Fall 2023
Briefly noted
Books and podcasts by WSU alumni, faculty, and the WSU Press » More ...
Hiking
Spring 2017
From the top
It’s sunrise somewhere on the Appalachian Trail. Ruth Boden is sitting on top of a mountain, playing her cello as she gazes out at a sea of trees. A hiker approaches. “So that’s what I’ve been hearing for the past six miles!” he calls out to her, grinning from ear to ear.
Boden is the cello professor at Washington State University and the founder of Music Outside Four Walls. She is challenging the received wisdom that classical music is played in tuxedos in concert halls with whisper-quiet audiences who’ve paid big bucks for a seat. So she backpacks, with cello, … » More …
Winter 2016
Glacier is for the Birds
A Trail Guide to the Birds of Glacier National Park
David P. Benson ’99 PhD
Habitats for All Press: 2016
Distant cries of a loon penetrate the evening twilight. A dozen faces lean toward the campfire, eyes on the park ranger who enchants them with tales of the wild. As if on cue, a great gray owl hoots at … » More …
Summer 2010
Dan Nelson’s Mount Rainier Hike
(from Day Hiking Mount Rainier, published by The Mountaineers Books).
Shadow Lake Sunrise Camp Loop. This July-October hike was selected because it is fairly level, kid-friendly, and features a lake and lots of wildlife. This hike is usually open July through September.
Rating/Difficulty: 2
Loop: 3.5 miles
Elevation Gain/High Point: 200 feet/6,400 feet
Season: July-October
Dan writes: This is the perfect outing for families, or for anyone wanting an easy day in the glorious wildflower fields of the Sunrise area. Indeed, … » More …
Summer 2010
Dan Nelson ’89—25,000 miles of trails
Dan Nelson knows his way around Washington’s woods. As the author of a dozen books on hikes, snowshoe trips, and trails throughout the Cascades, Eastern Washington, and the Olympic Peninsula, he’s logged thousands of miles for research.
“I added it up last year for a biography,” says Nelson, as he searches his pantry for a treat for his new Labrador Sophie. “It was something over 25,000 miles of trails since I started my first book.”
In 1989, as a reporter for Pierce County Herald, and fresh out of Washington State University, Nelson covered general assignment stories, environmental issues, and county government. He enjoyed the demands … » More …
Summer 2006
The making of mountaineers
Danielle Fisher gave herself five years to become the youngest person to climb the highest mountain on every continent. The Washington State University student did it in two, joining the ranks in 2005 of an elite fellowship of climbers who got their start on Washington's peaks. » More ...
Summer 2004
Hike Lewis and Clark's Idaho
Anyone interested in exploring firsthand the mountains and forests Lewis and Clark traversed in 1805-06 in western Montana and the Idaho panhandle will find this guidebook indispensable. Hike Lewis and Clark’s Idaho is a collaboration between writer Mary Aegerter, a frequent contributor to Washington State Magazine, and Steve Russell, a native of the region who has researched its historic trails.
The heart of the book is a set of detailed reviews of 44 trails between Lolo Ranger Station in Montana and Weippe, Idaho, accessible from either U.S. Highway 12, the Lolo Motorway—a primitive road that parallels the highway—or the Selway River. Aegerter rounds out the … » More …