the other branches as well!) Read more…

This installment of Our Secret Rainier is technically a scramble as it has a portion that is off-trail. But it is a very easy scramble and most experienced hikers would be very comfortable on this route (so long as they had good route finding skills). The route goes by a lovely hidden lake and goes to the top of the Palisades where there are great views of The Big One. Along the way, one finds the mysterious Skull of Marcus.  Read more…

Mountaineers Books has about 700 titles in print, and many of them are wonderful. This month Art Freeman, the publisher’s Chief Financial Officer, recommends five of his all-time favorite titles. Art is an avid skier, hiker, sailor, and climber, who has completed the Washington Bulger List of 100 highest mountains in the state. When he’s not playing outside, he has a book in his hands. Read more…

Backpacker Magazine, one of the pre-eminent adventure publications in the US, recently began to recognize hiking clubs across the country for excellence. In the May 2017 issue, The Mountaineers joined the ranks of their "best." Read more…

June 6, 2013: As the plane swooped over brown hillsides and stucco homes with tile roofs, I realized how very far from Washington State I was. I stared east, where clouds and ridges loomed faint and low on the horizon. I remembered the last time I was here, eight years younger and vastly inexperienced. I had faced the same distance, but this time I knew the extent of the land that sprawled between me and Washington, which had become my home. I already felt the pull of the mountains I knew like friends, and the people I loved.  Read more…

For the past ten years, I haven't been able to hike. My knees were severely arthritic and the pain was so great that it got to where I couldn't even stand for more than 15 minutes without crying. I tried to not let it stop me. I was in my late 50s, felt 20 years older, obese from not being able to exercise, losing muscle tone, depressed, and not wanting to leave the house. It was time for a change. Read more…