About the Author
Over the past months I’ve given you some sense of my book “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” but, what about me?
Who am I? Why should you listen to me?
I’m Tim Paschal. I grew up in, around and about the Olympic Mountains and therein, Olympic National Park. I was born and raised in Bremerton about sixty miles southeast of the Olympic Peninsula. At age eleven I took my first hike. That singular experience left me with a longing to return to the grandeur that is the Olympic Wilderness. I’ve been captive of those mountains ever since.
Over the course of my life
I’ve day-hiked, backpacked, cross-country skied, climbed and snow-shoed these mountains. I spent fifteen years as a volunteer at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles. I’m committed to helping others gain a better understanding and therein a greater enjoyment and appreciation of the Olympic Mountains. As a means to that end, I have written “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” for hikers and backpackers.
Because I’ve had this close and endearing relationship with this wonderful place throughout my life,
I believe that my trove of hard-won and hard-earned experience can save you time, money and heartache. Furthermore, I intend to tease your sense of exploration by pointing out the less obvious and help you better understand your chosen venture. From time to time, I’ll underscore my advice with tales from the trails of my experience.
I’ll do my best to fill your wilderness prescription
as I did each week at the Visitor Center. However, since I can’t speak with you in person, I’ll describe a range of experiences that could be characterized with labels from easy to extreme and let you identify the size, shape and fit that suits your interest and developing capacities. Along the way I’ll describe some of the challenges and joys awaiting you.
Why have I written this Book?
There are a lot of experiences in life, each with its own learning curve. Mine, in some instances, has been perilously steep. Hopefully, the information and insights I’ve compiled in this book will have a positive effect on how you approach venturing into the Olympic Wilderness. Your exposure to the wilderness will test your endurance, resourcefulness, commitment to others and, in numerous ways, your belief in yourself. What you learn from your experience will be reflected in how you approach future challenges throughout your life.
It can happen to you.
I walked into the forest and it gently began to change my outlook on many levels. The transition that began so slowly on that first hike emerged as an emotional and attitudinal force. It took root in my youth building to a constant throughout the rest of my life. From that day in 1958 to the present, I owe who I am and what I’ve become to the beauty, expanse, challenges and hardships of the Olympic Mountains. Little did I know that a weekend, under the pain and strain of my Trapper Nelson would be the first of innumerable wilderness experiences that would test, refine and mold both my body and my mind.
All of the past articles beginning with March are accessible. Click here to visit the Archive page. Additionally, if you’re interested in what’s coming next, here they are:
June 1: “The Book enhances your Loop Hike experience”
June 15: “Rejoice in the Meadows”
July 1: “The Book is static, but the Wilderness is forever dynamic”
Visit LoopHikes.com frequently. Photos, information and stories change periodically, but sharing information with you comes first. Questions? Contact me at LoopHikes@olympus.net. Your curiosity is the foundation of building a better understanding. Tell your friends.
The book is coming in August 2023