My North Cascades Story - By Don Portman

By Don Portman
President, Methow Valley Sport Trails Association
Owner, Methow Valley Ski School

I wake up everyday with a sense of joy and excitement. I know that soon I'll be experiencing first hand the exceptional beauty and wonder of the North Cascades. I'm never quite sure what the day's adventure will be but I am sure that it will be up-lifting. Summer could find me hiking a high mountain trail, biking along a free flowing river or paddling around a scenic and peaceful lake. Winter could be skating on perfectly groomed trails or making turns in an alpine bowl.

For over thirty years, my wife Sally and I have been living the dream here in the Methow Valley. We came to establish a cross country ski program and to live a simple life revolving around the outdoors. Although we've been wilderness rangers, climbing and hiking guides, river guides and ski guides over the last three decades, our sense of freshness, wonder and awe of the surrounding North Cascades never fades. But we have come to love yet another facet of this great place - sharing it with others. To see people biking a trail that I built, to teach someone to ski or just provide directions to a great hike is enormously satisfying. And I get to do that almost every day.