If you want to learn to surf, you’ll find ideal conditions at Shelter Cove. The small, predictable, mellow waves that meet the crescent sweep of the cove are perfect for beginners, according to longtime surfer John Dowd. Since I’d never surfed before, it seemed like a great place to start. But first, surf conditions: You […]
Get Out
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Masochist, Meet ‘Peak Fun’
I met my husband on the Deschutes River, where we guided a group of (at-risk/delinquent) teens through rapids for a week. We measured the next four years of our courtship in miles of whitewater rafting, hiking and rock climbing. Initially it seemed so romantic, falling in love against a wilderness backdrop. But eventually, the unfortunate […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Next Time I’ll Try Skydiving
I hit 60 this past week, and my youngest daughter turned the ripe old age of 18 on the same day. To celebrate, and in my case, to prove that I was not nearly ready to kick the bucket, I suggested that we take on the zip line in the Arcata Community Forest. To my […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Polo for the People
At 6:30 on a warm Wednesday evening, the Humboldt Hard Court Bike Polo crew adjusts helmets, tightens shin guards and makes sure mallets and bikes are tuned for friendly competition atop faded tennis courts in Eureka’s Highland Park. Laughter peppers the crew’s pregame safety check, and the setting sun lights up late-summer clouds punch orange […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Paddling with Island Flair
Outrigger paddlers take to Humboldt Bay, aboard a smaller canoe brought up from Shelter Cove (left) and the larger, Humboldt-based outrigger (foreground). It’s 7 p.m. on a cloudless Thursday, and Humboldt Bay shines like liquid silver under blue skies. Luke Besmer, a Hawaiian outrigger canoe enthusiast, has assembled a crew of six other paddlers eager […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Archers, Take Your Mark!
That’s not your grandfather’s bow and arrow – it’s a compound bow, demonstrated by Chris Ghidinelli. Photo by Linda Stansberry Bow season opened Aug. 17, but unless you’ve been practicing since The Hunger Games came out, you would be better off leaving the bucks to more experienced marksmen. “Bow hunting requires so much practice and […]
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The Joys of Bocce
I got the ball rolling by just showing up at the Larson Park Bocce Ball courts in Arcata one Saturday morning. Intending only to watch, I was surprised when John, Dave and Rochelle invited me to join them. As I soon learned, playing with four is much preferred to any other combination, even if the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Bikes and Booze
There is a fine art to wine and food pairing — the notes and tones of the right wine will bring out the flavors of a dish, and the balance of sensations in a dish will affect the taste of the wine. There is a similar art to pairing the right outdoor activity with the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Clam Whisperer
On a recent late April morning, in the hazy half light of dawn, I found myself wearing rubber boots, burdened by several layers of clothing and a shovel, and marching awkwardly through soft sand of the fore dunes to the ocean. There were hundreds of us, bulky and burdened, in a surreal trudge toward the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
For the Birds
The birders are coming. Godwit Days are upon us, a time when Humboldt welcomes avian aficionados from far and wide, especially those obsessed with adding as many different birds as possible to their life lists. As the organizers note, the festival is held during the spring migration of the marbled godwit, one of many […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Remodeling Our Wheel Estate
Long ago as a baby-faced innocent, I first read Jack Kerouac’s classic On the Road as I hitchhiked my way around Australia. Too naive to fully appreciate the nuance of Kerouac’s message, I embraced the superficial, carefree love of the walkabout. I liked to think that I was one of Kerouac’s people “who are mad […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Coasting (Part 2)
Over the years I have walked as much of the Humboldt County Coast as possible. The extraordinary wild and windy Lost Coast is the equal of any coastal walk I have taken anywhere in the world. It combines solitude with stunning landscape and incredible intertidal shoreline. Not far behind is the Carruthers Cove to Skunk […]