Opinion
PAT NEAL: The legend of the paper salmon
AS GOODWILL AMBASSADORS of the tourist industry, it is our civic duty to share our precious local knowledge…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Firewood fever is catching
WITH THE RECENT spell of rainy weather, firewood fever has hit the land. It’s time to cut firewood…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A friend of the salmon
BEING A GUIDE on the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula calls for more than just a big hat,…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The perils of fire season
EVERY YEAR ABOUT this time, people who live in the woods start to get a little nervous.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The joy of camping
IT’S THE SIMPLE things that I enjoy most about camping, like the smell of burning driftwood and watching…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The Fish Cop Employment Security Act
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news. The 2024-25 Washington state fishing regulations came out.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Salmon berry season
Salmon berry season marks the beginning of the berry picker’s year.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Sweet backpacking bliss
IT WAS GOING to be one of those days. From the dawn’s early light to the twilight’s last…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Baiting the tourists
FROM THE ACIDIFIED ocean to the melting glaciers, the Olympic Peninsula has seen an unprecedented invasion of tourists…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The bears are awake
“WHERE CAN I see a bear?” the frantic tourist asked. This is a common question among the seasonal…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A bad bunch of bugs
IT IS DAYLIGHT in the swamp. The faint cooing of the band tailed pigeon ushers in the dawn…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Sasquatch Days are here
IT’S TIME ONCE again for the third annual Sasquatch Days in Forks this Memorial Day weekend from May…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The story of ‘Lightning Boldt’
“LIGHTNING BOLDT,” IS a biography of Judge George H. Boldt by John C. Hughes, Chief Historian for the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The best Mother’s Day present
MOTHER’S DAY IS coming up. I had a great mother. I know because I am not writing this…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The best Arbor Day ever
HOW WAS YOUR Arbor Day? Traditionally celebrated on the last Friday in April, Arbor Day is probably the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The first salmon
THE BLOOMING OF the salmonberries marks a change in the season. In the old days, these blossoms signaled…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Spill some salmon here
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news. The bad news was the loss of 25,525 salmon smolts…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The daylight digs
THE END OF steelhead fishing season was the day my universe came crashing down. I remember it like…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Twilight forever and ever
THERE’S A DISTURBING trend in modern journalism for reporters to use fleeting celebrity references as an excuse for…