There are many reasons to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. But one young man, Kyran Young, born in Zimbabwe on the African continent, is hiking the 2,663 miles of the PCT for a cause unfamiliar to his fellow hikers or most people in the United States. Raised in Africa until he was 12, Kyran seeks…

Jessie Estrada (left), Christina Nordella (back), and Rachel Welch (right) entertain patrons at Idyll Awhile Wine Shoppe Bistro with a night of belly dancing last Thursday.

Melissa Severa, Yokoji Zen Mountain Center resident, writes about “one woman’s story of wildfire, family and the Zen of survival.” Her story, “Mountain Fire Mama,” is a deeply personal account of the center’s narrow escape from fire and the major damage it subsequently suffered from torrents of water carrying debris and mud that buried cars…