Blog

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will take up a lands package which includes additional protections for the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act here in Washington State. This bill will protect over 126,000 acres around the Olympic National Park where we hike, camp, and explore. We need your support to get this important bill passed this year! Read more…

Every two years, the Washington State Legislature passes a budget that funds state operations like education, human services, transportation, and public lands. Lawmakers are currently negotiating this year’s funding package. The Mountaineers is working with other conservation and recreation groups to advocate for funding for our state land management agencies and outdoor programs. Now more than ever, our state public lands need sufficient funding to ensure sustainable and equitable access to the outdoors.  Read more…

Since 2018, The Mountaineers Gear Library has supported youth, lending out everything from cross-country skis so students can glide under snow-covered trees to tents for camping on the Peninsula. While these trips have been successful, we believe our gear can do more. Read more…

There’s no denying it - our community is an incredible force for good. Even in a year mired with challenges and social distancing, we found ways to come together and support one another through our shared love of wild places and the outdoor experience. Our volunteers have done a tremendous job of creatively offering opportunities for us to grow our skills through modified courses and virtual offerings, and our members continue to speak up and advocate for our big backyard. Mountaineers Books helped millions around the world seek refuge in adventure through pages in a book (and won 13 prestigious awards for their titles!) Read more…

We’re excited to announce Trailhead Ambassadors, a new program launching this summer to help promote responsible recreation and environmental stewardship in the Snoqualmie Corridor area. Volunteer Trailhead Ambassadors will serve as a welcoming entity at popular trailheads along the I-90 corridor and help educate and empower trail users. The program is currently recruiting volunteers.  Read more…

In the dark days of winter, one of the few reliefs we have from the gloomy weather is the promise of snow. Uncommon in the lowlands west of the Cascades, snow is a treat reserved for just a few days every year, blanketing the damp Northwest in a sheet of white. As a result, lowland snow days are a hectic delight. School is cancelled, roads are salted, snow plows deployed, and the Midwesterners shake their heads at our four inch dusting. Each year we act like it’s a surprise – and it may just be that it’s more fun that way. Read more…

As Mountaineers, we are committed to learning from our experiences. We examine every incident that happens on a Mountaineers trip for opportunities to improve the ways we explore and teach. Our volunteer safety committee reviews every incident report and picks a few each month to share as examples of ‘Lessons Learned’. The trip report below describes what happened on this trip, in the leader’s own words, and outlines the lessons the leader has identified. In some cases, we offer additional key learnings from the incident. Read more…

Is there a nagging little voice in the back of your head saying that you really should learn how to read a map and use a compass on your next hike or backpack trip, but you haven't quite gotten around to it?  Are you a bit intimidated by it all but haven't wanted to admit it? Or are you ready to take the next step in your personal preparedness to plan and carry out a safe on-trail adventure? Read more…

It sounds like clickbait - “I rucked a mile a day for 31 days, and here’s what happened!” But I did indeed ruck at least a mile each day in January 2021. Here’s what happened. Read more…

A passionate skier since he was a child, Anders Morley dreamed of going on a significant adventure, something bold and of his own design. And so one year in his early thirties, he decided to strap on cross-country skis to travel across Canada in the winter alone. Read more…