Brad Allen, a Pacific Northwest native and all-around lover of the natural world and local history, has been taking deep dives into regional history for over two decades. In 2022, Brad and his wife, Ann, moved from their home in the Snoqualmie Valley after 30 years to the shores of Hale Passage to be near their daughter and to write eclectic essays under the pen name “The Dogfish.”

Brad was born in Seattle, grew up in the Renton/Kent area, and is a University of Washington graduate. With the exception of six years in the U.S. Air Force—when he lived in northern Maine and the U.K.—Brad has not just lived in, but has truly immersed himself in, the Pacific Northwest. Brad and Ann have been married since 1985 and have three children and eight grandchildren.

For fifteen years, Brad researched the history of the Snoqualmie Valley and Middle Fork Valley and shared that knowledge through a short film, three specialty books, and a series of interpretive signs along U.S. Forest Service trails in the Middle Fork and the I-90 corridor. He completed this work as a volunteer for the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Society and the U.S. Forest Service.

During 2022 and 2023, while renting a house along Warren Drive, Hale Passage began to elicit the same longing—to learn more, understand the differing narratives, and occasionally craft concise stories of historical events and natural phenomena. It all started with the Shaw’s Cove wreck.

HalePassage.com is a quirky outlet for Brad to write essays, tell stories, and simply be The Dogfish. Brad’s other passion is woodworking, which finds expression in the Hale Passage Workshop.

If you are curious about Brad's professional background, check out AditNW LLC

Produced for the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Society in 2010 by Brad and Zach Allen, this 30-minute short film looks at the history of the Middle Fork Valley. Be sure to stay for the final 10-minute short, after the credits, on making the film in the wilderness.