Still one of the most fascinating documentary films I’ve ever seen…

@Northwest I’m familiar with its romantic appeal too. I have lived in the City two different times in my life and they were some of the best years yet!!

I remember hearing as I was growing that the average was typically one person every 2 weeks and that local media had a silent agreement never to report on the suicides and even on the attempted suicides which were survivable jumpers. I’m both sad and glad that the suicide barrier exists. It’s supposedly not a cushy landing on it on purpose so people don’t think about a repeat attempt. But it’s unfortunate there are ways still to use the bridge to end your life. At least it’s no longer the most popular and successful means.

@RunTheJulz Some people say you live only once, I say you live every single day, but you only die once.

But the pain is too much for some people to take and unless they have people who care enough in their lives, then they succumb.

I moved north post school, but still go home to see family/friends.

Glad the media does not report on it. I was wondering why this was the case, but this makes sense.

I prefer the good times. ;-)

@Northwest Yeah they don’t want to give any ideas or incentive for people to jump and they don’t want it to affect tourism among other reasons I’m sure. Glad to see that it’s no longer the most popular spot worldwide to unalive yourself. So sad.

I too loved living in the Pacific Northwest and I return as often as possible. We have some great family friends who moved to areas in the PNW as well as some family who have almost always lived up there. I love it. It’s like no other place on earth. The mixture of creative people in a general area is pretty high too. Enjoy the summertime liquid sunshine. Thank you for sharing and enriching my post. ☺😊

@RunTheJulz We might get a 65 high for the day. Rain should stop by Saturday morning.

Love my adopted city. Green, surrounded by water in every direction, lakes, ocean, sound. Love riding the ferry nowhere :-) Even SCUBA diving in hypothermia-inducing ocean, in the middle of August. :-)

@Northwest It took me about a year to adapt. I trained myself to see the El Niño season rain as more snow in the cascades and I do love snow more than almost anything. I learned that when it rains just do as you would otherwise. I ran in the rain I cycled in the rain. But I did notice that it was something that not everyone could adapt to and handle. Some people are just too sensitive to SAD (seasonal affective disorder/depression). I’m fortunate that wasn’t the case for me. I love the states of Oregon and Washington. I love the cities of Portland and Seattle. I really want to resurrect a failed kayak trip I had planned in the San Juan islands. And I especially love Vancouver British Columbia and the Sea to Sky corridor up to Whistler and the amazing mtn towns because they have a charm that is not found in most of the western states. Plus the charm of the big cities. San Francisco is the only exception for me. Los Angeles could evaporate tomorrow and I don’t think I would miss it one bit. I love the greenness of the PNW and flying into the airports and seeing the medians on the freeways green as can be just has a positive effect on my mood. I loved living in a fairly big city with Portland and being just over an hour away from Mt Hood and if you want to snow sport in summer you can. I love Mt Baker in Washington state it’s probably a tie with Mt. Bachelor in Oregon for my favorite place to slide sideways on snow.
I love that Mt Rainer offers some of the most challenging mountaineering in the entire lower 48 and you can train for Denali in Alaska or even the Himalayas if you’re so inclined. I love the art and the music scenes in the PNW too. I think I need to get a vacation in the PNW soon. I miss it severely and love it dearly. Oh and the restaurants!! Chefs kiss!!

@RunTheJulz That's the icing on the cake: a relatively short drive to BC. Like many Seattleites, I have a place in BC, primarily for the snow season. I hike year round, and I have backpack organized/stocked up to keep me alive for a few days, even in snowy conditions.

You can't live here, if you only do outdoors activities in perfectly sunny weather.

I don't do "mountaineering", primarily because the locals have an elitist attitude, and I just want to have fun. I thought it would be fun to do Baker, but I started getting nauseous toward the top. And then I remembered: it's a live volcano, and these are sulfur fumes.

Tried doing a late June horseback ride over Cascades mountain trails, started mid afternoon, ended 4AM, this is a full moon, cloudless night. I swore off horseback riding. Could not sit down for a couple of days.

And let's not forget the wineries, especially the Willamette Valley!

You should do your San Juans kayaking trip. Did a few this spring. You might even see some Orcas.

@Northwest I’m only focused on snowboard mountaineering. I’m fine with climbing up but I have zero desire to down climb. However I do abide by the tenet “if it’s sketchy to climb it very likely may be too sketchy to ride it” my body can’t handle cliffed out mandatory drops like it used to. But if it “goes” and it “flows” I’m happy to carry that ventral weight of my board. I’ve had 3 different board companies from the state of Washington in my “career” and I don’t see why I would change anything now.
Plus Whistler is Mecca for bike park riding. Nothing else quite like it on the planet (yet).
I hike at Baker with my board because they let you. Not every mountain has that attitude. But all my favorite ones do. Brighton in Utah. Kirkwood in the Sierra Mammoth too. The resorts formerly known as Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley used to… ☹
Gotta watch those gaseous vents. I don’t remember which but one season 5(?) of the ski patrol/mountain operations crew were killed when the wind direction changed and they walked right into a cloud of oxygen displacing volcanic gases and they never saw it coming. The mountains don’t play fair.
Horses are not my strong suit and my back doesn’t like them either lol but I have had some amazing experiences but nothing like yours my friend!! That’s intense!!
Omg I almost mentioned the winery scene too and let’s not forget the home of the micro brewery scene too. I don’t drink beer or wine but I can appreciate what the PNW has going on for a while now.
I have to make that kayak trip before long. I remember riding a ferry from Washington state to Victoria and it was so clear to see that it would be possible to basically island hop and pitch a tent at dusk and then pack up at dawn and hop in the boat to get to the next one. As I got older I started working at a small kayak climbing and mountaineering shop that had an attached guide service and I got familiar with flat water and ocean kayaks but I also learned the hard way that I could carry too much weight for my poor little discs in my lower back. Definitely won’t do that trip solo. Would love to see orcas and seals sea lions etc. I don’t think I would be able to strap a surfboard on the kayak and I don’t think I could make that island hop on a stand up paddleboard but maybe 🤔… nah I’m gonna need a bigger boat lol

@RunTheJulz Never tried snowboarding, and I only go as far up as a gondola or lift take me.

I'm in Whistler year round, but my cycling is strictly recreational.

The Victoria Clipper is a 3-hour trip. They operate one daily round trip. Leaves Seattle 8AM, arriving Victoria 11AM, departs Victoria 5PM, back to Seattle 8PM. They had an incident a few years ago, when a homeless guy boarded the vessel and managed to pilot it to the middle of Elliott Bay. They've since installed locks.

They operate small charter SCUBA boats out of Nanaimo, east Vancouver Island, that run November through February. Sleeps about a dozen people, on floor mats. Sails east out of Nanaimo for a week. You dive as you go. Midnight dives with the snow coming down are out of this world.

I ski Whistler, because I don't have to worry about finding a place to stay, but from my non-professional perspective, the best snow day on Whistler, is an average day ski day in Utah. But in whistler, you can walk into a small Sushi joint, and have the best Sushi you've ever had. In Utah, you're more likely to have food poisoning if you order Sushi.

I don't "drink" wine. I pair wine with food. Donald Trump will run out of lies, before you run out of micro-breweries to visit in Oregon and Washington.

Take it easy on your back ;-) I'm thinking about heading to Hood Canal over the weekend, but the damn tourists LOL.