Explore North Coast [http://explorenorthcoast.net/ ] is an association of paddlers that holds regular paddling events, detailed on its calendar, and promotes paddling safety and education. Humboats Kayak Adventures [ http://humboats.com/index.php ] offers kayak instruction, guided tours and kayak rentals from its waterfront location at Dock A, Woodley Island Marina, Eureka. Open daily 8 a.m. to […]
Get Out
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Runner’s Lament
I hate running. Running murders the knees, cranks the hamstrings tight as drums, and inflames the hips. In theory running is a cheap, accessible sport. In reality most runners arrange their schedules around running. They rise in the dark, haul sweaty sneakers to work to run during lunch breaks, and skip happy hour in […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Running for Haters
1. Vary your workouts. Alternate short and fast with long and slow. 2. Be a running tourist. Explore the Community Forest, Ma-le’l Dunes, and from Old Town to Henderson Center. 3. The more water-logged your sneakers, the heavier they are. Dry those suckers out. 4. Run alone. 5. Run with other people sometimes. Base your pace on the slower […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Bay Trail History: I think I can, I think I can
A multi-use trail for this right of way has been studied, analyzed, reviewed and considered for the past decade and a half. There was a Humboldt County Bicycle Facilities Feasibility Study in 1997. In 2001 it was dubbed a priority project by the Humboldt Bay Trail Feasibility Study. The California Coastal Trail plan reaffirmed that […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Walk on the Wild Side (of 101)
Let me admit my bias up front. It is a shame that the railroad right-of-way between Arcata and Eureka is sitting virtually unused, a public asset that is slowly decaying, a unique resource that could serve as the foundation for a wonderful, multipurpose trail. Unfortunately my perspective doesn’t seem to hold enough high cards when […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Winter Wonderful
No matter how lovely December was — all that sunshine — you knew it wasn’t likely to last. Soon, wet winter days will have you wanting to do nothing more than curl up by the woodstove with a good book or your laptop, mug of hot chocolate by your side. But wait! Just because […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Climb Like a Girl
She’s wearing yoga pants and a ponytail, clutching borrowed climbing shoes and a safety harness. She warily looks up Karen Rock at Moonstone Beach. Her palms are sweaty. As she watches a couple of shaggy-haired guys ascend the cliff, her stomach tightens. She’s so nervous. What she doesn’t realize is that she’s built for this. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Get Climbing
Go: Moonstone Beach, Houda Point, Luffenholtz Beach and Patrick’s Point all have beginner climbing routes. They are all within a 20 minute drive from Arcata. Join: Roots to Rocks is a local women’s climbing group. They meet several times a week to train and travel to local climbing spots on the weekends. Female climbers of […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Carnivore’s Dilemma
From the time I was 5 years old, cold autumn days meant heading up to the hills with my father, his friends and their children. We cut firewood, sat around a campfire, talked — and hunted. When I was 12, I killed my first deer. The experience was both exhilarating and depressing. Over the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Putting the Fun in Fungi
I don’t fish or hunt. I’m not even much of a gardener. But somewhere in my DNA is a link to my hunter-gatherer past. Every August when the blackberries ripen, I succumb to the urge to harvest. Every autumn, I glean our apple tree to convert into crisps and sauce. Then, there is mushrooming. I […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Preferred Guides to Western Mushrooms
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press), 1986 At nearly 1,000 pages this is for the serious mushroom hunter. All That the Rain Promises and More . . . by David Arora (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press), 1991 This pocket guide describes some 200 of the most common Western mushrooms. You will still need […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
More Better Biking
They’re everywhere. Decked out with enough gear to traverse the state. Pedaling in skirts to Farmers’ Market. Powering past you in the forest. That guy you’re passing on the highway, the one covered in so much bicycle gear you almost fail to notice his bulging calf muscles. (But you do!) That woman bouncing down the trail […]