In July 2004, under the influence of Oxycodone and sleep deprivation, I decided to start the magazine you now hold. I was coming off knee surgery-severed ACL and torn meniscus, if you must know-which followed the birth of my daughter just two weeks prior. After a couple days of post-op fog, immobility, and marathon Playstation 2 sessions, the first coherent thought I had was, “Man, these painkillers make me feel worse than my throbbing knee.” The second thought was, “I need to start an outdoor magazine.”
Three years later we are going strong and embarking on our fourth year of publication. Far from exhausting outdoor activities in the Inland Northwest, or Inland Empire, as I still like to call it, it feels like we’ve just scratched the surface. When I think about my favorite moments of the past three years the competition is fierce.
I remember an idyllic paddle down the Little Spokane River with close friends and family. I dumped my boat trying to reach for a golf ball.
I remember doing Spokane River Clean-up on an amazing fall day in People’s Park when the dead leaves covered the ground like a carpet of gold. My five-year-old found a condom wrapper, and didn’t even ask me to explain what it was.
I remember hiking into a natural hot springs in Idaho with my sweetheart and having the place all to ourselves on a Wednesday morning. We took digital pictures on a camera that was later stolen, and now someone has hi-res images of my pasty, naked butt.
I remember biking the Centennial Trail with some buddies to see the Fourth of July demolition derby at the Stateline Speedway. I can’t remember everything from that night but I do know it involved the Kon Tiki, shuffleboard, MGD tall-boys, The Scorpions, and getting home at 2:30AM.
The sad thing is when I look back to the list of things I’ve done there is also a long list of outdoor things I haven’t been able to do. I’m sure you’ve got a similar list. Take a second to look at it today and figure how to get going on it sooner rather than later. Our goal is to give you more things to add to it. Much thanks to all the family, friends, staff, contributors and advertisers who help us do it.
