James Brady

Mt. Hverfjall (Hverfell) is an old tephra crater that is estimated to be 2500 years old. The crater is about 1 km in diameter and 400 feet deep. Hikers can hike to the top via two marked routes which are easily identifiable. Travel to and from the crater rim is strictly limited to these two routes.  Once you reach the rim, you can continue along a marked trail that that goes about two-thirds of...

Enter Mount Rainier National Park via the Nisqually Entrance outside of Ashford. Drive past Longmire and continue heading up towards Paradise. Parking for this trip can be found at Narada Falls. From the Narada Falls parking lot you will head up to the closed for the winter portion of Stevens Canyon Road on the hill above the parking area. You will likely see some tracks going up the steep fac...

Skiers or snowshoers looking to explore this route should park in the uppermost parking area at the Alpental ski area. This lot is past the main parking lot for the ski area. After getting your gear on, you can proceed down the groomed access run heading northwest out of the parking area. This run services some of the Alpental off-piste terrain but also serves as an access route to get to some ...

If you are looking to see numerous waterfalls without going too far off of the beaten path, the Dead River Falls are for you. Located just a few minutes outside of Marquette, the falls are situated along a half-mile stretch in which the Dead River drops over 90 feet. Several of the falls along this stretch drop over 15 feet.The trailhead to the falls is located behind a powerhouse on Forestvill...

Approximately 11 miles east of Granite Falls, WA, on the Mt. Loop Highway,  turn onto Forest Service road 41 and follow this road for 18.0 miles to the trailhead. The road is quite rough and it is recommended you have a four-wheel drive vehicle. There is a washout about halfway along the road, and many drivers stop here and hike or bike the rest of the way to the trailhead. The trailhead sign i...

If coming from Michigan, take the ferry to Isle Royale from Copper Harbor. After a three-hour journey you will arrive at the park via the dock in Rock Harbor around lunchtime. After registering at the park office you can set off on a great 7-mile hike to Lane Cove, which is well marked. This hike is a great exposure to the island, taking backpackers along the shoreline of Tobin Harbor, through ...

The area around Kendall Knob is great for snowshoeing or ski touring. It is particularly nice for ski touring because there are a variety of short tours at varying difficulty and on varying aspects. Skiers or those on snowshoe can begin their trip at the PCT trailhead near the Commonwealth Campground. The lot is not plowed in the winter so you should look to park just down the road in the parki...

The best place to start a kayak tour of the main section of cliffs along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is Miners Beach, located just outside of Munising. Miners Beach features a good size parking lot, along with a beautiful sandy beach that serves as a great launching point within sight of the 200-foot cliffs.As you paddle, you can take in the remarkably clear waters of Lake Superior an...

The Sand Bench Trail is a loop trail and starts at the Court of the Patriarchs shuttle stop. The trail makes a loop which is approximately 3.6 miles long. The trail can be accessed across the road from the shuttle stop. Look for a water tank and bridge crossing the Virgin River. Although often overlooked, the Sand Bench Trail is a great hike for several reasons. Firstly, the trail gains only 5...