The general outdoor industry realized several years ago that women get out and hike, bike, camp and »»]]> (First published in Seattle Times NW Weekend March 18, 2010)

The general outdoor industry realized several years ago that women get out and hike, bike, camp and climb. As a result, gear makers began producing products designed for women.

More recently, the fishing industry realized that women also like to get out and fish and, yes, they want gear that’s fully functional but that also fits them comfortably.

For fly-fishing, especially here in the Northwest, where some of the best fishing occurs during winter steelhead and salmon runs, chest waders are essential. To address the needs of female anglers, Simms designed the Women’s Headwaters waders. While some other “women’s waders” are merely smaller sizes of men’s models, Simms tailored their women-specific waders to the body sizes and shapes of women. They offer 19 different sizes (from Small-short to XXL-tall) of the stocking-foot waders to ensure a good fit for nearly any woman.

The Headwaters utilize three-layer Gore-Tex for the bulk of the waders, with stout five-layer panels on the leg fronts for added durability and protection when working through brush-laden stream banks or rubbing against leg braces in drift boats. Our testers used the Headwaters while searching for steelhead on the ice-laden Methow, and while catching feisty cutthroats in the gin-clear waters of Idaho’s Kelly Creek. Donna reported the waders fit comfortably, with no binding in the legs, without being baggy. Articulated seams around the knees and hips add to the mobility.

A favorite nontechnical feature of the waders was the pass-through fleece-lined pocket high on the chest. This pocket proved valuable for rewarming hands during winter trips. The Women’s Headwaters waders retail for $299. See www.simmsfishing.com.

To help keep their gear handy while wading the rivers, Fishpond offers women the Firefly Fishing Vest. Designed specifically for river-bum women, the Firefly offers an array of features in a lightweight, sleek design. Mesh fabric in the body of the vest keeps the weight down, while broad, padded straps in the shoulders make the vest comfortable and supportive even if the pockets are loaded down with gear and tackle. Multiple zippered pockets swallow fly boxes and spare spools and a deep pocket on the back offers a secure place to store a spare jacket or lunch. The vest is tailored to the female figure to prevent billowing that can get in the way of casting, making this the ideal vest for women who fly-fish. The Firefly runs $139. See www.fishpondusa.com.

Spring in the Northwest can be great for outdoor adventures. Or it can be miserable — cold, »»]]> (First published in Seattle Times NW Weekend March 18, 2010)

Spring in the Northwest can be great for outdoor adventures. Or it can be miserable — cold, wet and windy. In the event of the latter, you’ll want some bombproof bags to carry your gear to warmer, drier climes. Enter Fishpond.

Though designed by and for fly fishermen, Fishpond’s rolling duffel bags are ideal baggage for all outdoor enthusiasts. After my test team and I field tested a wide array of gear duffels for a national magazine, one bag stood out: the Fishpond Rodeo 31 Rolling Duffel. This cargo-carrier swallows all the gear you’ll need for a weeks-long backpacking adventure or a month of day adventures overseas. We toted it to the French Alps, the Escalante region of southern Utah, and out across the Columbia highlands into the rural deserts of Eastern Washington. At 31-inches long, it is sized perfectly for checked baggage — big enough for all your essentials, without going over the size limits for checked luggage.

Currently, I’m hauling it around North Carolina, with a mixed load of paper for an EPA communications conference, and outdoor  gear (used in the later afternoons/evenings so I can stay sane after spending all morning and early afternoon in government policy discussions).

The Rodeo features a spacious main compartment to hold clothes, gear and essentials. That big duffel sits atop a separate bottom compartment, accessed by a heavy-duty zipper around three sides of the bag. That bottom compartment is deep enough to hold ski boots, wet fishing waders and/or muddy hiking boots. Mesh sidewalls line the lower compartment so your wet gear can breathe and dry, rather than mildew and stink. During a trip to Escalante, I stored my full-size backpack, all my clothing and gear into the top, with my boots and tent in the lower. On the way home, the wet and muddy boots and tent traveled all the way home without leaching any moisture into my dry gear in the section above.

Top to bottom, the Rodeo features stout zippers with enormous teeth to ensure there is never a snag or busted tooth. A heavy 100-millimeter wheel assembly proved plenty tough enough for any obstacles we threw at it, from cobblestones in Chamonix to gritty sands in Utah. Stout handles at each end allow you to grab, drag and carry the bag a variety of ways.

The stylish and seemingly indestructible Rodeo 31 Rolling Duffel sells for $349 — not an insignificant sum, but this is a bag capable of serving you through a lifetime of adventures. See www.fishpondusa.com.

It seems spring has arrived early in Western Washington this year, which means we’ll have a longer »»]]> (First published in Seattle Times NW Weekend March 10, 2010)

It seems spring has arrived early in Western Washington this year, which means we’ll have a longer hiking season in the Cascades.

Folks who want to get an early jump on the hiking season need to be prepared for cold, wet conditions. Fortunately, a couple Northwest companies know how to deal with Northwest springs.

Seattle-based REI offers one of the best bets for staying warm and dry during the transition from winter to spring. The outfitter’s newly redesigned Taku series of outerwear delivers an ideal blend of weather protection, comfortable fit and breathability.

The Taku jacket and matching pant utilize both hard shell and soft-shell fabrics in a hybrid design. The use of REI’s proprietary Elements waterproof/breathable fabric in the shoulder yokes and arms blocks even the hardest rain and wet snowfall. Panels of four-way stretch soft-shell material through the underarms and sides of the jacket, and around the knees and hips of the pants, provide great breathability with excellent mobility.

We used the Taku jacket and pants while hiking through ankle-deep snow during a cold rainstorm along Gold Creek Valley near Snoqualmie Pass, and while trekking up the Quinault Trail in the Olympics during a drenching downpour. In both instances, we stayed warm and dry. We also scrambled through fog-shrouded rimrock above the Sun Lakes area of Central Washington and found the Taku gear not only flexed and moved with us during that rigorous activity, but also breathed well enough to prevent sweat buildup.

The Taku jacket, available in men’s and women’s sizes, sells for $209, while the pants — available in several lengths for men and women — sell for $159. More details: www.rei.com.

For more serious snow or cold conditions, Boise-based Core Concepts offers its Powder Play Bib for women. Though the bib is designed for snow, our testers found this a great option for cold, wet spring outings. Made from a four-way stretch soft-shell material, the bib provides great freedom of movement as well as weather protection. The bib section can be zipped off to leave just the high-waisted pants for moderate conditions. Our testers snowshoed around Paradise and scrambled Umtanum Canyon during a wet snowfall wearing these pants. The fit is slim and athletic, and both testers said the bib section is especially snug, making it difficult to wear insulating layers beneath. They suggest buying a size larger than you’d normally wear if you want to layer for colder, true-winter conditions. The bib runs $220 (though on sale recently for $199). See www.coreconceptsoutdoor.com.

Not all, fortunately, but enough to put our fish and wildlife resources in jeopardy.

First, »»]]> Why do Washington’s politicians (of both parties) hate the Department of Fish and Wildlife?

Not all, fortunately, but enough to put our fish and wildlife resources in jeopardy.

First, the legislature slashed the WDFW budget by 30 percent last year. Everything from enforcement to salmon recovery suffered from that budget bashing. Then, this year, the legislature tried to completely dissolve the agency by “merging” it (along with the State Parks Department) into the Department of Natural Resources.

Putting recreation-focused interests under the management of an agency whose core responsibility is resource extraction makes no sense at all. Nor does it make sense to put fish and wildlife management in the hands of a single elected official who has no training in wildlife management issues. Preventing that type of mismanagement is exactly why the voters of Washington put substantial decision making responsibility in the hands of a Fish and Wildlife Commission representing all stakeholders.

Fortunately the public outcry over the proposed merger legislation (Senate Bill 6813) effectively killed the bill (at least the portion pertaining to the dissolution of WDFW). But now, those same bi-partisan legislators who were blocked from axing the department have turned their axes on to the department’s budget.

Last year, the general fund allocations to the department were slashed from $110 million to just $80 million. Now, the backers of the recently killed SB 6813 want to cut upwards of $10.8 million more from the already decimated WDFW budget. That means we’d see nearly 40 percent budget cuts for the department in the last biennium.

According to the Department, these additional cuts will jeopardize future salmon production with the closure of up to 5 hatcheries, impacting Grays Harbor, Coastal and Puget Sound fisheries. In addition, the number of enforcement officers will be reduced and staffing levels for important salmon recovery efforts will be lower. Many department facilities and public lands would be closed, popular lakes wouldn’t get stocked with trout, and youth education efforts would be reduced.

Bottom line: NO other state agency has seen cuts this deep, or this aggressive. The Senate cuts will cripple the Department’s ability to successfully manage our fish and wildlife resources and will have a long-term negative impact on all endangered species recovery efforts in our State.

If you care about public lands, wildlife and fisheries, now is the time to take action. Call, email or write your local state senator and/or representative and tell them you oppose these draconian cuts to our state’s wild resources.

Use this link to contact your elected officials:

In keeping with that »»]]> We’re society on the move. We used portable devices to keep our schedules, make our phone calls, check our emails, and surf the web.

In keeping with that urge to stay in motion, we’ve recently upgraded AdventuresNW.net to be fully mobile-optimized. That means you can read our blog posts on your iPhone or Blackberry with ease. Check it out.

Today, Lindsey Vonn cranked out another win – the third World Cup downhill victory of the season for the Colorado native. She took top honors in »»]]> Lindsey’s back!

Today, Lindsey Vonn cranked out another win – the third World Cup downhill victory of the season for the Colorado native. She took top honors in the downhill event at Haus im Ennstal, Austria. The win today returned her to the  top of the standings in the World Cup Overall Points Race. Vonn now stands 35 points ahead of her nearest competitor, Germany’s Maria Riesch. Riesch took third in today’s event.

With the win today, Vonn shook off the gremlins that have followed her since a nasty tumble last month. That training-run crash resulted in a severely bruised arm (bruised so bad she initially thought it was broken). The arm has been painful, she said, and seemingly slow to heal (though it’s only been a couple weeks — anything but an immediate return to top form is “slow” for this speedster athlete). Vonn has turned in a couple less-than-inspired finishes the last two races since the injury.Today, she said the arm didn’t bother her much. She only felt pain for the first few seconds of the race, then her competitive nature took over.

Vonn said of today’s race, “I really attacked today. It’s a great feeling. Everything is so smooth. I can’t be more happy with my downhill season so far.”

There’s a lot of skiing to do before the Olympic Games, but seeing Lindsey’s return to top form today leads me to believe she’ll join Picabo and the Mahre borthers as one of the all-time great American Olympic ski heroes. I’m hoping to catch up with Vonn early in February before the Vancouver Games begin – the current plans call for the US Team to gather at Mission Ridge for some last minute training before heading north of the border. Hopefully, she’ll add Olympic Gold to her growing list of titles and victories. Stay tuned…..

Fishers, a small predatory mammal, rarely »»]]> Not a creature was stirring, except for the 40 or so fishers being reintroduced to the former habitat in Olympic National Park.,

Fishers, a small predatory mammal, rarely eats fish. These close cousins of martens and weasels are mostly nocturnal hunters of any small critters, including birds and occasionally fish, that live in the forest. Fishers are about the size of large housecats and are natives to the Olympics and Western Cascades. Fishers were valued for their thick, soft pelts so much that  over trapping in the mid to  late 1800s and rampant habitat loss through the first half of the 20th century led to their extinction in Washington.

Fishers were listed as a state-endangered species in 1998 by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission and were designated as a candidate for federal listing in 2004 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act.

One of the new Olympic National Park colonists. Photo by ONP.

As part of a recovery plan developed in the early 2000s, about 45 fishers will be released starting next week in the third and final year of reintroduction of the species to the North Olympic Peninsula. The released fishers were captured in northern British Columbia. The capture and release program is part of in intensive recovery plan involving multiple agencies and public parties. The coalition of parties includes:

• BC Ministry of Environment
• British Columbia Trappers Association
• Conservation Northwest
• Doris Duke Foundation
• Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Forest Service
• Washington Department of Natural Resources
• Washington’s National Park Fund
• Wildlife Conservation Society

The first release of fishers occured two years ago, in December 2007, and the second took place last December.  During each release event, the individual animals are each fitted with a small radio transmitter so biologists may track and monitor their movements.  Of the  49 fishers released in the last two years, only 22 are still monitored.  Only 15 of the missing fishes are confirmed dead. Others have somehow ditched their transmitters and other radios may have simply stopped working.

Despite the loss of monitoring opportunites for more than half the fishers, there are signs of hope for a population recovery. Biologists did find three birthing dens last summer with several kits in them.  The goal of the three-year reintroduction program is to create a sustainable population of  100 or more fishers.