Northwest Recreation

With spring around the corner, it is definitely time to start considering a cool place to hangout once warm weather comes around. One of the best places I had the chance to visit last year was Palouse Falls, a towering waterfall that tumbles H20 56 meters into large circular pool below. Although the spring waters are not especially clean for swimming, the top of the falls offer good swimming and beautiful scenic views, especially at dusk.

When you get to the falls, you can take two trails to the top of the falls.  The first is to the right of the parking area, down a narrow ravine, and then across a narrow trail on the edge of the canyon.  You will end coming to the falls by way of the ledge visible to the upper left of the falls.  The other way is to the left of the parking lot, down by the railroad tracks, down the side of the cliff, and then to the right of the canyon wall.  You end up coming out behind the waterfalls, where you can swim.

Some facts:

-Height: 56 meters
-Depth of Canyon: 115 meters
-River: Palouse River
-Connects With: Snake River 4 miles downstream

Overall, the trails are fairly challenging, but excellent spring or fall hiking.  It might be a little hot in the summer, so be careful to take water and maybe a swimsuit (hint hint).

Trail Stats:

• Terrain: Dirt and rock
• Difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced
• Elevation Gain/Loss:Less than 600 ft.
• Overall Rating: 9/10

There’s still tons of snow left in the mountains, all you snow-loving, winter-avid fans.  Don’t put your boards away yet, and hold off on the spring tune-ups for next year.  You will want to keep them out for at least another month as the ski season comes to an end.  I know for me, I have been up three times this year already, and it’s been a great experience being able to take a break from busy classes.  Consider checking out some good deals on snowboards, too.  Sleeves, waxes, etc, will all be on sale as spring starts to roll around and new stock comes in.  Here is what I would do for the last of the ski season:

• Lookout for deals.  They will be all over the place and will offer you a good way to get some nice gear.  Online sales are especially good at this point, too.
• Start looking at deals for waxes and edge sharpening services.
• Keep up on the maintenance of your board and start to inspect the bindings and straps.  If you have toe and ankle straps, inspect the plastic pieces where they are screwed onto the binding.  The constant bending can cause them to snap.  I know, trust me.

Besides that, keep looking for clear skies, huge air, and great powder.  See you on the slopes!

Here are some good deals I was able to find on bags, bindings, and a snowboard. The snowboard is a freestyle snowboard, so you are looking at tougher and less flexible materials. Definitely semi-pro/intermediate riders. The bindings are men’s LTD Men’s LT250 Snowboard Binding, and would look great with the board. Then you have the standard bag to stuff it all in.

Price: $209.96

Price: $24.99

Price: $19.96

Price: $109.96

Taking a peek outside, I see that there are blue skies just begging to push through to the world below.  As such, it is definitely time to break out the mountain bikes.  March 2 is officially the beginning of the beginning of spring in my books, and there is no reason why avid cyclists should not get their bikes ready.  Here are the things to do:

• Grab the oil and get your part ready to go.  Sand paper any rusty spots, then apply oil.  Make sure you get cable casings, chains, brake calipers, forks, handlebars, and other moving parts.
• Clean up the brake pads in prep for downhill mountain biking.
• Check tires for any sharp objects and powder the inside lining.
• Check all gear for soundness, including helmets, gloves, and bike.
• Grab a patch kit and some repair tools.

I would only trust a good tool for a bike repair multitool.  Most likely this won’t be from Walmart, but prove me wrong.  As far as patch kits go, I use Slime’s repair kits, because they have never failed me, even once.  Here are two to consider:

Stay tuned for biking trails!