Rich Landers

Adventure travel What's the hottest trend in outdoor vacations? Walking, said Peter Grubb, owner of River Odysseys West rafting company in Coeur d'Alene. Grubb recently returned from a major adventure travel trade show in Chicago, where goes each year to sniff out industry trends. "Lodge-based walking trips appear to be the hottest thing going,"' he said. "That's where the dynamic growth is." Europe has capitalized on the trend, Grubb said. "It's also really big on the Olympic Peninsula, where companies are booking clients in the Lake Quinalt Lodge."

Backpacking Two Spokane clubs have set dates for their annual spring backpacking courses. Both courses offer instruction covering topics such as equipment, meals, safety and first aid, and map and compass. The Backpacking Club's nine-week school starts March 29. Friday classes run 6:30p.m.-9 p.m. Includes practice camp-out and three-day backpacking trip. Fee: $50, including membership. Discounts for couples, families. Pre-registration required. Info: 467-8099. The Spokane Mountaineers' seven-week course starts April 12, with registration beginning at 6 p.m. at Corbin Community Center, 827 W. Cleveland. Friday evening sessions, plus graduation backpack trip over Memorial Day weekend. Cost $20 plus club membership. Info: 467-6159. For information on this and other courses offered by the club, see the Meet the Mountaineers program on Thursday, 7 p.m., at REI, 1125 N. Monroe.

Wilderness Hikers who want to put their names into the lottery for camping in the area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness should get their name on the mailing list at the Leavenworth Ranger Station. Permits are required for camping in much of the wilderness from June 15-Oct. 15. Permit applications normally would be available now, but permit system details are being revised and applications probably won't be available until around April 1. To receive written notification about the permit system, call the ranger station (509) 782-1413 Monday-Friday, 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Officials promise to mail you info with plenty of lead time to get in your reservation on the first day possible. For updates on the permit situation, call (800) 627-0062.

Williams snapped this photo of the cougar as it advanced toward his stand.

CHECK IT OUT Distance: 5 miles Difficulty: Mostly easy Skiing time: 1-3 hours Season: Dec. through early March Maps: USGS Lane Info: Fernan Ranger Station, (208) 769-3000 SKI TOURING TRIP NOTES Access: Fourth of July Pass is on Interstate 90 between mileposts 28 and 29, about 15 miles east of Coeur d'Alene. Take Fourth of July exit, drive to south side ofI-90 and follow plowed 1/3 road mile to parking area and trailhead. (Idaho Park N'Ski or Washington Sno-Park sticker required.) Attractions: When snow reaches to lower elevations, Fourth of July Pass offers easy access to gentle system of trails, especially appropriate for novice-to-intermediate skiers. Outhouses at trailhead. Warming shelter with wood stove on trail hear parking area. Unheated picnic shelter also available. Trails groomed occasionally with snowmobile by Panhandle Nordic Club. Comments: Ranging around elevation 3,000 feet, this trail system needs ample snow and cool weather to provide decent skiing. Most of route follows logging roads through cedar forest. Locally known as "Elk Loop" this route generally is 2 percent to 6 percent grade, which won't inspire skiers looking for thrills from hills. However, route offers two exceptions to gentle terrain: Expert Loop - a short diversion from south leg of main loop that offers relatively tricky ups, downs and turns. Short downhill stretch of 10 percent grade from picnic shelter to elbow turn at northwest corner of Elk Loop.

Greg Tourtlotte was North Idaho's wildlife enforcement chief for 8 years.

Wilderness The size of parties entering the Salmo-Priest Wilderness this summer will be restricted to "12 heartbeats" according to a new Colville National Forest policy. For example, that means that no more than 12 hikers could be in one group, or six horseback riders, or four humans with eight head of stock. Special applications can be made for parties of up to 20 heartbeats. These permits likely will be issued mostly to volunteers doing trail work, officials said. The new policy manages some areas as semi-primitive and others as primitive. The most restrictive regulations will govern the primitive areas, such as Crowell Ridge, where no stock will be allowed. Info: Sullivan Lake Ranger Station, (509) 446-7500.

Marine camping Permits for the Cascadia Marine Trail, which stretches 140 miles through Puget Sound from Olympia to Canada, are on sale for $14. On April 30, the price increases to $20. The permit allows unlimited camping along the trail. However, daily camping fees are $5 a person Jan. 1-April 30 and $7 a person May 1-Aug. 30. The route consists of a series of campsites at 20 state parks and nine parcels of land owned by state and local governments. Sites are available only to those traveling by wind and human-powered boats.

Paddle sports New and used gear for canoeing, kayaking, rafting and other outdoor sports, plus some guided trips, will be auctioned Monday to raise money for securing access to waterways in the Inland Northwest. The Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club's annual auction is set to begin with a potluck dinner at 7 p.m. at the Corbin Community Center, 827 W. Cleveland Ave. For info on donating new or used items to the auction, contact Derek Zimmer, 456-0276.

Tom and Theresa Frost

Check it out Distance: 58 miles Difficulty: Moderate Riding time: 4-7 hours Season: Dec. through Feb. Maps: Wallace District Snowmobile Trails plus Superior Area Snowmobile Trails, both available from Forest Service offices below. Info: Wallace (Idaho) Ranger District (208) 752-1221 and Superior (Mont.) Ranger District (406) 822-4233.

Gary Cole with water collection device for wildlife.

Rivers Riverrunners and anglers no longer have to gamble on whether major Idaho rivers will be out of shape for their particular recreation. The Idaho Water Resources Department has begun providing river flow levels via Internet for 30 streams. The reports, revised each weekday, list the flows for each river in cubic feet per second.

Nordic skiing The Forest Service has scheduled an open house to present a new warming shelter on the ski trail around Frater Lake, 27 miles east of Colville on Highway 20. The log hut is designed for day and overnight use, with benches, table and wood stove. The open house is scheduled for Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. It's been available for use since mid-December. Labor and materials for the hut were donated by several individuals, groups and businesses.

CHECK IT OUT Distance: 27 miles Difficulty: Difficult Riding time: 4 days

Check it out Distance: 8 miles Difficulty: Moderately difficult Skiing time: 2-4 hours Season: Dec. through mid-March Maps: Black Jack Ski Area Info: Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club (604)362-9465 Ski touring trip notes Access: From Rossland, British Columbia, drive about 3 miles north on Highway 3B. Just past Red Mountain Alpine Ski Area, turn right at Black Jack signs. Follow Mann Road 1/2 mile to parking area. Attractions: Black Jack trail system includes about 40 kilometers of trails - ranging from easy to difficult. Trailhead across highway from facilities for downhill ski area. About 25K groomed for classic and skating; remaining more difficult trails are narrower and groomed to lesser standard. This route samples both groomed and ungroomed trails. Be ready for occasional tight turns!

Winter recreation Group trips and instruction involving skiing, winter canoeing, snowshoeing and many other activities are offered at reasonable prices through the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department. Snowshoe near Red River Hot Springs, paddle the Little Spokane, tour the best nordic ski areas of southern British Columbia, alpine ski by snowcat, break away with a bike tour.

Backcountry skiing "Beyond the Groomed" advanced telemark clinic, conducted by tele-guru Nils Larson of Curlew, will coincide for the 10th year with the Tele Rendezvous at Whitewater Ski area near Nelson, British Columbia, Feb. 17-18. The rendezvous is informal with minimal costs for lift tickets and races.

Camping Telephone lines were busy recently as the new combined camping reservation system opened for Oregon and Washington state parks. The system offers campers 8,600 campsites in more than 60 state parks. It's the first two-state reservation program.

Fishing Competitive anglers and hook a $20,000 fully-rigged bass boat and up to $5,000 in cash prizes in the Bass Encounters tournament series at central Washington lakes this year. The event schedule is as follows: April 6, Banks Lake. April 27-28, Potholes Reservoir. June 1, Banks Lake. June 22&23, Columbia River, Tri-Cities. July 20, Potholes Reservoir. July 21, Potholes Reservoir (couples event) Aug. 17-18, Columbia River, Tri-Cities. Info: Bass Encounters, Box 168, Benton City, WA 99320, telephone (509) 588-4688.

Canoeing Montana adventurers Alan Kesselheim and Marypat Zitzer, paddled a canoe 1,700 miles through northern Canada in a 13-month adventure that included holing up for the winter in a remote cabin. They made the best of their situation, and a baby to boot. Kesselheim has written a book on the journey called "Going Inside." But adventure buffs can get a more intimate account during a slide show and reading Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at Auntie's Bookstore, 402 W. Main. The trip, which included encounters with northern lights, nine months of ice-up and tundra creatures such as musk oxen and grizzly bears, ended near the Arctic Circle with Marypat seven months pregnant.

CHECK IT OUT Distance: 11 miles round trip Difficulty: Moderate Skiing time: 1 day or overnight Season: December through March Maps: USGS Sherman Peak Info: Republic Ranger District. (509) 775-3305 SKI TOURING TRIP NOTES Access: Drive to Sherman Pass on State Highway 20 between Kettle Falls and Republic. Pass is 26 miles west of Kettle Falls and 17 miles east of Republic. Sno-Park trailhead is on north side of highway. Permit required. Attractions: Ungroomed Kettle Crest Trail leads to through forest to excellent telemarking and camping areas of Kettle Range. Area skiers maintain wood-heated tent shelter near Sherman Peak. Forest Service and volunteers recently put up log shelter, suitable for overnights, near Snow Peak. Although area has slopes susceptible to avalanches, several slopes reasonably safe for telemarking. Loop trail around Sherman Peak offers shorter alternate trip. Comments: From trailhead ($20 Washington State Sno-Park parking permit required), trail leads downhill to east before skiers must cross (carefully) Highway 20. From south side of highway, route zig-zags to quickly gain 400 feet elevation in 1 mile to junction with new trail heading around west side of Sherman Peak. West-side trail is fastest route into shelters. But to see it all, take one trail in and follow other route out. Kettle Crest Trail heads around east side of Sherman Peak through eerie open forest of snags left from 1988 fire. Route popular among local skiers; some sort of track usually can be followed. However topo map is essential. Climbing skins recommended.

Nordic skiing The Panhandle Nordic Club will be dealing cards to participants in the "Best Hand Fun Ski" Saturday at Fourth of July Pass. Skiers who pack in the best hand from the ski-trail course can win prizes ranging from ski packages to overnight ski vacations. Check-in begins at 11 a.m. Event starts at 12:30 p.m. on courses for adults and youths. Info: (208) 762-3225.

CHECK IT OUT Distance: 6-7 miles round trip Difficulty: Mostly easy Skiing time: 3-4 hours Season: Mid-Dec. through Feb. Maps: USGS Outlet Bay plus Chipmunk Rapids ski trial map from Priest Lake Ranger District Info: Hill's Resort, (208) 443-2551 SKI TOURING TRIP NOTES Access: From Priest River, Idaho, take State Highway 57 north 22-1/2 miles. Look for trailhead parking on right just past milepost 22. Attractions: Easily accessible trail follows jeep roads that wind through forest to soothing views of rapids along Priest River. Trail, occasionally groomed by snowmobile, has little elevation gain-loss. Starts at elev. 2,530 feet. Low point at 2,370 feet near Chipmunk Rapids. Comments: Trail particularly attractive after fresh snow in cold weather, when steam rises from river and trees flocked in white.