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Where to hike this weekend:
Lower South Fork Skokomish River
It was yet another awful week in the news — I think all of us could use a break. One fantastic way to clear your head is to get outside for a hike.
If you’re thinking: but it’s November!–think again. There are plenty of fantastic low-elevation hikes across the Pacific Northwest that are open year round. Just pack some rain gear (and the ten essentials) and get out there!
If you live in western Washington, you should check out this week’s Get Outside! column at Cascadia Magazine by hiking expert Craig Romano. His selection this week is the Lower South Fork Skokomish River trail on the Olympic Peninsula. Read the article here.
It’s a moderate-difficulty hike that meanders through old growth forests of Douglas-fir and big leaf maples. You’ll have great views of the river and a good chance of spotting Roosevelt elk.
Read the full hike description with driving directions online here.
And if you find these hiking guides helpful, please consider becoming a supporting reader of Cascadia Daily and Cascadia Magazine. You can make a contribution at our donate page. If you’re already one of our supporting readers, thank you!
Cascadia Magazine original: This Was the River
British Columbia poet John Pass reflects on the Fraser River near Lillooet in “This Was the River,” now online at Cascadia Magazine:
“..Pine
root and cacti are hugging the clay-banks
and sluices. Bunch-grass. Bird’s nest
in a small tree’s last gold
leaves…”
Read the full poem online here.
WA & OR attorneys general urge continued Mueller investigation
According to OPB the attorneys general of Washington and Oregon called on acting US attorney general Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Election. Meanwhile, protestors took to the streets of Seattle and Portland to insist that the investigation continue. In related news, an Oregon immigrant rights organization announced it will file suit to challenge the Trump administration’s new policy of denying asylum to refugees. For more on the women attorneys helping WA attorney general Bob Ferguson fight the Trump administration’s policies on immigration, read this feature at Cascadia Magazine.
Party leaders in BC debate proportional representation
At CBC, you can watch the debate on British Columbia’s election on proportional representation between premier John Horgan of the NDP and Andrew Wilkinson of the Liberal party. Meanwhile, environmentalist David Suzuki writes for the Vancouver Sun in favor of pro-rep, saying it will increase the diversity of voices in BC’s legislature.
Will Portland mayor get power to dictate protests?
OPB reports on a controversial proposal by Portland mayor Ted Wheeler to dictate the location and length of protests in the city. Wheeler is reacting to a spate of violent protests between white nationalists and anti-fascists, but civil rights activists are wary of the proposal. Willamette Week has a great profile of Portland police chief Danielle Outlaw, who came to the Rose City one year ago — and though she was seen as a reformer, is now in the thick of controversy over reaction to protests.
Washington poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna on migrant caravan
Washington state poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna, who came to the United States as a refugee fleeing El Salvador’s civil war as a youth in 1981, reflects in an essay for the Seattle Times on how conservative media is distorting what the migrant caravan from Central America actually is: families who are desperate. “I am no different from them, and by extension I know that among them are future professors and doctors like my Honduran friends, who arrived in the U.S. at roughly the same age I did.”
Pacific NW Booksellers and Vancouver Book Award shortlists
The shortlist for the 2018 Vancouver Book Awards were announced this week, and three of the four authors have published recent pieces at Cascadia Magazine: Travis Lupick, Rachel Rose, and Chelene Knight. Also honored was Erin Moore. And the 2019 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award shortlist was also announced — among those honored are Leah Dieterich, Esi Edugyan, Nicola Griffith, and Ijeoma Oluo. Congrats to all!
On being a Jew in Seattle
Over at Crosscut, Michael Podlasek Kent writes an essay in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on what it means to be Jewish in Seattle–where being a Jew is often seen as simply a religion. “My wish is for us Jews — right now, in modern America — to be seen as a people first, a people with a religion, but a people first and foremost, who can live freely as Jews without being compelled to erase our peoplehood…”
That’s this evening’s selection of news, arts and culture from across the Cascadia bioregion. Have a lovely and peaceful weekend! –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: Seattle protest in support of Mueller investigation courtesy of Pascha Scott