Out & About: PCT speed hiker to speak in Sandpoint

OUTHIKE –   Heather “Anish” Anderson, who set the speed record for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail last summer, will keynote the annual meeting of the  Friends of the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness on Wednesday in Sandpoint.

The 2014 State of the Scotchmans event will start at 6 p.m. at Forrest M. Bird Charter Middle School auditorium, 621 Madison St.  Anderson will speak at 7 p.m.

The program deals with her 2,655-mile trek from Mexico to Canada in 60 days to set  a PCT record for unsupported through-hiking.

Scotchman Peaks Wilderness advocates will present a report on the 10-year effort in getting an 88,000-acre roadless area northeast of Lake Pend Oreille designated as wilderness. 

Summer events including work parties and guided treks will be announced.

Info:  scotchmanpeaks.org.

Chinook bend Snake rods

OUTRUN – A surge of Columbia River spring chinook has arrived in the Snake River this week with up to 8,200 fish a day over Ice Harbor Dam.

That’s translated into a surge of fishing activity and salmon catching at hotspots like “The Wall” at Little Goose Dam.

When the run is at its peak there, the hole below the dam can produce great fishing as salmon stack up before entering the fish ladder.

“That’s combat fishing, though,” said Woody Savage, who regularly fishes The Wall with his father, (Big) Woody Savage. “It’s elbow to elbow.”

The Wall is primarily a plunking hole where anglers use a weight to hold a baited lure like a Spin-N-Glow to the bottom.

The Wall gets its name from a concrete apron below the dam that sits high above a frothing back eddy. Those who fish the upper end of the hole have to walk a hooked fish downstream to a concrete staircase that leads to a platform at water’s edge.

Good fishing is expected to work its way this weekend all the way up into the Clearwater.

Glen Mendel, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist, says anglers could quickly catch the quota of fish allotted to the Snake River fishery. However, if fish managers next week determine the run is bigger than expected, the quota could be increased.

Park opens novice ORV area

OUTRIDE – A 20-acre site for novice ATV and motorcycle riders will be dedicated today, 11 a.m., at Riverside State Park’s ORV area.

Dirt bikes and ATVs will be available for new riders, youths and adults, to try out, park officials say.

The novice area, for riders with less than a year of experience, is fenced off from the rest of the 600-acre site that’s open to all riders.

From SR 291, turn south on Seven Mile Road. Go to Inland Road and turn left to the ORV area.

• Today is a free day in Washington State Parks. No Discover Pass is required on vehicles.