Cover photo courtesy of Bower Climbing Coalition Free Outdoor Entertainment Upcoming fee-free days for Washington State Parks include March 9 (Billy Frank Junior’s birthday), March 19 (celebrate the 111th birthday of Washington State Parks!) and April 22 (Earth Day). A Discover Pass is not required for park entry on these dates. National Park Week will be held April 20-28, with April 20 additionally being a fee-free day at National Parks. Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness will host Hiking 101 for beginners on March 23, followed by a strenuous full moon snowshoe trek to Star Peak on March ..read more

My first MSR Hubba Hubba tent was a hand-me-down single-person version that a thru-hiker friend of mine named Hike On graciously gifted to me. The most beloved tent I’ve ever owned, it was my all-season companion for years, from snowy ski missions in the Kettle Range to surf beaches in Mexico and many other amazing places in between. I was sad to eventually pass it on to another friend to make room for newer (and, as I would find out, lesser quality) tents I’d acquired for review. Thankfully the gear gods eventually blessed me with this new MSR Hubba Hubba 2, the roomier two-heartbeat version ..read more

Spokane Bike Swap is the region’s largest gathering of new and used bikes for sale plus biking related vendors and events all under one roof. If you’re looking for a new-for-you bike or biking-related gear or if you have bikes you are not using that you want to sell, plan to be a part of this year’s swap Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. Bike consignment check in is on Friday April 19 from 3-7 PM for those who want to sell one or more bikes. No matter what type of bike you might be looking for, from a bike to ride around town or on the Centenni ..read more

By Nigel Davies Cover photo courtesy of Nigel Davies Explore these tools that geologist Nigel Davies suggests to further understand the geology of your adventure while you are out recreating in our region. Explore the state’s geology organized by regional “cards,” further organized by geological sites of interest, at WA DNR 100: Wa100.dnr.wa.gov Purchase the paperback “Washington Rocks! A guide to geologic sites in the Evergreen State” from Mountain Press, which includes colored photos and instructive diagrams, from your local bookstore. Scroll around Rockd/Macrostrat Macrostrat.org, a platf ..read more

By Nigel Davies Cover photo courtesy of Nigel Davies We celebrate finish lines, savoring those recovery walks over the Monroe Street Bridge every first Sunday of May after our city’s most iconic race. We joyfully refill water bottles on July 4th at the summit bathrooms on top of Mount Spokane. In those endorphin-rich moments, we tend to be wrapped up in our own experience, but twist the lens a bit and a deeper sort of grandeur comes thundering into view, from time immemorial right into the middle of your day. Those Bloomsday runners slow-walking across the bridge? They’re suspended on cement a ..read more

This warm-weather sun hoodie will keep you outside in the sunshine doing the things you love longer with its 50+ UPF rating. FORLOH uses a fabric for this shirt that has cooling minerals built into the fibers and it has efficient moisture-wicking abilities. Made for outdoor sports, the shirt also employs antimicrobial scent control properties that will hopefully keep you smelling better than your fishing or rafting buddies. MSRP: $99. Forloh.com Whil Wheaton The post Forloh Solair UPF Long-Sleeve Hooded Shirt appeared first on Out There Outdoors ..read more

Cover photo courtesy of Justin Short Remember when we were kids, and you’d meet another kid? It was as though, “Hey, I’m a kid. You’re a kid. Let’s go play!” And then you’d play all day until it was dark and your mom would yell out the door that it was time to come home. “But it’s not even dark,” you’d say, “it’s adult dark!” I think bikes give us permission to be in touch with our inner little kid like that. That might be why it’s so easy to make friends with other riders. Recently, I was walking around Kalispell, Montana, and popped into the bike shop on a whim. I handed a guy some Gravel Br ..read more

The Search for the Perfect Coffee Sponsored by DOMA Coffee Cover photo courtesy of DOMA Coffee Have you ever had a cup of coffee so great, it began to seem like something more than just coffee? We get it. At DOMA Coffee Roasting Company, we think of craft coffee as a journey, possibly one capable of true enlightenment. We’re on the search for the perfect coffee.  Do we expect to find perfection? Not really. Perfection is an illusion. But there’s something beautiful in the searching. Like looking for the perfect summer, the perfect loaf of sourdough bread, or the perfect trail. T ..read more

Article and cover photo courtesy of Linc Foods INGREDIENTS Lentils 1 cup black beluga lentils from Palouse Brand // 1 bay leaf // 1 Tbsp. olive oil // ½ tsp. oregano // ½ tsp. rosemary // ½ tsp. parsley Spring Onion Mixture 1 Tbsp. olive oil // 1 spring onion from Royal Produce, sliced thinly with head and greens kept separate // 1 stem green garlic from Channing Farm, minced with head and greens kept separate // 3 Tbsp. lemon juice // ½ on the vine tomato, diced // Salt and pepper to taste Courtesy of LINC Foods DIRECTIONS Lentils: Bring the lentils to a boil in 4 cups of water. Add bay leaf ..read more

Making sense of gut health and why it matters Of all the love poems ever written, they all seemed to focus on the heart, as if this singular organ was more than a glorified pump. Even Rumi failed to get lyrical about the intestines, despite their sinewy silken lining, their miraculous membranes of blood vessels, the rhythmic undulation of cilia, their constant gurgle and grumble a song in itself. While there are still few poems on the matter, definitely the media is inundated with talk of the gut. The information the scientific world is pumping out at breakneck speed has our heads spinning. Ho ..read more