One extra-long Labor Day weekend, my brother Scott and I unexpectedly drove nearly 1,000 miles in three days, hiking, camping, and wandering at will across a vast swath of public lands in northcentral Idaho. Our goal was pretty simple. See as much of this wild, remote country as possible in 70 or so hours. Leaving […]
Where the Blacktop Ends Read More »
Last summer, Lake Coeur d’Alene was the setting of fatal boating accidents, and every summer, unfortunately, there are too many drowning deaths on regional lakes. Whether you’re wakeboarding, water skiing, cruising in a motorboat, kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding or swimming, play it safe by always looking for other boaters, paddlers, and swimmers in the water; keeping
Play It Safe on the Water: Safety Tips for Boaters and Paddlers Read More »
If you already have a “lake place” – your own or your parents,’ your friend’s grandparents or cousins, or your Uncle Bob’s – then you likely already have your favorite lake. But for the rest of us, any of the dozens of Inland Northwest lakes can be ours for the loving. To feel the cold
Inland NW Lake Guide 2017 Read More »
“Discovering” a new place so close to home that you immediately love is an uncommon delight when you’ve lived in the same place your whole life. My wife Shallan and I had skied the B.C. Okanagan region’s snowy peaks, Big White (near Kelowna) and Silver Star (a short drive from Vernon), and had heard several
Wine, Wheels, and Wanderlust: Exploring British Columbia’s Lake Country Read More »
The number of race options in the world is enough to excite and, in some cases, overwhelm athletes. There are road races, themed races like the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Color Me Rad, charity races like Race for the Cure, mud runs like the Dirty Dash, and even more daring events like the Bare
Fitness Training with Your Own DIY Multi-Sport Challenges Read More »
The Mission Mountains make a familiar sight to travelers between Missoula and Flathead Lake, their serrated, snow-draped peaks, crowned by 9,280-foot McDonald Peak and its dozen or so neighbors in the 9,000-foot club. Despite appearing impassible to travel, the Missions boast some of the most easily rewarding, high-country day hiking in the Northwest. They have short, shallow-grade trails accessing hundreds of high-elevation tarns with one of
Mission Mountain Lake Hikes Read More »
Fellow open water swimmers, the Coeur d’Alene Crossing on August 13, is a gem of a race you will not want to miss. This is open water simmers’ only opportunity to swim all the way across this beautiful lake protected from boat traffic. I love how its long, 2.4-mile, one-way course tests mind and body.
The Coeur d’Alene Crossing (August 13) Read More »
Reap the benefits of recent trail improvements (with more to come later this summer) on this long loop hike into the Salmo Priest Wilderness. Enter via Thunder Creek trail #526, where the first two miles are along an old roadbed with an easy grade through an abandoned logging unit. When the trail enters the old
Thunder Creek Loop, Colville National Forest Read More »
June 4 is National Trails Day – go for a hike! Check out Indian Painted Rocks, a 6.8-mile round-trip loop trail within the Riverside State Park Little Spokane River Natural Area. wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/little-spokane-river. June is Great Outdoors Month and National Camping Month. In fact, June 25 is National Backyard Campout Day – an easy “staycation.” Play
100 Fun Things to Do Outside this Summer Read More »
The Silver Valley was settled when miners came looking for gold near the south fork of the Coeur d’Alene River in the late 1870s. After a few years, it became clear that where the real jackpot lay was in galena and other silver and lead deposits found in the area. This small stretch of
Explore Mining History in North Idaho’s Silver Valley Read More »
