Beginner’s Guide to… Hiking. Oh, the places you’ll go.

Despite the nearly constant rain of the Pacific Northwest, a hike is almost always a good idea. There are so many trees out there, ones that are beautifully green and ones whose leaves are changing colors as we speak. There are mountains and snow and waterfalls ready to inspire us to take care of the world we live in. The wild deer and the unique birds await for us to...

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Washington group marks half century of hiking, maintaining public routes

On a chilly September morning, a few hundred feet off the popular but deteriorating Talapus Lake Trail near Snoqualmie Pass, Jon Nishimura wielded his shovel and a smile. Few things make him as happy as building and repairing trails. “I just love it,” the Mountlake Terrace resident said during one of his more than 500 outings as a Washington Trails Association volunteer....

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Shovels up! Grooming hiking trails is a good deed and a good workout

While shoveling scoop after scoop filled with rocks, you wonder why anyone pays money to work out. If you want to do some heavy lifting, the good folks at the Washington Trails Association would be thrilled to have you. They’ll put you through the trail-work grinder for free — rain, cold or shine. Twenty-plus volunteers, from kids on up, arrived on a Sunday at Tiger...

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