 The email said, "I lost my kayak. Got into a situation where I couldn’t roll up (and) got separated from my boat in a rapid....The kayak has my name and phone # written inside, so an honest person can contact me." A week later the kayak hadn't been returned. That precipitated this email exchange about good, evil, and what kayaking adds to life.
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 The weekend forecast was warm so the Mullins Family decided an overnight mountain bike trip on a family favorite (the Wenatchee River Road) was in order. The area beyond the decommissioned road is increasingly pristine and provides a nice sense of seclusion.
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Mid-May is Bike-to-Work Week (May 14 to 19 in 2012). Get ready. Learn rules of the road, safety protocols, and bike maintenance tips. Equally important, get familiar with bike friendly routes around Wenatchee and throughout the Wenatchee Valley.
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 Adam Vognild and Trevor Kostanich, take on the Dakobed Traverse on skis. In early May, they find nearly idyllic conditions on this high route near Glacier Peak. After last year's debacle, they come away from this tour feeling redeemed.
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 This time of year the problem with skiing isn't that there's a shortage of high snow, but that there's a shortage of low snow to access the high snow. Here's a tour that gets you to the snow fast and has a good ratio of skiing to carrying.
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 It’s been on Jamie's hit list for eons. In fact, every time he’s driven the bottom of the Eightmile Road that white gash has been an in-your-face-effrontery that he’s not gotten the job done. Now he’s finally at the other end looking down the Cannon Mountain Couloir and thinking, “Why did I want to do this?”
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 Tom Janisch writes, "We live in such a great area – which is why Lowell Skoog called from Seattle on Friday in search of East-Side corn snow skiing on a weekend when the West Side and the Cascade Crest would have sloppy weather and unconsolidated snow. Lowell suggested skiing the many faces of Earl. "
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 The peaks flanking the Entiat River are the region's most overlooked backcountry skiing destination. That’s good news for those who want the area’s big bowls and long ridges to themselves. Solitude, however, isn't all you'll find on these peaks rising a vertical mile above the valley floor.
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 Mike Lawson describes a hike near Frenchman Coulee and above Echo Basin between Quincy and Vantage (and near the popular rock climbing cliffs). The coulees and cliffs here were sculpted by the Ice Age Floods, making this a particularly interesting route for those interested in geology.
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 We've added a useful feature -- a directory of other online outdoor magazines and forums. Link from our Magazine Module below on the left side to 20 different on-line magazines for climbers, cyclists, conservationists, hikers, paddlers, runners, skiers, and more. Or see an even larger list of publications at the 'Magazines' tab above.
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 In the outdoor world where we often shoulder what we take into the outdoors, the biggest pleasures are sometimes derived from the smallest packages. Here are ten different field-tested products that are small in stature (or weight) but big on benefits. Also weigh-in with some recommendations of your own.
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 In protected, south-facing slopes of the foothills where we sometimes see flowers in early to mid-March, we're just beginning to see the early bloomers like sage buttercups, prairie stars, and salt and pepper. Although behind schedule, the wildflowers are coming and it's a good time to use these resources to bone-up on what's what out there in the foothills.
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 Dry Falls is a geological wonder carved by the Ice Age floods. A waterfall once located here was 400 feet high, 3.5 miles wide, and four times the size of Niagara. Today the waterfall is dry but the coulees left behind are filled with lakes. Fred Stanley describes a fun loop hike here.
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 See a fast-forward/time-lapse video of a year in the life of a trail in Banff National Park. For four minutes you watch deer, elk, black bears, grizzlies, cougars, martins, wolverines, skunks, squirrels,birds, goats (lots of goats), hikers, cross-country skiers, and even a few wolves come and go. There's a lot action you wouldn't expect out there in the wilds. Take a look -- it's a very interesting.
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 Stephan Mitrovich writes, "Finally, some sunshine in the upper valley. A bit chilly but the conditions looked good to get the first flight of the year off Icicle Ridge above Leavenworth. It's a 45-minute hike with 40 pounds of gear to reach the take-off point." Read more and check out the aerial photos.
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 Ancient Lakes is an excellent early season and late season place to hike, mountain bike, and run. Located near Quincy, it’s far enough east to be significantly sunnier and drier than the Wenatchee Valley. The soil is sandy and drains fast even after soaking rains. Here's a fun new loop hike Roger Gervin told us about.
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