Visit Rainier Content Writers

Ken Campbell

Ken Campbell at
High Rock lookout

A perfect day for Ken Campbell is one that is spent outdoors. Ken owns and operates Azimuth Expeditions, a paddle sports outfitter based in Tacoma, and spends as much time as possible in the wilderness backcountry of the Pacific Northwest. His travels around Mount Rainier have included summit climbs and significant chunks of the Wonderland Trail. Over the past 25 years, he has written about climbing, paddling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and backpacking for a variety of publications including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sea Kayaker magazine and Sports Etc, and he's published five books on sea kayaking (four of which are still in print.) He lives at Salmon Beach, amid the stunning scenery of the Tacoma Narrows, with his wife, Mary, and their four year-old son, Micah. When he's not "out there," he's writing about where he's been as well as what he's got coming up, here at visitrainier and at his blog, lastwilderness.blogspot.com.

Mary Janosik

The Cove at
Greenwater Lakes

Mary has lived in the small town of Enumclaw, in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, all of her life. Her parents raised six kids on the backside of a mountain. Playing in the woods and exploring the countryside, often on horseback, life was an adventure just outside the backdoor. And Mary was content to enjoy nature's treasures close to home, most of the time.

It wasn't until 2001, when Mary's 21 year-old daughter wanted to start hiking, that she thought it would be great to spend quality time with her in the mountains a little farther from home. Mary and her daughter started hiking seriously that year and couldn't seem to get enough. (In 2004 they did 72 hikes in 52 weeks.) It was always an adventure exploring new trails and visiting old ones in all the seasons. In March of 2007 Mary's daughter moved to the beautiful state of Colorado and she drafted her wonderful husband as a hiking partner.

Mary started a photography business in January 2005 and has her work hanging in a few businesses in Enumclaw and in surrounding towns. She's primarily a hiker... the photos result from something that she loves to do.

Amy Poffenbarger at
Hurricane Ridge on the
Olympic Peninsula

Amy Poffenbarger has lived in Seattle for the past 20 years and has come to love the Pacific Northwest like a native. When she isn't writing for the Visit Rainier website, she serves as co-editor of Northwest Cyclist magazine.

Amy is also author of Mountain Biking Washington, which is in its third edition. She has been a freelance writer since 1993 and her freelance publishing credits include articles in Getaways (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's supplement) Washington CEO, Snow Country, Canoe & Kayak, Mountain Bike Magazine, MTB Magazine, American Bicyclist, Bicycle Dealer Showcase, Bicycle Retailer, Sports Etc., and Earthcare Northwest. Her on-line magazine credits include ABCNews.com, MyWellness.com, and Active.com.

When Amy isn't writing, she enjoys sharing her favorite trails and adventures with her husband Mark and son Kai and looks forward to bringing her young daughter Tali along for the fun very soon.

Craig Romano, Lac La Ronge

Craig is the author of eight books; among them Backpacking Washington, Day Hiking North Cascades, and Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula; and co-author of two other titles. His Columbia Highlands, Exploring Washington's Last Frontier, was recognized in 2010 by Washington Secretary of State, Sam Reed and State Librarian, Jan Walsh as a Washington Reads book for its contribution to Washington's cultural heritage.

A resident of Washington since 1989, Craig has hiked and backpacked all over his adopted state logging over 14,000 miles from the wild misty Olympic Coast to the grizzly roaming Selkirk Mountains. He ranks Mount Rainier National Park and its adjacent wild areas among the most beautiful landscapes in America.

Aside from hiking, Craig is an avid runner, an occasional cyclist and paddler, and a dedicated conservationist. A full time writer, he has written for over two dozen publications and writes regular content for Hikeoftheweek.com, which he co-founded in 2005. He holds several degrees; an AA in Forestry, a BA in history, and a Masters in education.

Karen Sykes at Snoquera Falls

Karen is a Washington native, born in Shelton and has lived in Washington most of her life. She started to hike in 1979 and joined The Mountaineers the following year. By the 1980s she was leading hikes for the Seattle branch of The Mountaineers. Around the same time, she began writing articles for Signpost Magazine (Pack and Paddle) and contributed to so many hiking reports that her name became familiar to other hikers. She was contacted by The Seattle Post Intelligencer to write the "Hike of the Week" which turned into years of writing this weekly column, until The Seattle Post Intelligencer stopped their printing presses in 2009.

Two of Karen's books have been published by Mountaineer Books - Hidden Hikes (out of print) and Best Wildflower Hikes with Al Kruckeberg and Craig Romano - and she hopes to write another. She is as passionate about photography as she is about hiking and both The Seattle Times and The Seattle Post Intelligencer have published her photographs.

Carrie and Finn

Carrie is a freelance travel writer and historian, born and raised at the base of another mountain, Mt Diablo in northern California. She spent most of her teen years riding her Arabian horse Desteyn on the trails of California, including Mt Diablo State Park, the Pacific Crest Trail, and Yosemite National Park. Carrie's love of mountains and forests drew her to the Pacific Northwest, where she has lived the past 16 years.

Now Carrie explores the Pacific Northwest on foot with her husband Erik and young son Finn, both of whom share her love of travel and the outdoors. In addition to writing for Visit Rainier, Carrie also writes for EuropeUpClose.com about traveling in Wales with her family. She has a BA in European History and in her spare time works on a mystery novel set in medieval Wales.