Some families avoid the Black Friday shopping crush and head outdoors

Melissa Pasterz lets others crowd the malls on Black Friday. She prefers a good hike.

“I don’t like being around a ton of people and feeling crowded,” said Pasterz, as she led a group of family members on a 2-mile hike at Tubbs Hill in Coeur d’Alene. “This is what we do instead. It’s our family thing.”

Three generations of Pasterz’s family – her husband, daughters, aunt, uncle and cousin –breathed in lungfuls of frosty air under towering pine trees and watched the morning mist rising from Lake Coeur d’Alene. There was no line, no scramble for parking and no rush to get a limited supply of discount items before they sold out. And there was no cost, either.

“We’re an outdoor family,” explained Pasterz’s aunt, Franny Brown, who was visiting from Seattle.

Many Inland Northwest residents donned layers of sweaters, hats, gloves and parkas Friday, heading outside to celebrate the region’s natural beauty. Some were inspired by outdoor retailer REI, which closed its stores on Black Friday so employees could take a paid day off to be with their families.

Local customers quickly embraced the idea, said Carol Christensen, REI’s outdoor programs and outreach market coordinator in Spokane.

“They appreciate the message about spending time outdoors and spending time with family,” Christensen said. “You don’t have to have money or gear to participate. You can go for a walk in the park.”

As part of alternate Black Friday activities, the Riverside State Park Foundation organized a guided family hike along the Spokane River in cooperation with the West Central Community Center. The day-after Thanksgiving hike was the first of its kind, but organizers hope to make it an annual tradition, said Cherie Gwinn, one of the park’s program specialists.

At Tubbs Hill, Clay Oyler and his father-in-law, Steve Lamoreaux, exchanged greetings with other hikers at the end of a 45-minute hike and compared notes about three pileated woodpeckers visible from the trail. The birds, known for their brilliant red crests, are one of North America’s largest woodpeckers.

The men said they were glad to be enjoying nature and spending quiet time together.

“We like the solitude,” said Lamoreaux. “It’s an incredible place.”

Salt Lake City resident Peter Boies shares that view. Every time he visits friends in Coeur d’Alene, he tries to hike the wooded peninsula close to the city’s downtown. He enjoys the basalt cliffs and views of the lake.

“It brings me more personal satisfaction and joy than shopping ever could,” Boies said Friday morning.