June 2020 // Out There Outdoors

Y e l l o w s to n e w o lv e s | s e l k i r k l o o p | S u m m e r g e a r JUNE 2020 // FREE

THE INLAND PACIFIC NORTHWEST GUIDE TO ADVENTURE + TRAVEL + CULTURE

CLOSE -TOHOME Summer Adventures Ride

Across

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WA

CAR-FREE Adventures

Owyhee River Rafting

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MAke your own

Shady

backyard hangouts The Running Remedy McKenzie Conservation Area Hikes

Dear 115,876 members who used online banking last month, you’re social distancing pros.

We’re so thankful for our members taking the right steps during this difficult time. Whether you’re six feet apart in line or six miles from the nearest branch on your sofa, thanks for doing your part.

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

GRANT COUNTY WA S H I N G T O N

Just Natural Ingredients

Fishing • Hunting Camping • Hiking Watchable Wildlife

For more information about accommodations:

Grant County Tourism Commission P.O. Box 37, Ephrata, WA 98823 l tourgrantcounty.com l 800.992.6234 JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

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CONTENTS

Features

24 | Cross-Washington 25 | Owyhee River Trip 26 | Close to Home Summer Adventures

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Departments 11 | Health & Fitness 15 | Nature 17 | Outdoor Living 18 | Biking 19 | Prime Times 22 | Gear Room 29 | Urban Outdoors

Columns 12 13 14 16 20

| | | | |

Hike of the Month The Human Adventure Everyday Cyclist Out There Kids Run Wild

In Every Issue 7 | Intro 8 | Dispatches 30 | Last Page COVER: Madisen Brocklehurst riding Riverside State Park.

Photo: Jon Jonckers

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

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JUNE 2020 WWW.OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM PUBLISHERS

Shallan & Derrick Knowles EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Derrick Knowles MANAGING EDITOR

Summer Hess ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Bike demos Trail run Watersports demos SUP race Live music Group rides Kids activities Beer garden & More! sponsors

Lisa Laughlin Jon Jonckers SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR

Amy McCaffree EVENT COORDINATOR

Jenae Denlinger COPY EDITOR

Andrew Butler CONTRIBUTORS

Carol Corbin Paul Delaney Michael Ebinger Adam Gabauer Ingrid Hannan Sarah Hauge Summer Hess Jon Jonckers Derrick Knowles Shallan Knowles Amy McCaffree Zach McCall Ammi Midstokke Travis Laurence Naught Justin Short Holly Weiler ART + PRODUCTION

Amy Jennings Jon Jonckers Shallan Knowles TO REQUEST COPIES CALL

509 / 822 / 0123 AD SALES

Derrick Knowles: 509 / 822 / 0123 derrick@outtheremonthly.com OUT THERE OUTDOORS

Mailing Address: PO Box #5, Spokane, WA 99210 www.outthereoutdoors.com, 509 / 822 / 0123 Out There Outdoors is published 10 times a year by Out There Monthly, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. ©Copyright 2020 Out There Monthly, LLC. The views expressed in this magazine reflect those of the writers and advertisers and not necessarily Out There Monthly, LLC.

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Disclaimer: Many of the activities depicted in this magazine carry a significant risk of personal injury or death.

Rock climbing, river rafting, snow sports, kayaking, cycling, canoeing and backcountry activities are inherently dangerous. The owners and contributors to Out There Monthly/ Out There Outdoors do not recommend that anyone participate in these activities unless they are experts or seek qualified professional instruction and/or guidance, and are knowledgeable about the risks, and are personally willing to assume all responsibility associated with those risks.

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

INTRO TRAIL ETIQUETTE

SIX WIDE ON THE CENTENNIAL TRAIL. // PHOTO: SHALLAN KNOWLES

SOME OF US HAVE BEEN struggling more than others with social distancing in the outdoors. Like that group walking sideby-side down the middle of the Centennial Trail that seem insulted by the ring of a bike

bell or “on your left” shout out. Or the runner who passes so close on a wide trail that his panting thunders in your ears and the smell of laundry detergent or cologne lingers unnervingly long. And how about the

cyclist who blows by you on the side of the trail at mach 10 without even the benefit of a “hot pizza”?

Such displays of indifference to corona virus era social norms can be disheartening, but then again even the best intentioned of us are bound to have our lapses. Case in point. One of the worst displays of social distancing trail etiquette unfolded the other day on an outing I organized, thanks to my two bullheaded trail companions.

I was excited about a 5-mile run on a Spokane County Conservation Area trail that I hadn’t been to in years. And after so many solo outings over the past two months, it was nice to have some company for a change. It became clear right away, however, that social distancing was going to be a problem for my crew.

Out in front, our leader swerved backand-forth like a drunken sailor from one side of the trail to the other, making no effort to give the occasional hikers we encountered their fair share of space. And when it was time for a gear adjustment or sip of water, he plopped himself down in the middle of the trail like it was his own private parlor and proceeded to rummage through his backpack oblivious to passersby.

Next in line, the gregarious one of our bunch bounded down the trail like a jackrabbit from hell. She charged ever forward

like a maniac driven by unseen demons, only pausing at each opportunity to greet and invade the precious space of hikers unfortunate enough to encounter our rag-tag band of trail aficionados.

Taking up the rear, it was left to me to pick up the pieces and dole out the apologies for my companions’ boorish behavior. Thankfully, the handful of hikers we encountered that day seemed more than understanding, with many of them seemingly delighted by our antics. And there were some good reasons to cut our rambling, trailhogging freakshow some slack.

Our self-absorbed leader may be prone to middle-of-the-trail picnics, but when a five-year-old on a bike says it’s time for a snack, he means right here, right now.

The excessively chummy teenager, on the other hand, has some compulsions of her own thanks to her ancestors’ unique occupation. A mutt that’s a good part rat terrier, her predecessors were bred to catch rats and hunt small animals. Hence her squirrel-behind-every-bush disposition.

Reining in these two has its challenging moments for sure, but I’m ever grateful for the amazing trails I share with them and the kind and tolerant humans we encounter along the way. // DERRICK KNOWLES, PUBLISHER

JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

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N A M SOL . . . z e S

GIVE YOURSELF A BRIGHTER FUTURE! GET SOLARIZED W/ ECO DEP0T

DISPATCHES PANDEMIC SPURS LOCAL FOOD ACCESS INNOVATION SPOKANE, WASH.

LINC Foods, a Spokane-based worker and farmer owned food hub known primarily for its LINC Boxes local food service, responded to the pandemic Stay at Home order this past spring with a new way for the public to buy products from local farmers. The new LINC Marketplace is an online grocery shopping experience where anyone can shop for a wide range of local food offerings. The purchased items are then available for pick up at 5 contact-free locations around the Spokane area. “When COVID started we saw that our farmers that are completely locally supported didn’t have the normal ways to market their products and many of LINC’s normal customers were shut down, so we responded by changing our business model,” says LINC marketing director Michelle Youngblom.

As of late May the LINC Marketplace had already seen over 1,000 orders of local food from 416 households. According to Youngblom, there are over 200 products available from 40 farms and producers with more to come in June. Grocery items range from local fruit and vegetables, value-added products like salsas and spices, dairy products, eggs, flour, meats, salmon, and bread from the Grain Shed. There is no cost to shop, but users need to first complete a quick online account set up process at Lincfoods.com/online-marketplace. “It’s been really amazing to see the support for the farmers and to be able to distribute food to the community in a safe way,” adds Youngblom. (Derrick Knowles)

TRAIL BUILDING STARTS AT NEW WALLACE BIKE PARK WALLACE, IDAHO

The new owners of Wallace, Idaho-based Silver Streak Zipline Tours aren’t letting any grass grow under their feet after purchasing the zip tour operation last year. Stemming from Waco, Texas, owners Scott and Gina Haney and their crew of trail builders are already hard at work on the next chapter of their outdoor adventure business: the construction of a new yet-to-be-named bike park on their 262 forested acres above Wallace. The park will feature a wide range of mountain bike trails, jumps, and a pump track. Haney says he’s also looking at buying an inflatable airbag for riders to practice jumps with a soft landing. The vision, according to Silver Valley local and pro mountain bike racer Frank Culhno, the main trail builder responsible for bringing the park to life, is to create something akin to the legendary Coast Gravity Park on BC’s Sunshine Coast. “We started off building a big flow trail that anyone from parents to racers can ride, and we’re also putting in a pump track that’s going to be legit,” says Culhno. After that, the 5-year plan is to keep Haney’s new Kubota excavator working full-tilt to add more flow and technical downhill trails as well as some more mellow trails. The first 1.3-mile flow trail should be ready to ride by early summer and will take 4-10 minutes to ride, with a shuttle making endless laps possible, says Culhno. Keep an eye out for updates as the park progresses at Silverstreakziplinetours. com. (Derrick Knowles)

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

SPOKANE, WASH.

Just in time for the longest days of the year, Northwest states are moving into the next phase of their COVID-19 reopening plans. Consult websites or call before planning a trip as so much is in flux and some communities have been forced to implement last-minute closures due to overcrowding. Also plan to take extra care in small towns that do not have the infrastructure to manage a serious outbreak. Practice physical distancing at all times and be prepared to manage your own toilet and sanitation needs.

Washington: Camping is allowed in counties that have moved into Phase 2 but, at the time of this writing, Washington State Parks had not yet resumed overnight operations and were still day-use only. Oregon: Oregon State Parks announced that limited camping will reopen starting June 9. At the time of this writing, no new reservations were being accepted. Idaho: Idaho State Parks began welcoming back campers on May 30. Idaho Endowment Land has remained open. Montana: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks started allowing some camping as early as May 1, with reduced amenities and limited services. Forest Service: Trails and trailheads on U.S. Forest Service lands remain open; however, certain areas and facilities, including campgrounds and group facilities have been closed in May although some of these sites may re-open by early summer. Check the website for the forest you plan to visit for updates before traveling. National Parks: The National Parks Service is working with local authorities to reopen, so check each park’s website. Some backcountry areas are open to dispersed recreation. As an example, at the time up this writing, all recreation above 10,500 feet was prohibited at Mount Rainier, and all visitors’ centers and shops were closed. (Summer Hess)

MOUNT ST. HELENS THREATENS AGAIN

CONSIGN YOUR USED OUTDOOR GEAR FOR A CAUSE

Forty years after the famous, devastating eruption, Mount St. Helens hosts a new struggle that pits the science community against the U.S. Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers. It’s a unique entanglement that involves the land, the lake, and a Spirit Lake tunnel created in 1985 to serve as an artificial outlet. Spirit Lake received the full impact of the 1980 blast and acted as a debris field for the volcano. Most of the lake water was expelled by the blast; however, the lake reformed with almost 400 million cubic meters of displaced timber from the mountain. The new lake’s surface area nearly doubled to about 2,200 acres, and its sole outlet, the North Fork Toutle River, was buried under roughly 600 feet of debris. The situation was extremely dangerous because if the lake basin filled, the lake could overtop the debris field and radically destabilize it, unleashing another devastating mudflow that would send millions of tons of sediment toward the towns of Toutle, Castle Rock, and Longview.

Eventually, Spirit Lake was stabilized with an 8,465-foot-long gravity-feed tunnel that cut through Harrys Ridge to South Coldwater Creek. Unfortunately, that ridge has continued to move each time Mount St. Helens moves throughout the decades.

Twelve faults and sheer zones have squeezed and buckled the tunnel, causing engineers to close it several times for repairs. During one closure in the winter of 2016, Spirit Lake rose more than 30 feet. “It was definitely a wakeup call,” says Chris Strebig, a project director with the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that oversees the national monument.

Rather than wait for a crisis or emergency, the Forest Service has decided to open up a second tunnel. This requires the Forest Service engineers and scientists to drill into the debris field to find the best option, and they need a road in order to move equipment around the debris field.

But some ecologists, scientists, and conservation groups oppose the road. It was in a large part at their urging that the federal government created the monument in 1982, setting it aside as a place for “geologic forces and ecological succession to continue substantially unimpeded.” Many plots and experiments from 1980 are still studied today. In many minds, if you drop a road over the Pumice Plain, the research there would effectively be reduced to how life responds after a road is built. And the friction between the two sides is heating up with each new proposal from the Forest Service. Developments and plans have been put on hold for the moment, but it looks like Mount St. Helens could be the epicenter of another flare-up in the coming months. (Jon Jonckers)

Rambleraven Gear Trader, formerly NW Outdoors, sells and consigns gear for pretty much every sport and activity that Out There Outdoors magazine promotes. It’s a welcoming shop with a great selection of gently used gear and apparel, along with a broad array of brand new items.

Consign for a Cause is a unique program that owner, Mark Schneider, developed in the past month in order raise funds for local conservation and recreation-focused non-profits. With Consign for a Cause, you can convert gear that you don’t want or no longer use into clean, empty space for yourself and financial support for your favorite organization. All you do is gather up your clean, functional and outdoorrelevant gear and clothing, and drop it off at the shop. Rambleraven Gear Trader takes care of the rest. Between 70 and 80% of the proceeds go directly to the non-profit of your choosing.

The non-profit list includes Washington Trails Association, Evergreen East Mountain Bike Alliance, Dishman Hills Conservancy, Inland Northwest Land Conservancy, Bower Climbing Coalition, Friends of the Bluff, Northwest Whitewater Association, and Peak 7 Adventures. “Not long after I first opened the shop, I was thinking of creative ways to give back to the outdoor community since I wasn't always available to help with dig days and the business wasn't healthy enough to donate cash,” says Schneider. “I enjoy trail work and participate when I can find the time, but I knew there had to be other opportunities.”

Schneider frequently shows up at local trail work days, and he often helps with a number of trail projects around the region. He believes our regional quality of life is closely tied to the great outdoors, and he wants all of the non-profits to succeed at their respective missions. He also admits there is room to expand the program, and after a few months, he will probably add to the list of recipients for Consign for a Cause. “I think this is the best way to ensure that your gear and clothing reach someone who will use those items to their full potential, while giving back to the land we all love. Consignment is much easier than holding a garage sale, or selling individual items online,” says Schneider. “We make the consignment process as simple as possible, and with Consign for a Cause, you get the satisfaction of knowing that your donations will go to help maintain and protect our public lands.”

If you have a kayak or tent or backpack you no longer use, or if your kids have outgrown those bikes in your garage, then consider donating those items to Consign for a Cause. Find all of the program details at Rambleraven.com/pages/consign-for-acause (Jon Jonckers)

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DISPATCHES PANDEMIC DOESN’T SLOW TRAIL BUILDING SPOKANE, WASH

Thankfully many mountain bike trail builders have a hard time sitting still. While much of Washington State was shut down this spring due to the COVID-19 outbreak, some trail work continued at many of the Spokane region’s popular riding areas. Evergreen East Mountain Bike Alliance president Chris Conley says that while the organization’s official work parties had all been canceled, some trail builders continued to work on their local trails on their own maintaining physical distancing through what Conley described as independent, volunteer-initiated trail work.

Here are some of the mountain bike trail updates that Conley had for this spring and summer thanks in part to those trail workers: • Iller Creek: New switchbacks have been completed near the top of the east ridge. The long-awaited reroute replaced a steep, rutted section of trail and is a great new addition.

• Saltese: A new trail called Turtle Gulch is under construction. Formally known as “the trail to nowhere” for heading up a draw before dead ending, construction and repair will make for a new route for climbing and descending that should be ready to ride by early June.

• Mica: Work continues on the new Silicate Slide flow trail on Mica Peak Conservation Area land. The downhill mountain bike trail that features berms, jumps, and rollers will connect the lower face with the upper face and is significant because it will be the region’s first one-way only trail on public lands open only to mountain bikers. “It’s

open now and could definitely use some more wheels on the fresh dirt work,” says Conley. “It’s not totally tuned up yet, but volunteers are doing the final hand work now.”

The full loop is about 7 miles with around 2,200 of elevation with the climb back up on a mix of singletrack and road.

• Mount Spokane: Upper Trail 290 will be the continuation of the lower section (The Goods) from the snowmobile parking lot to the summit. The trail route has been flagged and partially brushed, with trail construction scheduled to start this summer. “Below treeline will be machine built and then it’s all hand work up higher,” says Conley. “It should be open and rideable next summer with the new section adding another two miles of singletrack.”

• Antoine Peak: A new trailhead (Etter Ranch) is in the planning stages for the southside of the conservation area, as well as two new singletrack trails that Washington Trails Association is taking the lead on. Trail construction may start this fall, with the trailhead planned for next year. The trails will climb up towards the top and create multiple loop options.

• Dishman Hills: In 2018, Spokane County acquired the 179-acre former "Flying L Ranch" through the Conservation Futures Program, creating the opportunity for a new trailhead and trails in the Glenrose Unit of Dishman Hills Conservation Area. The new Phillips Creek Trailhead near the Iller Creek trailhead is under construction now and Spokane Mountaineers volunteers are coordinating efforts on a new trail.

Find updates on all of these trails and public lands projects at Evergreeneast.org.

(Derrick Knowles)

PROGRAM ENCOURAGES SMARTER COMMUTES SPOKANE, WASH.

You’ve probably noticed there are less cars on the road resulting in less traffic and less air pollution. With fewer cars on the road, it’s easier to go places and less stressful too.

“Right now, there are more people teleworking, riding bicycles and walking,” says LeAnn Yamamoto with Commute Smart Northwest. “Let’s continue this movement,” she adds, noting that “biking and walking are great ways to get around and also a great way to get daily exercise and enjoy this beautiful spring and summer weather.” Although many people didn’t have a choice to telework prior to COVID-19, working from home options have increased dramatically and many people prefer it to a daily commute to the office. Many managers have also found that their employees are more productive when teleworking, says Yamamoto. “If everyone continues teleworking, one, two, or even three days a week, our traffic would still be reduced by 10, 20, or 30 percent, giving us all more reason to get out and bicycle and walk.”

The Commute Smart Northwest program encourages commuters to use smart commuting options including walking, bicycling, teleworking, riding the bus, carpooling and vanpooling. Partnering with over 130 employers throughout Spokane County, the Commute Smart program reduced over 6,200 cars from the roads every day before COVID-19. “That number has increased substantially with so many people teleworking, biking and walking now,” notes Yamamoto. “Commute Smart participants on average save between $100 to $200 a month on their commute,” she adds. Find out how much you can save with the organization’s Commute Cost Calculator and start logging your Commute Smart trips for the chance to win monthly prize giveaways. Details at CommuteSmartNW.org. (OTO) 10

OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

HEALTH & FITNESS

When the Race is Canceled

By Summer Hess

One of my favorite trends in the age of COVID-19 is how many people have harnessed this intrinsic motivation. I have a friend who has ridden his bike on the local river loop trail every day since Washington’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order started. Some days he rides a few miles, and other days he rides dozens. His primary motivation is to clear his mind and move his body.

Those who still benefit from external goals are getting creative and designing their own challenges. One friend decided to stick with her goal of setting a half-marathon PR, even A CENTRAL WASHINGTON RUNNER ENJOYS THE BEAUTY OF LOCAL without a race on the books.

TRAILS. // PHOTO: SUMMER HESS She invited members of her local running club to join her, I’D LOVE TO RECREATE 100 percent of the and they ran along behind her, giving time out of an intrinsic love for movement her a mental boost and helping her meet and the great outdoors. But the truth is I her goal. Another ran her canceled 50K sign up for races as a way to appeal to my on local trails rather than the designated base instinct to avoid shame and humiliracecourse, and her family met her along ation. I pay money and commit to a date, the way with drinks and snacks. a time, and a crowd, which forces my Perhaps other aspects of pandemic recreexpanding derriere off the couch and into ation are worth keeping for the long term, the saddle and my soft feet out of warm even as restrictions ease. The suggestion slippers and into running shoes. I stick to to recreate close to home and commute the training plan—not because I’m striving to the trail in a human-powered fashion for my best times—but because I don’t want if possible helps lower emission and comthe woman racing with a double stroller to bat climate change. Also, the call to show beat me up the hill. some extra love for the organizations that This spring race organizers were forced build and protect our trails makes a lot of to make painful decisions to cancel or postsense. Becoming a member of or donating pone these races around the country. What to groups like the Evergreen Mountain Bike have runners and cyclists done without that Alliance, American Whitewater, Dishman extrinsic motivation?

Hills Conservancy, Friends of the Bluff, and Judging from the number of people on the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy common cycling routes and trails, many feels more important now than ever as we have tapped into an unrealized potential for spend so much on our local public lands. intrinsic motivation—and I’m damn proud Whatever your outlet, and however you of us for it. We’re not running because we find motivation, one thing is clear: We’ve all got to keep moving as best we can. Here in don’t want to look like fools; we’re running because it feels good. We’re biking because the Inland Northwest, we’re lucky to have our mental health depends on it. We’re hikabundant trails and public lands to accommodate so many ways to stay active. // ing because sunsets are beautiful and we want to see them from a new perspective— Summer Hess is the managing editor of Out and because the escape soothes us so we can There Outdoors. She is scouting alternative once again be the partners and parents we routes for her canceled 50K on June 6. want to be.

Thank you for the Support Spokane! ing people on bikes.

There’s nothing we love more than gett Now Get Out & Ride!

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THE VIRTUAL FITNESS COMMUNITY Missing the buoyancy of a crowd? Try some of these online recreation opportunities.

• Join a virtual running club. Fleet Feet Spokane aims to help runners reach their goals, with or without a race season.

• Compete in a virtual bike race. Bandók Virtual Events focuses on ultra-endurance cycling, like the Tour Divide.

• Sign up for a virtual charity run. These are springing up last minute, so check social media for current offerings.

JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

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Hike of the Month

McKenzie Conservation Area Newman Lake, Wash.

By Holly Weiler

PUBLIC LANDS WILDFLOWERS. // PHOTO: HOLLY WEILER

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Home, Stay Healthy order, I’ve been trying very hard to limit how far I venture from home for recreation. I've been spending most of my time at my nearest conservation area, Antoine Peak. But those who know me well know I get bored easily by doing the same routes over and over again.

I started to consider additional nearby possibilities by pulling up MapMyRun on my computer and tracing “epic dayhikes" to local trails I could pull off directly from my front door. MapMyRun allows users to click from point to point on a roadmap to get an estimate for the route's total distance. I now have a 22.75 mile loop planned to hike from my house to McKenzie Conservation Area, do my favorite loops on the trails, and return via different roads. It's not how I normally visit my favorite trail systems, but nothing has been normal lately. It's nice to know I have an option that doesn't require driving, and it will be a very good workout when I do it.

We’re starting to get back to the full range of activities and locations for recreating on public land. If it's possible to drive to the trailhead, an excellent route at McKenzie Conservation Area is a more manageable 6.75 miles. I love McKenzie in the spring for its variety, including terrain, wildflowers, and viewsheds.

My favorite route is to start south from the parking area on Bedrock Ridge Trail and do the short warm-up loop to the west at the first trail junction on the newest trail in the system, Vision Quest. The trail's name comes from the 1985 movie, portions of which were filmed at this location. The 1.5 mile spur trail to Vision Quest crosses the paved road and heads up a hill past the former cabin site (now gone) featured in the movie. The trail passes a pond and cedar grove at the bottom, but quickly climbs to a pine and Douglas fir forest. This trail makes a short lollipop loop,

then returns hikers to the road crossing and the initial trail junction.

Once back at the Bedrock Ridge Trail, continue south. The trail passes through a mature forest and reaches a rocky outcropping that offers excellent views of Newman Lake before dropping quickly to intersect the Turtle Rock Trail.

For some additional distance and elevation, turn right at the trail intersection to hike the entirety of the Turtle Rock Trail, including the steep climb to the alternate access point at Peninsula Drive. Following the loop, continue straight from the intersection with Bedrock Ridge, where the trail quickly reaches the lakeshore and the trail's namesake, Turtle Rock. From Turtle Rock, the trail climbs gradually back to the parking area via an old roadbed.

ROUND-TRIP DISTANCE: 6.75 miles RATING: Moderate ELEVATION GAIN: 1000 feet MAP: https://www.spokanecounty.

org/1406/Trail-Maps

GETTING THERE: From Trent Ave. in

Spokane Valley, turn north on Starr Road toward Newman Lake. Drive 3.6 miles, then turn right onto East Hauser Lake Road. Continue 0.3 miles, then turn left on North Muzzy Road for 2.9 miles. Continue onto NW Newman Lake Drive for 1.9 miles to the parking area for McKenzie Conservation Area, located on the east side of the road.

Holly Weiler is trying to adjust to staying at home and is growing her biggest garden yet in an attempt to stay both sane and healthy.

Support Local Trails: Provided group gatherings can resume, consider joining WTA for a weekend of trail work. Sign up at wta.org/volunteer.

The Human Adventure

Challenges to the Cooking Partnership

WE HAVE THIS GAME we play at home called Grocery Chef Roulette. The objective of the game is to cook dinner with groceries someone else purchased. It usually starts like this: “If you grab some groceries at the store, I’ll make dinner.” That’s my voice, sounding super chirpy and grateful that I don’t have to make a list, figure out what ingredients I need for a particular recipe, and wander

aisles to find them. You see, I believe I can make a meal out of just about anything.

Charlie, my person, likes to challenge this.

He comes home with a basket as follows: - 2 pounds of barbecue pulled pork - 2 pounds of ground beef - 3 beets - 1 bunch cilantro “Were you craving these things or did you see a recipe you wanted me to try?” I

By Ammi Midstokke

naively asked. Had he not brought me some chocolate, the discussion may have digressed from there.

I believe when Charlie is dealing (groceries), the objective of the game is to see how few ingredients I can use to make something edible. It is exactly the opposite if I ask him to make dinner. That conversation goes like this: “Hey honey, I have all the ingredients for dinner, but I’m super busy writing a story about that time you bought beets. Can you throw the meal together? It’s Chicken Jalfrezi on a bed of saffron rice with blanched almonds—only you’ll have to blanch them because they were out at the store.”

“Who is Blanche?”

“The almonds.”

“I thought we were having chicken.”

“And use the coriander seeds—the mortar and pestle are on the sill.”

The objective here is that I expose my future husband to as many exotic herbs, spices, kitchen tools, methods, and flavor combinations as possible. Mostly because I think it’s super hot when I see him walk out of the pantry with a food processor in his arms.

I believe he’s onto me though, because he’s started offering to shop and cook a meal. He has discovered the secret ingredient to making anything amazing: butter.

Because he’s marrying a nutritionist, he knows there must be some sort of vegetable presented. I’ll hover around the kitchen or subtly pass through, as though I’m on some alternative errand, just to have a peek at what vegetable is being prepared. When I see a spread of asparagus on a sheet, my blood pressure drops about 15 points.

Apparently I have some foundational belief that if I skip vegetables in a single meal, I’m just a diabetic cardiac event waiting to happen.

By the time the meal is served, it’s too late for me to ask if the tri-tip was roasted in butter and how many cubes went on top of the asparagus. Because butter is a lubricant and the food is sliding so smoothly, so deliciously, into my gullet, I don’t even want to stop eating long enough to talk about how many calories my vegetable side actually contains.

Instead, I clean my plate and use my fork to pick up little pieces of butter-soaked garlic from the sheet.

At this rate, he’s going to win every time.

Ammi Midstokke is a nutritionist and author living in North Idaho, where her solar powered, straw bale cabin keeps her log-peeling and wood-chopping skills honed. Last month she wrote about the black hole of her ceaseless appetite for mostly cookies and cake.

LwhereI V E nature FEEDS YOUR SPIRIT

WORK REMOTE

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JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

13

EVERYDAY CYCLIST

Bike Friends

By Justin Short

Join the Movement ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTIN SHORT

Cycle the

Selkirk Loop Washington - Canada - Idaho

September 14-19, 2020

Breathtaking Scenery 370 Miles / 595 Km Best Support of Any Ride An Amazing Adventure!

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

AS I WRITE THIS, I’m waiting for a visit from one of my best friends who I met riding a tricycle in a park in Portland 21 years ago.

It’s interesting what draws us together as cyclists. Sometimes it’s the places we ride or the random meet-ups on a favorite trail.

A conversation turns into exchanged phone numbers and future adventures.

Sometimes it’s purpose that draws us together, as in the case of GASUP (Get Around Spokane Using Pedals), the local commuter Facebook page where riders post notices and events, discuss advocacy issues and safe bike routes, and engage in good natured, bike oriented banter. That was how I recognized Out There’s Everyday Cyclist columnist Hank Greer when I began having run-ins with him on the morning commute.

As with the tricycle, sometimes it’s obscure equipment choices that draw us together. In 2012 my wife pointed out a peculiar quirk that had escaped my notice, though I, too, was a participant in this odd behavior: The knowing nod of approval exchanged between riders of road bikes with flared drop bars. On most road bikes, those little flam-dangles that we call “the drops” extend straight down from the brake hoods. Flared drops, on the other hand, flare outward, offering leverage and stability for riding off the beaten path.

These bars were rare until the recent explosion of the gravel bike, most of which come stocked with flared drop bars. I got my own first set on an early 80s Specialized Sequoia, the first ever production touring bike from a major company, that came with Wilderness Trail Bikes’ first ever production flared drop bars. I got that bike from a second hand shop in Santa Cruz, California, in 1998 and rode that thing all over the West Coast and the Rocky Mountains. Although I

broke and replaced just about everything on that bike multiple times—except the bars—I still get a warm and fuzzy feeling recalling those adventures.

About four years ago I was walking dogs by a house I had previously lived in when I happened upon a shirtless ponytailed guy working on an ancient VW diesel pickup with a flared drop bar touring bike loaded on the back. “I’m gonna be friends with that dude,” I said to myself, or perhaps out loud to the dogs. And that was how I met former EDC columnist Justin Skay, whose enormous Chaco flip-flops I am attempting to fill with my own first installment of Out There Outdoors Everyday Cyclist column. Those flared drops on his bike led to numerous rides down roads, up trails, and over mountains in the rain, hail, sleet, snow, and blistering sun.

There’s something intimate about turning pedals with another human being— from two commuters pass in opposite directions on a dark street at an obscene hour to a “soul train” of good friends sailing down a jump line at Beacon Hill mountain bike park. Or it could be a group of riders sipping a cup of bike-brewed coffee with David Jones, Spokane’s own Coffee Outside meet-up organizer, at some excellent spot along the river.

Whatever it is, let’s keep those pedals turning, and let’s keep the rubber side down— unless your name is Grant Breshears, who is seen upside down at the jump park as often as he’s right side up. // Justin M. Short has recently been drafted to write the Everyday Cyclist column for OTO. Watch his “Lockdown Washington Mountain Bike Race” on YouTube—a Stay Home, Stay Healthy-inspired spoof on the 2020 XWA race.

NATURE

Wildlife Travels By Adam Gebauer THE MOVEMENT OF WILDLIFE is crucial to their survival. Salmon travel from the ocean to the river to spawn, field mice scurry along hedgerows to avoid predation, and caribou traverse thousands of miles to search for wintering grounds. Wildlife corridors are the routes, relatively unhindered by human activity, that wild animals travel to meet many of their primary needs: food, shelter, and reproduction. Nature has a way of spreading animals across the landscape for good reasons, including reducing the spread of disease.

Traditional travel corridors for many wildlife species have been blocked or are under threat. Agriculture and urbanization account for over 43 percent of the earth’s land, and the remaining habitat is intersected by roadways and resource extraction. In some cases this has led to fragmentation or decline in populations.

Wildlife use corridors to move from areas of low resources to areas of high resources.

Elk, pronghorn, caribou, and other large mammals travel hundreds of miles from lower elevation winter grounds to higher summer ranges. These summer grounds are abundant in food with enough resources to rear offspring and store calories for the win-

ter. The almost 200,000 member porcupine caribou herd is one of the only barren-ground herd that is thriving. These animals travel 1,500 miles, the longest mammal migration on Earth, from their calving grounds on the coastal plains of Alaska’s Beaufort Sea Arctic (parts of which are in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) to their winter shelter of the boreal forest of northwest Canada.

Movement through these corridors allow for genetic diversity. Animals can find mates outside their family group, reducing issues that stem from low genetic diversity—including more susceptibility to diseases and populations being unable to cope with changes to their environments. One of the struggles to grizzly bear recovery is the movement of animals between different recovery zones where they can find mates and broaden their gene pool.

There are several nearby projects that are helping to enhance wildlife movement.

Just east of Snoqulamie Pass is an overpass designed to move animals, not cars. This area of I-90 sits in the middle of the North Cascades and creates a blockage for many animal species, not to mention collisions with wildlife. The overpass is planted with native vegetation and fences paired with an

underpass crossing lets animals move north and south along the mountains.

In the greater Spokane area, the work of Spokane’s Inland Northwest Land Conservancy helps to maintain habitat and connect corridors. The Rimrock to Riverside project is working to connect land between Palisades Park to Riverside State Park, allowing animals like moose, mule deer and coyotes to travel from the river to upland habitats. Hikers, runners, and mountain bikers

will also take advantage of such corridors.

Maintaining and creating wildlife corridors is a way we humans can support healthy wildlife populations, but they also give us green zones and trail connections to recreate and enjoy nature. // Adam Gebauer enjoys running and biking along his local wildlife corridors and his dog enjoys that deer use them, too. He last wrote about American white pelicans.

WILDLIFE ORIGINS OF COVID-19

If animals become too crowded, they can more easily spread viral and bacterial diseases.

This can become exasperated when humans artificially crowd animals, particularly bringing a large variety of different species together, like in the wildlife farms and wet markets where the COVID-19 outbreak started. In these situations, diseases can spread rapidly, evolve, and jump from one species to the next. Current evidence suggests that COVID-19 started in horseshoe bats and moved to the pangolins, a type of endangered anteater that resembles an armadillo, and probably jumped to other species before infecting humans at a wet market.

Corona viruses are fairly common, accounting for about 30 percent of common colds.

But many humans have antibodies to fight these more common viruses. COVID-19 is novel, or new to humans, which is why it has been such a struggle to fight. Nevertheless, so many questions are still unanswered.

1638 South Blaine Street Moscow, Idaho

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RAFTING • KAYAKING • CAMPING • FISHING • SUP JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

15

OutThere Kids 10 Coronavirus-Friendly Kids Activities By Amy McCaffree

LEFT: FLYFISHING FOR RAINBOW TROUT ON THE NORTH FORK OF THE COEUR D'ALENE RIVER. // TOP: STAND-UP PADDLING AT BEAR LAKE IN NORTH SPOKANE COUNTY. // ABOVE: JUMPING OFF LOGS AT PRIEST LAKE. // PHOTOS BY AMY MCCAFFREE

THE CONCEPT OF “SUMMER BREAK” feels mostly irrelevant with schools closed and distance learning in place. As I write this, there are still many unknowns about summer camps, campgrounds, public pools, and playgrounds. Our children have endured prolonged social isolation and many losses. Despite the uncertainty of traditional summer activities, June is Great Outdoors Month and kids need adventure.

Here are 10 ideas to help you get them out there in the age of COVID-19.

1. Engage nature at home with creative hands-on activities, games, and seasonal crafts. The website Firefliesandmudpies. com offers free ideas, requiring minimal, low-cost supplies for ”connecting, crafting, and playing at home.” Summer activities include making a bug hotel, origami boats, water balloon piñata, water blaster games, and squirt gun painting.

2. Paint rocks and hide them. This is an informal activity, purely for fun. Join a group on Facebook such as Spokane Rocks (The Original!). The concept is simple: Paint rocks and hide them around the city, usually at public parks, and leave a clue on 16

OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

the group FB page if you’d like. When you find a painted rock, post a photo on the group page and re-hide the rock.

County Rail Trail near Republic in northeast Washington or the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes in North Idaho.

3. Go fishing. Avoid a crowded dock and head to a local lake with a watercraft, or head to a river and teach your kids how to fly-fish.

7. Go geocaching or letterboxing. Both are treasure hunt activities in public parks and along trails. Geocaching uses GPS to find hidden caches, while letterboxing requires following cues and cracking codes to find a hidden “letterbox” that includes a handcarved rubber stamp for kids to mark their personal journal. Kids also bring along their own personal stamp for the box’s logbook. Learn more at Atlasquest.com.

4. Hike to water. Just outside the urban core of Spokane you can hike down the ravine to Indian Canyon’s Mystic Falls and play in the creek. You can hike Trail #100 starting from the trailhead located off the Centennial Trail near T.J. Meenach Bridge, which goes along the Spokane River to a big eddy that can serve as a swimming hole. There’s also Tubbs Hill at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Fishtrap Lake Recreation Area near Cheney, and alpine lakes in national forests. Wherever you go, please practice Leave No Trace principles.

5. Snorkel. Though not a tropical adventure, it’s still a fun way for kids to explore the underwater world of a lake or river.

6. Bike a new trail. Whether it’s a paved path or dirt trails, load up the family bikes and visit a new destination, like the Ferry

8. Paddle or float the Spokane River. By early to mid-July, the river’s flow is usually low enough for paddlers and tubers. The Spokane River Water Trail website, Spokaneriver.net, provides a map and list of water access launch sites and what style of watercraft it accommodates: canoe, kayak, SUP, raft, personal pontoon, or drift boat. If you need to rent gear, check out local outfitters Fun Unlimited and Flow Adventures which both hope to open sometime this summer.

9. Go sailing. With any luck, you’ll be able to rent a sailboat at Sunsport at Yap-

Keehn-Um Beach at Lake Coeur d’Alene (also known as NIC Beach) along the North Idaho Centennial Trail. Managed

by North Idaho College’s Outdoor Pursuits program, the rental shop is typically open daily from June 1 through Labor Day, 10 a.m.-6 p.m, but please check for updates at Nic.edu or call 208769-3290. Canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards are also available.

10. Camp in your backyard: June 27 is Great American Backyard Campout night. Go all out—pitch a tent, string party lights, make a campfire (if not restricted where you live), and do all your usual family campsite traditions with meals and games.

This summer, I’m reminding myself to maintain realistic expectations and that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Do what you can, my fellow parents. Simple and easy outdoor adventures are better than none at all. // Amy McCaffree has endured quarantine with her two children since March 17 with the help of gardening, crafts, and walks with her beloved 12-year-old dog.

OUTDOOR LIVING

Create a Shady Home Oasis By Sarah Hauge pose. Again, YouTube is your friend for specific ideas suitable for your space. Check out a local hardware store or search online to buy needed materials like the cloth and hardware, which can often be purchased together in a shade sail kit (tip: UV resistant cloth is worth the investment if you’d like your sails to last more than a season or two). Consider layering a few shade sails to cast a larger and more artistic shadow.

STAYING HOME IS BETTER WITH A SWEET OUTDOOR HANGOUT SPOT

AS THE WEATHER WARMS and the sun is up longer, this may be the year to turn your backyard, front porch, or balcony into a shady oasis that can help you feel like you’re getting away from it all—even if you’re only traveling a few steps away from your front door.

PERGOLAS

A pergola—an outdoor structure most typically made of wood, with pillars spanned by lattice crossbeams—offers both shade and beauty. Pergolas often stand alone or can be attached to a house or other building, and can range from small-scale to

elaborate and spacious. You can train vines to grow on them for added greenery, or drape them with sun-resistant cloth for extra shade. If you’re ready to take on some DIY construction (or hire it out), check out the plethora of plans for pergolas of all sizes online (YouTube tutorials abound on this subject), then pick up the needed supplies at a local hardware store.

BIG UMBRELLAS

Umbrellas: ages-old shade-makers for good reason. Though you can find umbrellas at even unexpected places like grocery stores, you might consider spending a little more and investing in an umbrella with a standalone base that can be moved around your outdoor space as needed. An offset base is also worth considering since the pole is off to the side, giving you more space to sprawl in the cool of the shade.

AND, OF COURSE, TREES

SHADE SAILS

For a project that involves a bit less effort, try suspending sailcloth across your deck or yard and attaching it with hardware to tall objects like posts erected for this pur-

When it comes to shade trees, Paul Knowles, special projects manager for Spokane County Parks, Recreation, and Golf, recommends Zelkovas. “There are a lot of different varieties—basically what-

ever size and form you want you can pretty much get,” he says, whether that’s something broader or more columnar. “I like them because they have this really nice, soft look to them and really great fall color— oranges, bronzes, reds.” They are droughttolerant, fast-growing, and well-suited to our environment.

“Another one that I like that is a little bit of a larger tree is a Bur Oak,” says Knowles, who describes them as “beautiful trees with fissured bark” and yellow to gold fall color. Common Hackberry is another option he suggests. “They’re actually pretty cool trees,” he says of the oval-shaped, drought-tolerant deciduous trees, which do well in our climate once established and are friendly to wildlife like birds. Hackberry bark develops cork-like ridges as they grow.

When shopping for trees, check out a local nursery like Blue Moon, the Rosarium, or Green Acres, and ask for assistance to ensure that the tree you’re selecting is appropriate for your available space. Nursery staff can answer questions on how to get your tree established and meet its watering needs, which will be more significant in the beginning. //

JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

17

BIKING

A Bike Shop That Comes to You

By Sarah Hauge

GRAFTON PANNELL WRENCHING AWAY IN HIS VAN.

WHY HAUL YOUR BIKE to the shop when the

shop could come to you?

That’s the question mobile bike shops like Grafton Pannell’s answer. Pannell’s mobile shop Velofix (part of the Velofix franchise) operates with a simple model: Customers identify that their bike needs a tune-up or other service. They make an appointment, and Pannell, a trained mechanic and the shop’s owner-operator, comes to them in his Mercedes Sprinter van full of the needed tools and parts. “Essentially, I can do everything that a regular bike shop can, but in your driveway,” he says.

An experienced mechanic, Pannell enjoyed his previous work in brick and mortar bike shops, but recognized opportunities in a mobile model to simplify and streamline the process, eliminating communication errors and winnowing down wait times. He opened up his mobile bike shop in 2016.

Pannell’s red van is set up with a tool bench along one wall with tools hanging above it. The rest of his setup includes space for parts and accessories, a bike stand, and a point-of-sale system. He handles bike maintenance and repairs of all kinds, whether that be wheel building, suspension services, or basic tune-ups for your family’s fleet of twowheelers.

Pannell says customers like knowing exactly where their bike is and having a pre18

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cise estimate of how long the work will take; plus, they can easily build report with their mechanic: He’s right outside, after all. Once the appointment is underway, “the nice part of having your mechanic in your driveway is, there’s no wait time. I get there and your bike is done in an hour or two,” he says.

“I love people. I enjoy the relational aspects of the business,” Pannell says.

Customers “can hang out and watch me work, I can answer questions.” The opportunity is there to “create a relationship, rather than just waiting for unknown amounts of time for your bike” to be finished and ready to pick up.

Pannell says he has many repeat customers and is adding new clients weekly. He is able to schedule five appointments on a busy day. He takes his shop on wheels to customers throughout the general Spokane area as well as Coeur d’Alene, Deer Park, Spangle, and Cheney.

“I wanted to start a mobile bike shop because I believed in the model,” he says. “I think it’s a way we can offer customers much better service.”

Schedule with Velofix at (208) 271-1011, 1-855-VELO FIX or Velofix.com. // Sarah Hauge is a writer and editor who lives in Spokane with her husband and two daughters.

She writes Out There’s Run Wild column.

PRIME TIMES

Selkirk Bike Loop

By Michael Ebinger

THE AUTHOR TAKES A BREAK IN CRESTON. // BELOW: THE CAPTAIN AND THE STOKER, TOGETHER. // PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MICHAEL EBINGER

NEWPORT. SANDPOINT. Bonners Ferry. Creston. Kootenay Bay. Nelson. Trail. Metaline Falls.

Box Canyon Dam. Ione. Back to Newport. That was one version of the Selkirk Loop on a bike in late June-early July 2010. So how does a former bicycle racer ride with his intermediate-level wife and enjoy a cycling tour? Do it on a tandem!

Britt and I discovered in 2006 that the only way we could start and finish a ride, and be in the same county at the end, was on a tandem. After 16 years on the same tandem with the same spouses, our Selkirk tour was a wonderful testament to riding together in a beautiful setting.

We started from Newport after parking our truck at a friend’s house for the week.

Ominous clouds “welcomed” us on our first part of the journey. Light rain was falling within the first mile, and that turned to light snow before Sandpoint. The magic happened with a stop in Sandpoint, maybe to recalibrate or reconsider. The clouds lingered, but the precipitation disappeared, and we had a wonderful trip further into Idaho to Bonners Ferry. We decided to push north past our original campground location and park for the night in Creston. We made it without further issue, but we just missed the last tour of Columbia Brewing, home of Kokanee. No more rain or snow, but it was still cold.

Farther up the road there was a free ferry to the Nelson side of Kootenay Lake, but to get on the ferry we had to descend a steep, but paved, launch ramp. Here we encountered our only mechanical issue of the trip: The pads on the disk brake were worn out.

Luckily the road to Nelson after the ferry ride was slightly up hill, and no quick braking was necessary. A day off in Nelson allowed for a repair at Gerick Cycle.

The day off also meant the cooler weather turned off. We went from about 65-70 degrees to over 90 in a day. By the time we connected with the Columbia River west of Nelson and rode into Trail, we were baking. Britt opted to hang out in the shade of a skimpy tree at our campground while I rode a couple of miles back to a Walmart for ice.

Returning to the U.S. included a slog up a couple of good climbs, but Britt and I were at least still in the same province. A pleasant downhill into Metaline Falls welcomed us back to Washington, and a restful night at Box Canyon Dam with an MBA classmate topped a gorgeous day.

Completing the loop meant an amble along the Pend Oreille River after we crossed to the east in Ione. Back at the truck we changed into dry clothes, chatted with our friends, and returned to Spokane life. Tired, yes, but rejuvenated from the experience. And still talking to each other after navigating the loop on a tandem, which is especially impressive given the adage among tandem riders: Relationships happen as they will, but they always happen faster on a tandem. // Michael Ebinger is the Director of WSU’s Center for Innovation on the WSU Health Sciences campus in Spokane. He and his wife, Britt Ravnan, moved to Spokane in 2009 and won’t be leaving any time soon.

SELKIRK LOOP BIKE RIDE TIPS Self-supported touring is fun, but demanding. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your own trip.

• Plan for all sorts of weather if traveling in June or before. July was instantly warm, so be ready with cooler clothes and be ready to hydrate.

• Even when it is cooler, hydrate well. Not with beer.

• A correlate: pack good food and eat well.

• Pack twice—the first time with all you want to carry, the second time (for real) with only the things you’ll need.

• Be ready for flats on the bike and on the trailer.

• Stop to take pictures. For the ex-racer, that is not a priority, but for the stoker on this tandem, it was essential.

• Catch your breath at a local café. When you walk in and confess to touring, you are an instant favorite with the owner(s) and anyone who is there. Cafés are also a great place to get local road info, such as where the bears were roaming, what construction was ahead, and how long you might have to wait to be waved through.

• Take a day off in the middle of the tour. Ours was in Nelson. It lets your knees and butt heal a bit, and it gives you a chance to see something other than the front wheel in the captain’s case or the captain if you are the stoker.

JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

19

RUN WILD

Running Season

By Sarah Hauge

FOR SOME, IT'S ALWAYS RUNNING SEASON IN THE INLAND NW. // PHOTO: JON JONCKERS

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

FOR MY FIRST FEW YEARS in Spokane, straight out of college and newly entered into the full-time workforce, I had a corporate job I found terribly dull—but that came with access to a basement gym, locker room, and showers. The subtle encouragement to make space for exercise during the workday was a life-changer, and I transformed from semi-regular runner to a disciplined one. Most days I went for a lunchtime run followed by a speedy shower in the locker room before heading back to my basement cubicle, red-faced but much happier. Those runs helped me find my place in a new city and begin to feel like myself during a stretch in my early 20s when I wasn’t exactly sure who “myself ” was.

Since I worked downtown, I quickly became acquainted with the Centennial Trail, often taking it out toward Gonzaga and looping back to Riverfront Park. I’m an allseason runner, but spring is, hands down, the best one. On spring days I’d feel then what I still feel now: a buoyant, rising optimism directly proportional to the lengthening days. I was delighted by the flowering trees, the intensity of the water surging over the falls, by the marmots snuffling along the riverbanks. Some days I’d run west of downtown, passing through the dirt-lot construction zone in the pre-Kendall Yards days and wondering what was going on over there.

Running helped other places grow familiar—the High Drive bluff trails that became part of my weekend route, the Riverside State Park trails I ran alongside a high school cross country team I briefly volunteered with, the relentless, steady uphill through Lincoln Park that leads to a pond and sweeping city views.

Running still feels like an escape from the duller parts of life—and I still feel like I’ve just scratched the surface of Spokane running routes. There’s always some new avenue or trail to check out, and always something slightly different about where I’ve been running for years. Spring brings more sunlight, more color, and more people out into the world, making it an ideal time to explore.

Lately I’ve been including a stretch of the Ben Burr Trail into the loops I run from my house. The other day I crossed paths with a group of friends out hiking, a few dog walkers, and a mother and son running together.

Then I encountered something as novel to me as marmots once were: a family out walking two goats. “That’s new,” I thought.

What else, I wonder, will my running routes surprise me with this spring? // Sarah Hauge is a writer and editor who lives in Spokane with her husband and two daughters. She writes Out There’s Run Wild column.

JUNE 2020 / OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM

21

GEAR ROOM

Bikepacking Gear Upgrade

By Derrick Knowles

AKU SELVATICA GTX HIKING BOOTS

These boots made by Italian company AKU are a light, nimble, waterproof/breathable option for taking on the Inland Northwest’s rougher mountain trails. The Elica Fit technology allows your feet their natural range of motion and normal heel and forefoot positioning for comfort and control.

And welded PU exoskeletons, Vibram Megagrip outsoles, and a mid-cut profile provide foot and ankle support and traction on rocky trails and during unplanned but always fun lost trail bushwhacks. MSRP: $179.95 (possibly still on sale at REI for $134.93). Akuoutdoor.com (Wil Wheaton)

SIX MOON DESIGNS SWIFT X ULTRALIGHT BACKPACK

THE GEAR I COBBLED together for my first couple of bikepacking trips included a cheap rack that mounted to my seat post, a few dry bags, several Bungee cords, and one huge backpack. Many miles and back aches later, I made some major gear upgrades last fall in preparation for a 280-mile ride along the Cape Loop of the Baja Divide Trail in Mexico.

While there are plenty of options out there, I was fortunate to make an industry connection with the Seattle-based crew from Ortlieb, a company with a long history of making waterproof and technical bags for biking and other outdoor activities. Ortlieb’s German-made bike bags would be a huge improvement on the patchwork of gear I had.

Since carrying 8-10 liters of water was required for several stretches of our Baja route given the intense heat of late October, I opted for several bike bags including burly rack-mounted paniers over a more trim, light, and compact seat pack for one purpose: to haul more water; gear; and other perks like fresh fruit and vegies, canned beans, rice, tequila, and a great book. With all that on-bike storage, I was ready for backpack and backache free riding through the deserts and mountains of southern Baja.

Here are the bike bags the crew from Ortlieb ended up setting me up with.

Ortlieb Frame Pack: This large frame pack fills the triangular space below your top tube. With its low center of gravity it’s ideal for stashing heavier items like tools, stove fuel, and water bladders. The pack is waterproof nylon; has a bomber, waterproof zipper; and secures to the top tube, seat tube, and down tube with super strong Velcro straps. It comes in a 4-liter or 6-liter option depending on the size of your bike frame.

MSRP: $140-150 22

OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

Ortlieb Cockpit: I developed an unexpected fondness for this little 48 cubic inch bag that sits on your top tube up against your head tube after digging into it almost hourly on our Baja ride. It’s an easy-access place to stash things you’ll frequently need along the trail. I used mine to stow high-calorie snacks, Lyte Balance electrolytes, sunscreen, my debit card, and a wad of Pesos.

The large, zippered opening made finding what you need fast and easy. Stiffened material on the inside of the bag means the Cockpit keeps its shape, while still being lightweight and waterproof. MSRP: $65 Ortlieb Bike-packer Plus Rear Panier Bags: Since we weren’t trying to break any speed records on the 40-60+ miles we rode each day, these rack-mounted rear panier bags provided a ton of space for food, water, clothes, more water, and other comfort gear like a Crazy Creek camp chair. The classic flap closure is easy to use, and the front compartment fits small items like paper maps and notebook. The strong, waterproof Cordura fabric braved sand, rock, and cactus thorns like saddle leather.

The QL2.1 bag mounting system with selfclosing hooks made detaching the bags from the rack for packing and unpacking super fast. The only drawback of even the best-designed paniers on extremely rough and rutted terrain is that they can and do rattle loose and require re-tightening from time to time. For all of that storage space, that slight inconvenience was worth it.

If you plan to bikepack on desert routes where water is scarce, through rainy or cold weather where more clothing and shelter are a good idea, or with kids or anyone who wants to bring some of the comforts of home, Ortlieb’s Bike-packer panier bags give you all the packing space you could want. MSRP: $265

If you still carry cans of soup into the backcountry, this pack is not for you. I tested this ultra-light, 36-ounce backpack over 21 miles on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River Trail on a 24-hour trip. After I packed all the essentials, the bag was so light I threw in a Bota bladder of wine. My first impression of the pack had me concerned with the micro buckles used on the sternum straps and waist belt. Down the trail a bit I began to employ the walk hills and jog the rest approach.

The first thing that struck me was that this pack is comfortable! The harness system hugs your upper body even when stumbling down the hills. Well thoughtout pockets positioned over the sternum straps and waist belt negate the need for a top pocket. I encountered a storm and the rain beaded off the waterproof fabric as you'd expect.

All in all, I'd strongly recommend this pack to light weight enthusiasts. MSRP: $270. Sixmoondesigns. com (Bryan McDirmid)

MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT DIHEDRAL PANTS

Mountain Equipment has been making gear for over 50 years, and it shows in the quality of each piece I’ve owned. The Dihedral climbing pants are strong and stretchy thanks to stretch ascender fabric construction. Climb through the seasons in them, from the local crag to alpine adventures. And they are shockingly comfortable, so comfy in fact that I wouldn’t bat and eye at snuggling up in them for a nap. Fortunately, that comfort doesn’t

come with worries of shredding your britches to bits. These puppies are tough. The Dihedral pants have a zipped rear pocket and an oversized guidebook-size pocket too. MSRP: $100.

Mountain-equipment. com (Wil Wheaton)

GREGORY CITRO H20 HYDRATION DAY PACK

In addition to hikes, I’ve been taking this new hydration day pack from Gregory with me on everything from walks to the grocery store and bike rides with the kid. It comes in three sizes (24, 30, and 36 liters), and I’m glad I have the 36-liter capacity to haul all of the “what if ” items I often feel compelled to pack. The back panel and shoulder harnesses are ventilated, and the pack has plenty of creative and useful features like a magnetic sternum buckle and elastic loop system on the shoulder strap for quickly securing sunglasses. Given its overall low weight, there are a crazy number of storage options.

In addition to the zippered hydration compartment and main zippered storage compartment, the 36-liter comes with two

other external zippered compartments, one with a zipper-accessed stash pocket, and the other with padding and a divider for sensitive items. There is also a large, external mesh storage pocket at the back of the pack and one on each side of the hip belt (ideal for water bottles). Plus, there are two zippered hip belt pouches that are great for stowing snacks. Best of all, the pack comes with Gregory’s new 3D Hydro Reservoir that fits securely into an oversized hydration sleeve. The bladder includes a quick release connection on the hose that allows for quick removal for filling without unthreading the hose from the pack, and it comes with a built-in hook for hanging it up to air dry. MSRP: $139.95-$159.95.

Gregorypacks.com (Derrick Knowles)

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CR O SS-WASHING TO N Other riders take their time, making sure they hit every brewpub on the course.

BY JUSTIN M. SHORT THE CROSS-WASHINGTON Mountain Bike Race, or XWA as we’ve

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come to call it, is a 700+ mile self-supported ultra bikepacking race that crosses the great state of Washington—from the picturesque sea stacks of La Push on the Olympic Peninsula to Tekoa, a mere 40 miles south of Spokane. The XWA route and its “Grand Depart” on the third Sunday in May are the brainchild of Seattle ultra endurance rider Troy Hopwood. Hopwood wanted to promote the John Wayne Trail, now the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail (PTCT), which wasn’t seeing much use.

XWA is a non-race, non-event sort of thing, but you can be sure that freaks of nature will be out there gunning for the finish line— including course record holder, Josh Kato, and 2019 Grand Depart winner, Thomas Baron. Other riders take their time, making sure they hit every brewpub on the course and the pie shop in North Bend that offers a free slice to XWA riders.

On May 18, 2019, riders rolled out onto a misty beach at La Push for the ceremonial dunk of the rear wheel in the ocean. They were ready for scenery, ready for adventure; as for the ride, they would soon see. The countdown was made and they all shuffled toward the tangled mountain of driftwood through which they hefted bikes to begin this epic journey.

To fully understand this race, you have to understand the ethic of bikepacking. Distinct from bicycle touring, bikepacking can be any overnight bike trip, but tends toward ultralight minimalism and off-road adventure. A typical adventure bikepacking race is a selfsupported affair with no support crews, no feed stations, no course markings, and no prizes. The exception for XWA is that the town of Tekoa offered $15 gift certificates for the top 10 finishers to any of Tekoa’s four restaurants.

The first leg across the Olympic Peninsula was filled, as one might suspect, with magical fern-carpeted forests as riders pedaled over mountain passes on gravel roads and some exceedingly fun singletrack trails with that favorite west side companion, RAIN. The ferry from Kingston offered 6 miles of respite from the grind. Then the route begins hopscotching through parks along the northern Seattle suburbs up the steepest climbs of the whole route.

The Snoqualmie Valley Trail leads riders to the PTCT, which offers a rather gentle climb over Snoqualmie Pass through an almost 3-mile long tunnel at the summit. The route continues on this chunky gravel rail trail all the way to Kittitas, where the route cuts north over the barely rideable Colockum Ridge, then plummets 3,000 feet down into Wenatchee. The last big climb over the Rock Island Grade leads into Palisades, Washington’s own Grand Canyon, and on to Ephrata, through a herd of cows to Moses Lake. It then crosses a waist-deep canal on the way to Ritzville and continues through the Swamps of Doom to the finish.

XWA 2020 will be a virtual race, and you can follow riders’ progress at www.bandok.com. Participants can complete the race either on their trainers or anywhere outdoors in a single push, or they can put in the mileage over the course of a month. Bandók Virtual Events offers virtual options for other long distance challenges throughout the summer. // Justin M. Short has recently been drafted to write the Everyday Cyclist column for OTO. Watch his “Lockdown Washington Mountain Bike Race” on YouTube—a Stay Home, Stay Healthy-inspired spoof on the 2020 XWA race.

Owyhee A River for the Bucket List

By Paul Delaney

Outdoor Adventurers,

Stonerose Fossils Misses You! STONEROSE INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND EOCENE FOSSIL SITE

provides a rare experience! Hunt for fossils, identify them with our staff and then take some home.

OWYHEE RIVER BOATERS' CAMP. // PHOTO: PAUL DELANEY

FOR THOSE WHO WONDER what the pioneers might have seen as they traveled the Oregon Trail in the 1840s, take a trip to the Owyhee River in faraway southeastern Oregon.

And while you’re at it, since you likely drove hundreds of miles, better take the next five days and experience the 50 miles of Owyhee from “see level.” Because why else, other than maybe taking U.S. 95, the scenic “Blue Highway” route to Reno, Tahoe, and maybe Las Vegas, would you venture into the visage of the middle of nowhere?

That opportunity came my way in the spring of 2019 when I was able to knock the Owyhee off of a river bucket list that officially turned 40 this year.

But much has to fall into place to experience this river that defines the word “remote.” The Owyhee flows through vast Malheur County with just 3.2 people per each of its nearly 10,000 square miles. By comparison Spokane County has 275 people for each of its 1,800 square miles.

Enveloping the Owyhee canyon is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of public land left in the lower 48 states—and it shows, particularly on the drive out from Birch Creek.

The ability to raft the Owyhee and its handful of notable rapids—Whistling Bird, Montgomery, and Rock Dam—requires the fickle weather of the high desert to cooperate.

Tales of freezing temperatures and winter/ spring rafting encased in a drysuit, plus the pure logistics, always had the Owyhee on my list. But retirement opened plenty of options, and our group won with temperatures in the 70s and just a sprinkle of rain after a May 5 launch.

The best Owyhee opportunities happen when the West’s winter is influenced by an El Niño where the storm track generally dives

south into California. Officially, the winter of 2018-19 was “neutral”—neither El Niño or La Niña—same as 2019-20.

Our trip ran from the Bureau of Land Management boat ramp and campground, just east of the wide spot in U.S. Highway 95 known as Rome, and covered 50 miles to the remote Birch Creek Ranch takeout. Add 10 miles of flat water, with a motor heavily advised, if you take out at Leslie Gulch.

Upstream from Rome is the dynamic but incredibly difficult middle section of the Owyhee. This 35-mile stretch from remote Three Forks includes Half-Mile and Bombshelter, a pair of Class-4 drops, and arguably the darkest name for a rapid ever— Widowmaker. It’s a Class VI falls that does get run, but is normally portaged. Google it and either option ought to make you cringe.

The entire Owyhee is full of both geologic and pioneer history.

From Rome there are still scattered remnants of pioneer homesteads. Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacajawea, is buried in the area. The rusted relic of a waterwheel sits along the shore near Birch Creek.

The Owyhee River and its tributaries flow through the Owyhee Plateau, cutting deep canyons, often with vertical walls and in some places over 1,000 feet deep. Its headwaters are in northern Nevada and the river is 280 miles long. Notable among the many stunning vistas are Lambert Dome in the Chalk Basin—composed of layers of reddish rhyolite and basalt—and Iron Point Canyon with its towering sheer walls. //

Due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid -19 and our desire to keep staff and customers safe, Stonerose has not set a re-opening date.

We are being optimistic and staying positive that it could be soon.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! We will post our opening date as soon as possible.

Chec k our website or fac ebook page for information about our sc hedule, watc h videos and learn more.

Read about our future Premier Environmental Natural-History Education Center and how to support our Hop, Skip and a Jump Campaign!

www.stonerosefossil.org

www.facebook.com/SRFOSSILS

www.ferrycountyview.com

SpokaneMASKS •Made in Spokane, Wash.

•Quick Turnaround Time •Porch Delivery in Spokane Area

Paul Delaney has been a whitewater enthusiast since 1980 and has rafted dozens of rivers across the West. He’s a co-founder of the Northwest Whitewater Association rafting club and can be reached at spokanerafterguy@comcast.net.

LOWER OWYHEE RIVER TRIP DETAILS • Rome to Birch Creek or Leslie Gulch Length: 48 or 65 miles • Gradient: 15 fpm • Difficulty: Class III • Season: Spring • Rec. Level: 800 – 5,000 cfs • Agency: BLM • Permits: Self Registration • Put-in: Rome • Take-out: Birch Creek or Leslie Gulch • More info: www.whitewaterguidebook.com

Email: SpokaneMasks@gmail.com | Facebook: Spokane Masks ORDER AT: SpokaneMasks.com UNINVITED RIVER GUEST. // PHOTO: PAUL DELANEY

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35 Close to Home Summer Adventures DON’T DESPAIR if your summer vacation plans have been left in the lurch by

COVID-19. We live in a place that happens to be a summer travel destination for many people across the country. And with so many nearby lakes, rivers, trails, and public land acres, the question should never be “what is there to do this summer” but “how do we fit it all in!” How many of these local outdoor adventures can you squeeze in this summer?

Load up the bikes for a Sandpoint, Idaho, mountain bike trip. Check out Pendoreillepedalers.org for riding recommendations. Favorites include the Syringa Trails, Gold Hill, Bernard Peak, and trails at Schweitzer Mountain Resort and the Selkirk Recreation District Trail system below the resort.

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1 Tag off as many hikes in one of our local hiking guidebooks as you can.

Pick one up from your local, independent bookstore, like Aunties Bookstore in downtown Spokane.

5 Hike, run, or mountain bike as many of the Spokane County Conservation Areas as you can.

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3 PADDLE ALONG THE SHORE ON LAKE PEND OREILLE FROM CITY BEACH IN SANDPOINT. THE LOCAL OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE GEAR SHOP IN TOWN RENTS PADDLEBOARDS AND KAYAKS IF YOU NEED THEM.

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4 Break out the binoculars and try to learn to identify at least 5 new bird species in your backyard or a nearby natural area. Check out Audubon.org for resources.

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TRY ALL THREE OF OUR NEARBY ZIPLINE TOURS: SILVER STREAK (WALLACE), MICA MOON (LIBERTY LAKE), AND TIMBERLINE ADVENTURES (COEUR D’ALENE).

SKIP THE SHUTTLE AND RIDE BOTH DIRECTIONS OF THE ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA RAIL TRAIL NEAR WALLACE.

Ride sections of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, a 73-mile paved path running across the Idaho Panhandle from Plummer to Mullan. Or if you’re feeling hardcore, bike the whole thing in one day.

Ride from Spokane on the paved Fish Lake Trail, then along a section of the Cheney-Spokane Road, and connect with the Columbia Plateau Trail and continue all the way into Cheney for refreshments before heading back home. Start at Fish Lake to shorten the ride.

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Try jumping out of an airplane near Ritzville, Wash. with an experienced Skydive West Plains guide once they are allowed to open back up.

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Go swimming in your favorite swimmable lake. If it’s within hiking or biking distance, ditch the car and make it a humanpowered adventure.

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PHOTOS BY CAROL CORBIN, SHALLAN KNOWLES AND ZACK MCCALL

OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

Break out the gravel grinder or mountain bike and ride up to Moon Pass from historic Wallace, Idaho. Explore sections of singletrack from there or just bomb back down for a beer at one of the local breweries. Want a little help with the climb? Rent an e-bike from Cogs Spokehouse in Wallace and then take on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes on a ride up to the town of Mullan or west to Kellogg.

Learn to climb and start exploring the vertical world of the many amazing climbing areas scattered about Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

While climber friends may be willing to teach you the ropes, you can fast-track your learning in a safe environment with a class from a guide like Inland Northwest Climbing Outfitters.

Visit the Seven Devils Mountains and wilderness area near Riggins, Idaho, and camp, backpack, day hike, or visit the nearby fire lookout. Bring your mountain bike for at least one person in your group to make the long gravel road descent from the Seven Devils via bicycle on the way back down to the highway.

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Go rafting or kayaking in Riggins, Idaho. Bring your own gear if you’re up for navigating the mostly class III rapids on the stretch of river above and below town, or sign up for a guided trip if you don’t have the riverrunning skills or equipment.

12 Hike into an alpine lake in the Selkirks, Bitterroots, Cascades, or Cabinets and fish for your own dinner.

17 Ride the relatively new Brush Lake Trail intermediate mountain bike trail near Bonners Ferry. This 5.6mile trail was built by mountain bikers and will be good fun for most riders.

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18 Float or paddle as many sections of the Spokane River from the Idaho Stateline to Riverside State Park that you have the skills and gear to manage safely.

Night hike one of your favorite National Forest or Spokane County or City of Spokane trails to enjoy the stars and night sounds of nature. Download a star gazing app or hike near a pond or lake with a healthy frog population to amplify the experience.

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Take a waterfall road trip and stop for short hikes into these cascades near Bonners Ferry: Myrtle Falls, Upper and Lower Snow Creek Falls, Copper Falls, and Smith Creek Falls. Closer to home, take the short hike into Indian Canyon Park just west of downtown Spokane to check out Mystic Falls, or a longer hike into Liberty Lake Regional Park to the falls above the cedar grove and switchbacks.

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Give some respect back to the indigenous people whose traditional lands we now recreate and live on by learning more about their culture and history.

Spend a day or two biking or hiking the Empire Trails above Spirit Lake (inexpensive permit required) and paddling and fishing the lake. You can rent paddleboards, kayaks, and other gear from the Spirit Lake Rec Center at the boat launch or e-bikes from Fresh Air E-bikes.

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Paddle the Spokane River from the Division Street put in downtown and head upstream for food and drink if available from No-Li or Bangkok Thai. Fun Unlimited rents paddleboards and kayaks at the put in if you don’t have your own.

RIDE BETWEEN SPOKANE AND COEUR D’ALENE ON THE CENTENNIAL TRAIL AND STOP AT SWIMMING HOLES ALONG THE WAY TO KEEP COOL.

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25 Avoid the crowds at popular fishing access sites and docks and hike (when public lands provide access) or paddle into a more remote fishing hole.

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Hike into these Inland Northwest old growth groves: Ross Creek Cedar Grove (Montana), Hobo Cedar Grove (North Idaho), DeVoto Memorial Cedar Grove (Northcentral Idaho), Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars (Priest Lake, Idaho), Hanna Flats Cedar Grove (Priest Lake, Idaho), Virginia Lilly Old Growth Trail (Northcentral Washington), Big Tree Botanical Loop (Northcentral Washington).

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Plan an epic park or natural area picnic with friends or family maintaining social distancing.

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Hike or bike one of your favorite trails, find a scenic spot, and bingeread your all-time-favorite outdoor adventure/travel book or novel.

23 While Ferry County’s Get Out Fest has sadly been canceled this year, you can still head up there to ride the 25-mile long Ferry County Rail Trail, hike or bike on the Kettle Crest, and paddle on Curlew Lake on your own.

SIX TIPS TO HELP YOU #RecreateResponsibly 1. Know Before You Go: Check the status of the place you want to visit. If it is closed, don’t go. If it’s crowded, have a plan B. 2. Plan Ahead: Prepare for facilities to be closed; pack your own food; and bring essentials like hand sanitizer, sunscreen, first-aid supplies, appropriate clothing, water, and a face covering.

3. Stay Close to Home: This is not the time to travel long distances to recreate. Many places are only open for day use.

4. Practice Physical Distancing: Adventure only with your immediate household. Be prepared to cover your nose and mouth and give others space. If you are sick, stay home.

5. Play It Safe: Slow down and choose lower-risk activities to reduce your risk of injury. Search and rescue operations and health care resources may be strained in some areas.

6. Leave No Trace: Respect public lands and communities and take all your garbage with you. (Adapted from tips courtesy of the Recreate Responsibly Coalition)

Pick up a guidebook to native plants of our region and hike your favorite nearby trails and make an effort to learn the most common shrubs and plants.

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32 Pick up some discs at the General Store in Spokane and hike and play your pick of the region’s many public disc golf courses, such as Camp Sekani Park or High Bridge Park in Spokane or Corbin Park in Post Falls.

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Ride a section of the Palouse to Cascades trail, a crushed-rock surface rail trail, like the highly scenic section between Rosalia and Pine City. You’ll need to complete a free online registration process before riding or hiking along this 285-mile long State Park trail that stretches across Washington.

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Bummed that your favorite race got canceled or postponed? Make up your own close-to-home sufferfest and con some friends into joining you for some social distancing type 2 fun.

Take an overnight bikepacking trip. Visit your local bike shop for the racks and bags you’ll need to keep the weight off your back, then pick an open campground destination a day’s ride from your house or other starting point. Find a route that incorporates as many trails or back roads as possible.

Potential destinations include state park campgrounds if open, resorts/RV parks at lakes near Cheney and on Lake Roosevelt that offer camping, dispersed camping sites on National Forest land north of Coeur d’Alene, and other private campgrounds/RV parks near the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.

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BIKE OR WALK TO THE FARMERS MARKET

Two of the best things you can do for your health this summer are getting outside for some exercise and eating healthy food, including lots of fruits and vegetables. Biking or urban hiking to a local farmers market accomplishes both and makes for a great summertime urban adventure. See if you can work in a section of the Spokane River Centennial Trail or Ben Burr Trail (Spokane), North Idaho Centennial Trail (Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene), Larch and Fifth or Sand Creek pathways (Sandpoint), or other trails into your outing. Bring a backpack or bike basket or panniers for hauling your food home.

Shopping for local food in an outdoor market is also safer than a trip to a crowded grocery store, and many markets like the Spokane Farmers’ Market are taking special precautions, including asking patrons to wear masks, gloves, and practice social distancing. The Spokane Farmers Market will also have extra hand washing stations and waste containers for gloves and wipes. Keep in mind too that SFM organizers are asking that only one family member come to shop and dogs are not allowed. Each market may have their own COVID-19 related policies so check the website for the one you plan to visit before you go.

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URBAN OUTDOORS

4 Carless Adventures

By Ingrid Hannan

LEFT: WAKING UP AT PRIEST LAKE // THIS PHOTO: BLACKS BEACH AT CURLEW LAKE - BIKE PACK TRIP. // BELOW: PLOW BOY AT DUSK. PHOTOS: CAROL CORBIN

WHO SAYS YOU NEED to own a car to go on an adventure? Sure, it's harder to get to national parks and wide swaths of wilderness on your own without one. As someone living in an urban area, I regularly feel an urge to be somewhere more natural, wilder, and more beautiful. And yet, if I wait to be on top of a mountain or alone in a forest to feel that itch scratched, I'll almost never get the chance. Here are four ways to cultivate this spirit of adventure closer to home.

GO EARLY

Get up before dawn and ride your bike to a park with a beautiful vista. When you get to a good viewpoint, you can pour yourself a thermos of hot coffee and watch the sun come up. You'll usually have the place to yourself and a chorus of birds.

Suggested ride: Manito Park. For a mellow or family-friendly alternative: Take bus number 4 or bus up the hill and bike back down.

GO LATE

GO BIG

Grab a friend and your headlamps and do a post-work sunset run. Yep, we're tired after work, and it can feel intimidating to hit the trails or the streets with limited light.

But there's fun and motivation in coming together, and it can be a great way to train for that summer trip. Also, there's something about headlamp light that makes things feel adventurous.

Make an all-day adventure from your door.

Pack up your backpacking pack and put on your boots. Throw in breakfast and lunch and even bring your camping stove. Bring a map and compass and plan to spend an entire day walking to some far-off destination. Getting up early, planning a route, heating up a quick meal with a camp pot, and feeling the familiar weight of your pack is all it takes to feel like you’re on an adventure. This is a great way to train, and there's so much to see when we are looking at our surroundings with more observant eyes. This also works as an all day bike trip.

Suggested run: Spokane’s Riverfront Park. You can start and end near the fountain, which puts you within walking distance to some awesome post-run takeout food options.

GO UP

USE A BIKE-FRIENDLY STA BUS TO GET A JUMP START ON YOUR CAR-FREE ADVENTURES.

Get Creative Check out bus routes that may take you someplace new. Get friends to join you in early morning or late night versions of your favorite local fun. And planning a bigger trip with a car rental or your own wheels can feel all that much sweeter when you've been building up to it. Wilderness and adventure are as accessible as your imagination and fearlessness to try something different.

Spokane is blessed with local climbing crags. Several you can even take a bus to!

It's amazing how even just a half day of climbing at a local crag on a sunny morning—even if it’s a short, moderate climb with no glorious view at the top—can generate a moment of connecting to that wild, scary, adventure feeling.

Suggested spot: Dishman Hills. Use bus 90 or 94.

Suggested trail: Centennial trail. Jump on the centennial trail at your nearest of favorite trailheads. Head all the way to Idaho, or link up to Riverside and Nine Mile Falls. // Ingrid Hannan is currently living in a big city for grad school but feels her real education happened mountaineering in the North Cascades, climbing rocks in the desert, skiing uphill, getting pummeled by ocean waves, and backpacking in glacial valleys. She escapes to wilderness to learn more whenever she gets the chance.

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LAST PAGE Scanning for Wolves NORTHEASTERN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK IS UNBELIEVABLY WILD. A dear friend

of mine has taken a group of university students there for a week every summer since 2005. They watch wolves and write.

Teeming herds of large mammals, expansive vistas, and the surging power of nature aid these practicing authors. Most writers don't get a week like this—especially writers like me.

I am quadriplegic. I am an electric wheelchair user. I can't get myself a drink, eat, or swipe away marauding insects without assistance. That represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to helping me. Still, I maintain a unique individuality.

My parents are my caretakers. Helping me join in the Yellowstone experience was something they were more than happy to assist with. They are incredibly supportive of my independent pursuits, even when it means getting up before the sun to wander around the wild.

On the first day of our Yellowstone experience in June 2017, the early morning gray skies began to lighten as we neared the Lamar Valley. A cow moose running near the river was our first wildlife sighting of the day. She was nervous about something, but we did not see what it might be. The sun was

By Travis Laurence Naught

fully up by 6 a.m. as we backed into our parking spot with a view of the hills bordering the northern edge of the valley.

Other drivers using the turnout heeded our request for extra room on our passenger side so when wolves were sighted I could exit using the wheelchair lift. My experience is that people are generally gracious when they have time to process the needs of others.

Setting up viewing scopes for the students was the next order of business. Then we got down to serious scanning.

I've been a successful deer hunter several times over. It seems I have a knack for spotting animals from afar in their natural habitat. This trip taught me there is no way the naked eye can compete with high-powered optics at distances over 2,000 yards. Still, at our first stop I was the first to see three elk along the ridgeline. That was worth something to my ego.

We sat for an hour and a half before deciding to change locations. Students gathered the gear and we were off. It was not a failure to have to look in more than one place for these cautious canines. Being in the wilderness, begging fate to consider us lucky enough to see wolves outside of cages in a zoo, working to better our odds—it was a thrilling chase.

Zip Into Wallace zipwallace.com 208-556-1690

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OUTTHEREOUTDOORS.COM / JUNE 2020

Our next stop was a known den site. Turf wars had been recently witnessed there.

Onlookers had spied an individual from a neighboring pack sniffing around. Mob style behavior in nature. Very cool.

A very large, very brown lone animal was spied walking across the hillside half a mile from us. It appeared wallowing in its gait.

I was certain it was a grizzly bear. Wolves were the prime objective, but I also wanted to see the single most powerful predator in North America. And there he was, unhurried in his girth.

Turned out to be a damned buffalo. There was some joshing at my expense. My desires had led me to into an incorrect assumption.

This happens to everyone who spends time outdoors, and I consider being teased a rite of passage. My ability to take it in good spirits solidified me as part of the group.

We found wolves at our third stop. Four vehicles parked at a bathroom pullout quickly turned into 50 or 60. Extra rangers were called in to assist with parking and show folks where to look. Rick, a ranger in the park with over 20 years’ experience, turned into our private guide. He explained the history of each individual wolf we saw. He answered questions and told dry jokes for the better part of 45 minutes. Ranger Rick

left quite the impression on our group that day.

I didn't even exit the van to use the spotting scope. My friend placed it on the wheelchair lift and dialed it in so all I had to do was place my eye to the lens and enjoy. I did.

For 15 minutes, sharing time with others, we watched five wolves lie down and wander around from 2,200 yards away. We were a family. They were a family. It was not life and death thrilling. It was Woody Allen drama.

It was incredible for its normalcy.

Class was scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Our breakfast had worn off and lunch was calling from the hotel. On the way, we saw a spectacular herd of American Bison. 2,000 members were spread across the valley. Each of them milled around with its own agenda, not bothered by sightseers or their history of being massacred in such collectives. None of them did anything spectacular, but the vision of this traditional Western motif was moving. // Travis Laurence Naught is an author from Cheney, Washington. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and went on to complete coursework in the sports psychology graduate program at Eastern Washington University. His books include “The Virgin Journals” (2012) and “Joyride” (2016).

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