Cascades

Floris van Breugel on October 6th, 2018

Fall has arrived! Here in the northwest, that means the blueberry bushes are turning red, the larches gold, and a plethora of other plants are taking on shades of yellow, orange, red, and purple. It also means that the rains have come, bringing with them the mist and wetness that so characterize the northwest. Last …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Enchanted in the Great North Wet

Floris van Breugel on September 12th, 2018

Autumn is coming! The days are getting shorter, there is a crisp snap to the air, and the first rains are blowing in from the Pacific. To celebrate the changing of the seasons, Aubrey and I went out to the White River, east of the Cascades, and paddled the 14 miles of the twists and …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Mini-Alaska ~ Autumn Spawning on the White River

Floris van Breugel on August 7th, 2018

Eighty years ago, a group of four hardy souls from the Ptarmigan Climbing Club (Bill Cox, Calder Bressler, Ray W. Clough, and Tom Myers) set out to discover what lay south of Cascade Pass, and although they (and many subsequent explorers) found out, words can’t do such a place justice. So, last week Aubrey and …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Ptarmigan Traverse ~ 5 days on Cascade Glaciers

Floris van Breugel on September 29th, 2017

Sometimes it’s hard to know what season it is these days. One moment there’s huge fires burning and ash is falling on Seattle, the next day it’s snowing in the mountains before the end of September, and then it’s back to 80 degrees! Well, at some point winter will truly come. In the meantime, here’s …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Shoulder Season in the Cascades

Floris van Breugel on August 17th, 2017

Shortly after Aubrey and I settled into our new home in Seattle, we embarked on our first backpacking adventure in the Cascades since we left the Northwest 3 years ago. I wanted to jump right in, with a trip that really embodied the Northwest experience: crisp alpine lakes, steep vegetated slopes, bushwacking, adventurous route-finding, and …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about The Cascadian Experience

Floris van Breugel on October 12th, 2013

Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered my 2014 calendars through Kickstarter! If you missed out, you can now order on my website: 2014 Calendars ~ ~ ~ Winter has arrived a little early this year, and already the mountains are covered in several feet of snow! Maybe we will be skiing by the end of the …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Early Snow in the Cascades

Floris van Breugel on July 4th, 2013

After “cleaning” Aubrey’s gear on rock climbs for over a year now, I was finally inspired to take a traditional lead climbing course myself. In traditional (aka “trad”) climbing the lead climber places removable protection in cracks in the rock to minimize the extent of a potential fall. Once the leader has climbed one rope …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Liberty – Alpine Bliss in the North Cascades

Floris van Breugel on April 30th, 2013

After a long and dark winter, it’s finally that glorious time of year when the spring wildflowers emerge from their slumber. Together with the sun, they begin in the east, greeting the world with open hearts and smiling faces. This weekend I went out to Wenatchee, on the east side of the cascade range, to …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Spring Rises in the East – Wenatchee Wildflowers

Floris van Breugel on August 27th, 2012

Last week I was finally able to get out and enjoy the mountains for the first time since my trip to the Goat Rocks in July. For this trip Aubrey and I decided to do part of the Alpine Lakes Traverse, which took us past at least 17 named lakes, and countless un-named tarns during …Read the Rest…

Continue reading about Cascade Paradise – 17 Alpine Lakes in 4 Days