Stumptown Skiing
Whenever a good snow storm is predicted for Portland, Win Goodbody and his friends plan to meet at Powell's Books for an impromptu Norwegian ski race through the streets of northwest Portland.
Snowcat Sculpting
Ever wonder how those cool terrain parks get the shapes that allow snowboarders to execute spectacular jumps and death-defying flips? They're the meticulous work of Mt. Bachelor's skilled team of snowcat operators. We ride along to see how it's done.
Queen Bees
In a multi-year experiment two beekeepers attempt to breed stronger bees, capable of surviving winter in Portland. Tim Wessels & Glen Andresen were tired of having to import bees from California and Hawaii to replenish their hives. We follow them for a year during which their colonies get slammed by a brutally cold winter.
Urban Youth & the Zen of Fly-fishing
U.S. Navy veteran Chad Brown deals with his PTSD through fly-fishing. Now he's bringing the art of fly-fishing to urban youth who lack access to nature and have their own issues to deal with.
Zombie Survival Camp
Some kids would rather play video games and battle zombies than play in nature. But "Trackers Earth" has crafted a way to teach kids essential outdoors skills while feeding their desire to battle zombies! Zombie Survival Camp is a fun role-playing camp that gives kids exposure to the natural world while teaching them how to avoid the hordes of flesh-eating zombies unleashed during the apocalypse.
Glide Wildflower Show
For nearly 50 years, residents of tiny Glide, Oregon (population 2,000, near Roseburg) have been collecting and showing their favorite wildflowers. We follow the collection, identification, display set-up, and show of Oregon's loveliest wildflowers.
Sandhill Cranes
One group of sandhill cranes skips the long migration to California and spends winter at Sauvie Island, near Portland. In summer, they head only to British Columbia, while other populations venture farther north to Alaska. This information was gleaned by researcher Gary Ivey after he put satellite trackers on the legs of cranes in Oregon and again in Alaska.
Working Goats
We tag along with shepherdess Briana Murphy as she wields her herd of brush-eating goats from the sublime vineyards of the Willamette Valley to the industrial wastelands of NE Portland.
Tim Palmer: On Oregon's Rivers
Tim Palmer has written 22 guidebooks to nature, rivers, and wild places. We joined him for some paddling to get his thoughts on the river life and why Oregon has access to some of the best rivers in the west.
Sage Grouse
Sage grouse, a desert bird that depends on sagebrush, has been in decline. The US government may add it to the endangered species list. Ranchers fear the grouse could become their spotted owl, restricting use of western lands. A number of groups are adopting conservation measures in hopes it will be enough to stop the listing as endangered.
Discovery on Mount St. Helens
An expedition into the crater of Mount Saint Helens in search of a glacier cave system that has never before been entered.
Wilderness Healing
An Oregon photographer who was just 8-years-old when the Wilderness Act passed celebrates 50 years of protecting public lands in a most personal way. Peter Marbach not only seeks out wilderness for his nature photography but he says it was vital to his own healing from emergency heart surgery. His favorite spot is an alpine meadow off tail and high above timberline on Mount Hood.
Crystal Springs Restoration
In the early 2000s we visited Portland's Reed College campus to look at what was then the beginning of an effort to bring salmon back to an urban stream. We returned this past summer to see how things have turned out. We find an urban creek that's now home to river otters, brook lamprey, steelhead and salmon.
Tsunami Anniversary
The March 27, 1964 "Good Friday" earthquake rocked Southcentral Alaska with 5 minutes of shaking. The magnitude 9.2 earthquake left communities in ruins and triggered a tsunami that traveled south at over 500 mph towards Oregon. When the tsunami struck Oregon and California hours later, it destroyed homes, flooded communities and killed 11 people. It remains the largest tsunami in U.S history.
Wilderness Medics
The Reach and Treat Team trains every month to take professional paramedic skills into the wild. AMR provides advanced life support in the wilderness when medics join in rescues in the snow, dangling from ropes and in rushing rivers.
Reflections of Summer: Behind the Scenes: Waterfall Kayaking
Kayakers say that the only way to see the depths of the Salmon River Gorge is to learn how to kayak over 50-80 foot waterfalls. So how did the Field Guide crew get it all on video? We share the behind-the-scenes story of bushwhacking, rappelling, waiting and chasing as we struggle to capture a rare adventure beyond the trails end.
Summer Ski Camp
Mt Hood, Oregon has the distinction of being the only place in North America that can offer skiers the opportunity to train year-round. One camp - Mt Hood Summer Ski Camps - has been training tomorrow's stars of snow sports since the 1970s. We check in with the latest group of up-and-coming "campers" as they hone their skills on the summer slopes.
Waterfall Kayaking
The Salmon River gorge near Mount Hood thunders with the sound of waterfalls ranging from 10 feet to over 80 feet high. But they are impossible to visit by foot. We join a group of daring kayakers who embrace the thrill of kayaking over waterfalls in order to visit a spectacular canyon that can't be seen any other way.
Lizard Field School
Student biologists learn the how-to's of wildlife research by studying the life and death of lizards in Oregon's Alvord desert. For 15 years Dr. Roger Anderson has been leading students on a three-week immersion into lizard ecology and behavior. Students cope with the primitive conditions of life in a desert encampment while enduring the blazing sun and harsh desert conditions.
Butterfly Watching
Nature photographer Chris Carvalho used to collect butterflies. Now he just collects images of them. Going on a hike with him often doesn't end up covering much ground as butterflies easily distract him. His macro photography reveals a world of colorful wings and complex camouflage.
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