HIKING -- Several groups of hikers celebrated the summer solstice by trekking to the top of Antoine Peak after work and hiking down into the sunset. Antoine is a Spokane County Conservation Futures acquisition that forms the green mountain backdrop north of East Valley High…
NATIONAL FORESTS -- Some Idaho Panhandle National Forests’ offices will be closed Wednesday to allow Forest Service employees to attend classroom training prior to the summer field season. Offices closed on June 22 (one day) include: · Bonners Ferry Ranger District (Bonners Ferry) · Sandpoint…
ALMOST FISHING -- S-R colleague Jim Kershner couldn't have been more excited if he'd just landed a whopper brown trout. He came into the office gushing about the salmonfly he found fluttering on the sidewalk on his way to work. Vaguely reminiscent of the legendary…
STATE PARKS -- With snow still clogging the summit road and portions of the nordic trail system, Mount Spokane State Park managers are behind on their schedule to open spring-summer trails and facilities. "We booked reservations for the Quartz Mountain fire lookout rental starting in…
BOATING -- A divided King County Council has passed a measure to require all swimmers, floaters and boaters on the county’s rivers to wear life vests. Spokane County already has a similar law that reads: All persons regardless of age shall wear a personal flotation…
NATIONAL PARKS -- Olympic National Park rangers killed an elk Friday after it had charged three vehicles and damaged a tent at the Hoh Rain Forest campground. This event comes a year after a mountain goat was killed after it gored and killed a backpacker,…
HUNTING -- Montana has announced drawing results for 2011 fall moose, sheep and mountain goat hunting permits. Idaho and Washington put drawing results online last week. FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim says 22,707 people applied for 387 moose tags; 13,140 applied for 358 mountain goat tags…
WILDLIFE -- A couple in Battle Ground, Wash., had a rude awakening this week when the family cat lured an uninvited guest through the "kitty door" into their house. Read on for the entertaining story from The (Vancouver) Columbian.
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- While nature seems to be wrapped up with producing this year's new crop of fawns, bucks are in the background quietly getting ready for the next mating season. Daniel Haththorne's trail cam recorded this nice whitetail buck and its blooming rack of…
FLY FISHING -- Scott Noble, master bamboo fly rod craftsman and fly-fishing expert, will offer a show-and-tell on building handmade bamboo fly fishing rods during the noon lunch on June 28 at the Hayden Senior Center, 9428 N. Government Way, in Hayden, Idaho. RSVP: (208)…
OUTDOOR SKILLS– Whether you’re a church group leader or a solo adventurer, you can benefit from short summer outdoor courses in skills such as rafting and kayaking offered by Eastern Washington University. Veteran outdoor recreation professor Paul Green is offering two special courses: Outdoor Leadership,…
Rich Landers writes and photographs stories and columns for a wide range of outdoors coverage, including Outdoors feature sections on Sunday and Thursday.
