Out There Monthly October 2011

VOL.8 // NO.2 // OCTOBER 2011 // www.OuTThEREmONThLy.COm

MONTHLY

47th ANNuAL SKI SwAP

ThE INLAND NORThwEST GuIDE TO OuTDOOR RECREATION

FINd WILd FOOd FORaGE LIKE OUR FOREFaTHERS (aNd FOREmOTHERS)

News: New Outdoor Retailers In Town, Cyclocross Series P.7 Roadtrip: NE Oregon, Joseph, Wallowas, and Eagle Cap P.11 Last Page: Hanford Clean Up Tour P.22 What’s Your Gear?: Rob Kennedy, Backpacking P.10 Training Tips: Cross-Training For Hiking P.12

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Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

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12 W. Sprague Ave. 509.325.9806

Register at www.active.com/running/spokane-wa/sekani-trail-run-5k-and-10k-2011 OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

3

In This Issue p.6 / From the Editor

MONTHLY

30 Seconds In the Lily Pads

By Jon Snyder

www.outtheremonthly.com

p.7 / Out There News Cyclocross Series Additions, Spokane Bicycle Advisory Board, New Outdoor Stores Open

Out There Monthly / October 2011 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Jon Snyder jon@outtheremonthly.com Art Director

Kaitlin Snyder Managing Editor

p.9 / Book Reviews

Amy Silbernagel McCaffree

Unquenchable and

Health & Fitness Editor

Northwest Foraging

By Stan Miller and Tod Marshall

Dr. Bob Lutz senior writers

Jon Jonckers, Derrick Knowles Contributing Writers:

p.10 / What’s Your Gear?

Rob Kennedy: Backpacking

By Amy Silbernagel McCaffree

Ben Greenfield, Loran Kerrigan, Tod Marshall, Stan Miller, Erika Prins, Juliet Sinisterra, John Speare Distribution Coordinator

Barbara Snyder To request issues please call 509 / 534 / 3347 Ad Sales

Bill Bloom: 509 / 999 / 8214

p.11 / Roadtrip Visit Your Friend Joseph, Oregon

By Jon Jonckers

p.12 / training Tips & My Bike Train For Hiking At Home

By Ben Greenfield

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p.13 / Everyday cyclist Don’t Stop When The Temp Drops

By John Speare

p.14 / Sustainable Living Electric Cars Charge Into Spokane

By Juliet Sinisterra

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Printed on 50% recycled paper with soy based inks in the Inland Northwest PROUD MEMBER OF

Out There Monthly also supports

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By Erika Prins

p.21 / Photo of the month And Roadtrip DJ

By Brook Ellingwood & Loran Kerrigan

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Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Disclaimer: Many of the activities depicted in this magazine carry a significant risk of personal injury or death. Rock climbing, river rafting, snow sports, kayaking, cycling, canoeing and backcountry activities are inherently dangerous. The owners and contributors to Out There Monthly do not recommend that anyone participate in these activities unless they are experts or seek qualified professional instruction and/or guidance, and are knowledgeable about the risks, and are personally willing to assume all responsibility associated with those risks.

p.22 / Last Page

To order, call 509.935.6649 or online at ski49n.com

4

p.18 / Find Wild Food

©Copyright 2011 Snyderco DBA/Out There Monthly.

The views expressed in this magazine reflect those of the writers and advertisers and not necessarily Snyderco DBA/Out There Monthly.

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p.16 / October INLAND NW OUTDOOR CAlendar & 6 Month Training Calendar

Out There Monthly

Mailing Address: PO Box 559 Spokane, WA 99210 www.outtheremonthly.com, 509 / 534 / 3347 Out There Monthly is published once a month

by Snyderco DBA/Out There Monthly. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher.

On the cover: Rebecca Lerner of the First Ways blog urban foraging in Portland, OR. // Photo BlairRyan.com.

Photos courtesy of Gary Peterson

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OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

5

From the Editor: 30 Seconds In The Lily Pads My family doesn’t fish. Sacrilege, I know.

I don’t have anything against fishing and I certainly love eating fish but a middle class family of four can only accommodate a finite amount of outdoor pastimes and gear. Fishing didn’t make our short list. Neither did bow hunting, throughhiking, or adventure racing.

But lake kayaking did. I like to take our boats to small Inland Northwest lakes with the kids and “fish for empties.” Any lake that attracts camping and fishing almost certainly attracts empty alcohol containers. It’s a whole heckuva lot of fun to cruise the shoreline in a kayak on a treasure hunt for Keystone cans and bottles of

Bud. Sure it’s picking up litter, which is nice and all, but it’s also a waterborne scavenger hunt. My favorite outdoor family pic this year is my daughter hoisting up a half-full 40-ouncer that she dug out from a shore thicket at Round Lake.

A couple of weeks ago my son and I were exploring by kayak our new favorite mountain water hole, Ferry County’s Trout Lake. At the far end of the lake we were exploring where the water turned to wetlands and seeing how far our kayaks could sneak into the lily-pads. I got to a spot where my boat bottomed out. I could just hump it over this one spot and keep going, but decided against it. We continued to search the

shoreline and my son found a mother-load of beer cans about forty feet away.

As he worked to get them in the boat I happened to glance over my shoulder. Trudging through the lily-pads at the exact spot where I had just decided not to hump was the biggest cow moose I’ve ever seen. My son was talking loudly about the cans not looking at me. I hissed at him as loud as I could. He turned and froze.

We both stared at the creature, stunned. Then the moose saw us. She gave out a loud snort and started swimming right for us. We backward paddled. Who knew a moose could swim so fast?

The moose saw something she wanted to eat and

started diving under the water and we were a bad memory. Relieved, we sat there silently, marveling at the movements of this amazing creature.

There’s still a submerged six-pack of Keystone Ice cans somewhere up at Trout Lake. I wouldn’t trade it for my moose story. // -------------------------------------------------------JON SNYDER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@outtheremonthly.com P.S. Check out the digital edition of this month’s mag at issuu.com by search for “Out There Monthly” at the site. Over a thousand digital monthly readers can’t be wrong.

NOT ENOUGH DAYLIGHT TO GET YOUR RIDE IN? LIGHT UP THE NIGHT WITH NITERIDER.

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Oct. 16 & 22 BRRC Cross County Series Oct 9 Spokane Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 10K more info at

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Spokane's only running specialty store.

221 N. Wall St. 509.624.7654 6

Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Tickets Tickets on on sale sale now now at at Wintersport, Wintersport, Alpine Alpine Haus Haus & & tgrtix.com/tickets/oftr tgrtix.com/tickets/oftr

Out There News CYCLOCROSS SERIES ADDS NEW Races and categories

ActIve4Youth Has Slate of Oct. EVENTS Active4Youth, the local nonprofit that provides afterschool cross-country running training and competitions for elementary school kids has a full slate of events this month. On Saturday October 15th comes their annual auction at the Barrister Winery at 6pm. Attendees can enjoy live music by Clumsy Lovers, heavy hors d’ouvers, and complimentary wine and beer.

Proceeds from the auction support Active4Youth’s Elementary Cross Country Program. The program is free to elementary aged students in Spokane Public Schools. Last year, over 3,000 students participated.

The program’s biggest event is the All-City Cross Country meet at Comstock Park, October 19th at

4PM. This is a chance for kids all over Spokane to compete in mile and half-mile (for kindergarten and first grade.) And finally the Monster Dash (costumes encouraged) will take place at Manito Park on October 30th, with a 5k for adults and a 1/4-1 mile for kids.

According to organization founder Mike Bresson the running programs are designed for all kids regardless of skill level. “Spokane has a large population of children who can’t afford to participate in organized sports,” Bresson.

For more information visit www.active4youth. org.

Legal Services

Designed to meet the needs of Seniors

Medicaid and Long Term Planning Cyclocross race at riverside state park. // photo Courtesy of emde sports.

The Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series, organized by Emde Sports, kicks off on October 1st at Riverside State Park’s 7-Mile area. Changes for this 12th annual race series include four new and different race categories: category 3 for men, single speed all categories (men and women), collegiate (men and women), and masters women 40+. In addition to Spokane, other cities hosting races include Coeur d’Alene, Walla Walla, Moses Lake, Moscow, Colfax and Liberty Lake.

“Cross is a discipline of cycling that has a very dedicated following and is starting to expand its ridership,” says race co-promoter Marla Emde.

“It’s a blend, appealing to both mountain bike cyclists, road cyclists and recreational cyclists alike. The ages span the decades—7 to 70. It’s all about the party—riding in the mud and having fun. Post race activities include firing up the BBQ and socializing. It’s just one big family, which makes it a tight knit group.”

Emde hopes racer turnout exceeds 200 this year. Rookies are encouraged to participate.

Not ready to be race? Then come out and watch. “Spectators can walk easily around the two- mile loop and watch different parts of the

course featuring run up’s, obstacles and twists and turns that make the racing fun and exciting to watch,” Emde says. “Cowbells are a must for cheering on the riders and very traditional in ‘cross.”

In addition to ten races in the series, there will also be the third annual Bike Expo on October 16 (the second Riverside State Park race), from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Open to the general public, it will feature many local area bike shops and industry vendors who will be showing the latest in cyclocross bikes and gear.

Competitors in the Inland NW Cyclocross Series compete for prizes and prize money awarded at the series final on November 20th.

Registration is $20.00 on race day only and athletes must be members of USA Cycling or may purchase one-day licenses at registration for an additional $10.00. //

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Complete details regarding the race series, dates and registration can be found at www. emdesports.com.

VisitLincolnCountyWashington.com

OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

7

Out There News New Outdoor gear stores open

South Hill, Downtown, and North Side Get New Shops

The NEw northside runners soul store.

As the Spokane outdoor landscape changed from summer to autumn, the Spokane outdoor retail landscape also began a series of changes.

Some of the changes are loud, such as the new North Face store opening in downtown Spokane, while other changes are quiet, like the relocation of the Sports Outlet near Northtown.

Without a doubt, the new North Face brand store will receive a lot of attention and traffic in the coming weeks—especially with Christmas on the horizon. Located at River Park Square, North Face is an authority in outdoor clothing and gear, and a leader in performance apparel. In addition to serving devoted fans, this new store will increase brand awareness of their items sold in other local retail stores.

John Schwartz, store manager at Mountain Gear, says, “I think it’s great. I think people will see a lot of truly innovative stuff there. I think [The North Face] will contribute to the overall market, and drive outdoor awareness, and create more demand for quality apparel. And Mountain Gear will definitely benefit.” With a laugh, he adds, “Besides, we have free parking.”

Another new face in the Spokane outdoor mar-

ket is Title Nine—a women’s specialty sportinggoods store in the South Perry district, across from the Perry Street Cafe. Named after the groundbreaking portion of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, this quirky business is evangelical about women’s participation in sports. Their catalogs are award winning, and their clothing routinely creates life-long customers.

Finally, while Runners Soul isn’t new, they do have a new location on the north side of town.

Positioned near the new O’Doherty’s, on the southeast corner of Division and Hawthorne, the Runners Soul is primed for Mead, Mount Spokane and Wandermere runners. They specialize in road running and cross-country; however, they are equally versed in fitness nutrition, and their running clothing has multiple crossover applications into other sports, including ultralight hiking and Nordic skiing. //

For more information, visit their websites: thenorthface.com, titlenine.com, runnerssoulspokane.com.

The only painter in Spokane who has completed an Ironman. Now that’s dedication!

Bicycle Advisory board needs you

Opening For Board Member To Help Advise The City of Spokane

A new bike lane in spokane. Join the B.A.B. and help guide policy at the city of spokane. // photo bradley bleck.

The City of Spokane’s Bicycle Advisory Board (BAB) is seeking applicants to fill an opening. The present opening is for the completion of an expired term, but reappointment to a new term is highly likely. The BAB provides advice and direction to the Mayor, City Council and all departments and offices of the city on matters relating to bicycling and raises public awareness of bicycling issues.

One focus of the BAB for the upcoming year will be updating the Master Bike Plan, a part of the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to guide the development of “streets, pedestrian paths and bicycle paths [that] contribute to a system of fully connected and interesting routes to all destinations.”

Grant Wencel, the city of Spokane’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, expects the BAB and volunteers to work on a number of projects in the upcoming year. In addition to updating the Master Bike Plan, projects include public education aimed at bicycle and motor vehicle safety, consulting on the completion of the downtown

bicycle network facilities (which is grant funded for 2012 and 2013), and an ongoing review of and advocacy for bicycle projects and issues. Because the BAB seeks representation from all parts of the city, city residents living within the Five Mile and Indian Trails neighborhoods are particularly encouraged to apply as the BAB lacks representatives from the area.

For application information, visit www.spokanecity.org/government/bcc. Applicants are asked to include a cover letter with a brief overview of cycling and other volunteer experience in and around Spokane and their vision for cycling in the city. Once applications have been received, all applicants will be interviewed and a new member chosen by present BAB members based upon the applications and interviews. //

More info at http://bikespokane.org/

Photo of the Month Send your vertical oriented, outdoor photo, 3 meg or less, with caption to editor@outtheremonthly.com.

Deadline for November 10/18/11. Winner get’s an OTM carabiner.

Congratulations to Brook Ellingwood, who won October’s photo of the month and recieves a 6pack Saddlebag prototype. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. By entering the contest you grant non-exclusive rights to Out There Monthly to publish your photo in our Photo of the Month feature. See page 21 for more details.

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Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Cole’s Orchard

Book Reviews

Green Bluff

Certified Organic Tree Fruit Join us October 7th & 8th for our Anniversary Party NORTHWEST FORAGING Doug Benoliel, Skipstone Books, 2011, 220 pages

UNQUENCHABLE: AMERICA’S WATER CRISIS AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT Robert Glennon,Island Press, 2010, 432 pages

Water supply in crisis? In Unquenchable Robert Glennon develops a convincing case that our attitude about water, as a nation, not the availability of fossil fuels, is the greatest resource threat in the U.S. today.

Glennon begins by examining our water use in comparison with other countries. Our tendency to “toss a few things” into the washer, the use of inefficient flush toilets, and irrigating large expanses of lawn make Americans the biggest water consumers on the planet. In the U.S. the availability of natural rainfall to replenish supplies and water use, largely due to outdoor irrigation, are generally inversely proportional.

Glennon explains the two elements of U.S. water policy that allow this inverted thinking— mining ancient groundwater and inter-basin transfers of river water. For those readers old enough to remember Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert, you know the main approach this country has taken to avert water shortages—interbasin transfers of water engineered primarily by the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation—have allowed the desert southwest to grow in population and water use.

In a sense, Glennon has followed up on Reisner’s work in a way that cancer prevented Reisner from doing so himself. Glennon outlines the reasoning behind the huge water projects like those on the Colorado River diverting water for use in cities like Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego, and our own Columbia Basin Project.

Then goes on to suggest that these are little more than stopgaps that have so far allowed the irrational growth in water use.

Agricultural and industrial uses are also thoroughly examined. With aquifers running dry and river diversion projects falling on hard times, can we produce enough crops to feed the planet’s growing population and produce biofuels to offset the use of petroleum for energy?

Glennon ends the book with a number of interesting and creative ways to avoid the crisis we are headed for. Many involve changes in the legal system, others in the way we think about water, and some relate to engineering our water systems. Every reader will find a change they can personally make. // Stan Miller

If you have any outdoorsy inclinations and you live in the Inland Northwest, then you’ve probably ambled along a trail leisurely picking and plucking huckleberries until the purple juices stained your fingers. Doug Benoliel’s highly informative guide (reissued and updated from an original 1974 edition) allows the casual hiker—and the more adventurous backcountry explorer—to build on this ritualistic foraging and actually make meals from indigenous plants, roots and berries.

Illustrations and meticulous descriptions offer insight into dozens of trailside (and urban) edibles in the Pacific Northwest. From burdock (that stubborn bane of dog owners) to stinging nettles (according to the author, one of the tastiest plants

This is an essential book for anyone who spends substantial time in the woods. The prose is graceful and clear; the drawings—delicately rendered. . . in the book), Northwest Foraging provides all the necessary information one might need to gather (when and where?), harvest (roots or leaves?) and cook (boil or steam?) these readily found plants; further, the author even includes many specific recipes to help incorporate the foraged foodstuffs with other ingredients in the kitchen.

Of course, the guide also offers a section on the toxic plants of the region, including some of the most dangerous. Toxic nightshade, highly dangerous water hemlock, and the beautiful but poisonous lupine—as well as several other plants—are discussed in educational detail that includes wellrendered drawings, usual habitat and range, and symptoms caused by the poisons (several of which are deadly).

Northwest Foraging also includes an informative bibliography for the specialized reader who may be interested in exploring specific usages of plants (medicinal, landscaping, and historical). This is an essential book for anyone who spends substantial time in the woods. The prose is graceful and clear; the drawings—delicately rendered by Mark Orsen—are meticulous; and, perhaps most importantly, the usages are myriad: backpackers can gather greens to supplement the freeze-dried regime; day hikers can focus trips around identifying and harvesting edibles to bring back home to create a feast (and re-create a connection to the wild). // Tod Marshall

• Prizes • Music • Keg Toss • Hot Wing Eating Contest

12 varieties of Apples plus

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and

many varieties of certified organic winter squash , heirloom tomatoes and carrots

Debuting our

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Kootenai County Fairgrounds Saturday, November 5 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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Lookout Pass & Silver Mountain Ski Patrols We are volunteer, non-profit organizations OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

9

What’s Your Gear: Rob Kennedy (backpacking)

Rob Kennedy (at right).

Backpacking for a bachelor party?

Rob Kennedy did just that with a trip to Hells Canyon with some buddies before getting married on August 27th this summer. “Nothing went as planned,” he says about the trip, but “there was an awesome river crossing. Some rafters hooked us up with smoothies, and we caught fish in our hats and put them in Doug’s water bottle.

Overall, [it was] just a brilliant trip.”

Rob’s first ever backpacking trip was to Lake Serene in the North Cascades in 1998, during a

weekend reprieve from his Army duties. Now he goes on a couple backpacking trips a year, saying it’s “not as much as I like, but enough to keep me out of therapy.” He also enjoys kayaking, cycling, rock climbing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.

His favorite aspects of backpacking are the “brilliant photo ops” and “the opportunity to disconnect from the daily routine to reflect on life and where I am heading,” he says.

“For the longest time the only place I went was the North Cascades, but I am starting to branch out,” he says. “Last year I climbed Borah Peak with my good friend Doug King in his quest to highpoint all 50 states.”

Although familiar with 80+ pound infantry packs, Rob likes to limit his backpack to 35 pounds during the summer. “If I’m bringing climbing gear, or if I’m out in the late fall or winter I’m lucky if I keep it close to 50 pounds,” he says.

In addition to being an Army veteran (he served 1997-2000), Rob has worked as a park ranger at Riverside State Park for three years. Currently, he is a video producer for Rogue Heart Media, which provides him with opportunities to get outdoors.

“I try to work a lot with businesses and organizations that foster recreation. In doing photography and video work for them, I get to spend more time out in the field,” he says. “When business is slow I also work part-time guiding trips with Spokane City Parks. Ultimately, I love what I do—guiding trips, teaching classes and taking pictures.”

Another memorable, and challenging, trip was a backpacking-climbing adventure a few years ago— during May—at Chimney Rock in North Idaho,

By Amy Silbernagel McCaffree

planned by his father and brother. “When we were driving in we hit snow three miles before the trailhead,” says Rob. “I grabbed the guidebook that my dad had been using and checked the seasons— open July-Oct. My dad was wearing shorts [and] the warmest article of clothing he had [in his pack] was his Pirates of the Caribbean PJ’s. We decided to park the truck there and hike in anyways, and it was one of the greatest trips I have ever been on.”

“We caught fish in our hats and put them in Doug’s water bottle.”

Here is Rob’s gear list.

------------------------------------------------------BACKPACK: Osprey Kestrel 38 ------------------------------------------------------SLEEPING BAG: REI synthetic 0 degree ------------------------------------------------------TENT: Rob prefers to use a bivy sack or hammock.

------------------------------------------------------WATER PURIFIER: MSR Pump System.

------------------------------------------------------STOVE: He doesn’t use one.

------------------------------------------------------FOOD: He prefers snack food and frequent eating while backpacking. His favorite items to bring along are Sweet Cajun Trail Mix from WinCo,

homemade jerky and fruit leather.

------------------------------------------------------FOOTWEAR: New Balance Hiking shoes and flipflops (sandals) for camp. “I went out on a late fall trip and it was going to be cold so I wore my ice climbing boots. I came home a few days later with a hernia. I picked the wrong type of footwear, but you can also have this problem by getting cheap boots. One pound on your feet is equal to 10 pounds on your back. I’m not a big fan of spending a lot of money on something because it’s a name brand, but don’t skimp on your boot purchase.”

------------------------------------------------------TREKKING POLES: “After my last couple trips I have become an advocate for good quality trekking poles. On my last outing, I had a foot injury and was amazed at how much pressure is relieved by using trekking poles. I did, however, break two trekking poles on that trip, so now I am shopping for a good pair that preferably doesn’t have a twist lock.”

------------------------------------------------------CLOTHING: 5:11 pants, shirt with a collar, wide brimmed hat. Cotton in hot, arid climates and synthetics everywhere else.

------------------------------------------------------OTHER ESSENTIAL GEAR: Military Style Poncho (hang up for shelter, wrap around pack for river crossings, carry out your friends when they are broken); GPS (mark vehicle and only use in case of emergency); 1:50,000 topo map and compass; First Aid Kit, and survival bracelet. //

REFOREST SPOKANE DAY Saturday, October 22nd

9 a.m. - Noon

The Lands Council needs your help to plant

10,000 Ponderosa Pines

i n O N E DAY !

various planting locations available

please bring your own shovel & gloves

water, coffee & snacks provided

please sign up today at www.landscouncil.org or call 509.838.4912

Thank you to the many individuals and groups who voted for Reforest Spokane Day! We’re proud to announce our project came in 2nd out of 20 nation-wide finalists in the “50 States for Good” contest, awarding $20,000 to The Lands Council, and allowing our project to become a reality.

THE LANDS COUNCIL - 25 W. MAIN, STE 222 - SPOKANE - (509) 838-4912 - WWW.LANDSCOUNCIL.Org 10

Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Road Trips

Go Visit Your Friend Joseph, Oregon

9,000 Foot Peaks And Dozens Of Alpine Lakes Just 4 Hours Away / By Jon Jonckers Unique in every way imaginable, the town of Joseph rests comfortably in the middle of nowhere and at the center of everything.

This tiny northeastern Oregon town rests at the foot of the Wallowa Mountains, at the tip of Wallowa Lake and at the end of Highway 351—trapped between the massive Eagle Cap Wilderness and the enormous Hells Canyon.

The tiny town doesn’t borrow much from other touristy villages and backcountry blackholes because it doesn’t need to. When you arrive in Joseph, you have arrived.

Named after the one and only Chief Joseph,

If you only do one hike in the area, definitely head to the summit of the namesake mountain of Eagle Cap. Jake Ostman in the Thorp Creek Basin after a successful summit of Sacajawea Peak in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon. // Photo Jon Jonckers.

QUEEN OF INLAND NORTHWEST LAND TRUST PRESENTS

THE

SUN

WHAT ARE THE BEES TELLING US?

Tuesday, October 18, 7:00 p.m.

Come before 7:00 p.m. to visit the booths in the lobby

Bing Crosby Theater

$5 SUGGESTED DONATION AT THE DOOR Inland Northwest Land Trust

35 W Main Avenue, Suite 210 Spokane, WA 99201 (509) 328-2939 | www.inlandnwlandtrust.org

the renowned humanitarian and peacemaker of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, the community firmly grasps their Wild West heritage. Yet their progressive shops/restaurants/boutiques and their investment in bronze art are unmatched in the entire Northwest. This town, which hardly crests 1,000 people in the most current census, can proudly boast it has three bronze foundries and a bronze sculpture art walk unlike any other.

The unmistakable draw to this town is the Eagle Cap Wilderness, home to 580 square miles of the Wallowa Mountains. Characterized by high alpine lakes, bare granite peaks and endless ridges, the Wilderness includes 30 summits exceeding 9,000 feet, as well as 60 alpine lakes (nine of which are above 8,000 feet). Even climbers familiar with the area are amazed that 12 of the 20 highest peaks in Oregon rest in a 30-mile portion of the State, and four peaks are nearly 10,000 feet high. No wonder these mountains used to be compared to the Swiss Alps.

Wallowa Lake also bears a reputation unlike any other lake in the region. Famous in geology textbooks as a prime example of a lake dammed by glacier moraines, the lake is merely five miles long by one mile wide. However, the lake also hosted a gold rush in the early 1870s, which later contributed to the battles between Nez Perce and U.S. forces. Several monuments decorate the area and remember the mighty acts and contributions of Chief Joseph. Dedications are set up at the lake and in surrounding cities in remembrance of the Nez Perce tribe and the battle that took place in 1877.

Arguably the most famous portal into the mountains, the Wallowa Lake Tramway consists of 25 towers, plus a 3,700-foot rise from the lake to the summit of Mount Howard. The gondola is a Swiss-made tram, and was constructed in 1970

as the steepest vertical lift for a four-passenger gondola in North America. By comparison, the Silver Mountain gondola climbs 3,400 feet with 45 towers. Nearly anyone that has taken a ride on both claims the Wallowa Lake Tram is the better view and better wilderness summit.

Admittedly, the town of Joseph does swell in the prime summer months, and the town does their best to host a couple big events—including a blues festival and a biker rally. Both events are quite impressive if that’s the type of weekend you prefer. Frankly, the shoulder seasons of fall and spring deserve the most attention because they’re the most reasonable temperatures for outdoor pursuits. And this is also when the town is the most approachable for tourist business.

If you only do one hike in the area, definitely head to the summit of the namesake mountain of Eagle Cap. From the summit, the views over the Lakes Basin are unforgettable. The mountain is truly the hub of the wilderness, and canyons radiate in all directions. From the summit, one can see the East Fork Lostine River and Hurricane Creek flowing north, the West Fork Wallowa River flowing east, and the beautiful Eagle Creek flowing south.

When you combine the lake, wilderness, geography, history and world-renowned bronze art, you have a rather impressive road trip. Sadly, the very ingredients that create such a unique and wonderful destination also hinder it. Guarded by Hells Canyon and the Seven Devils Wilderness on one side, the Eagle Cap Wilderness on the other side, the only access to Joseph is over the Grande Ronde River, or via La Grande. It is not a place to visit en route to anywhere else, and once you leave Lewiston there are hardly any services.

But once you arrive, you will know why it’s such a special place.

Joseph, Oregon, offers more than enough for any outdoor enthusiast. Tucked away from the main highway thoroughfares, the town has lakes and mountains that compete with anything in north Idaho, art that surpasses all but the best in Seattle or Portland, and hospitality that’s genuine.

Whether you like fishing, hiking, backcountry skiing, photography, trail running or simply premiere Inland Northwest locations, the town of Joseph was made for you. //

When You Go Strange but true, the trip to Joseph meets two easy-to-remember measurements. If you don’t include stops, it’s 200 miles away or 4 hours away.

Just follow Highway 195 to Lewiston, then cross the Snake River into Clarkston. Continue south on Highway 129 to Asotin, and make sure your gas tank is full before you go any further. The road is bland for a bit, but crossing the Grande Ronde River into Oregon always proves interesting. Joseph is just a few miles past the town of Enterprise. //

OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

11

Training Tips Train For hiking

Three Exercises You Can Do At Home / By Ben Greenfield When it comes to increasing your fitness for hiking, it comes down to more than simply hopping on the stair master. Your lateral movement muscles and ankle stabilizers need to be trained, and if you’re carrying a pack, your spine, mid and upper back muscles must be prepared.

Here are three body weight moves to get you ready for hiking.

1. HIP HIKES: Stand on a platform, bench or elevated surface with both legs. Step slightly to the side so one leg is off the platform, then slowly lower the hip of that leg by 2-3 inches without moving the other leg. Then raise your hip back up. Repeat for 10-15 reps.

land on the outside leg, and hold for a one count.

Alternate for 10 reps per side.

3. FRONT PLANK TAPS: Drop into a front plank position, with your forearms supporting your upper body and toes supporting your lower body. Without rotating your hips, bend your knee and “tap” one toe, then tap the other toe. Repeat for 8-10 taps per side.

Every 3-4 days, complete each of the exercises above as a circuit, 3-5 times through with minimal rest. //

Ben Greenfield has a free fitness blog and pod-

2. SKATERS: Stand on both legs, then jump to the side, land on the outside leg, and hold for a one count. Then jump back to the other direction,

I

My Bike

cast at www.bengreenfieldfitnesss.com.

Jon Eberly

You are what your animals eat.

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Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

In 2009, I started commuting on a junky bike with a promise to myself that if I kept it up a year, I would buy a nice bike. One year later I got my Surly Long Haul Trucker. This workhorse has been my do-everything-go-everywhere bike ever since. I’ve ridden dusty fire roads, precarious single track and icy city streets on my bike and it

always asks for more.

This year I sold my car and picked up a couple of extra bike frames with the money I’m not wasting on gas. These days you will see me lovingly washing my bike in the front lawn or maintaining it at Pedals2People. Most of all, I love my bike because it makes me free. //

Everyday Cyclist

http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com

Don’t stop when the temp drops October Is A Great Month For Riding / By John Speare October is a great time of year to be a cyclist in the inland northwest. Although the days get shorter, most daytime temperatures are perfect for tooling around or hard riding.

Cyclocross season kicks into full gear in October.

The leaves turning in the mountains make for

Ride the Fall forest. // Photo john speare

great weekend exploration. The mountain bike trails—parched and sandy from the summer heat—begin to take on a bit of moisture, and are transformed into ideal riding tracks. And the cooler mornings and nights remind us about the magic of layering in preparation for the winter riding ahead. We are fortunate here to have four distinct seasons, but autumn may be the best for riding.

For the racing crowd, October marks the official beginning of the Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series. If you are a cyclist that enjoys pushing hard and having fun on non-technical off-pavement riding, then you are really doing a disservice to yourself not to give at least one cyclocross race a go. Emde Sports puts on a race series that is ideal for new racers, with mountain bike, youth and beginner categories.

But you don’t have to race to enjoy cyclocross.

In fact, it’s almost as fun to watch cyclocross as it is to race it. Cyclocross courses are laid out in parks and natural areas where spectators can walk the course as racers compete. Pack a lunch and a hot thermos and enjoy the races, which are every weekend in October and November. Go to emdesports.com for race schedules.

Another great bikey way to spend autumn weekends in this area is to explore the National Forests that surround us: the Coeur d’ Alene, the Colville, the Okanogan and the Kaniksu. All of these forests have miles and miles of nearly carfree roads. You can drive in and explore for a day, or you can set up a base camp and explore for the weekend. Choose a route with some elevation gain and you’ll be rewarded with beautiful fall colors of deciduous and Western Larch trees as well as grand views across pristine forests. For long rides, be sure you are prepared: bring clothing for extreme weather changes, bring a water purification solution, and pack plenty of calories to get you through the ride. You can read more

about exploring our local National Forests by bike in this magazine’s July 2010 issue (available online at outtheremonthly.com).

Thanks to early fall precipitation, October may be the best trail-riding month in the Spokane area.

By the end of summer, many of the local trails are dry, sandy and difficult to get a good grip on.

With a touch of moisture and some cool nights, these same trails become perfect for mountain biking and cyclocross racing. For tires: run a moderate-to-low tread, with a rounded profile, and you can scorch the local trails like no other time of year.

As the days get progressively shorter and colder, October provides a nice transition into the colder cycling months. For commuters, this means you’re likely riding to or from work in lowlight conditions. The October transition gives us time to get our winter lighting and visibility plan dialed in. As in year’s past, advances in LED technology have introduced a whole new level of performance for low-energy, high-output lighting. This means more bang for the buck on new equipment. But for the frugal, this can also mean better deals on last year’s “outdated” technology.

“Thanks to early fall precipitation, October may be the best trail-riding month in the Spokane area.”

Temperatures in the early morning will begin to reach the freezing point, while the commute home could actually be warmish. As with lighting, we have the opportunity to get reacquainted with cold-weather clothing and how to layer for our commute. Make sure you always commute with a beanie, a light shell and some light gloves tucked away in your bag during October. The general rule that many light layers are preferable to fewer heavy layers is a good practice to follow.

There are also a couple safety-related items in the October timeframe to consider on your commute. First, watch out for the leaves. When leaves are wet, especially when they’re layered and slimy, they are super slick. Never attempt to corner through wet leaves. Another hazard of leaves is the stuff that may be under the pile of dry leaves. The image of riding through a big pile of leaves is Rockwellian in its draw, but consider the branch or rock that may be hiding under there.

Don’t do it!

The second safety item to consider is that as a commuter, you’re not as secure in numbers as you have been in the warm months when bikes are everywhere. Many cycling commuters switch to other modes of transportation when the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. Anecdotally, it seems that fewer bikes on the road are likely to dull the bike-alertness of motorists. It’s the “out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon. The best defense here, as always, is to be visible and predictable. // John Speare grew up and lives in Spokane. He rides his bike everywhere. Check out his blog at http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com.

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/ Out There Monthly

13

GoGreen: Sustainable Living

Electric cars charge into spokane

Multiple Models Available Now With More Coming Next Year / By Juliet Sinisterra when most electric cars are charged. “If customers can charge from 10 pm to 7 am, that is the best,” says Giluciano. Customers should inform Avista if they do purchase an electric car. “We just want to log this information into their account and be able to track peak energy use.”

If a brand new car is not in your budget or preferences, there are other local options. Tim Foster of Patriotic Motors Electric in Spokane has been converting older cars to electric since the mid2000s. The average cost to complete a full conversion runs around $18,000, but it can be as low as $5,000. “It just depends on what the car owner is looking for, how far do they need to drive before charging, and how fast do they need to go.”

“Not using petroleum is the best benefit along with zero emissions. It is good for the environment, plus you are not sending your money to the Middle East . . . until you drive an EV, you cannot really get it. There is something really cool about driving with little noise—it produces what they call, the EV grin,” says Foster.

The all electric nissan leaf--now at a showroom in spokane. // Photo PR Newswire.

“I like to call it my stealth car,” says beaming new Nissan Leaf car owner Elizabeth Pece, of Spokane, “it is so quiet while I am driving…we went into the showroom expecting to purchase a typical gas guzzler and left with an electric. I still cannot believe what a great car it is.”

The Nissan Leaf was one of the first all electric vehicles (EV) put on the market by a major car manufacturer. The Leaf came on the market in January 2010. Unlike a hybrid car, which uses gasoline in combination with electric, an EV uses only electricity.

Typically, EVs have not been widely adopted due to limited driving range, the need to recharge regularly, and the time needed to recharge. There has also been a lack of commitment by automakers to produce electric cars that are equal in quality and safety with gas-powered cars. This appears to be changing with the release of the Nissan Leaf, along with numerous other EVs to be released in 2012.

Rick Pebles of Jaremko Nissan has sold about 16 Nissan Leafs since fall of 2010. “A lot of people still think electric cars are glorified golf carts and really they are not—they have all the same safety features and produce a good ride. With a 1400 lb. weight limit, it is a heavy duty vehicle—it will do everything a conventional car does except go far distances,” says Pebles.

With a laundry list of amenities, it is hard to argue with Pebles—the Leaf comes with everything from GPS navigation to pre-set heating and air conditioning capabilities to blue tooth setting and hands-free cell phone use. The car will even tell you the location of charging stations in your vicinity and how far of a radius you can travel on the existing charge. (Washington state is now working to make the I-5 corridor an “electric highway with charging stations.)

With 70 percent of Americans driving less than 40 miles in a day, an EV makes sense for daily driving. From an energy and environmental standpoint, the cars also appear to make sense.

“The fuel you pay for electric cars is about 14

Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

seven times cheaper than a conventional gas car.

An electric car typically costs just 25 cents/mile to run. We also have some of the lowest electricity rates in the country, making this an ideal place to drive electric,” says Josh Giluciano, an electrical

Currently in the State of Washington, there is zero sales tax on the purchase of an EV, and there is a $7,500 federal tax credit against your tax liabilities at the end of the year. engineer with Avista Utilities.

When EVs can source most of their energy from hydro or solar power it is a win-win situation. The EV itself produces zero emissions. “CO2 emissions are a lot less. Because of our hydro portfolio here in the Inland NW, using an electric car can have a huge impact,” says Giluciano.

Another benefit to EVs is the lack of needed regular car maintenance. According to Pebles, “There are 80 different parts to a gas car—many needing to be replaced during the lifetime of the vehicle. An electric car does not have that many components. Every 60,000 miles the car will need 1-1/8 quart of Nissan S-Matic fluid; other than that, there is just replacing filters, tires and brakes.

No regular oil changes.”

Currently in the State of Washington, there is zero sales tax on the purchase of an EV, and there is a $7,500 federal tax credit against your tax liabilities at the end of the year.

Charging an electric car is comparable to using two to three dryers in your home. That can be quite a bit of energy if charged at the wrong time of day, but the overall kw/h demand is low at night,

ELECTRIC CAR ROUND-UP EVs Available Now: Nissan Leaf Where Manufactured: Japan Passengers: Five Charge Range: 100 Miles Top Speed: 90 MPH Cost: $33,000 Availability: Jaremko Nissan (800) 821-2448 Wendle (888) 229-3929 Mitsubishi iMiev Where Manufactured: Japan Passengers: Four, but cramped back seat.

Charge Range: 85 Miles Top Speed: 80 PMH Cost: $29,000 Availability: Appleway Mitsubishi (866) 7831736 Patriotic Motors Electric (Car Conversions) Where Manufactured: United States, Spokane Passengers: Varies Charge Range: 100 miles Top Speed: 80-90 MPH Cost: Average $18,000 (starts at $5,000) Availability: (509) 768-0466 Tango T600 Where Manufactured: United States, Spokane Passengers: One Charge Range: 200 Miles Top Speed: 60 MPH Cost: $100,000+ Availability: Commuter Cars / (509) 624-0762

Availability: 2nd Quarter 2012 BYD E6 Where Manufactured: China (investment by Warren Buffet) Passengers: Five Charge Range: 200-250 Miles Top Speed: 100 MPH Cost: $32,000 + Availability: 2nd Quarter 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Where Manufactured: Japan (in partnership with Tesla) Passengers: Five Charge Range: 80-100 miles Top Speed: 78 MPH Cost: TBD Availability: Sometime in 2012 (1,485 leased or sold in California) Smart Car Fortwo ED Where Manufactured: France Passengers: Two Charge Range: 70 Miles Top Speed: 70 MPH Cost: $599/month for lease Availability: Testing 1,500 in U.S. Tesla Model S Where Manufactured: United States, Palo Alto Passengers: Five to Seven Charge Range: 160 Miles Top Speed: 125 MPH Cost: $65,000 (minus the tax credit) Availability: Test Drive in 2012. Tesla Seattle / (206)682-2625 Volvo C30EV Where Manufactured: Sweden Passengers: Four Charge Range: 90 Miles Top Speed: 80 MPH Cost: TBD Availability: Unknown. Now testing a fleet of 50 Mini E Where Manufactured: Germany Passengers: Four Charge Range: 150 Miles Top Speed: 80 MPH Cost: Unknown.

Availability: Unknown. Now testing a fleet of 500 //

MO NT HLY

EVs Coming Soon (partial list): Ford Focus EV Where Manufactured: United States, Michigan Passengers: Five Charge Range: 100 Miles Top Speed: 100 MPH Cost: TBD

CHECK OUT THE OUT THERE BLOG:

WWW.OUTTHEREMONTHLY.COM ( New posts every day!)

GoGreen: Sustainable Living SUSTAINABLELIVINGCALENDAR (Ongoing) Spokane Farmers’ Market. When: Sat. Noon – 5 PM. Where: P.e.a.c.h. Community & Wed. 8 AM - 1PM. Where: 5th Ave. between Division & Browne. We offer locally produced bedding plants, vegetables, fruits, berries, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, eggs, cheese and baked goods. Info: 509-995-0182, spokanefarmersmarket.org.

(October 2-5) PNW-ISA 2011 Annual Training Conference. Where: Coeur d’Alene. Four days full

of arborist information. Info: pnwisa.org.

(October 8) Composting 101 Workshop. When:

10 AM - Noon. Sun People Dry Goods Co, 32 W 2nd Ave, Ste. 200. Learn the best ways to do outdoor composting covering hot composting, slow composting, and all the basics you need. Free.

Pre-registration required, only 20 spaces. Info: 509-368-9378, sunpeopledrygoods.com

Farm Cheney. Music, potluck lunch, farm tours, kids games and pumpkins. Info: 509-216-9273 www.peachlocal.com.

(October 22) Sustainable Energy Fair. When: 10

AM - 3 PM. Where: Sun People Dry Goods Co, 32 W 2nd Ave, Ste. 200. See what is happening in alternative energy. EcoDepot will be on-hand to discuss going solar and using wind power at home. Free. Info: 509-368-9378, sunpeopledrygoods.com

(October 27) Spokane Coal Hard Truth Forum.

When: 5:30 PM. Where: The Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln Road. Join expert panel discussing the health and environmental impacts of proposal to send 48 million tons of coal per year through Spokane. Info: 509-835-5211, bart@ cforjustice.org.

(October 15) Economics of Happiness film showing. When: 7 PM. Where: Unitarian Universalist (October 29) Permaculture: Ethics & Principles Church of Spokane. A free showing of “The Workshop. When: 10 AM - Noon. Where: Sun Economics of Happiness,” a hard hitting and inspiring film about building a better world through localization rather than globalization.

Info: 325-6383, uuspokane.org

(October 15) P-E-A-C-H Harvest Festival. When:

People Dry Goods Co, 32 W 2nd Ave, Ste. 200.

Learn about what makes permaculture, or permanent culture, so amazing. Groups will also analyze a typical suburban garden lot for application of these principles. Free. Info: 509-368-9378, sunpeopledrygoods.com. //

spokane alpine haus Yes, We are OPen WedNesdays & Saturdays Through the End of October Serving the Spokane Community with more space, great vendors convenient parking and Live Music every Market Featuring Spokane’s finest Local, Natural and Organic: bountiful farm-fresh produce, fresh baked bread & pasteries, beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, honey, fruit, and much, much more!

Open Saturdays & Wednesdays 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

(509) 995-0182 www.spokanefarmersmarket.org We accept: Visa/Mastercard, Food Stamps (EBT), WIC

skis * snowboards * boot fitting Spokane’s Finest Boot Fitting and Ski/Board Tuning

Jr. Season Lease Has Started! $119.95 - Skis/Snowboard, Bindings & Boots adjusted & tuned Pick up starting in October, due back May 15th

Spokane Alpine Haus Ski Swap

Drop off any winter related items you want to sell Swap begins September 30th

(If your items don't sell at our swap we will tag, transport and attempt to sell them at the other local ski swaps for you!)

Expert Ski & Snowboard Tuning - Master Bootfitting Custom Footbeds | Under New Ownership 2925 S Regal - 509 534-4554 - balpinehaus@hotmail.com Find us on Facebook OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

15

Outdoor Calendar CLIMBING (Ongoing Wednesdays) Spider Monkey Climbing Club. When: 5 – 7PM. Where: Wild Walls, 202

W. 2nd Ave. For kids ages 4 – 10 years. Please call ahead. Come climb and meet new friends! Info: 509-455-9596.

(October 4 & 18) Discover Rock Class. When

6 - 8 PM. Where: 2002 N. Division. Everything you need to harness up, tie in and belay with confidence.

This class is for those who wish to get into climbing, as well as for parents wishing to get their young ones climbing safely. $20. Info: mountaingear.com/pages/ retailstore/retail.asp.

(October 1 & 22) Saturday Climbing. When:

1-4 PM. Where: REI, 1125 N Monroe. Looking for a family activity on Saturdays? Climb our wall!

We provide all the gear you’ll need. Co-op members climb for free! Info: 509-328-9900, rei.com/ Spokane.

(October 20) Women’s Climb Night at Diva Night. When: 5:30 - 8:30 PM. Where: REI, 1125 N Monroe. Ladies, come out and practice your climbing, agility and balance skills in a safe, encouraging environment. Info: 509-328-9900, rei.com/Spokane.

CYCLING (Ongoing) WOW Cycling Spokane. Great cycling

is here and we’re out on the roads and trails! We’re now on FaceBook as Wow Cycling Spokane, friend us! Info: 509-951-6366, wowcycling.com.

(Ongoing) Belles and Baskets. Whatever style your cycle, join other Spokane women for no-drop rides, treats, and friendship. Info: 509-951-4090, facebook.com/bellesandbaskets.

(Ongoing) Spokane Bicycle Club. S.B.C. offers

eight weekly rides of various lengths and difficulty for members and non-members. Check the web site for ride details. Info: 509-747-5581, spokanebicycleclub.org.

(Ongoing) Mountain Bike Rides. When: Varies.

Where: Spokane Area. Spokane BOMB (Believers On Mountain Bikes) is a non-denominational Christian group leading multiple monthly rides in the Spokane area. Everyone welcome, helmets required. Info: spokanebomb@yahoo.com, spokanebomb.com.

(October 1) Bicycle Ride Mt Spokane. When: 9

AM- 12:30 PM. Where: Mt Spokane, Autumn on Mount Spokane is gorgeous! This bike ride is on a vehicle-closed road and mostly downhill. Info: 509625-6200, spokaneparks.org.

(October 1) Tour de rock. When: 10 AM. Where: 49 degrees north. Fall mountain bike ride at 49 degrees north. Benefits ski patrol. Info: 509-9374922, Ski49n.com.

(October 1) CF Cycle for Life Spokane. Where:

Fish Lake Trail. Last great ride of the season!

Ride the Fish Lake Trail to Turnbull to benefit Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 25 and 65 mile options.

Registration and Info: 509-263-0075.

(October 16) Inland Northwest Cyclocross 16

Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Series. Where: Riverside State Park, 7-mile area

(start & finish is in the airfield) & Bike Expo. This is a great opportunity to see the latest bikes, equipment and accessories for local and regional racers.

Info: emdesports.com.

(October 16-17) Bicycle Walla Walla Wine Tour.

When: 9 AM – 9 PM. Where: Walla Walla. You will be amazed at the great wines, wonderful riding, and beautiful scenery of this area. Participants sleep in a historic hotel. Info: 509-625-6200, spokaneparks. org.

(October 23) Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series. Where: Liberty Lake County Park. Info: emdesports.com.

RUNNING/WALKING (October 1) Leave No Trace Workshop. When: 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Where: Camp Sekani. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics presents a workshop aimed toward making you knowledgeable and responsible in the outdoor environment.

Info: 509.625.6200, spokaneparks.org.

(October 15) Sekani Trail Run. When: 10 AM- 5k start, 10:30 AM- 10k start. Where: Camp Sekani.

Run/Hike/Walk 100% dirt trails pushing 18-20% grades. The multi-runner and single track trials highlighting natural terrain. Info: 509-625-6546, active.com/running/spokane-wa/sekani-trail-run5k-and-10k-2011?int)-6.

SKIING/SNOWBOARDING (October 24) The Grind Rail Jam. When: Noon

to 4 PM. Where Cheney Campus EWU behind JFK Library. The fifth annual EWU ski and snowboard rail jam hosted by EPIC Adventures. Info: ewu.edu/ epic.

ADVENTURE RACING (September 18) Plantes Ferry Adventure Race.

When: 8 AM – 8 PM. Where: Plantes Ferry Park - Spokane Valley. Teams of 3 people travel from Plantes Ferry Park relay style: kayak/canoe (Argonne bridge), mountain bike (Beacon Hill), run (Sullivan via Centennial Trail). Info: 509-444-9817, plantesferry.com.

PADDLING (Ongoing) Masters Rowing. When: T, TH 6 - 7:30

PM, Sat 7:30 - 9:30 AM, Where: Spokane River near Upriver Dam. Masters rowing practices for experienced rowers and those who have completed Learn to Row. Sculling and sweep rowing. Recreational and competitive. Fully coached practices. Info: spokanerowing.org.

(October 1) Kayak Banks Lake with Transportation.

When: 8 AM- 5 PM. Where: Meet at Mountain Gear, Fall is an enchanting time at Banks Lake.

Guides, equipment and transportation included.

Info: 509-625-6200, spokaneparks.org.

(October 2) Kayak Horeshoe Lake. When: 9 AM

- Noon or 1 PM - 4 PM. Where: Horseshoe Lake.

Enjoy the grace of your sleek kayak passing through the water. You will paddle over to a 50’ foot waterfall. REI Discount available. Info: 509-625-6200,

Submit your event at www.outtheremonthly.com spokaneparks.org.

(October 9) Kayak Little Pend Oreille Lake Chain with Transportation. When: 9 AM – 5 PM. Where:

Meet at Mountain Gear. Explore the four-lake chain of this mountain-ringed area. Crystal clear and surrounded by the Selkirk Mountains these lakes are a must visit. Info: 509-625-6200, spokaneparks.org.

YOGA (October 3 - November 7) Yoga 101 Six-week series. When: Mondays 5:40 PM and Thursdays 5:40 PM. Where: Yoga Shala North - 2609 W.

Northwest Blvd. This is the perfect place to start if you are new to yoga or new to Ashtanga Vinyasa.

6-weeks, twice a week. Info: 509-869-4121, spokaneyogashala.com.

(October 8 - November 5) The “Myth of Aging” 4-Week Session. When: 11 AM - 12:30 PM. Where:

Yoga Shala North - 2609 W. Northwest Blvd. In this session you will learn the “Myth of Aging” sequence from Thomas Hanna’s system of Somatic Education.

The foundation of healthy movement. Info: 509869-4121, spokaneyogashala.com.

EVENTS/MOVIES/MISC…

SIXMONTHTRAININGCALENDAR CYCLING (November 20) Inland Nortwest Cyclocross Series finals – CdA, ID. Info: www.emdesports.

com.

(April 2012) Frozen Flatlands – Baddlands Cycling’s multi-staged, multi-day annual event. Info: baddlands.org

MARATHONS

day-long romp through the best late fall weather and terrain that Western Washington has to offer.

Info: beastrace.com.

(December 28-29) Snowshoe Survival Youth Day Camp. When: 10 AM – 3 PM. Where:

Mountain Gear. Send your child with us during winter break to learn survival skills at the beautiful snow covered Mt. Spokane State Park.

509.625.6200, spokaneparks.org.

(November 5) Zeitgeist Half Marathon. Boise,

(December) Fitness Fanatics Nordic Ski Lessons Start. Info: fitfanatics.com.

RUNNING

(December 17) Great Scott Cross Country Ski Race - 5k and 10k formats. Info: schweitzer.

ID. Info: www.zhalfmarathon.com.

(November 6) Qualchan’s Bloomsday XC 12Km. When: 10 AM. Where: High Drive @

Manito Bvld. Somewhat challenging cross country 12Km run on bluff below south Spokane’s High Drive. Part of BRRC XC series. Entry (DOR only) $4 . Members $3. Info: 509-448-2616, brrc. net

(November 11) Ron Herzog 50K. 50K trail run.

Granite Falls, WA Info: ronherzog50k.com (November 20) Jingle Bell Run/Walk, 8 AM. Info: www.spokanejinglebellrun.kintera.org

(February) Partners in Pain 5K. Info: brrc.net (May 6) Lilac Bloomsday Run, the 36th. Info:

www.bloomsdayrun.org

TRIATHALON (March 3) Methow Winter Triathalon. Bike,

com

(January 28, 2012) USASA Alpine and Slopestyle Competitions at Schweitzer. Info: schweitzer.com.

(February 22-36, 2012) Master’s Ski Race Clinics and Races. schweitzer.com (February 4, 2012) Washington Romp to Stomp. Stevens Pass, WA. Modeled after the

highly successful Race for the Cure®, the Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer consists of a 3k or 5k snowshoe walk or a 3k snowshoe race. tubbsromptostomp.com.

(February 12, 2012) Langlauf 10K Ski Race.

34th annual XC ski race at Mt. Spokane. Info: spokanelanglauf.org

EVENTS (November 5, 6) Fitness Fanatics Annual Nordic Ski Sale and Swap. Info: fitfanatics.

Ski, Run. Check for updates. Info; www.mvsta. com.

com.

SKIING, SNOWSHOE

(November 10) Free Nordic Waxing Clinic 6 PM Sponsored by the Toko. Info: fitfanatics.

(November 20) Fall Beast. Snoqualmie, WA. A

com. //

Have an Event You Would Like to List? // Please visit www.outtheremonthly.com and click the “Submit Your Event” link. // Events MUST be sent in by the 20th of the month to be listed in the following month’s issue. Please follow the when, where format as seen in the calendar. Ongoing events need to be re-submitted each month.

Outdoor Calendar Where: Deer Park Physical Therapy & Sports Conditioning. Sport specific training to enhance athletic performance. Programs include pre and post testing with development of an athletic profile used in college sports recruiting. Info: 509-2768811, www.deerparkphysicaltherapy.com.

(October 7) First Friday with Amy Sinisterra.

When: 5 - 8 PM. Where: Sun People Dry Goods Co, 32 W 2nd Ave, Ste. 200. Photographer and teacher at North Central High School, will showcase her new photographs of cars and the banal yet visually interesting places we park them. Info: 509-3689378, sunpeopledrygoods.com.

(October 1) Leave No Trace Workshop. When:

10:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Where: Camp Sekani. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics presents a workshop aimed toward making you knowledgeable and responsible in the outdoor environment.

Info: 509.625.6200, spokaneparks.org.

(October 1) Ice Age Flood. When: 8:30 AM - 4 PM. Where: Meet at Mountain Gear, An all-day field trip will explore the remarkable events recorded in the Ice-Age sediments and landforms in the world-famous Channeled Scablands. Info: 509-6256200, spokaneparks.org (October 8): Intro to Low Impact Development (LID) Workshop. When: 10:00am - 12:00pm.

Where: Spokane Conservation District. Alex Mann, Landscape Designer AHBL, will present an introduction to LID with special focus on the roles trees play in the process of stormwater management.Info: (509) 363-5495, http://spokaneurbanforestry.org/ index.php/Parks/page/1132/#Workshop Series

(October 14) Intro to Observational Astronomy.

benefits of planting 10,000 Ponderosa Pines. Info: landscouncil.org.

(October 24) Coming Full Circle: A Celebration of Steelhead. When: 7 - 9 PM. Where: Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main Ave. Come join Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited for a benefit screening of the exciting film, Metalhead. Advance tickets $5 at local flyshops/$7 at the door. Info: 509-475-1228, jerrywhitefish@gmail.com.

(October 25) NE Chapter WNPS Program. When: 7 - 8 PM. Where: Manito Garden Meeting Room, East of Greenhouse. “Forest Legacy Program: Protecting Forested Areas” – Presented by Karen Sjoquist.

Hosted by the NE Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society. Info: 509-313-6688, nechapterwnps. org.

(October 27) Building a Titanium Immune System. When: 7 p.m. Where: REI, 1125 N Monroe.

Description: Join chiropractor Brian Wickstrom for a whole-person approach to autumn wellness. Be ready for a fall/winter of adventure with this seminar. Info: 509-328-9900, rei.com/spokane.

(December 28-29) Snowshoe Survival Youth Day Camp. When: 10 AM – 3 PM. Where: Mountain

Gear. Send your child with us during winter break to learn survival skills at the beautiful snow covered Mt. Spokane State Park. 509.625.6200, spokaneparks.org. //

Spokane's only DIY, non-profit community bike shop - Hands-on classes - Used parts - Used bikes - Work stand rental by the hour 1802 E Sprague www.pedals2people.org

OCT 2011

(Ongoing) Fast Twitch Sports Performance Program. When: Mon, Wed PM. Friday AM.

When: 7:30 PM. Where: Corbin Senior Center. An introductory class aimed at everyday observation of the night sky visually and with simple telescopes and binoculars. Info: 509-625-6200, spokaneparks. org

11:00am. Where: Finch Arboretum. Kat Hall, of The Lands Council, will lead the workshop at the Finch Arboretum and discuss ecosystems in urban environments and native trees. Info: (509) 3635495, http://spokaneurbanforestry.org/index.php/ Parks/page/1132/#Workshop Series

(October 21) Dirty Martinis for Clean Water.

When: 6 PM. Where: Spokane Masonic Center “Falls Room”. The Fifth Annual fund raiser for the Spokane River Keeper. Enjoy martinis and drink specials courtesy of the one-and-only, local and award-winning Dry Fly Distillery, other fine beverages, food by Ferrante’s Marketplace Cafe, live music by Jesi B and the All Rites, for the second year in a row a diverse selection of art for sale and of course a killer selection of unique and popular silent-auction items. Info: cforjustice.org.

OUTDOOR CALENDAR

(October 15) Urban Ecology & Native Tree Species in the Urban Landscape. When: 9:00am-

(October 22) Reforest Spokane Day. When: 9 AM

– Noon. Join us as we plant 10,000 Ponderosa Pines with the help of 500+ Volunteers. Sign up today!

The Winners of Tom’s of Maine’s 50 States for Good competition will be announced by October 11th.

The Lands Council is confident Spokane will be one of the winners!! We look forward to the many OCTOber 2011

/ Out There Monthly

17

Find Wild Food Forage Like Our Forefathers (And Foremothers)

By Erika Prins

What’s in the grocery aisle often bears little similarity to foods grown in nature—whole foods like vegetables look just a little too perfect. The rest is processed and packaged beyond recognition.

Wild foods are not as large or uniform as their

supermarket counterparts, but they often contain higher nutritional value—and hold up better in the kitchen, according to “Wildman” Steve Brill, author of Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild and Not-So-Wild Places and The Wild Vegan Cookbook.

Many vegetables look bigger in the grocery store because they contain more water, he says. For example, carrots growing in the wild become less soggy when blended or cooked than carrots from a grocery store. “The wild carrot is mostly carrot,” he says. “It’s more fibrous in a salad, but when you cook with it, it doesn’t become mushy.”

Health concerns about commercially produced food increasingly motivate people who are otherwise committed to neatly packaged modern civilization to eat local and organic. Brill says he sees increasing numbers of “foodies,” vegans and raw foodists on his urban foraging tours through Central Park in Manhattan and other East Coast urban public spaces.

In place of mystery-processed foods that contain unrecognizable ingredients, a forager might enjoy huckleberry pie, chickweed pesto or pasta with sautéed morels—often for the same price as processed go-to meals, albeit with quite a bit more effort.

-------------------------------------------------------SURVIVAL FOOD 18

Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Others flocking to foraging tours and online foraging social networks worry about a more dire problem than pesticides and GMOs: They fear food won’t be available for purchase immediately following a disaster. “[Many people] think that they’ll run to the store in an emergency,” says Bill Allen of Washington Preppers, an online forum dedicated to preparing for “TEOTWAWNI”—The End Of The World As We Know It. But expecting to pick up groceries after an earthquake or economic collapse is unrealistic, according to Allen. “They would clean out everything in a grocery store in about three days if they didn’t have a re-supply,” he says. To prepare for the worst, “Preppers” build themselves a three-month to two-year supply of food, water and other lifesustaining necessities.

While the nationwide network of Preppers primarily focuses on gardening and stocking nonperishables, Allen also teaches his fellow Preppers about edible plants.

Gardening takes months to produce (and sometimes doesn’t—Allen laments that his peach tree is not bearing fruit), but nature perpetually does its own gardening in the wild, Allen says. “If you can pick out different seasons, different crops, you can pick stuff that’s already available.”

Portland blogger Rebecca Lerner, who writes about urban foraging on her blog “First Ways,”

challenged herself to spend two weeks eating only foods foraged in the Portland metro area.

After all, the people who lived on the same land before its development were hunter-gatherers. If they could do it, why couldn’t she search between the concrete slabs for what’s left of the sustenance?

“I think it’s really interesting to look at the land, and even though the landscape has shifted so radically, [to] try and see it the same way,” she says.

Lerner’s first attempt in the spring to survive only on foraged food failed—she spent eight hours a day looking for food and often found very little.

After five days she stopped because of hunger and exhaustion. Then she tried it again in November that same year.

“I was able to get nuts and fruit, and that made a huge difference,” she says. In the springtime, she had only found greens and a few roots. The second time around, she gathered and stored food in advance, just like her hunter-gatherer predecessors did, and asked friends for help.

Ultimately, though, Lerner says living on foraged food alone would be a difficult, full-time endeavor in the city. Unless, that is, urban foragers advocated for dedicated foraging areas—“Kind of like a community garden,” she says, “except nobody actually does any gardening.”

-------------------------------------------------------URBAN FORAGING FOR DUMMIES

There’s a term out there to make digging around in the neighborhood for snacks sound hip—urban foraging. Urban foragers find food in their yard, in public parks, and anywhere else around them that food grows.

“You’re going to find the most diversity and abundance of plant life in what people would call edges of places, where two different types of habitat meet,” says Lerner. Forest areas may have more open space in which food can grow, she says, but urban areas benefit from greater ecological diversity, making them ideal for foraging.

Pesticide use in gardens and public parks means foragers must be discriminating about how healthy plants look, according to Lerner, but public parks increasingly use pesticides in wilderness areas as well.

“Definitely pay attention to how healthy the plants look. You don’t need to have a degree in botany to tell if a plant looks healthy—I certainly don’t—just look,” she says. She particularly looks out for unusual chemicals and fecal contamination.

While many foods are delicious, even more are dangerous to eat—and there’s no easy rule of thumb for safety. “There’s a saying that ‘if it’s red you’ll be dead’ but that’s not always true in the case of raspberries, strawberries, choke cherries,” says lifelong forager and Browne’s Addition resident Stephanie Link. “The main takeaway is to know

with 100 percent certainty what you’re eating. It’s that serious.”

But fear not, 21st century foragers—there’s an app for that. Brill’s “Wild Edibles” smartphone app does exactly what new foragers need: to make sure what they’re foraging is actually food. “You can filter by season and by habitat, and the stuff that is in that habitat in that season is going to be there,” says Brill. “There’s a checklist of features so you don’t poison yourself.” Brill’s app also identifies similar-looking, but potentially poisonous, plants and mushrooms.

When sifting through information, Brill advises using resources developed by researchers who forage and eat wild food themselves. “Almost every foraging book, until I started writing, was by academic botanists who would just do literary searches who didn’t know how to cook and didn’t forage, and so they got everything wrong.”

Figuring out what’s food and what isn’t, which is the key to foraging safely, becomes easier as information for novice foragers proliferates. Now, says Brill, foragers can find a wealth of reliable information from foraging experts online and in print.

-------------------------------------------------------HOW TO GET STARTED

First, find out what grows in your area—and when. The Spokane area is home to a long list of mushrooms, huckleberries, watercress, dandelion greens (yes! Those pesky weeds are good for something!), chickweed, honeysuckle—the list goes on.

Each food grows during a particular time of year, and the harvesting season may be small. Morel mushrooms, for example, can often only be harvested during the month of May. Only search for foods you like, says Link. “If you don’t like them, don’t spend a lot of time trying to go find them—[it’s] a lot of work.” She suggests trying out wild foods before foraging for them. In

Facing page: Rebecca Lerner forages in Portland, OR. // Photo: BlairRyan.com. Both photos this page: Josh Yake at the Spokane Public Market. // Photo: Erika Prins.

Spokane, wild food vendors camp out at farmer’s markets and the Spokane Public Market.

Once you’ve decided what you’re looking for,

with somebody who knows what it is and can positively I.D. it,” says Heather Veeder, Link’s partner and a lifelong forager from Orofino, Idaho.

------------------------------------------------------------------“It’s a lot like watercress but a little bit sweeter.

Like sugar snap peas but in a leaf. You might not even notice it in the wild because it’s the whole floor.”

------------------------------------------------------------------find a more experienced person to take you along on a foraging trip. “I would say for someone who wants to start foraging is that if they have something specific that they want to find, that they go

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North of Spokane, Spokane Indian tribal members once subsisted entirely on hunting and gathering. “The supplemental diet was roots, berries and other things like that that the tribes gathered in this area,” says Deb Abrahamson, director of the

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/ Out There Monthly

19

SHAWL Society advocacy group.

Farmland has encroached on the tribe’s historical foraging areas and uranium mining has made wild food consumption risky, so now wild foods are primarily used for ceremonial purposes, she says.

“I just got back from my aunt’s funeral, and part of what I was cooking into the early morning hours were specific types of berries and camus [root],” says Abrahamson. “But we don’t eat them every day because it’s such a difficulty gathering. The primary area is gone and the area we have to forage has been drastically reduced as a result of the development of farmland.”

-------------------------------------------------------A FIELD GUIDE TO MUSHROOMS Josh Yake, owner of Gourmet Foragables at the Spokane Public Market, says novice mushroom foragers should familiarize themselves with “look-alikes” to the food they seek. “What I did is I started out by conquering one certain type of mushroom,” he says.

Starting with the chanterelle, Yake learned characteristics—and their potentially inedible lookalikes—of one mushroom at a time. “Each mushrooms has unique tricks,” he says. Chanterelles have a solid stem with gills running along the stem, whereas the look-alike’s stem is hollow.

The opposite is true for morels, which have a hollow stem. The closest relative in the area— which is edible, but potentially poisonous if not prepared correctly—has a solid stem.

“Then you’ll want to learn your porcini mushroom, which is also an easy one,” says Yake. “It’s a big hamburger bun cap and it has pores underneath it, as opposed to gills.”

-------------------------------------------------------WHERE TO FORAGE Some of the most abundant wild foods in Spokane might grow in your garden. Yake sells Miner’s lettuce, which many consider a weed, as a specialty food.

“It’s a lot like watercress but a little bit sweeter.

Like sugar snap peas but in a leaf. You might not even notice it in the wild because it’s the whole 20

Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

floor,” he says. “Most people see that I’m selling miner’s lettuce in the Spring and they’re like ‘I have three acres of that in my backyard and I can’t get rid of it!’ Miners’s lettuce, to me, is gourmet, even though it’s super abundant.”

Selling what many consider a weed as food serves to educate the food enthusiasts who frequent the Spokane Public Market about what they’re missing. “If nothing else,” says Yake, “it’s just to introduce people to something that is sustainable that might be in their back yard.”

Foragers might freely reveal where they found their lettuce, but pinning Rebecca Lerner make down exact locations mead from foraged blackof other wild foods berries. // Photo: Jason Hovatter can be tough.

“People don’t tell people their spots for huckleberries or morels,” says Link. “Even your best friend.”

Linda Foreman, science officer and foray leader for the Spokane Mushroom Club, agrees. “We have designated spots we call foray sites where we go picking every year. We don’t disclose those spots.”

The club has had foragers join just to learn— then take advantage of—their foray sites, says Foreman.

The Spokane Mushroom Club, founded in 1965, takes trips to Priest Lake in the Spring and Fall, and Foreman provides guidance to new foragers on what is and isn’t safe to eat.

Although she’s not willing to reveal exact locations, Foreman suggests looking for a particular kind of environment. “Basically, you need to do a little bit of research to find out what mushrooms grow under,” she says. “They have a symbiotic relationship with trees.”

When trees fall down and begin to decompose, she says, mushrooms will surely pop up.

“That’s always a good place because when it rains, the moisture goes all around there—especially cedar trees,” says Veeder. “And then there’s this other factor, if you’ve done it your whole life— you get this feeling. There’s kind of like this sixth sense around it sometimes, like some people just know where the mushrooms grow.”

As a basic rule of thumb for finding morels, Veeder recommends taking a drive to the bottom of the snowline at springtime.

Yake is not convinced that foragers should worry about giving away their lucky spots. He travels all over the region to forage and says he often comes home with 20 pounds of mushrooms after a half-day trip.

“There are a lot of mushrooms that go unpicked,” he says. “Some people are secretive about their spots or whatever, but the mushrooms out there are so abundant—there’s so much untapped forest floor that you can find them anywhere.”

Yake recommends Priest Lake for morel hunting in the spring. In the fall, he finds chanterelles and other mushrooms locally.

“You don’t have to go up into the mountains. You

can find them abundant down in the lowlands,” says Yake. He hunts for mushrooms at Dishman Hills Conservation Area in Spokane Valley and in Riverside State Park.

Morels have an additional trick up their sleeve— they spread like wildfire, right after actual wildfires.

“I kind of root for forest fires,” Yake admits. “If you can find a forest fire, morels will fruit abundantly and vigorously the next year. And the next year [after that] you’ll find about half as many as the year before.”

He tracks forest fires each year and continues to visit those sites for years afterward. Two sites he visited last year were Dishman Hills, which were burned in the 2008 Valley View Fire, and the Helena National Forest, which burned last year.

“The ground is still charred black. There were still hot spots. There were spots that were still smoldering hot,” says Yake. But the trip was worth it—there were more morels growing than he could carry out. “Once you got in here you couldn’t even put your basket down or kneel down to pick [morels] without destroying some.”

Yake sells his mushrooms and other wild foods at the Spokane Public Market. “The morel is about twice as valuable as any other wild mushroom,” says Yake. “When I say they’re $40 a pound, people are like ‘holy s---, are you kidding me?’”

Instead, Yake lists the price per ounce, a much more friendly-sounding $2.50. Chantrelles, the local wild mushroom closest in value to morels, sell for $15 to $20 per pound.

“There are all sorts of things that you can forage for, but I kind of draw the line,” he says. “What I like to do is just bring the most choice, the sought after. The huckleberries—I bring the huckleberries and they’re all gone.”

-------------------------------------------------------HOW TO FIND MUSHROOMS

Beyond recognizing the shape, color and size of a wild food, finding less conspicuous foragables requires technique and patience.

“So many times we’ll go out and we don’t even find anything that’s a mushroom,” says Veeder. She and Link incorporate foraging into hiking trips, camping and other outdoor recreation. “It’s a good excuse to go into the mountains and go for a drive, and go look around for something, and it’s just a bonus if you found something.”

By always scanning the ground when they’re outdoors, they find berries or other foods around their campsite or along the road on the way to their destination (although they recommend searching at least 50 feet from the roadside to avoid contamination).

“Little tiny strawberry plants are everywhere.

There’s a pretty decent blackberry patch a little down south in Idaho along the roadside,” says Link. “If you see people along a dirt road that have parked their car and they’re out with a bucket, get out of your car and go look around a little down the road.”

In the forest, small items like mushrooms can be easily overlooked. To find them, first identify the places they’re most likely to be.

“I always go toward trees that have fallen over and are decomposing,” says Veeder. If you spot one mushroom, scour that area for more.

“I’ll just lay on my stomach, even, and get kind of a frog’s eye view,” says Yake. “They say that when you’re hunting mushrooms, when you find one, just sit there for a while and let your eyes adjust, and do kind of a visual circle, and you’ll probably find another few morels.”

-------------------------------------------------------WHAT TO DO WITH A WILD MUSHROOM “This is what I foraged for around our apartment,” says Veeder, pointing to a photo in her cookbook. “I followed this recipe and made chick-

WHAT’S IN SEASON

---------------------------------------------------------------

FALL

In the late summer and early fall, look for berries and mushrooms around Spokane: elderberries, chanterelles and porchini mushrooms. Lambs’ quarters, also known as wild spinach, can be harvested from summer until the first frost.

---------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMER

Harvest cattails, which grow in and around water, at the beginning of summer before they flower. Blackberries, raspberries, huckleberries and many other berries ripen in late summer, as do chokecherries. Begin to harvest lamb’s quarters in June.

---------------------------------------------------------------

SPRING

Gather chickweed and dandelion greens in early Spring, before the plants flower.

Also look for stinging nettles, elderflowers and burdock root, and morel and polypore mushrooms when the snow melts.

---------------------------------------------------------------

WHERE TO HIKE

Riverside State Park: Wander from the trails to forage for berries and mushrooms.

Dishman Hills Conservation Area: A recent burn site, Dishman Hills produces morels in the Spring.

Colville National Forest: Head up to camp and look out for berries, mushrooms and other goodies.

Priest Lake State Park: Morels, morels, morels.

---------------------------------------------------------------

WHERE TO GET INFO

spokanemushroomclub.com Spokane’s resource for mushroom hunting. firstways.com Rebecca Lerner’s foraging blog. psms.org Washington State Personal Use Mushroom Harvesting Rules, Seasons, & Picking Etiquette. wildhuckleberry.com International Wild Huckleberry Association. thegreatmorel.com All you’ll ever need to know about morel hunting. maryjanesfarm.com Recipes for foraged foods.

“Wild Edibles” smartphone app: A resource to take along on your hike.

weed pesto from what was in our yard.”

Even avid foragers use foraged food as a supplement, not a staple, in their diet. Some foods, like nuts or berries, can be harvested and stored.

Link and Veeder keep huckleberries in the freezer through the winter for shakes and pies, and Yake sells them frozen year-round at the market.

Mushrooms, on the other hand, should be eaten right away, prepared simply so as not to overpower their natural flavors. Link suggests serving wild mushrooms sautéed in butter with pasta. “Don’t mess ’em up with any cream or anything,” adds Veeder.

For wild food recipes, Link and Veeder love MaryJane Butters’ library of books, magazines and online resources. Lerner publishes her own recipes—adapted from recipes for non-foraged food, friends’ recipes, and other foraging information on her “First Ways” blog. //

Photo of the Month

Brook Ellingwood

PhotO: Brook ellingwood Rianne Ellingwood enjoying a brief moment of flying. A favorite stop for kids rafting the Lower Salmon River ID. Brook wins a 6pack Saddlebag. Last month’s photo should have been credited to Barb Richards.

We regret the error. Send your vertical, 3 meg. or less submission with caption to editor@outtheremonthly.com. Best photos entries will be picked for upcoming issues.

Roadtrip DJ: October LORAN KERRIGAN, Peak 7 Adventures Sponsorship Coordinator

“Longest Road” / Morgan Page Feat. Lissie (Deadmau5 Remix) / Elevate Because it’s a road trip song. The video is a road trip (period). Keeps me movin’.

“Cracks” / Freestylers Feat. Belle Humble (Flux Pavillion Remix) / Never Say Die Typical sweet, kayaking film, song. Always love these authentic, groovy tracks TEVA finds.

“Intro XX Booty Mix” / DJ Sander Van Doorn / Identity Essentials, Part 8 Because he’s Dutch and this song pumps me up! Would keep me awake for hours feeling the beat driving. Take caution while dancing and driving though.

Bing Crosby Theater, Spokane Fri, Sat - 7 pm, Sun - 6 pm $15.00 per show or $38.50 for 3-day pass Hosted by

“My Life Be Like (Ooh Aah)” / Grits / The Art of Translation A little Christian Hip Hop don’t hurt nobody. A good message with a good beat.

“Soft and Sweet (radio edit)” / G. Love & Special Sauce / Superhero Brother Super chill. Love me some harmonica & G. Love, always. //

∙

get your tickets @ 2002 N Division, Spokane mountaingear.com Alex Girard backcountry skiing, Rogers Pass B.C., © Ryan Creary

OTM Sept11 Banff HalfPgVert.indd 1

OCTOber 2011

8/25/2011 12:19:36 PM 21 / Out There Monthly

Last Page

What’s up with Hanford clean Up?

Tour Reveals Layoffs, Funding Issues, The Long-term Need To Protect The Columbia River / By Erika Prins On a poster hanging in the Hanford Site B Reactor facility, a hand mop taps a worker on the shoulder and scolds, “Clean-up time is all the time!” Someone, at some point, penciled in a retort to the mop—the lazy worker now replies, “Do it yourself!”

B Reactor was the first full-scale nuclear reactor in the world and the birthplace of the plutonium used in the “Fat Man” atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1943. At Hanford, located near Richland, Washington, the last nuclear reactor ceased operation in 1987—but between 10,000 and 12,000 people still work here, cleaning up four decades of nuclear waste.

The poster’s hand-written quip may have been funny at some point, but now it reflects the reality of Hanford’s ongoing struggle to fund its nuclear waste clean-up. When I toured the facility in August, many of the site’s clean-up projects were coming to a halt—not because they were finished, but because they aren’t funded for the next fiscal year. On October 1st, over 3,000 employees at Hanford will lose their jobs.

“We’ve come to the end of a big push in the last two and a half years,” says Frank Pellegrini, spokesperson for CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, the primary contractor to clean up the central plateau at Hanford. “We’re going back to

our original [employment] numbers.”

Recovery Act funding allocated for Hanford allowed CH2M Hill to beef up their workforce and expedite clean-up—and Pellegrini says they’ve accomplished more than anticipated. Nonetheless, much radioactive contamination remains. “We do what we can with the money we have, and you just make some choices along the way,” he says.

Choices, in many cases, include leaving radioactive material where it is longer than desired. “Most of our high-radiation work is pretty much finished for the time being,” says Pellegrini.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), layoffs at Hanford will total 1,100 for the 2012 fiscal year (which begins October 1st) in addition to 1,985 layoffs already announced this year. These job cuts shaved off more than a quarter of the 12,000-strong workforce employed at Hanford at the beginning of this year.

Funding has not been cut for Hanford clean-up; the Recovery Act funds have simply been spent.

The Recovery Act added $2 billion, which was spent over 30 months, to Hanford’s annual budget of approximately $2 billon.

“As the amount of work went up, so did the employment. The average employment here would be 10,000-11,000,” says DOE Hanford spokesperson Geoff Tyree. “It went up anywhere from about 2,000-4,000 people during the past two years.”

2011 Spokane Marathon

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Out There Monthly / OCTOber 2011

Aerial view of hanford in central washington. // Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy.

Although additional funding is being proposed by the U.S. House and Senate, laying off workers and then re-hiring for 2013 will necessitate six to nine months of training for new workers, according to DOE Hanford officials at this year’s budget discussions.

“It makes sense to keep people on if you can [who] have that experience, that have that training, and keep them on projects. But the reality is that we may not have as much work from year to year,” says Tyree. “As a government agency, we’re not allowed to spend money that we don’t have.”

“The real issue is the tanks that are at the center of the site that are holding highlevel radioactive waste.”

With its skeleton crew, cleaning up the Columbia riverbank ranks high on CH2M Hill’s priority list.

Local Native American tribes, who were barred from entering their fishing and camping grounds when the federal government took over the riverbank in 1942, now have a chance to reclaim artifacts and have a say in the standards to which the land is restored for future tribal use. “[Local tribes] have treaty rights to their cultural fishing grounds or treaty rights to water access,” says Spokane City Councilwoman Amber Waldref. She is a board member at Hearts of America Northwest—a Hanford clean-up advocacy group—and a former board member of the Hanford Advisory Board. “Because there are tribal treaty rights, there’s a higher standard for the Columbia clean-up [than other nuclear sites].”

What’s seeping into the Columbia River today is not risky for river users, says Waldref—in fact, outdoor enthusiasts can fish and hunt directly

across the river from Hanford at the Hanford Reach National Monument.

“You can have a lot of radioactivity enter the river, but it will get diluted in the river. So the impact to human health is not huge currently,” Waldref says. “The real issue is the long-term, hundred-year vision for that site. The real issue is the tanks that are at the center of the site that are holding high-level radioactive waste.”

Years down the road, she says, the 56 million gallons of radioactive waste stored in underground tanks at the center of the site will cause great damage to the Columbia River if the waste remains untreated.

The underground tanks were designed as temporary storage. Most were designed to last 20 years—and that was 70 years ago. When complete, the nuclear waste processing plant being built at Hanford will be the largest in the world. But it has suffered recent setbacks that will make the project more expensive than projected.

Some scheduled clean-up completion dates will be pushed back to account for the bare-bones budget. The riverbank clean-up, however, will remain set for 2015 completion.

As the periphery of the site is deemed “clean,” the DOE plans to shrink the geographic area it’s responsible for maintaining to the center of the Hanford site.

“The reality is it’s not really what’s on the surface, it’s what’s under the surface that’s the problem—it’s the groundwater,” says Waldref. “Who is going to control the shoreline and make sure people aren’t using the area in a way that will cause them harm? You also need to have some sort of plan to monitor and control the riverbank there, the Hanford Reach area, for the long term.” //

For information about Hanford tours, visit manhattanprojectbreactor.hanford.gov. For Hanford Reach National Monument recreation information, visit fws.gov/hanfordreach.

RI

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LI V

Let us show you how to reduce your trash disposal bill while becoming a better recycler

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recycling hotline: 625.6800 www.solidwaste.org

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