Gotta love those old Mazama annuals. Full of great content, including some fun ads in the back for different companies, some of which are still around in one form or another…
]]>Return to the Outdoors – Luke Reynolds from TheSnaz DotCom on Vimeo.
Return to the Outdoors is a campaign created by Timex Expedition and the Conservation Alliance in an effort to get people inspired about spending time outside (and spending money on time – ha!). They’ve produced a video series of interviews with some fairly recognizable names in the outdoor world, including Yvon Chouinard, Conrad Anker, and Timmy O’Neill. Directed by David Gonzales and Jimmy Chin, the latest video was probably the most fun to watch, simply because of the opening shots of Luke Reynolds running around Portland. Those first few minutes of footage were all part of my daily stomping grounds when I was working in the Mississippi Avenue district, so it did induce a slight twinge of PNW homesickness… That and a good healthy dose of gratitude for where I’ve been fortunate enough to live and spend time outdoors – both in the Northwest and here in Wyoming. Even if the ultimate pitch is to buy a watch, it’s worth taking a look at these videos and getting amped enough to head outside for a bit.
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I didn’t really participate much, (I’m sure I would have if we’d stayed in the area), but the biggest reason I joined up with to be able to get access to their library. The headquarters of the group is located in the historic Mt. Hood Masonic Lodge out on 43rd and Stark. It’s a pretty cool old building, very much worth just dropping by and checking out. The building has a handful of offices and a large meeting room, and lots of other little rooms tucked around here and there. The library and archives are downstairs, which is where I’d head during my lunch hour just to browse the collection and see what kind of treasures I could find.
Guide books, biographies, historic narratives, trip reports, magazines, movies, maps – it’s all downstairs. Summit registers are archived downstairs as well, with records going back to the first ascents of northwest peaks in the 1800′s. The cool part is that they still have so much stuff that isn’t even shown, but stashed away because there’s just no room. They also archive and display gear of historic or other interest, which is displayed upstairs in a rotating exhibit. There’s still a bit of sadness when I think of all the good stuff in there, and me down here. I did manage to find a lot of bits and pieces that will appear in future posts here though, so I am grateful for the short time I did have to root around downstairs. I also introduced myself to one of the Library Committee archivists, Jeff Thomas, and had offered my help in preserving some of the older format videos and films. I didn’t get a chance to really jump into things with the whole Wyoming move happening, but I did manage to digitize some of their old VHS tapes. I also have a few of the Spring brothers films they didn’t yet have in the collection, so there’s still some communication that will have to happen.
In the meantime, I’ll share some cool maps scanned from a small book that was not in super-good shape, but worth hanging on to, for both its content and visual interest. 
The Olympic peninsula is a pretty unique place, and one that I wish I’d been able to spend more time in. Living on the east side of the Sound for so many years and seeing the summits of Mt. Constance and The Brothers made them a permanent part of my mountain memory. Spending actual time up there has only happened in the form of a Mt. Olympus trip last year, a Boy Scout 50-miler up the north fork of the Quinault River and out the Elwha, and a handful of trips out to the Ozette area up on the western-most tip of the peninsula, but I hope to get back up there from time to time and kick around some more. These maps are not super detailed, but I really liked the minimalist approach and the colors, as well as just being able to connect the maps with locations and photos and memories from past trips. Enjoy.
