Fred Barstad - Best Hikes Spokane: The Greatest Views, Lakes, and Rivers

A native of the Northwest, Fred Barstad has spent a large part of the last forty-five years hiking, climbing, skiing, and snowshoeing in the regions canyons, deserts, and mountains. He has climbed most of the Cascade Volcanoes, including more than sixty summit climbs of Mount Hood, as well as Mount McKinley in Alaska and several of the Mexican volcanoes. Fred has written eleven other FalconGuides, including Best Hikes Near Portland, Hiking Oregons Eagle Cap Wilderness, and Hiking Washingtons Mount Adams Country. Fred makes his home in Enterprise, Oregon, at the base of the Wallowa Mountains.

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Every effort has been made by the author and editors to make this guide as accurate and useful as possible. However, many things can change after a guide is publishedtrails are rerouted, regulations change, facilities come under new management, and so forth.

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A previous edition of this book was published by Globe Pequot in 2014.

Photos by Fred Barstad unless noted otherwise.

Maps by Melissa Baker Rowman & Littlefield

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information Available

The Library of Congress has catalogued the first edition as follows:

Names: Barstad, Fred.

Title: Best hikes near Spokane / Fred Barstad.

Description: Guilford, Connecticut : FalconGuides, 2014. | American Hiking SocietyCover. Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2014001092 | ISBN 9780762785322 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781493008841 (electronic)

Subjects: LCSH: HikingWashington (State)Spokane RegionGuidebooks. | Spokane Region (Wash.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.42.W22 S643 2014 | DDC 796.5109797/772--dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2014001092

ISBN 978-1-4930-2976-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-4930-2977-8 (e-book)

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI / NISO Z39.48-1992.

The author and The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Thanks to the people from the land-management agencies who reviewed portions of my text: Steve Cristensen from Mount Spokane State Park, Sandy Rancourt from Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, and Brian White from the Bureau of Land Management. Thanks also to Monte McCully of Coeur dAlene Parks Department, Randall Butt from Farragut State Park, and Ron Hise from Heyburn State Park for their reviews. Thanks to Andy Boggs of the Idaho Panhandle Forest and Geoff Harvey, Fourth of July Park and Ski Area Manager for the Panhandle Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club, for reviews and information. Thanks to Megan Schmelzer of Riverside State Park for information and Lori Cobb, formerly of Riverside State Park, for information and reviewing portions of my text. Thanks to Jim and Lynn Frew, hosts at Bald Knob Campground in Mount Spokane State Park; Leonard Orr and Donny of Mount Spokane State Park; Joan Kerptu from McCroskey State Park; and Stacy and Brenda Clinesmith for furnishing valuable information. Thanks also to Maria Forsenius and Lance Reedy for hiking with me and to Alex Hoppe for joining me while collecting information. Most of all, thanks to my wife, Sue Barstad, for all her computer help.

If you live in or plan to visit the SpokaneCoeur dAlene area, a wide array of hiking opportunities awaits you. The hikes included here range from the subalpine summit of Mount Spokane to the semiarid Columbia Plateau and the timbered slopes of Chilco Mountain, Fourth of July Pass, and Mineral Ridge. At the lower elevations hiking possibilities are available nearly year-round.

Many of the hikes described in this book are within the five large state parks that are within a 45-minute drive of either Spokane or Coeur dAlene.

Spokane is located at 1,900 feet elevation, near the poorly defined boundary between the grass and sagebrush of the semiarid Palouse Prairie to the southwest and the timbered plateau and well-watered mountains to the north and east. In general, rainfall (and snowfall) increases as you go farther east (toward Coeur dAlene) and/or gain altitude in this part of the Northwest. The terrain also becomes more mountainous as you head east from Spokane. The average January high temperature in Spokane is 33F and the average low is 22F. In July the average high temperature is 82F and the low is 55F. Twenty-five miles to the east, the city of Coeur dAlene sits at 2,160 feet elevation in the pines next to beautiful Lake Coeur dAlene. Coeur dAlene is generally slightly cooler and wetter than Spokane.

White-tailed deer, mule deer, and Rocky Mountain elk are common along most of the hikes included in this guide. These are generally docile animals, although both the bucks and bulls can be somewhat aggressive during the fall rut (breeding season). Some cow elk seem to have a strong dislike for dogs and occasionally cause injuries. Bears and cougars are not often seen but are possible on all the hikes described here. Moose (Alces alces) sightings are possible on many of the hikes. The Shiras moose (aka Wyoming moose) that roam this area are large animals, although not as large as their cousins in northern Canada and Alaska. They should never be closely approached or challenged in any way. Gray wolves (they are really almost any color from black to white), which were reintroduced into central Idaho in the mid-1990s, have established themselves very well. Many wolves inhabit Idaho and several packs have taken up residence in Washington. Wolves are very wide-ranging animals and could be found in almost any of the areas described in this book.

Weather conditions can change rapidly, even in the short time it may take to complete a 2- or 3-mile hike. The danger of adverse weather conditions generally increases with elevation and the length of the hike. Always take clothes that are adequate for all possible conditions. Water, food, and a map should be taken along on all but the shortest hikes. A guidebook and GPS receiver are also very handy. You must, however, know how to use the GPS receiver for it to be effective. Dont count on your GPS too heavily, as a satellite may malfunction or, more likely, your batteries may go dead. Cellphone service can generally be had on at least part of most of the hikes described here, but dont count on it. Just when you need it, you may find yourself in a dead spot or your battery may be dead.