“I am only going for a two-hour hike. What could possibly go wrong?” Rachel Pawlitz, Public Affairs Officer for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, has heard this before. This was the attitude of most of the hikers led to safety out of the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. Pawlitz stresses that hikers must bring at least five essentials, even on a spontaneous short hike. These are:

1. A flashlight—one that’s not also your cell phone
2. Extra water
3. Extra food.
4. A warm layer of clothes
5. A compass and paper map of your area.

Being prepared is one part of the equation. The other part—don’t be the cause of a wildfire! It is easy to assume we are being safe, but you should never assume. Thoroughly extinguish your campfire and check for heat with the back of your hand before leaving it. Be mindful if driving or parking your vehicle over dry grass or other fuels. Never introduce cigarette butts or explosive or flammable materials to the landscape. Target shooting can inadvertently spark a fire.

Finally, if you see something, do something. If you see smoke, call 911. Unless you are in a National Park, the local Sherriff’s office will be coordinating fire response. Don’t be afraid of “bothering” them. You might even be the first to report the smoke. Cell phone reception can be spotty or non-existent, so be aware of high open spots for your best opportunity.

Even with the best preparation, you may still have an encounter with wildfire. Guy Gifford, a Department of Natural Resources Fire Prevention Coordinator, reminds us of a few basic principles: Assume a fire is traveling in the same direction you see smoke blowing. Fire goes uphill much faster than we can. Grassland fires move fast, and can kill people, too. There are ways to take shelter when escape is no longer an option: look for an open area with the least fuel, such as exposed rock, a space already burned, open water, or a low creek bed. Heat and fire rise, so get low. Protect your lungs first. Cover your nose and mouth with a dry cloth, as a wet one will conduct more heat.

We have responsibilities to protect others and ourselves when we enjoy our adventures in nature—and maybe also to think about James Hansen’s report, and to vote!

Bea Lackaff remains torn between the unmet needs of her garden and the call of old and new trails to hike. She wrote about her solitary month at Cache Creek on the Snake River in December 2017.

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The Forest Service lady’s eyes shone like moss agates. “You’d be PERFECT,” she announced, “to be our permit host at Cache Creek—on the Snake River—for the month of December. How about it?” Thus began my adventure: finding paradise in Hells Canyon in the winter!

Six weeks later, safely deposited just within the northern boundary of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, with Petunia the Corgi, gear, and (hopefully) ample food for a month, I waved ‘Goodbye’ as the Forest Service jet boat wheeled away from the dock and headed downstream.

I immediately started taking in the grandeur and solitude. We lived in a refurbished sheep ranch-house, warmed by a cheery woodstove, cozy as old bedroom slippers. A small museum was attached to the house, and a large picture window looked downstream over a wide sweep of the eternal, shining, and sibilant Snake River.

From the kitchen window I watched troops of turkeys, bevies of quail, and families of dark-eyed mule deer, all partaking of some feast or another that lurked below the blackberry thicket grown up over Cache Creek. Every day began by solemnly raising the flag, hopefully before the first boat of the day, and a round of “America the Beautiful” for the flickers. Visitors to the permit center were mostly expeditions fishing for steelhead, then chukar and elk hunters, and the occasional boatload of fishery biologists.

I greeted all the boats I could, though I was only asked to stock the self-permit forms for entering the HCNRA, and collect and tally daily permits. I swept the spiders and other detritus from the lightly used vault toilets and snow from the dock and ramp. There was no radio, cell phone, or Internet connection. I used just enough solar light to read from the rich trove of the Cache Creek library. I cooked, puttered, knitted, and played accordion by the picture window.

Each week revolved around the brief but exciting visit from the mail boat. Nearing Christmas, I was blessed with a weekly bounty of cards, letters, and goodies. I sent as many letters and sketches as I could—doing my best to share Cache Creek with family and friends.

The hiking adventures were exhilarating. Daily I hiked the wide bench upriver along an old farm track through the hackberry trees, scattering chickadees, gold finch, and hundreds of robins and watching the marsh hawks on their incessant gliding hunts. Sometimes I clambered downstream along a shoreline game trail, scattering chukars and “Huns” into the rocky outcrops of the side hill.

The road up Cache Creek was most challenging. If there were cougars nearby, they’d be up there! The creek and side draws were bastioned with poison ivy. Leaving the ranch house in a gentle skiff of snow, I could soon be floundering knee-deep, a thousand feet higher, breaking trail for my staunch little companion. The elk herd high above us realized how harmless we were and soon just lingered quietly browsing and resting on their sunlit slope as we approached.

The snow, the quiet solitude, and this “sensory deprivation” served to enhance every experience. A wisp of pink cloud, the silhouette of bulbous turkeys flapping high in the trees to find balance for a night’s sleep, applesauce with rosehips. I experienced all of this as blessed events, surely as Paradise. Maybe I was a little crazy up there, but I’ll take it!

I tried, but couldn’t stop talking to the patient ranger as we boated out. Pestered, he finally conceded that much of the comments the Forest Service gets from the “public” are complaining, and many abusive. (This was less than a year from the militant take-over of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge not too far away.) The Forest Service, in managing the HCNRA, works to protect boater safety and quality river experiences, keeps clean latrines and campgrounds along the way, and maintains roads and trails. Staff do the best they can, often relying upon volunteers to get their jobs done under ever-reduced funding and, sometimes, little public support.

“Hooray!” I say for those who serve our great American legacy as stewards of our public lands, and for the opportunity to volunteer with them—a rich and rewarding adventure. Learn more about volunteering yourself at Fws.gov/volunteers. //

Bea is a retired cartographer. She currently presides over her “overgrown empire” of a garden in Spokane’s West Central Neighborhood and squeezes in as many camping/hiking/road trips as she can. She wrote about backyard birding in October.

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By scattering scratch for my chickens, I had already invited an invasion of English sparrows—the aggressive invaders that drive off native songbirds. I was off to a ragged start, but I began learning to feed the wild winter birds responsibly through the Spokane Audubon Society website. The “Birds and Birding” section provided excellent, locally appropriate guidelines and links to additional information. Here are some other tips for attracting birds this winter.

Provide a good source of water. Buy a birdbath, or recycle a garbage can lid or frying pan. Place rocks as “islands” for access. Add a dripper to keep water from becoming stagnant. To DIY, punch a tiny hole in the bottom of an old bucket or plastic jug then fill and suspend it to drip intermittently into your birdbath. At least once a month, clean your birdbath (and bird feeder) with soap and water.

Find their favorite food. The birds’ favorite purchased food is black oil sunflower seeds with white millet and cracked corn (scratch) as close contenders. Offering a diversity of food, including peanuts for jays and thistle seed for goldfinch, could reward you with a wider variety of birds. Robins and waxwings will come to eat raisins that have been soaked in water. A peanut butter log and suet will be popular with flickers and chickadees.

Do it well or don’t do it at all. “Poorly maintained feeders (and waterers) can cause death and disease,” the Feederwatch.com website reminds us. This means keep feeders and birdbaths clean and don’t use moldy seed or food. Regularly rake up spilled seeds and hulls, spread out feeders and place at different heights to avoid overcrowding, and avoid bird poop falling on platform feeders from overhead. If you have outside cats, think twice about putting feeders in your yard at all. Also place feeders carefully to avoid birds colliding with windows.

Plant native species of trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reminds us that feeders don’t replace habitat. Throw away the bug spray and leave some plant debris to encourage insects, a primary bird food. //

Let Your Birdfeeder Make You a Citizen Scientist!  

Anyone can contribute their observations of the world around them to citizen-sourced databases. Each project has standards and protocols for observing and reporting online. This detailed and specific data just gets better with each individual contribution. It is used by scientists for mapping and analysis of trends and changes in nature occurring regionally, nationally, and globally, to guide conservation efforts and policy making. Here are just a few ways to get involved as a citizen scientist.

• The Christmas Bird Count: For 118 years the Audubon Society has been counting bird numbers and species at Christmas time. Contact Spokane area CBC coordinator Alan McCoy at ahm2352@gmail.com to ask if your birdfeeder is within the Great Circle of a survey. Better yet, sign up to join birders on a CBC expedition Saturday, December 30, 2017.
• The Backyard Bird Count: February 16-19, 2018. Last year over 160,000 participants worldwide sent in observations of bird species and numbers; this was the largest snapshot of bird populations ever recorded! More info: Birdcount.org.
• eBird: use this free app to identify birds, record and organize your personal bird list, and share your data with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Project Feederwatch. From November to early April, count the birds at your feeder and share your data online. Project Feederwatch provides an informative website and an online community of fellow birdwatchers and summary reports of their data. More info: Feederwatch.org. //

Bea Lackaff is a retired cartographer. Currently presiding over her overgrown empire in Spokane’s West Central neighborhood, she squeezes in as many camping/hiking/road trips as these duties allow.

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You can see the “Council Circle” from the first sharp curve on the swooping bike trail rising north from the Sandifer Bridge. Look west, down through the trunks of the tall pines to the north bench of the Spokane River, and see it nestled in the trees, settled into the flood bench gravels with timeless grace and solemnity. Approach it from below. From an elevated base, two semi-circles of massive, flood-rounded granite stones embrace a stone alter/hearth/picnic table. Additional boulders sit in attendance. The opening faces the Spokane River and is accessed by sweeping steps made of a layered mudstone. Smaller river rocks – that even a child could carry – make three concentric loops around it.

Many people enjoy the cathedral-like quiet and solitude of the Council Circle: people walking by, a birthday party with a Weber on the hearthstone, yoga and Tai Chi classes, church youth groups, the homeless. “I did come up with the idea. It isn’t as I envisioned it,” muses Judith Gilmore, long time West Central resident and activist, “but people seem to like it. “

In the early 2000s, Judith knew teachers from Holmes Elementary School sometimes brought their students down to the north bench of the river for lessons. She thought having an outside classroom would be a good thing. Thousands of years of inter-Tribal gatherings and community activity had taken place in this special reach of the Spokane River. The West Central Neighborhood Council (WCNC) liked the idea, and dedicated some HUD Block Grant funding to the project. The City Parks Department, the WCNC, The Spokane Tribe and Friends of the Falls were all involved to varying degrees in formulating the project. But what form it would take and how they could avoid the experience of building very nice picnic shelters in the same location in the 70s that didn’t last because of limited access, spotty maintenance and subsequent vandalism, remained a question. The project to build a tribute and gathering spot stalled from one yearly funding cycle to another.

By 2010, architect Larry Swartz became chair of the WCNC Parks Committee, inheriting the funded and approved project to create “something” on the North Bench. “I wasn’t even sure it was a good idea,” says Swartz – but he and the Parks Committee took the project to heart. Few sites could accommodate the required two hundred-foot setback, but one was finally selected near existing, well-tended monuments that appear to be pet graves. Larry sat hidden in the trees to observe how people passing by interacted with the site. To protect any possible Native American artifacts below ground, nothing could be dug into the topsoil. It needed to be built to endure and be made of natural materials. The design emerged, centered around an auspicious mound already at the site, and within a circle of small granite river stones, long embedded into the sand. Representatives from the Spokane Tribe helped orient the entrance to the directions.

By the fall of 2012, after a long, involved process that included expertise from Land Expressions LLC, Spokane’s own secret Stonehenge was quietly put into place for $24,000. Looking back, the Council Circle seems to have been born of its own volition, an idea, eddying through visionaries, committees, studies, permits, delays, designs, and Druids until finally manifesting itself. It was built on mystery, and still evokes mystery. It is a silent tribute to millennia of gatherings along the Spokane River; an invitation for people to continue to meet there, to share, to learn, to enjoy themselves, to appreciate and respect the natural world around them. Before long, another ring of small river stones appeared around the Council Circle. “Communicating through stones,” Swartz says smiling. “People are still doing it.” //

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This 8,000 plus acre recreation area offers two big lakes, multi-use areas, non-motorized trails, and historic remnants of settler-era ranching. Both lakes are well stocked with rainbow trout; each has parking and boat access provided by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (Discovery Pass required). All BLM parking is free.

The upper lake is 48-acre Hog (Canyon) Lake, open for boats and winter fishing. Fishtrap Lake covers 190 acres and lies in a narrow two-mile canyon. The bulk of the recreation area lies to the west of this lake where the new trail is being built.

Bob Strong, retired geologist and avid hiker, loved hiking the cow paths and dirt roads meandering the pastures, kolk-formed lakes, wetlands, and rocky exposures in the area and wanted to share them. “I led a hike on the proposed trail route for the first time with the Inland Northwest Hikers in spring 2010,” Strong says. By 2012, “enough people contacted the BLM that it got their interest, especially since there was a volunteer group to help build the trail. That was the key!”

The BLM created a planning team that includes Washington Trails Association (WTA), Spokane Mountaineers, Inland Northwest Hikers, Backcountry Horsemen, and Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. The team determined the best route to visit and protect scenic views, historical sites, and natural features and also be maintainable. This resulted in a ground-truthed route for an 8-mile north-south loop system, connecting the Fishtrap Road and Farmer’s Landing parking lot trailheads. The trail will connect new and existing routes and visit sites of special beauty and interest. “The Fishtrap Loop Trail is such an exciting project,” says Stephen Smith, Outdoor Recreation Planner for the Spokane BLM Office. “Although this is a BLM project, there is a lot of public ownership. It is a testament to their love of these lands and spirit of adventure.”

The BLM conducted the necessary permitting and studies, and trail construction was launched on National Public Lands Day in September 2015, when more than 50 volunteers showed up to start the work. Since then, there have been six WTA work parties. “It could be a multiyear process to finish the whole thing,” says Holly Weiler, Spokane WTA coordinator, “especially since we use it as our early- and late-season work location. It’s no fun to be working out there in July and August.”

This March, I tagged along with a WTA work party and their cheerful crew leader, Jane Baker. We met early at the Fishtrap Road parking lot in brisk spring winds and spats of rain. We reviewed safety rules and grabbed tools provided by WTA: a Pulaski, McCloud, grub hoe, and pick mattock. The air filled with songs of meadow larks, and the ground was soggy with puddles, thick with grass, and dotted with cow pies. Suddenly – no more trail! An unmarked sea of prairie grasses spread out before us. A barely perceptible string of little red flags dotted ahead across the landscape. Each volunteer chose a red flag, sighted on the next one, and got to work. Greg Ropp, a rain-spattered volunteer, said “I enjoy giving back to the community for all the enjoyment that I have had hiking trails. Besides,” he grinned, “I work in a cube. There is great satisfaction in working outside!”

Volunteer trail crews will be back to Fishtrap later this fall. Plan to join them, but don’t wait to explore the Fishtrap Recreation Area. Your use keeps vegetation from regrowing into the new trail, so do your part and hike it! To learn more about trail restoration, visit www.wta.org or contact Holly Weiler at hweiler@wta.org.

Getting There

From Spokane, take I-90 west 26 miles to Fishtrap Exit #254. Continue south on Old Sprague Hwy. Rd 2.5 miles. Turn left on Fishtrap Road at the sign to the resort. Continue 0.7 miles to the parking lot and trailhead on right. //

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People’s Park is covered with grasses, wild rose, serviceberry, currant, Oregon grape, and masses of willows along the creek’s edge. There are patches of reed canary grass and scraggly old prune and apple trees. An assortment of deciduous trees – mostly maples and locust – grow under ponderosa pine. On one shore, the stream bank is sandy and muddy while the other is stony. A network of old roadways and braiding trails quilt these diverse patches together. I have seen porcupines, beaver dams, deer poop, bald eagles, and an assortment of birds and water fowl.

Historically, several different salmon species came by the millions up the Spokane River to pool below the barrier of Spokane Falls. Many salmon also travelled up Latah Creek. The peninsula separating the creek and river was an important fishing site for the Upper Spokanes, who created a settlement for weeks while fish were caught and dried for winter stores. Community ethics of fairness, sharing, cooperation, and rituals for keeping the waters clean were presided over by respected Salmon Chiefs. Many fishing techniques were employed: from building stone weirs out into the current to corral giant salmon for spearing to using basket fish gates and traps. Early white explorers and settlers observed the Upper Spokanes sharing the abundance of the Latah Creek fishery with other regional tribes, including the Coeur d’Alenes and SanPoils.

In 2005, Eastern Washington University’s Archeological and Historic Services conducted an exploration near the entrance to People’s Park. Carbon dating of buried fireside hearths, bones, and stone tools verified the site was an established settlement at least 8,000 years ago. (For reference, at roughly that time agriculture was just creeping into Eastern Europe from early farming settlements in the Near East. Writing wouldn’t be invented for another 2,000 years.)

When asked about the astonishing antiquity of human habitation at People’s Park, Spokane Tribal member Buzz Gutierrez was quoted in the December 6, 2006 Spokesman Review as saying, ”The significance to me is: we knew it was there; now you know it is there.”

Native people continued to gather and fish at the confluence in spite of discouragement from some white settlers building up the City of Spokane around them. In 1911, Little Falls Dam on the lower Spokane River blocked further passage of salmon and steelhead up to Spokane Falls.

As the City of Spokane grew, the peninsula was part of a neighborhood called the West Grove Addition; near above it towered “High Bridge,” the Union Pacific-Milwaukee Road train trestle. The neighborhood included 80 or more houses – yet the confluence area was still considered part of “River Gorge Park,” a city-wide park envisioned by the Olmsted Brothers in 1907.

When the World’s Fair “Expo” transformed Spokane in 1974 – the West Grove neighborhood, and High Bridge were dismantled, and the peninsula became People’s Park, a designated “Transient Youth Camp” for the homeless and hippies coming to Spokane for the Expo celebration. City Parks anticipated 30 or 40 residents but soon had 400 and then 1,800!  This improvised, alternative lifestyle village included a free kitchen, a drop-in health clinic, community gardens, and a marketplace to sell hand-made crafts. The community mostly policed itself and maintained a friendly relationship with local police to help with trouble makers. The values of sharing resources within a peaceful, diverse community, and Expo’s environmental theme of respecting the earth, echoed through millennia in this special place.

Since Expo, People’s Park has developed a reputation as a place with the possibility of stumbling across partying, nudity and other illegal activities. When the Sandifer Bridge was built in 2004, with one end at the entrance to People’s Park, the perceived fringes of society began sharing the park more and more with families, casual hikers, dog-walkers and anglers.

With Spokane Tribal approval, the City of Spokane has plans for a few amenities and interpretive signage to be added near the parking lot with a light touch on the land and no digging or paving.

Take a walk through People’s Park this spring and explore trails in the city that have the feeling of being deep in nature with a somewhat unpredictable environment. You will walk in ancient footsteps, and traditions of sharing, hospitality, fair play, and respect for the earth. But just enjoy your walk and keep an eye out for wildlife and anything starting to bloom. //

Editor’s Note: People’s Park is an amazing urban natural area with fun trails for hiking, running and mountain biking, but to keep the area safe and clean for others, please do your part by helping to pick up trash and report any illegal or suspicious activity (including any digging, camping or campfires) to Spokane Parks and Recreation (755-2489) or Crime Check (456-2233).

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Sunday morning, December 27, will find 60 or so muffled, mittened, rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed folks bedecked in binoculars and listening attentively (in small groups) as the dimmer switch of dawn gradually brightens the day. They will be scattered about the Spokane Count Circle – as they and their ilk have been doing in the dead of winter for over 50 years – participating in the Spokane Christmas Bird Count.

John James Audubon started this tradition himself more than 100 years ago. And, as explained on the national Audubon Society website, “Today the longest-running wildlife census in the world continues to shape and inform our approach to conservation, providing vital information about bird populations and trends, data that alerts us to environmental threats not only to birds but to the larger ecosystems we all depend on.”  This year’s count will identify winter resident birds – those that, like many of us, hunker down in Spokane for the grey days and long cold nights, following the Solstice.

Twelve teams of observers will be dispersed across the Spokane Count Circle, which is 15 miles in diameter and centered close to Francis and Division. The area includes varied habitat, from urban and residential to fields, farms, forest, wetlands and riparian areas. Each group walks or takes short drives to observation sites within their area. Some intrepid participants observe until nightfall, in hopes of adding owls to their count. A group of bird counters may gather around a hot, spicy meal afterwards to recount their day’s adventures. In 2013, the Spokane CBC spotted thousands of birds, including 75 different species. Maybe this will be the year to see a northern pygmy owl, or even a brave, lonely hummingbird.

Alan McCoy is the compiler who coordinates the Spokane area birdwatching teams and collects the observation data about bird species (numbers, location, habitat, time of day, weather conditions) as well as volunteer participation info. He sends the local data to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where it is combined with data from other Christmas bird count circles across the Western Hemisphere, creating a vivid look at ever fluctuating bird populations and behaviors. Strict procedures for making observations and recording and reporting data must be followed to maintain the hard-earned validity of the data for scientific analysis.

McCoy says new birders are always welcome. “You pretty much need to be passionate about birds to begin with – then it’s a fun thing to do.”  For more information on the Spokane CBC or to participate, contact Alan McCoy at ahm2352@gmail.com. Even if you don’t make the 2015 CBC, you now know why those crazy people are out looking for their beloved birds in the frosty December dawn – and next year you may very well be one of them.

Another way to begin birdwatching and contribute to citizen science is to join the Great Backyard Bird Count. To participate, you need to spend 15 minutes on one to four specified days in February observing birds in your own backyard (or any favorite spot) and report your findings online. Learn more at Audubon.org. 

These winter birdwatching adventures may just whet your appetite to improve your birding skills next spring when the landscape is bustling with courting birds and embellished by birdsong. In May, the Spokane Audubon Society offers an Introduction to Bird Identification Workshop, led by premier local birdwatchers. Check out the May events at Spokaneaudubon.org. //

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Hot Springs, Montana

First stop: the friendly, time-warped little town of Hot Springs, Montana. Off the beaten path, Hot Springs boasts world-class, mineral-rich waters on a par with Europe’s famous Baden-Baden. “Limp in, leap out,” is the town’s motto. Symes Resort hostess Trudy Berge says the “magic” is the concentration and variety of minerals in the water. “People who come here like to go back in time,” she explains, “and then they get blissed out.” Symes Resort is an informal, rambling and quirky 1930s mission-style resort with outdoor pools, private tubs, shops, a dining room, and a lot going on. Rooms range from $55 to $145 a night. Access to outdoor pools, from 95 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit, is $7 for non-guests.

Alamedas Resort, two blocks away, is a little quieter and has thoughtful 1940s charm, with access to Symes outdoor pools for $5. The host provides good morning coffee and a fresh baked treat on the sun porch. On my last visit, I stayed at Camas Big Medicine Hot Springs, on the northeast corner of town, and rented a tiny cabin for $25 that came with my own outdoor tub. There is also a group pool for $8 a day. After removing the startled spider from the private tub, I soaked and watched the fading twilight, with the entire sky, wide valley, distant mountains, tall grasses, song birds and “whuffing” deer around me.

Main Street Hot Springs offers art galleries, shops, the vibrant Camas Organic Market and Bakery, interesting storefronts, and Fergie’s, a well-stocked Montana bar.

Arlee, Montana

Arlee is a tiny town that packs a lot in; like the Hangin Art Gallery and coffee shop and the nation’s oldest Pow Wow and Rodeo on July 4. From Hot Springs, drive south on Highway 28, then take Highway 382 to connect back to Highway 200 – drive east and turn south on Highway 93, following the Jocko River 10 miles to Arlee.

As you cross the Camas Prairie on Highway 382, be aware that those gentle hills are giant ripple marks! 40 feet high and a 1,000 feet long, they are the lake bottom tracks of the Great Missoula Floods. Be ready for a moment of whimsy, just south of the abandoned Indian School. I first went to Arlee to see Ewam, the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas, just north of town. Wander the unlikely array of a 1,000  identical shining white Buddha’s, arrayed as a Dharma Wheel, with prayer banners flapping in the wind, and large statues of teachers, the Mother Goddess, and Buddhas, all amidst native and garden flowers and lavender and embraced by the Mission Mountain foothills.

Drive 15 miles north on Highway 93 to enjoy the historic Mission at St. Ignatius. Here, in the 1800s, the cook painted the Mission walls and ceilings with saints and deities. Another 20 miles north will take you to The Peoples Center Museum, in Pablo, which celebrates and displays Salish-Kootenai-Pend Oreille art, culture, history and traditions.

Need more adrenaline? Stop at the Ronan Sporting Goods Store and get a Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribal Conservation Pass, a map of the Mission Mountains and a hefty can of bear spray and hike the Mission Mountains. (You can get just the pass at the Cenex station in St. Ignatius, or online too.) I missed Lower Mission Falls – but the more intrepid might find them, and even Upper Mission and Elizabeth Falls. Next time, I am going to approach the Missions more humbly, on well-marked Forest Service trails, from Seeley Lake, on the east side of the Mission Mountains.

If crawling through grizzly bear tunnels isn’t for you, take a short detour north on Highway 212 to Moise and the National Bison Range. Take the two hour, 19-mile one-way loop through the rolling hills and up to a high viewpoint. The views of the Mission Mountains and surrounding landscape, dotted here and there with grazing buffalo, are well worth the trip. There are two opportunities to walk around near the very top. As you literally plunge from the highest hilltop down toward the Flathead Valley far below, you see a sign saying that THIS is the height of the water in Glacial Lake Missoula!

Take time to read the interpretive signs along Highway 93, especially at the Ravalli intersection. If you are short of time, you can always drive south on Highway 93 (take note of the many wild animal safe passageways over and under the highway) to I-90 and be in Spokane in about three hours.

If you can, spend another night in Hot Springs, and, if Highway 471 is open, drive home the back way through Thompson Falls and up and over Thompson Pass (there are several trailheads worth exploring at the pass) and down into Idaho to rejoin I-90 at Enaville. Maybe this journey is really the “Hot Springs – Arlee Spiral,” because you return a little farther along than you left, and you are sure to make the loop again. //

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While finding the river is pretty straight forward, accessing the river for recreation can take a little looking into. Fortunately, the Spokane River Forum’s online interactive map and resource guide has made finding the growing list of river access locations and recreation facilities easier than ever.

Navigating the River Trail @ Spokanewatertrail.org

The Spokane River Water Trail online map identifies 24 access sites along the river. The website (www.spokanewatertrail.org) offers all the information you will need to explore the water trail and safely find more outdoor recreation fun on or along the river. Each access site is pinpointed, labeled and has pictures, directions and other information. The map features an easy-to-use filter with 15 different categories you can search for, like swimming, fishing, and RV camping, along with other searchable features such as restrooms.

You can also search for specific information covering what sections of the river might be best for whatever activity or information you’re looking for, like the appropriate flow or the experience levels necessary to navigate different sections of the river. For example, when you search for fishing information there are options for more information on fish species found at different sections of the river, ideal flow levels and links to fishing regulations. Because all rivers can be as dangerous as they are fun, river safety is also covered under the “Safety and River Flows” menu option, with information on dams, rafting, whitewater and flows. (Of course it is each individual’s own responsibility to read the rules, know their ability levels and use appropriate safety measures).

The river trail website is also the best place to go to search for information about the growing number of river recreation related clubs, organizations and outfitters that are getting out on the river with more frequency. Learn about and connect with groups like the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club and Northwest Whitewater Association; guided rafting, paddling, tubing and fishing adventures with outfitters like FLOW Adventures, ROW and Silver Bow Fly Shop; organizations offering classes and to learn various river recreation techniques and skills; and agencies like Spokane Parks and Recreation that offer a wide range of experiences on and along the river that you can sign up for. If your time on the river inspires you to help protect and restore the river, look under “Stewardship” to find out how to pitch in with others on a river-enhancing project.

The Making of a River Trail

Conceived in 2009 after a series of “Meet Me at the River” excursions, it became clear to a consortium of river advocates that public access to the Spokane River was limited and inadequate. The key to connecting people to the rich fishing, floating, boating, swimming, hiking and biking resource along the Spokane River corridor is developing access and the awareness of access. The Spokane River Forum, a non-profit clearinghouse of river-related resources and a catalyst of innovative initiatives that sustain a healthy river, has taken the lead in developing both.

Spokane River Forum Executive Director Andy Dunau notes that the organization has helped develop and restore six access sites so far, with four more in the works. SRF worked with the Spokane County Conservation District in 2014 to complete a access site at State Line, and they are supporting Spokane Parks and Recreation to create a river recreation take-out under the Division Street Bridge that could be ready by mid-summer. The SRF is also working with partners to create public river access at The Islands Trailhead and repair the stream bank.

“There’s so much to do on this amazing river, and it doesn’t get used to its potential,” says Travis Nichols, veteran Spokane River kayaker. There may be bumper to bumper inner tubes on the river between Barker Road and Mirabeau during the summer months, but, as Nichols notes, “It’s not over crowded when people act respectfully at put-ins and take-outs, don’t bring glass containers to the riverbank and clean up after themselves.” At the same time, Nichols points out that the river offers unexpected solitude. “There are miles and miles of fishing capacity where you can be completely alone.”

Your Spokane River Water Trail Bucket List — 9 Things to Do on the River This Summer

Most of us live near enough to the Spokane River to see it or bike or drive over it regularly, and all of us can find ways to enjoy this amazing recreational resource more often. Use the Spokane River Water Trail map to learn more about each of these activities and find the right information to get you out on the Spokane River this summer. Start exploring at Spokanewatertrail.org.

1. River Tubing: For family fun on the river come mid-summer, grab your own tubes and hit the stretch between Harvard Road and Mirabeau in Spokane Valley. Or rent tubes and get a shuttle from local outfitter FLOW Adventures and enjoy the scenery, wildlife and fun on the lower river between Peaceful Valley and T.J. Meenach Bridge.

2. Whitewater Rafting: Get your adrenaline fix rafting class III and IV rapids through Riverside State Park between the T.J. Meenach Bridge and Plese Flats. Use the Spokane River Water Trail map resources page to find guides that can take you through it all safely. There are many options to experience the unique view of the world from the river, from a thrilling whitewater ride through Devil’s Toenail to an urban happy hour float.

3. Boat Camping: Stay overnight at AVISTA’s new Lake Spokane (aka Long Lake) boat-in campground. Managed by Riverside State Park and located on Lake Spokane upstream of Long Lake Dam, enjoy a secluded, beautiful lake-side camping experience with your boat amazingly close to Spokane.

4. Roll or Stroll along the River: The Centennial Trail extends over 37 miles, urban or wild, along the Spokane River, from the Idaho/Washington Stateline to Nine Mile Falls Dam. Try hiking, biking, or longboarding through the especially scenic, wilder and woodsy stretches of the trail from the T.J. Meenach Bridge to Nine Mile Falls Dam.

5. Fish for Native Trout: Fly fish for redband trout on the upper and lower stretches of the river, although your best odds are floating or wading the miles of river below downtown Spokane. Take a class from a local fly shop to get started or hire a local guide to show you the best flies and holes.

6. Whitewater Kayaking or River Surfing: If you have the experience and equipment, flip, roll and surf your play boat at the Trailer Park wave just above Corbin Park and below the Post Falls Dam. A new access site recently purchased and developed by Avista, including parking and an improved trail, makes playing at Trailer Park so much easier.

7. Expand Your River Skills: Expand your horizons by taking a class. Learn to stand up paddleboard (SUP), roll a kayak, paddle whitewater or how to cast for trout with a fly rod. Find the clubs and outfitters that offer classes on the river trail website.

8. Stand Up and Paddle: For a scenic, mellow stand up paddleboarding tour, try the stretch from Plese Flats to the new Avista take-out above Nine Mile Dam.

9. Go Swimming: For a simple, total immersion experience, go swimming in the Spokane River this summer! Grab your towel and sunscreen and use the river trail map to find the best swimming spots with amenities like restrooms. Particular reaches of the Spokane River are recharged from the aquifer, so be prepared for a breathtaking shock of cold water. Some stretches of the river, including those highlighted for swimming on the water trail map, can be safer for swimming than other areas with faster moving water. Always use caution and wear a personal floatation device (PFD) when you’re out in the water. //

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