I would never have guessed that back in the 1930s, the entire Cal Poly Humboldt faculty (then Humboldt State College) could fit into one house for dinner. This was one of many bits of trivia I learned on a Friends of the Dune guided tour of Lanphere Dunes earlier this spring. Thirteen of us assembled […]
Get Out
Posted inLife + Outdoors
My Father’s Birding Lessons
My dad wasn’t made from the same mold as other dads. Every weekend there were adventures and usually misadventures. In sub-zero New Hampshire winters we’d snowshoe through frozen river gorges and huddle around a tiny camp stove roasting bratwurst and scalding our taste buds on hot soup from a Thermos. He taught us food tastes […]
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Flying High at the Redwood Coast Kite Festival
For an event that members of Humboldt Kiters didn’t start planning until three months ago, the Redwood Coast Kite Festival in Eureka on Saturday, May 21 turned out to be an artistic display of kiting and kite creation. It was also a whole lot of fun for those who attended on the first day of […]
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Sea to Summit: A Return to Salmon Mountain
While I was rushing to complete the Sea-to-Summit challenge in 2020, cycling and hiking from the ocean to mountain tops around Humboldt before weather and wildfires thwarted my plans, my friend Kelly was also pursuing all 10 peaks of the series (“Sea to Summit Part 1: Bald Mountain,” April 22, 2021). Unfortunately, she didn’t get […]
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Spring Migration
For Humboldt birders, May is a magical month. Spring migration is in full swing, and throughout the county the skies, marshes, forests, bay and grasslands are filled with birds. Some are here for a quick stopover on their journeys, to rest and replenish; others are back home on the North Coast to build their nests […]
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Running Angry
I never liked running. As a chubby teenager, I signed up for track hoping to emerge from the season more like my friends, the whippet-like McCann sisters who glided through turns and sprang across the long jump pit. Instead, I ambled like a corgi on shin splints, scoring only forfeit wins from teams whose hurdlers […]
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Down the Hikshari’ Trail
Robbie and I lock our bikes a couple of minutes before the Herrick Avenue Park and Ride off U.S. Highway 101, where the Hikshari’ Trail veers left. Then we walk ¼ mile over a wooden bridge and along the railroad track, turn right and stroll through grass to the closest thing to a beach this […]
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In Search of the Marbled Murrelet
Earlier this year, I celebrated a major birthday — well, “survived” is perhaps the better word. It was one of those milestones that falls on the far side of middle-aged, where it’s a lot harder to convince yourself the crackling sounds you hear when you heave yourself out of your cushy recliner are coming from […]
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Sea to Summit: King Peak
I left the house at 6 a.m. to pick up Natalie and drive south for the tenth and final Sea-to-Summit Challenge. She is a great adventure partner, always up for anything. If you’ve been following this series, you might remember she was my companion for the 90-mile Grasshopper Peak challenge (“Sea to Summit: Grasshopper Peak,” […]
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Getting (Back) Into Running with Six Rivers Running Club
I’ve been out of the running game for a while. I let my old jogging habits fizzle out during the pandemic, but once I got vaxxed and moved to Humboldt in 2021, it hardly seemed right to let all the scenic jogging spots go to waste. I kicked my feet off the couch and found […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
An Eye on the Sparrow
Sparrows, in my opinion, get a bum rap. Few species give birders — even expert ones — more ID trouble. They’re small and typically some shade of brown, hence their nickname “LBBs” (little brown birds). They favor dense brush or tall grass, occasionally making short, low flights before dropping out of sight again. Their markings […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Sea to Summit: Horse Mountain
My alarm went off at 5 a.m., and I questioned again why I torture myself with these brutal awakenings. My sluggish thoughts were grumpily resistant to starting the day until I took my first sip of tea and remembered I’d get to do one of my favorite things: ride my bike. I was ready, in […]