“I PASSED!!!” Mary Miller shared these triumphant words in an Instagram post last year, declaring her newfound status as a level one sommelier with a level two award—the latest in her long list of achievements, adventures, and reinventions. At age 66, her story is one of an unyielding spirit hungering for life’s richness and a willingness to take risks in the pursuit of joy.

Mary’s appetite for knowledge began early in life. She...

Mountain towns and their tenders sit in an air of resilience. Like weathered pine bark, the hands that tune bikes or tilt tap handles also hold memories of frostbite and countless situations that called for “just hanging on for one more mile.”

Kim and Nick Hardin, the proprietors of KickStand Coffee & Kitchen in Hood River, Oregon, exude every bit of that wind-kissed character. They spill perennial suds in their quaint riverside...

Brecken Stockmar grew up with a 20-acre forest in his backyard, an experience which solidified the natural world as a consistent source of inspiration for his pottery. His years spent playing in the woods of Bellingham, Washington, were nothing short of formative. Sharing space and time amidst the magical expanse of trees, ferns, and fungi led to Brecken developing a deep respect for the land—a reverence that he expresses through artistic...

The bicycle I ride most often is my father’s old mountain bike: a Bridgestone Trailblazer MB-4. He bought it new some thirty-odd years ago and has let me ride it for the past 10. It’s a steel bike—rusty in places but with solid bones—and admired by cycling buffs around town for its place in mountain bike history. Last spring, I took it to The Hub Community Bike Shop in Bellingham, Washington for a tune-up and some modest upgrades. The...

Growing up in the coastal city of Auckland, New Zealand, Matty Harris frothed to be outdoors and on his bike. The terrain was minimal—a mere 30 meters of elevation separates town from its surrounding sandy-dirt forests—but it was enough to catch the bug for riding.

Big descents were nowhere to be found for Harris and his buddies, so instead they practiced corners by drifting sideways through slippery pine needles. Before long, his...

In March 2020, Emily Mallos stepped into a new role at Kulshan Brewing and was tasked with overseeing numerous events the Bellingham brewery had planned. Just a few weeks later, the world mostly shut down. Now, having weathered the pandemic and expanded into three unique locations, Kulshan is rolling into one of its busiest years yet. Read on for a conversation between Emily and Craft MTN.

This interview has been edited for...

On a rainy Saturday in Portland, Oregon’s Central Eastside, runners from Stumprunners, Runaway Club, and Deadstock Run Club gather at a local coffee shop for a group run hosted by the running collective, Jacuzzi Boys. It’s a large turnout—at least three dozen and there’s a demonstration by running shoe company Hoka happening too. The group is diverse and dynamic; it’s clear some runners are having new experiences with this crew.

“...

Leigh Woody first became intrigued by wood carving when she decided to build her friend Vesper a house. She had no prior experience.

But as someone with an artistic knack and all-around crafty persona, she figured it wouldn’t be too difficult. A week later, Vesper, a squirrel, moved gleefully into her freshly carved cedar abode, complete with an Ent-like leafy figure carved on the inside.

That was six years ago. During the...

What makes a temperate rainforest? Ferns, firs and moss, surely. The smell of wet cedar and tacky dirt; the quintessential drizzle, the suffocating fog, light refracting through old man’s beard.

There is the staggering green, the mild climate, maybe a light smell of saltwater.

What is less often associated with these ecosystems is fire—its presence is hardly considered and rarely seen in forests west of the Cascades. But these...

When Sarah and Brett Tippie welcomed their second daughter, Alix, in 2012, they dreamt of skiing British Columbia’s slopes and riding local mountain bike trails together as a family of four.

Sarah met Brett, a professional mountain biker and one of the original Fro Riders, at Crankworx, a gathering of some of the sport’s most enthusiastic fans and skilled riders that takes place each summer in Whistler.

“Being in the mountains...