It had been a beautiful paddle.

BIGGS — If Hell froze over, it would still be warmer than the Columbia River is mid-winter during high winds. The type of bone-chilling cold that the Gorge can experience is excruciating for those dressed in anything less warm than a recently disemboweled tauntaun.

Some call Montana’s Glacier National Park the Crown Jewel of our national park system. I wouldn’t argue that, but I personally feel that all of our national parks have a crown jewel look, but some have some extra jewels in the crown and Glacier is among those. I don’t have enough fingers and…

Great egret Ardea alba

The nonprofit Volcanic Legacy Community Partnership (VLCP) is recruiting new members to its board of directors to plan projects to promote tourism and the economic vitality of local communities along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. The VLCP is an all-volunteer board, according to a news release.

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK — Crater Lake is a place I’ve visited hundreds of times from a variety of vantages, some along and inside the rim and its caldera walls, some from Wizard Island, and others from tour and research boats while cruising the lake.

MELBOURNE, Fla. — Men may be, but not all worms are created equal. Since Adam named them one by one, mankind has classified and compared animals.

SALEM — Youth hunters age 17 and under can sign up now for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s free pheasant hunts happening around the state in September, according to a news release.

GEARHART WILDERNESS — One Saturday morning in late July, several trucks, horse trailers, two Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) field trucks, and a handful of passenger vehicles convened at the Blue Lake trailhead that leads into the Gearhart Wilderness.

The hike had been pleasant and enjoyable. Following the Pacific Crest Trail north from where it crosses the Dead Indian Memorial Highway toward Brown Mountain is pure pleasure. It’s a section with relatively few elevation variations that ambles through lush pine forests, often alongside towe…

Juniper titmouse Baeolophus ridgwayi

ORLANDO — You don’t need to go to McDonald’s to find the Dollar Menu because dollar sunfish are on the menu for darn near every fish in the southeastern United States.

When John Soares was asked if he would do a hiking book about Redwoods National and State Parks, he didn’t hesitate.

A field trip to see a rare type of cypress tree that grows in Southern Oregon and Northern California will be held on Saturday by the Klamath Basin Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, according to a news release.

We’d only taken a few steps on the trail when I had to stop. An armada of unseen mosquitoes had found me, congregating on my exposed arms to begin drilling for blood.