This just in from the Spokane Highland Games. Any competition that includes gauntlets gets our vote of approval. Don’t miss it:
Spokane’s Scottish and Irish Tug Of War Held During Highland Games
Spokane’s Scottish and Irish community will compete for the Gilded Haggis Trophy on Saturday, August 7th, during the Spokane Highland Games at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center . The winner of the first ever Tug O’ War event will determine who goes home with the trophy.
The St. Andrew’s Society and Spokane Highland Games Association challenged the Spokane Limerick Sister City Society and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick to a Scottish style TUG O’ WAR at a public taunting and throw of the gauntlet on July 7, 2010 at the downtown Irish stronghold, O’Doherty’s Irish Grille. The Irish rose to the challenge and accepted.
The Spokane Highland Games is held every year on the first Saturday in August, from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm at the Spokane County Fair and Expo, 404 N. Havana . This Scottish festival celebrates the traditions of Highland dance, bagpipe and drumming exhibitions, and Heavy Athletic competitions, along with Claymore sword demonstrations, historical reenactments, and Scots Gaelic classes. Children’s “Braveheart style” face painting and games begin at 1 PM. Celtic merchants and clan tents can be visited and blacksmith, cattle, and sheepdog demonstrations will be held. A Ceilidh (party) will be held after the closing ceremonies of the games from 6 to 8 pm. Adult tickets are $8, $5 seniors and youth, $3 ages 4-10 and under 4 get in free. For more information, visit www.spokanehighlandgames.org or call (509) 922-3661. (more…)
This is an update on a post re ran a while back about the The Access Fund working to preserve a climbing spot on the West Side. This is great example of how folks can work to preserve important outdoor recreation:
Washington Climbers Coalition pays off Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign loan for Index, returning funds to the revolving loan program
The Access Fund announced today that the Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) has paid back its loan to the Access Fund for the option agreement on Lower Index Town Wall in Washington. The loan was administered under the Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign (AFLCC).
In the spring of 2009, the Access Fund loaned the WCC $15,000 to secure an 18-month option agreement to protect the Lower Index Town Wall and surrounding crags from a quarrying operation. The option agreement protected the area while the WCC worked to raise the $300,000 needed to purchase and steward the 20-acre tract of land. (more…)
Did you know that your favorite hikes into Washington’s wildlands are made possible by the efforts of thousands of volunteers keeping these public trails in great condition? Washington Trails Association’s volunteer trail maintenance program fills this void, and is ever more important for the future of our hiking trails. We need your help to keep these trails in great shape for miles and miles to come. Give back to your favorite hiking trails with a day of volunteer trail work.
WTA hosts over 700 work parties throughout Washington each year. Volunteers remove downed logs after spring snowmelt, cut away brush, retread worn trail, and build bridges and drainage structures. No prior experience is necessary, just a desire to work with great people, to have fun playing in the dirt and to contribute to something that benefits all of us. We provide you with the tools and the training; you bring your lunch, work gloves, work at your own pace, and have fun. (more…)
Well, the data crunching sure took a while! We know the registration update process gave some people problems, although judging by the number of people who had plenty of info in their data fields it worked for the vast majority of you (thank heavens!).
We had hoped to get word out sooner and to hear from team captains about shirt sizes so we could make shirts available to top teams at the July 11 Summer Parkways.
That isn’t going to work, and we apologize–not enough advance notice from us to you about which teams will receive shirts so you know to come looking for us, and not enough emails from team captains giving us shirt sizes so we could get them bagged up in advance.
(Many thanks to those of you who DID send sizes! But that was only about 4 captains out of 70)
We received notice looking for written comments regarding Mt. Spokane non-motorized trails a couple of days ago. The deadline for submitting written comments is Thursday of this week:
Dear Stakeholder,
According to state law, the proposed two actions are being reviewed under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
The projects are regarding Non-motorized trails at Mount Spokane State Park.
1) Non-motorized Trail 153 Connector: creating approximately ¼ mile long naturally surfaced non-motorized connector trail to provide a link between the Mount Spokane Ski Lodge 2 parking area and Trail 150.
2) Non-motorized Trail 140 Restoration and Reroute: restore ½ mile section of non-motorized trail and create approximately 1 ¼ mile long naturally surfaced non-motorized trail reroute between Smith Gap and the Mount Kit Carson Meadows.
For more information please see the June 2010 Mount Spokane State Park Facilities Master Plan at http://www.parks.wa.gov/plans/mtspokane/ “Stage 3 – 01 Mount Spokane State Park DEIS 2010-June. (more…)
This video came from Penny courtesy of the Northwest Whitewater Association email list. I think it’s a piece of abstract art. The director has this to say:
June 20, Castle, Lochsa River: Penny demonstrates what happens when you don’t hold on with both hands. Safety note; I was underwater for about two seconds, the camera was for quite a bit longer.
Out There Contributor Estar Holmes will be at Borders at the N. Division Y in Spokane with other Gray Dog Press authors June 19, noon to 2 p.m. for a book signing and to answer questions about a pedal powered getaway on the Trail of the CdA. If you haven’t gotten a copy of her book Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes Unofficial Guidebook this is a great time to get it. I used this book the last time I went on the trail with my family and it was an essential resource. Estar is a great writer and we’ve been lucky to have her contributions to OTM.
Short Bio for Victoria Russell:
38 year-old, Spokane native (Born & raised here).
2-weeks ago, she won the Coeur D’ Alene 1/2 Marathon for women.
Last year she won the Spokane Windermere Marathon and qualified for Boston marathon
Took 2nd at 2009 Missoula Marathon, in 2:59 and she is much faster this year.
Congratulations Victoria.
This item about a call for volunteers to march Ed Pulaski’s fire escape route from the 1910 Big Burn forest fire in Idaho appeared in the Spokesman Review today:
Hikers sought for 1910 fire commemoration
Applications are being accepted for an Aug. 14 hike that retraces the route that assistant Forest Service ranger Ed Pulaski and his crew took to find shelter in a mine shaft during the 1910 fires.
Forty-five volunteers are needed for the hike, which will be videotaped. The strenuous, seven-mile hike traverses terrain from above Lake Elsie down the Pulaski Tunnel Trail to Wallace.
The hike is sponsored by the 1910 Fire Commemoration Committee.
