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Home > Cascadia

Explore Cascadia

Travel Writing from Oregon to Alaska

A thin band of emerald green forests, rivers and temperate islands extend up from the far north of California to the coastal fjords of Alaska. Three of the world's most promising cities: Portland, Seattle and Vancouver punctuate the green with a unique Cascadian culture.

This common culture is a compelling mix of green economy, tolerance and love for the big open, the local and the wild. As this is my adopted home, I pursue the idea of Cascadia by visiting its far-flung fringes.

  • Cispus Basin in the Goat Rocks Wilderness

    Who Belongs in the Cispus Basin?

    On a backpacking trip to southwestern Washington's Goat Rock Wilderness, I wonder about traditional wilderness archetypes.
  • Dark Divide Roadless Area

    Firelight in the Dark Divide

    A backpacking trip to the solitary wilderness in southwestern Washington feeds my love of campfires.
  • Gifford-Pinchot Wilderness

    My Rescue in the Gifford-Pinchot Wilderness

    Late summer backpacking in a Southwest Washington national forest ends in my terrifying rescue. Includes an interview with rescuer Lauren Dawkins.
  • Redwood Coast

    Rum-drinking Demons of the Redwood Coast

    On a road trip to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, I compare Oregonian and Californian views on public lands.
  • Sauvie Island Saucer

    The Ark Saucer of Sauvie Island

    On a quiet stretch of Columbia River beach, an unexpected ark sends us to discover the life of the maverick inventor who built it.
  • Shi Shi Beach Trail

    Shi Shi Beach Trail

    On a backpacking trip to the Olympic Peninsula's rugged Pacific coast, I explore four possible future scenarios for rural coastal areas.
  • Jefferson Park Wilderness

    Jefferson Park Wilderness

    Thoughts on rough roads, carefree trails and backcountry science in Oregon's Jefferson Park.
  • Bandon to Port Orford

    Crossing the
    Sixes River

    Hiking the Oregon Coast from Bandon to Port Orford: Snowy Plovers, hipsters and cops.
  • Clatsop County

    Clatsop County
    Road Trip

    On the Oregon coast, I write about my dearest subject: perpetual road travel.
  • Portland, Oregon: Bluegrass in Cascadia

    Portland: Bluegrass in Cascadia

    Notes on traveling to Portland, Oregon, laidback capital of Cascadia -- before I moved there.
  • Pelagic bird trip

    Xantu's Abyss

    With a group of pelagic birders and a grumpy sea captain, I pursue a rare treasure.
  • Zumwalt Prairie

    Thunder on the
    Zumwalt Prairie

    Frozen rattlesnakes and wolf politics in the fabled setting of the Zumwalt Prairie.
  • Clayoquot Sound

    Balancing
    Clayoquot Sound

    Notes from Tofino, Vancouver Island on the stunning and isolated Clayoquot Sound.
  • Hood River Valley

    Shades of the Hood River Valley

    Color and camoflage in nature, from the Hood River Valley area of Oregon.
  • Neah Bay

    The Artist and the Whale Hunter

    An interview with a native artist on the whaling controversies and life in Neah Bay.
  • Umpqua Dunes

    Umpqua Dunes
    Genesis

    I travel to the Umpqua Dunes in pursuit of the answers of a mysterious stone tool.
  • Nehalem Valley

    Foraging Nehalem Valley

    Glowing Mushrooms, deer-meat, stone and a Portland underworld of old ways.
  • River Civilization

    River Civilization

    The Oregon Hotel is old, rickety and delightful, and in the geographic center of Oregon.
  • Beringia

    Midnight Road to Beringia

    Native migrations to the Americas, tundra, gyrfalcons and summertime on the Bering Sea.
  • Oregon Sketches

    Oregon Sketch
    Journal

    Field sketches and illustrations from my travels in the state of Oregon.
  • Perpetua Seabank

    Birdwatching the
    Perpetua Sea Bank

    Travels by boat with a group of birdwatchers in pursuit of rare pelagic birds.
Notes from the Road

A beacon of light on the darker roads of travel.

© 2025 Erik Gauger. All text, photographs, illustrations, sketches and design created by the author. CSS responsive web design by Hans Gauger.