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Blog

Channelled Scablands

The Last Days in the Rain Shadow

forest
Dec 3, 2013Elissa Kobrin

The weight of a winter storm has whisked away the opportunity to further my exploration of the Methow Valley for another season. The fragile thread of concrete …
Read More of The Last Days in the Rain Shadow

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Recent Articles

  • Guardians of Life: Vancouver Island Rebuilding Indigenous Sovereignty
  • “The Earth Said Remember Me” by Jason Dove Mark
  • Leave No Trace in the North Cascades: Protecting a Wild Place During Peak Adventure Season
  • Spring 2026 Field Programs Highlights
  • Spring 2026 Mountain School Highlights

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ncascades

Inspiring environmental stewardship through education, exploration and connection since 1986.
⬇️ 🌲Help youth Take Root & Rise - DONATE TODAY🌲 ⬇️

As the sun sets on glacier-carved peaks of the Nor As the sun sets on glacier-carved peaks of the North Cascades, a new dimension of this wild landscape comes to life under starry skies.

On Sept 11-13, join photographer Kuria Jorissen to explore some easily accessible parts of North Cascades National Park and enjoy hands-on learning under the night sky—truly the best way to learn astrophotography. 

This workshop is designed to welcome participants and photographers of all levels! 

📆 : Sept. 11th - 13th, 2026
📍 : North Cascades National Park
🥾 : easy hiking/accessible trails
💲 : $2,295

There are only 6 spots left, so act fast! Register today: https://bit.ly/3Rn2213

images by Kuria Jorissen @callofthemountainsart
Happy National Friendship Day! (Well last Sunday., Happy National Friendship Day! (Well last Sunday., August 2) Better late than never. 

With Washington summer in full swing, it’s a great time to get outside with a friend/s to enjoy all the physical, emotional and social benefits.

👯‍♀️ Spending time with friends can help prevent loneliness and isolation. Socializing also exercises the brain, which can help keep thinking and memory sharp.

👯‍♀️ Being outside and with other people is a double whammy of awesomeness! Spending time with people strengthens emotional connections and bonds  and being in fresh air can boost oxygen levels in the brain, which can increase serotonin levels and alter your mood. Hooray for happiness!

👯‍♀️ Spending time with friends can give people a sense of belonging and doing that outside provides people chance to connect with both the land and their community. 

👯‍♀️ TLDR: And you can take cool friend photos when you’re out adventuring to look fondly back on. 

Tag a friend you want to spend time outside with
Are these tiny Truffula trees for the Dr. Seuss bo Are these tiny Truffula trees for the Dr. Seuss book, “The Lorax”? Yes! Jk, we wish! They are actually pasqueflower.

🪻Pulsatilla occidentalis, white pasqueflower, western pasqueflower or western anemone is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. 

🪻 Native to Western states like Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Montana, it is found growing in gravelly soils on slopes and in moist meadows. 

🪻 Its large, showy flowers can be white or slightly purple-tinged and bloom from May to September. They can be important early spring good source to many types of pollinators. 

🪻 The flower is followed by a silky, plumed seedhead and wind helps to disperse the seeds. 

🪻 Western pasqueflower when fresh can be toxic especially to domestic animals if eaten in large quantities and should not be eaten by humans. 

🪻 Once the plant is dried and compounds break down it can be used medicinally. It is used traditionally by Indigenous people as analgesics, sedatives and for anxiety. 

Have you seen pasqueflower before? Leave a 🪻 in the comments.
📆 Weekend for All is just 4 weeks away! This wee 📆 Weekend for All is just 4 weeks away! 

This weekend retreat creates space to gather in community, spend time outdoors, and engage in conversations grounded in care, connection, and shared experience. 

Program highlights include:
🌲 3 days, 2 nights at the Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake, in the heart of North Cascades National Park
🌲 Welcoming people of color and partner organizations
🌲 Relaxed, flexible schedule with optional, drop-in activities
🌲 Opportunities for hiking, canoeing, art, and environmental learning
🌲 Lodging, meals and activities included

👉 REGISTER TODAY at https://ncascades.org/retreats/weekend-for-all-2026 and TAG A FRIEND in the comments share this program!
How do you respond to a landscape shaped by fire? How do you respond to a landscape shaped by fire?

Join acclaimed Methow Valley writer and artist Sarah Gilman on September 5 for a unique field excursion exploring environmental change through poetry and illustration.

After learning the basics of illustrated poetry at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, we’ll visit the edges of the 2015 Goodell Fire and the 2023 Sourdough Fire to witness how forests recover over time. Along the way, we’ll sketch, photograph, observe, and write—gathering inspiration from landscapes that tell stories of loss, resilience, and renewal.

Back in the classroom, Sarah will guide participants in transforming their field notes and observations into an original illustrated poem. No advanced art or writing experience is required—just curiosity and a willingness to see the landscape in a new way.

🍂 September 5

📍North Cascades Environmental Learning Center

🎟️ Learn more and register: https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/wild-and-fire-illustrating-poetry-about-our-dynamic-landscapes

[all images by @hiddendrawerdesigns/Sarah Gilman]
“Nice marmot.” ~ The Dude ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🐿️ Marmots are “Nice marmot.” ~ The Dude
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🐿️ Marmots are the heaviest member of the squirrel family. They typically live in burrows and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🐿️ Their populations in the Cascades have seen a more than 50% decrease in the last 10 years. With variable snow fall, marmots are more susceptible to predators, like coyotes who make their way into the alpine and compete with alpine species like wolverine, lynx and wolves for food. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🐿️ Marmot studies in the Cascades use remote trail cameras and community science scat surveys to identify the carnivores and what they have been eating. These studies will help scientists better understand the decline in marmot populations and also how carnivore populations are changing in response. 
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#savethewhistlepigs⠀⠀
We are grateful to @wwu.tro for hosting this wonde We are grateful to @wwu.tro for hosting this wonderful community gathering on July 18 at the Lhaq ’temish-ew’xw ets’e Xwlemi’ - House of Healing. As part of the Nature of Writing Summer Series, Lummi Nation member Free Borsey and North Cascades Institute youth ambassador Abi Schenken joined acclaimed photographer Kiliii Yüyan to discuss themes from his new book "Guardians of Life." The conversation reflected on the importance of affirming the sovereign rights of Indigenous peoples to care for their ancestral lands and waters as we work together to protect and sustain life on planet Earth for all. 

To hear about more community events like this, follow @settingsuncircle , @ncascades and @village_books
July is Disability Pride Month and this Sunday (Ju July is Disability Pride Month and this Sunday (July 26) is the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Existing as a disabled person in an ableist society can be difficult, but finding allies, building in accessibility and advocating for universal access in the outdoors and all public spaces benefits everyone. 

Visiting the North Cascdes? Check out these accessible trails:

🥾 Trail of the Cedars- Less than a mile round trip through old growth cedars. Some uneven ground. 

🥾 Washington Pass overlook- 1.0 mile round trip. Paved/gravel

🥾 Happy Creek Forest walk- .03 mile loop through old growth forest, mostly a boardwalk.
It’s summer time and black bears are out searching It’s summer time and black bears are out searching for food which means a bear encounter on the trail is “beary”possible. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀​​​​​​​​​⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Tips for avoiding bear encounters & what to do if you do meet a bear on the trail. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🐻 Hike in groups & stay together ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🐻 Keep dogs on a leash or leave them at home ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🐻 Make noise especially in thick cover or around corners ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

🐻 Do not store food in your tent and keep a clean camp ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🐻 If you encounter a bear, Do not run. Back away slowly in the opposite direction & wait for the bear to leave ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🐻 If you encounter a bear stay calm, clap your hands and say, “hey bear” so you can identify yourself as human ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Bear in mind these are just a few helpful tips & encourage more research before heading out into bear country. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What other tips do you have, add them in the comments? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🎥: @christinewloberg 
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