Backcountry Booty Contest – Hidden 9.5.2023 Play our region’s family friendly scavenger hunt! We hid a prize out in a regional park and you get to go find it. CONTEST RULES Play the Out There Venture Backcountry Booty treasure hunt contest and you get to explore different trails around the region and possibly win gift […]
Backcountry Booty – Sept 2023 Read More »
Long before Spokane received any permanent settlers, Etienne Eduard Laliberte (later Steve Liberty) homesteaded the west side of Liberty Lake in 1871. The area surrounding the marsh was developed into a cattle ranch. The rancher diverted Liberty Creek (originally named Kalez) into a hand-dug channel along the eastern edge of the marsh. Later the creek
Saving Liberty Lake Read More »
The Inland Northwest is home to hundreds of lakes within an hour’s drive in any direction. When the temperatures start to rise, it’s time to get out on the lake! Pick something in the list below you might enjoy, then find the corresponding number for details on which lakes make the best fit for your
38 Things to Do at the Lake Read More »
When mountain biking at 20-25 mph, a cyclist travels at 29-36 feet per second, according to a 2016 multiple-agency committee report on a bicycle-grizzly bear collisions near West Glacier, Mont. That’s fast. Stopping 100 yards away, far enough from a bear to initially remain safe before turning around, is difficult on windy trails among thick
Mountain Biking in Grizzly Country Read More »
As my colleague pointed out, “It’s good to write about wolves; everyone is interested because everyone has an opinion.” Wolves were functionally extinct in Washington from the 1930’s until the first breeding pair showed up in 2008. This season, wolves have dispersed into new territory on the westside, edging them closer to the state’s recovery
State of Washington State’s Wolves Read More »
From wildlife encounters to bathroom emergencies, running and embarrassment sometimes go hand in hand. Check out readers’ most awkward running moments below—and be thankful they haven’t happened to you. I was so stoked to run St. George’s downhill marathon one October. The buses shlepped us to the top of the canyons at an ungodly hour,
Embarrassing Runner Stories Read More »
Shortly after getting off-route on a backcountry backpacking trip in northcentral Idaho, I heard about Topo Maps+, a backcountry navigation and mapping app developed by 45-year-old Spokanite Stephen Johnson. Talking with him, I learned that the Topo Maps+ app was built to be a simple navigation solution for people like me who would rather be
Local Backcountry Navigation and Mapping App Read More »
If you’re physically fit, you can hike the three highest mountains of Eastern Washington. I’ve hiked them multiple times and have also done the 50 highest in order to complete the guide book “Hiking the 50 Highest Mountains of Eastern Washington”, which came out in 2003. It has since gone out of print, but you
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I’ve hit the backcountry more than I have in years this summer. From camping amidst yarrow and wild strawberries in the Okanogan National Forest to biking the Route of the Hiawatha through steep, pine-filled hills, I have been reminded of the incredible variety of terrain in our region. I’ve also been running the trails close
Learning on the Trail Read More »
The first guidebook in my personal collection was a copy of Rich Landers’ 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest, purchased circa 2001, when hiking and backpacking were brand new sports to me. That initial copy was from a late printing of the 1987 book, and when the second edition came out in 2003 I wasted
Summer Picks from “100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest” Read More »
