Who doesn’t want more joy and less stress?! The holiday season is rich with old tradition. For ages, people have been collectively fascinated with this particular time of year. Yet the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that today, 64 percent of American adults experience the “holiday blues,” or feelings of anxiety and sadness associated with extra stress and unrealistic expectations. 

It is possible to re-enchant the holidays by grounding celebrations in the physical world. Evidence shows that time spent outdoors matters to our health. “Biophilia means we are wired to be connected to nature—that there’s something healthy about having nature either in our presence or us being present in nature,” says Dr. Brent Bauer, of the Mayo Clinic.

“If biophilia delivers benefits to humans,” says Psychology Today, “then our increased distance and detachment from the natural world, due to urbanization, technological advances, and other factors, could have negative effects on our well-being—not to mention on nature itself.”

The way we spend time indoors also matters. Just the act of coming in from the cold offers a surge of endorphin-laced coziness. To work more of that feeling into your holidays, stock up on candles, hot tea, and wood for the fireplace. Bake a pie or make a pot of soup, and invite friends or family to share it. A sweet spot exists at this balancing point where cold, active pursuits meet a kind of restful, glowing warmth.

This concept of harmony between cold and cozy is not new. Cold, nature-embracing regions in Europe make an art of coziness, like the Danish hygge (hoo-gah), Norwegian koselig (koosh-lee), and Swedish mys (mees). According to the World Happiness Index, these countries continually rank as the happiest places in the world though they endure immense darkness and brutal cold.

Journalist David G. Allen claims that “darkness and isolation can be celebrated because they provide the need for their relief. The act of creating our own light and warmth produces peace and contentment.”

What could embody a down-to-earth spirit of holiday joy better than that?

Here are 15 ways to enjoy cozy things, seek cozy vibes, and embrace and find fun in the cold.

(Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Nov.-Dec. 2022 issue so some event ideas have passed but many are annual events, recurring in Nov-Dec. 2023.)

Enjoy Cozy Things

• In The Book of Difficult Fruit, Spokane author Kate Lebo writes, “Recipes are rituals that promise transformation. They blend the precision of an instruction manual with the faith of a spell . . ..” Such a notion transforms holiday cooking into an act of actual magic. This is perhaps especially true when it comes to traditional holiday pie baking. Another of Lebo’s books, A Commonplace Book of Pie, will bring the fruits of the outdoors into your kitchen, and into the bodies and souls of all those lucky enough to enjoy a few forkfuls of the final product. Lebo’s books are available at Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane.
• Find locally-sourced foods for your holiday meals at Lincfoods.com. Cook slowly. Remember, it’s magic.
• Spokane-based Revival Tea Company creates flavorful blends. The strawberry green tea will keep springtime alive in your heart and nourish and revive your body at the same time.

Seek Out Cozy Vibes

• Visit these cozy-vibe hot spots in Spokane: Atticus Coffee, Revival Tea Tasting Room, Wooden City, the Europa Restaurant lounge, Rockwood Bakery, The Gilded Unicorn and many more in Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint, and around the region. Seek them out and share with friends.
• Add a solstice celebration to the holiday mix. String up dried orange slices to represent the sun. (Hang them high, or your dog might eat them.) Decorate a yule log with juniper, orange slices and string, and then light it on fire to usher sunlight back into the world.
• Knit or crochet something cozy. Stroll through Paradise Fibers on Indiana Street for inspiration and good quality wool.
• Visit a hot spring. Endure the cold plunge before sinking into the steamy waters. Ainsworth and Radium Hot Springs, both in British Columbia, are two of my favorites.
• Buying local is good for the community and the planet. Shop Terrain’s BrrZAAR (annual event in December at River Park Square) for local art, and Greenbluff for pumpkins, Christmas trees and other goodies.

Embrace & Find Fun in the Cold

• We’ve got so many mountains! Downhill or Nordic skiing? Snowboarding? Sledding? It’s all right there.
• The Annual Bloomsday Road Runners Club Turkey Trot celebrates outdoor holiday fun and community generosity. There’s no entry fee, though cash or food donations for Second Harvest Food Bank will be accepted at the event on Thanksgiving morning.
• Take the classic Thanksgiving to Christmas fitness challenge: run (or do another activity) for at least 1 mile per day every day from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day, no matter what the weather throws at you.
• Make Christmas tree hunting an outdoor event by traveling to a nearby public forest and cutting the perfect evergreen. An inexpensive permit is required for cutting a Christmas tree on federal and state lands.
• Bundle up. Take walks. Invite friends. Bring dogs.
• Give outdoor-oriented gifts such as season passes for Idaho or Washington state parks (or Sno-Park permit), a pair of snow shoes, or make donations to the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy or The Lands Council in honor of someone you love.
• The CDA Polar Bear Plunge happens every year on New Year’s Day. Science claims winter swimming has potential health benefits, including positive effects on the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems as well as on the psyche. However, it also comes with risk of hypothermia and death, so if you give it a try, don’t go alone. An occasional wild dip can be invigorating. Experts recommend gradual acclimatization for folks who want to make a habit of it (read about the Wim Hof Method to learn more).

Originally published as “Keeping It Real for the Holidays: 15 ways to bring more joy to your holiday season” in the November-December 2022 print issue.

Olivia Dugenet is a writer and nonprofit professional living in Spokane. She wrote “Camping With Bears” in the July

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As a mom and a public school teacher (and former camp counselor), I know firsthand how important it is for young people to be encouraged and emotionally supported by positive adult role models. 

Today’s Pandemic Generation—as they are referred to by researchers, teachers, and mental health professionals—continue to struggle with gaps in emotional-social development, increased media consumption, and less time spent outdoors being physically active. 

Kids need summer camp! At Evergreen East Dirt Camps, kids enjoy maximize time on their mountain bikes. // Photos courtesy Evergreen East

Current mental health statistics are daunting. According to “Five-Year Trends in US Children’s Health and Well-being, 2016–2020,” a research study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics, there have been significant increases in diagnosed mental health conditions—27% for anxiety and 24% for depression. Survey data also revealed an 18% decrease in children’s physical activity. 

This makes summer camps for kids more important than ever. Camps provide a welcoming, safe, and supportive community. Time spent away from home forces children and teens to unplug from media, and it teaches independence, responsibility, and resilience. Camps can also help develop their communication, participation, and leadership skills. 

Strengthening personal competencies, like self-identity, self-worth, and self-respect, also builds confidence and courage. This, in turn, breeds hope and motivates goal-setting—all qualities important to positive mental health. 

Adrenaline-pumping thrills and age-appropriate risk-taking can be pivotal during childhood, especially for adolescents.

How so? Imagine the euphoria and pride after ziplining, making it to the top of a climbing wall, winning a canoe race with cabinmates, or landing a mountain-bike jump. 

Northwest mountains, forests, and lakes provide a setting primed for adventure, and our summer 2022 list of youth camps in Washington and Idaho will provide outdoor adventure opportunities while teaching specialized recreation and/or environmental stewardship and nature-based skills.

No matter a child’s age, just one week of camp will improve their well-being and create lifelong memories. And don’t be surprised if you hear that it was the best week of their summer. 

Summer camp high adventure at Camp Spalding: The Blob (top left), ziplining (upper right), archery (mid-right), and rappelling. // Photos courtesy Camp Spalding.

Wondering which camp program would be best for your child? Here’s some help: “Choosing the Right Summer Camp For Your Kid.”

Find more stories about recreation, activities, and outdoor lifestyle topics in the Outdoor Family archives.

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I’m not the right person to ask. (I believe I responded with something supportive and sweet that basically translated to, “Just go already.”)

Gloomy gray runs make up a significant wedge on the pie chart of my year-round running. While they lack the effervescence of spring, the jewel-toned crispness of fall, and the sweaty, sunbaked glow of summer, there’s something uniquely appealing about the pared-back cold and often dreary season. Running might be more important to my mental well-being in winter than at any other time.

As someone who doesn’t have a snow sport, running is what gets me outside in winter. It’s refreshingly stripped down compared to other seasons. With fewer races occurring, there are fewer goals to strive for, and pushing for speed isn’t possible in the snow and ice. Winter means a turn to the most basic form of the sport: putting one foot in front of the other, just because it’s a thing that I do, just because I know I’ll always be glad I went.

There is inherent possibility in a white blanket of snow, in soggy brown branches, in the relatively empty roads and trails. There’s something beautiful about those months before the sidewalks and streets will once again bloom with life in the form of joggers and bicyclists and strollers. In winter, the quiet marks potential: energy bundled and seemingly dormant like bears tucked into dens and pumpkin seeds awaiting planting time and even the apartment buildings and homes where everyone is inside instead of out.

Winter runs provide a subtly gorgeous backdrop for my mental landscape. Feeling more contemplative, I often turn to thoughtful audiobooks (recent favorite: Michelle Zauhner’s tender, funny memoir Crying in H Mart), versus the comedic, news-driven, or suspenseful podcasts that are my usual fare.

Yes, it can be kind of a pain. You have to layer up. Slush is the worst. Slipping and sliding are not my favorite (wear spikes!). It’s harder to see and be seen (wear reflective gear!). Your body has to work hard in new ways—to stabilize its core temperature despite frigid temps, to stabilize your balance despite the uneven, slick surfaces. There’s a chance you’ll come home with wet socks, or soaked, muddy shoes. You might have to run in the dark, even though it’s not particularly early, or particularly late. These are the realities of the off season.

But although there are likely no medals and no PRs, no external validation, there is still the boost of vitamin D, still the endorphins, still the feel of your heart pumping, of your chilly extremities being reoxygenated, of the bloom of pink on your cheeks—all signs that you’ve done something that makes you feel a little more alive, a little more you.

Occasional complaints aside, Brad has been regularly running this winter, too. He says he vastly prefers it to sweltering summer weather.

“It was actually pretty good,” he said when he got home the other day. “I am glad I went.”

“Are you going to go on a lot more winter runs?” I asked, pressing for what I hoped would be a good closing quote for this column. “Of course I will.”

Originally published as “In Praise of Winter Running” in the January-February 2022 issue.

Sarah Hauge is a writer and editor who lives and runs in Spokane. She writes the Run Wild column in each issue of Out There.

Find more Run Wild column articles and stories about running in the OTO archives.

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If you’ve lived in the Northwest for any length of time, it’s likely you’ve developed an appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of our ecosystems. Having recently returned to Washington from North Carolina, my family and I were reminded of the remarkable biodiversity and landscapes that are found throughout the region that support habitat and countless opportunities for spring and summer recreation.

As we traveled west to Washington last summer, we were also reminded of the challenges our ecosystems face. We encountered day after day of haze and smoke—a result of natural yet increasingly large and intense wildfires that burn forests and grasslands and threaten communities each summer.

Ecosystems thrive when each contributing part is in balance with each other. Unfortunately, a variety of factors have contributed over the past century to stress our landscapes in ways we have never seen. It’s not just the health and wellness of our natural landscapes that have been stressed in recent years, but also all of us.

Recent data from the American Heart Association, American College of Sports Medicine, Centers for Disease Control, and National Institutes of Health all paint a rather bleak picture of our societal health and wellness landscape. But our personal wellness ecosystems, as you will, are something we have more power to work on.

When considering the five broad determinants of health—genetics, behavior, environment and physical influences, social factors, and medical care—some are within our control (i.e. modifiable factors like sleep, nutrition, activity and wellness, recovery, education) and some largely outside of our control (i.e. non-modifiable factors like genetics, environment, and past medical history).

While debate exists as to which is more impactful to our health, most sources agree our modifiable factors significantly contribute to the balance of our health and wellness ecosystem. 

As it turns out, these modifiable factors account for as much as 50% of our overall health and wellness outcomes. When unbalanced, the impact is profound. Currently, less than 3% of Americans achieve the recommended daily activity level, consume a healthy, balanced diet, maintain a healthy body weight and composition, and refrain from smoking. Add in sleep, hygiene, stress and mental wellness, to highlight a few other modifiable factors, and the data is unsettling.

So how do we nurture and restore balance to our wellness ecosystem? A new year provides an opportunity for self-reflection and goal setting. Before you sign up for a gym membership, buy the newest hiking boots, make a resolution to achieve >8 hours of sleep per night, or even swear off the post-hike burgers and beer, ask yourself three questions:

1. What wellness goals do I have for 2022?

Write down as many as you can think of. Maybe you’re excelling in some areas but find yourself struggling in others. Write them down and then prioritize your top three.

2. Who can I partner with to achieve your goals?

It you want to lay the groundwork for longevity and consistency, partner with those who share your mindset and will foster your success. It really does take a village.

3. why am I doing this and what’s my purpose?

Think of this as your personal mission statement. Understanding your internal motivation increases your conviction and confidence in the process.

Making the time to outline and answer these questions helps begin to align your priorities in a way that enhances the balance of your individual health ecosystem. You can modify your overall health by making small, intentional changes. Undoubtedly, it will take time, sacrifice, and consistency—but then again, anything worth doing generally does.

Originally published as “3 Steps to Better Health in the New Year” in the January-February 2022 issue.

Joel Sattgast is a physical therapist, running and triathlon coach, and an Asst. Professor at Eastern Washington University. He spends time outdoors with his family and two dogs whenever possible.

Find more Health & Fitness stories in the OTO column archive.

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But there’s something I love just as much: walking. Whereas with running part of the appeal is the challenge—the work of it—walking is the slowed-down, relaxed version, where I feel stress unfurl. It dissipates the soreness and stiffness that linger from sitting too long or running too hard, giving both my body and my mind space to meander.

During the pandemic, walking became a habit I craved: a chance to move, leave the house (!!), and be alone (!!!). I sought out leisurely evening walks, brisk strolls to the mailbox, laps around the block with my kids, gently curving uphill hikes. At peak lockdown I found myself going for walks as many as three times a day.

What is it about walking that’s so appealing, and how can walking benefit runners? I asked these questions of Jonathan Hook, physical therapist and Whitworth University’s Director of Clinical Education.

First, it’s akin to running, but gentler. With its very similar movement patterns but overall less impact, “running is very much an extension of walking,” Hook says. Compared to jogging, which exerts as much as 1.6 times the force on the body at the same speed (Hook cites Lohman, 2011), running is easier on the body, making it ideal for recovery. “In walking you still get the dynamic rhythmic activity involving the major muscle groups without the same level of pounding and risk of training error that lead to injury.”

 “Prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise can…lead to overuse injury,” Hook says. “Beyond that, overtraining can negatively impact the immune system or cause chronic inflammation” (Mikkelsen, 2017). And including low-impact activities helps with general health.

When we think of our overall health, it’s important to consider more than physical strength or endurance. “Walking can be a great low risk or ‘recovery’ form of exercise that can also positively affect mood states such as anxiety, stress, and depression,” Hook says. “The body of literature continues to grow showing how many forms of exercise have positive effects on multiple systems, including decreased risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and increased mood, life-satisfaction, and cognitive performance” (Bailey, 2018).

There’s also plenty of anecdotal evidence to support a regular walking habit. “I think there is a reason that many of the most brilliant minds were walkers,” says Hook, listing among them Thoreau, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche.

That mind-body connection reminds me of the novels formative to my youth (Austen, the Brontës, L.M. Montgomery), where scene after scene took place during long walks on tree-lined lanes and windswept moors. More recently I’ve been intrigued by the walking habits of David Sedaris and poet Mary Oliver, both of whom built hours of it into their everyday lives (which essayist Sedaris has written about to hilarious effect).

Hook, a runner, likes the counterbalance of walking for reasons similar to mine. “For me, walking puts me in a completely different mindset. I find myself more likely to be present, aware, prayerful, reflective, etc… As a physical therapist or movement system expert, there is something beautiful and rhythmic about walking that is restorative.”

Running and walking feel to me like two sides of a coin: pushing on the gas vs. coasting, the clenched muscle vs. the active release, a free and creative mind vs. a burst of conscious effort. I wouldn’t want one without the other.

Sarah Hauge writes Out There’s “Run Wild” column. She wrote about strategies for loving winter running in the last issue.

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There is no one “guide” to getting through what will likely be the darkest months of this ordeal either. There are, however, plenty of things we can do to take the edge off. We checked in with many of the outdoors experts who contributed to this feature for their own COVID coping tips and strategies. I hope you find some inspiration and solace, along with a few practical ideas from their thoughtful and honest words and that they help make your next few months that much better.

Take It Easy

“The pandemic has been a phenomenal strain on many of us. If we aren’t suffering economically, or from the disease itself, then it’s the emotional toil (or all of it). I think it’s really important for us to practice self-compassion and breathe in the reality that this will pass in time,” says Ammi Midstokke, nutritionist and OTO contributor based in Sandpoint, Idaho.

In normal years, Midstokke says she starts building training into the winter months for spring and summer races. “This year I know that I just don’t have the emotional stamina (and I’m recovering from COVID). I’ve decided to just do things I love with no particular rhyme or reason. If the snow is good, I’ll ski. If I want something slower-paced, I’ll roll out on the fatty. If I need a socially distanced activity with friends, we’ll strap on our snowshoes.”

In general, Midstokke says she’s had to take a softer approach to life and her typical goals, asking herself often: “What is the kindest thing I can do for myself right now? Sometimes it’s knitting and tea. Other times it’s scheduling more damn therapy. And almost always, it involves taking my vitamins and snuggling those I love.”

Go Outside Every Day

“I have stayed plenty sane and busy this COVID season,” says Daniel Shaw, co-owner of Coeur Climbing Company, who attributes his relatively positive experience to the ease of recreating in North Idaho. 

“A day doesn’t go by without going outside to recreate and exercise,” he says. “Running is definitely the easiest and quickest to participate in, but I prefer the longer activities like biking, ice climbing, and skiing.

Getting outdoors definitely takes your mind off the challenges of this year…and we are blessed to have so much wilderness to explore here and we can usually avoid the crowds doing it.” 

Seek Words of Inspiration

“COVID has hit a lot of people very hard—losing their loved ones or being really, really sick themselves—and I’ve been incredibly lucky so far,” says Dig Chrismer, marketing manager for Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

“With that in mind, I try to focus on the simple things right now. My family is healthy, I live in an amazing place where I can escape outside, and I am acutely aware how fast things can change. I try not to take anything for granted and savor the good moments. Yes, COVID has changed some of the routines in my daily life, but the things that matter most to me are still rock solid. I hold on to that and am grateful every day.”

For others who may not be so fortunate, Chrismer turns to a motivational text that has helped her in the past. “When I was going through a really dark time in my life several years ago, I kept a copy of ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley within easy reach. The poem reminds me time and time again that we are the ones who make our own destiny. ‘I am the master of my fate. The captain of my soul.’

Living isn’t easy but it’s up to me how I react to the challenges placed before me.  Sometimes, I don’t like how hard things are. That’s ok. Recognize that things are tough, but you know what? I can survive it. You can too. It’s your ship. Sail it.”

Keep Busy Even If Things Don’t Go Your Way

“I’m feeling barely sane right now,” admits Holly Weiler, OTO contributor & regional trail advocate for Washington Trails Association, when I emailed her some questions for this article before the holidays. “Especially with this weird warm weather of the last week or so. Trail work was helping while that was still happening, but we’re on winter break. I should be skiing but even the mountain has been above freezing.”

While waiting for winter to return, Weiler says she’s been “digging into the backlog of gear repair, trying to mend all of the things I put holes in over the summer and didn’t have time to fix at the time, and that’s been rather meditative and also useful.”

Find Your Stress Outlet

“This fall the toll COVID has taken on my household began to show. Like many of us who enjoy the outdoors my summer was inconvenienced rather than dismantled. But fall came in like a wrecking ball and started messing with everything,” says Zach McCall, an Inland Northwest fishing fanatic.

First in-person school got canceled, followed by fall sports, and then travelling to see family, he says. “Thankfully in this time of chaos fishing has been an outlet that has remained constant. When I am feeling down or need a break to relieve stress, I can find peace and relaxation on the water. Nature has a calming effect on my soul. It allows me to get centered and focus. Nothing helps tune out the noise of the world like spending time on the water.”

Dress for Success

“This pandemic has been so hard mentally. When your brain isn’t in the game it’s hard to motivate yourself. Getting outside as much as possible is what helps me,” says Brenda Christensen, co-owner of Two Wheeler Dealer in Hayden, Idaho.

And the hardest part of getting outside in the winter, she adds, is “actually getting ready and getting out the door, especially the first few times. Not knowing how to dress or what the elements will be like once you get out in them is really hard, as is leaving your nice warm cozy house.” The benefits of persevering and getting out the door are real though, she says. “I can honestly say that I don’t remember a time when I forced myself to go outside that I regretted my decision regardless of the temperature or the weather.”  

Set Goals & Prepare for Success

“Setting goals for the following day in the evening and assembling gear—putting running shoes by the door, yoga clothes on the mat, or kayak on the car reduces the number of excuses I can make in the morning,” says Carol Corbin, a freelance OTO contributor and staff member of Inland NW Land Conservancy.

She also recommends finding the right people to get outdoors with. “Reach out to other outdoor friends who also struggle with winter and darkness. Schedule time with them during the workday to do something outside and get what sunlight there is.”

PHOTOS: (top row) OTO co-publisher Derrick Knowles. // Photo: Shallan Knowles (left) | January-February 2021 cover page (right) | (bottom row): Winter urban running. (left) // Photo: Shallan Knowles | Gear by the door, ready to run. (middle) // Photo: Carol Corbin.| Groomed Nordic trail at Mt. Spokane. (right) // Photo courtesy Spokane Nordic Ski Association.

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“Do I dare ask what you are buying on the internet today?” asked my husband.

We’ve been together for a while now, so he ought to know that the most exciting time of my shopping year is when companies start releasing their 2021 planners.

I resist buying an annual planner until it is absolutely unavoidable. If I buy it too early, my eager optimism about the next year has me scheduling so many backpacking trips and races and adventures that by January I’m already telling people I’m too busy until August.

If something doesn’t make it into the planner, then it doesn’t happen.

And if it is in my planner, it always looks like a delightful engagement, even if it’s a root canal. Dentistry is always listed four shades of elegant turquoises, a variety of floral designs, and fancy calligraphy writing. It might as well be a wedding invitation. In fact, I’ve taken to making my chore lists look like works of art. Which is why I rarely actually get to doing the chores.

Planning is about setting intention and avoiding the insidious sprawl of life to take over. I would hate to be associated with such a word, but it’s rather “efficient.” Of all the things I hate to waste (coffee, paper), time is the most important.

Early winter is incubatory period for my plans of the upcoming year. I’ve just begun to forget the pain and injuries from last year’s training load or misadventure in the mountains, and I can reflect on all the mistakes from a distance just far enough to not be overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

There actually are a number of studies that link the writing-down-of-goals with improved likelihood of achieving those goals. I like to lay out the entire new human I am going to become, preferably on Jan. 1, in a color-coded timeline of sanguine expectations.

I usually throw a lofty goal or two in there (lose weight, get out of debt) and then some freebies (go to a new place, take more naps) so when I look back, I can have a sense of achievement. By the end of the year, I’m invariably chuffed at how much I actually accomplished. I almost always meet my nap goal.

Now, my planners are historical references for the whole family. We look back in my notes and see when we started the first fire of the season, what we did on our vacation, and how many times I actually did make it to the gym. They’ve become an encyclopedia of where I have been and where I am going—mostly outside.

I suppose that is my real attraction to them: having a sense of direction, however naïve. In a world of unknowns and influences that are out of my control, opening my planner gives me a sense of calm stability—as if I still determine my own fate or something. It’s like a roadmap of self-care, coffee dates, long runs, and adventures that keep me grounded. Occasionally, I even make time for work in there.

Ammi Midstokke is a nutritionist and author living in North Idaho. She owns several hundred colored pencils but can never find a sharpener. Sadly, this is her last “The Human Adventure” column but, we hope, not her last appearance in the pages of Out There.

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This spring race organizers were forced to make painful decisions to cancel or postpone these races around the country. What have runners and cyclists done without that extrinsic motivation? 

Judging from the number of people on common cycling routes and trails, many have tapped into an unrealized potential for intrinsic motivation—and I’m damn proud of us for it. We’re not running because we don’t want to look like fools; we’re running because it feels good. We’re biking because our mental health depends on it. We’re hiking because sunsets are beautiful and we want to see them from a new perspective—and because the escape soothes us so we can once again be the partners and parents we want to be.  

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 without a race on the books. She invited members of her local running club to join her, and they ran along behind her, giving her a mental boost and helping her meet her goal. Another ran her canceled 50K on local trails rather than the designated racecourse, and her family met her along the way with drinks and snacks. 

Perhaps other aspects of pandemic recreation are worth keeping for the long term, even as restrictions ease. The suggestion to recreate close to home and commute to the trail in a human-powered fashion if possible helps lower emission and combat climate change. Also, the call to show some extra love for the organizations that build and protect our trails makes a lot of sense. Becoming a member of or donating to groups like the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, American Whitewater, Dishman Hills Conservancy, Friends of the Bluff, and the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy feels more important now than ever as we spend so much on our local public lands. 

Whatever your outlet, and however you find motivation, one thing is clear: We’ve all got to keep moving as best we can. Here in the Inland Northwest, we’re lucky to have abundant trails and public lands to accommodate so many ways to stay active. 

Summer Hess is the managing editor of Out There Venture. She is scouting alternative routes for her canceled 50K on June 6. 

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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 all-season 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?

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