Comprehensive Car-Free Hiking
We're heading into Labor Day Weekend. That means hiking for a lot folks, so I'm reprising some of the ways that Northwesterners can hit the trail without a car. In my two prior posts on this subject, commenters have offered some terrific advice from around the region and beyond.
First up, a place of honor for Andrew Engleson over at Washington Trails Association. He's on the verge of creating a new blog genre: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail Without a Car (that's the 2,600-mile trail from Mexico to Canada); Hiking the Wonderland Trail Without a Car (that's the 93-mile loop around Mount Rainier); and Biking To a Hike. More please!
Speaking of biking to a hike, the central Puget Sound region is blessed with some pretty good hiking in the Cascade foothills, including the big parks of Cougar Mountain, Tiger Mountain, and Rattlesnake Ridge. These are all more-or-less accessible via bus or by bicycle (check out King County's terrific new regional bike map). I'm not saying it's a snap to get to these places sans vehicle, just that it's possible if you're committed.
Of course if you're truly hardcore, Rick Dubrow points out that you'll want to check out the Self-Propelled Outdoor Club, described here in an article with some ideas for the Vancouver, BC region.
And while we're on Vancouver, my favorite car-free hiking suggestion comes from Michael Newton who writes:
Vancouver's north shore has loads of hiking that's accessible by transit. We've got the advantage of having nothing but wilderness north of the city; if you skirt by Whistler, you could probably head north all the way to the Arctic Ocean without hitting another town! Cypress and Seymour Provincial parks, Lynn Canyon and Lynn Headwaters regional parks, not to mention numerous smaller parks and of course, the Grouse Grind.
You see, that is what I'm talking about. Arctic Ocean or bust! Who's with me?
The Two Faces of Economic Reporting
This just cheeses me off.
Yesterday, the US government released figures showing that GDP grew at an annualized pace of 3.3%. The implicit message: Yippee, we're not in a recession!
The press, of course, ate it up. AP crowed: "The U.S. economy grew in the spring at a 3.3 percent pace. The best gross domestic product results in nearly a year beat Wall Street's expectations." The Voice of America's headline trumpeted: "US Economy Growing at Faster Rate Than Predicted." Even the Canadian press got into the act: "US economy shows vigour in Q2."
But today, the other shoe dropped. Even though GDP was up last quarter, personal income declined in July. Apparently it was the largest drop in three years. So just one day after the press hypes a good news story about how "the economy" is growing, we find out that people are actually poorer!! Talk about whiplash.
There are so many lessons in this little episode...
