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Amy paddling on Priest Lake -- wearing a red PFD with a background view of the lake and mountains.

Amy McCaffree

Amy (Silbernagel) McCaffree enjoys paddling, camping, biking, hiking, alpine skiing, and gardening. She is the Out There Kids columnist and has been writing for OTO since 2006. Amy has a MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University and lives in Spokane with her husband and their two children.

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Carol Corbin's profile of them smiling during winter.

Carol Corbin

Carol believes the hardest part of outdoor adventures is simply getting out the door. She enjoys Spokane outdoor adventures in all four seasons with her son and adventure buddy, Gavin. Mountain and fat biking, scuba diving, running, hiking top, and bikepacking are her outdoor favorites.

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Aaron Theisen's profile of them holding a pick-axe on a snowy mountainside.

Aaron Theisen

Aaron Theisen is a Spokane-based outdoors writer and photographer. In addition to his work for Out There Outdoors, Aaron is a regular contributor to numerous outdoors and lifestyle magazines including NW Travel, Adventures NW, Montana, Distinctly Montana, Montana Outdoors, Sandpoint, Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living and Washington Trails.

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Self portrait illustration of cyclist Justin Short.

Justin M. Short

Justin M Short has been a BMXer and bike messenger, and is currently a bike tourist, bike commuter, mountain biker, and most recently has become a pied piper of gravel cyclists in the Inland NW. He organizes races up Mt. Spokane and a gathering a community called the Gravel Braintrust, as well as produces a YouTube channel of the same name, arguably, to trick his bike friends into listening to his weird music. He is a 2-time finisher of the CrossWashington Mountain Bike Race and writes the Everyday Cyclist column.

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Derrick Knowles profile of them on a forested hike.

Derrick Knowles

Derrick is editor-in-chief and co-publisher of Out There Outdoors, along with his wife, Shallan. He has spent more than 30 years exploring the Inland Northwest’s trails, mountains, lakes and rivers. He co-edited with Paul Lindholdt the book Holding Common Ground: The Individual and Public Lands in the American West (EWU Press, 2005), and his writing has also appeared in Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine and Conservation Northwest Quarterly. He is an EWU alumni, with a B.A. in Political Science and Master's in English Technical Writing.

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Lisa Laughlin profile of her smiling.

Lisa Laughlin

Lisa Laughlin is a long-distance runner who grew up on a dryland wheat farm in central Washington. She enjoys trail running, backpacking, and paddleboarding. She has a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction and lives and works in Spokane, WA.

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Ammi Midstokke's profile of them swigging out of a mug while on their computer.

Ammi Midstokke

Ammi Midstokke lives in Sandpoint, Idaho. When Ammi is not chasing her first love (trails), she is preaching her second (food) as a Nutritional Therapist. To find out more about saving the world with kale or the misadventures of a single mom, visit her website.

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Holly Weiler's profile of them with a river in the background.

Holly Weiler

Holly Weiler is an avid trail runner, backpacker, and hiker who enjoys adding a little skiing, snowshoeing, canoeing, kayaking, and mountain biking as cross training activities. She works for Washington Trails Association, and writes the Hike of the Month and Trailhead columns.

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Sarah Hauge profile of her and her daughter on the beach.

Sarah Hauge

Sarah Hauge has to admit she has an "indoorsy" nature, but luckily a year-round running addiction gets her outside frequently. She works as a writer and editor and lives in Spokane with her husband, two young daughters, and dog. She writes the Run Wild column.

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S Michal Bennett profile of them behind a book.

S. Michal Bennett

Michal Bennett is a freelance writer, editor, poet and blogger, dedicated to creative story telling and inspiring others. She and her husband live in Coeur d'Alene, where she often succumbs to the allure of the outdoors and local living. She is also the Marketing Director and writer for a local natural foods store.

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Jon Jonckers' profile image of him with a moss mustache.

Jon Jonckers

Jon is associate editor and has been an OTO contributor since 2006. He enjoys sharing his love for the region with anyone willing to listen. From bold action photos to authentic gear reviews to thoughtful interviews, Jon gets out there a lot! His outdoor photography and writing has appeared in various national outdoor magazines.

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Adam Gebauer

Adam Gebauer is the Nature columnist and an avid chaser of snow, rock, water and vistas. He does not mind waking up in the back of a car for an alpine start or just for his wildlife biology fieldwork.

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Harley McAllister's profile of them smiling with rafting gear.

Harley McAllister

Harley McAllister works as a project manager, but is most alive when he is outdoors, especially with his eight kids. He and his wife Abby write guide books to the National Parks directed at families with children. You can learn more at:

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Our 4 Outdoors
National Parks With Kids
Crystal Atamian's profile of them smiling while kayaking.

Crystal Atamian

Crystal Atamian is happiest on a trail or planning her next adventure. She loves hiking, cross-country and downhill skiing, kayaking, backpacking, bird watching, chocolate, and teaching kids about the outdoors. She is a freelance science editor with an MA in Literature and Environment.

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Bradley Bleck's profile of them smiling in their home.

Bradley Bleck

When not teaching English courses at Spokane Falls CC, Bradley is likely to be riding a bike (no matter the weather). That's why someone invented studded bike tires), snow skiing (in bounds or out, once in awhile on skinny skis), working around the house, hiking, kayaking, reading, writing, traveling, or hanging out with wife Rachel and son Tobias. Bradley's among the fourth generation of his family to call Spokane home.

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Brad Northrup's profile of them hiking up a mountain.

Brad Northrup

Brad Northrup is an avid skier, fly-fisherman, and mountain climber. A graduate of Eastern Washington University (BA, MA - History), Brad is the author of numerous outdoor and historical articles, and writes the Ski Bum Advice column. He lives in Nine Mile Falls, WA.

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Brad Thiessan's profile of them wearing sunglasses on winter hike.

Brad Thiessen

Brad is an avid runner with a special heart for trails and a deep respect for the people who manage them. He also skis Nordic at about an average pace. Ten years into Spokane life, he thinks it's an amazing place with a community of writers, musicians, and adventurers far out of proportion to its size, and that its passion for coffee and craft beer elevates it above most any place on earth.

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Emily Erickson's profile of them overlooking a gorge.

Emily Erickson

Emily is a Sandpoint, Idaho-based freelance writer and outdoor enthusiast. She spends her offline, non-writing time running trails, snowboarding, camping, hiking, and binge-reading adventure novels. To learn more about Emily, visit her website.

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Summer Hess profile while rock-climbing.

Summer Hess

Summer Hess loves to climb, ski, run, bike, and swim across the Inland Northwest. She lives in the central-Washington city of Wenatchee, near the eastern foothills of the Cascades. In 2021, her book One Block Revolution: 20 Years of Community Building (Latah Press) was published, featuring essays by Spokane-area social justice, environmental, and community activists.

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Brad Naccarato's profile of them smiling on the beach with a beverage in their hand.

Brad Naccarato

Brad Naccarato is a Spokane-based freelance writer and has been an Out There contributor since 2012. Chasing snow, waves, trout, sun, dogs, and microbrews keeps him sane.

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Matt Jones

Matt Jones in an insect ecologist by training. He enjoys playing in the mountains and surfing when he can get out to the coast. He currently lives in Wenatchee, WA.

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Nick Thomas

Nick Thomas lives, gardens, and chicken wrangles in Spokane.

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Siobhan Ebel

Siobhan enjoys rock climbing, paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, and camping and relishes the opportunity to share her adventures with others.

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Paul Chisholm

Paul Chisholm is a biologist working in southeast Alaska. His articles and personal essays about his epic outdoor adventures span destinations throughout the country, from Oregon to the East Coast.

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Kelly Chadwick's profile of them in a snow-storm.

Kelly Chadwick

Kelly Chadwick grew up wandering the outdoors, which led to a lifelong passion for the natural sciences. He became immersed in mycology at 16, studying and teaching identification of fungi for 20 years, ran a wholesale wild mushroom business, and published "Decomposition, an anthology of mushroom poetry “ with his partner Renée. Currently he is an Arborist and owner of Spirit Pruners in Spokane, WA. Email him your wild edible questions:

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Tim Connor profile with a swim cap and goggles.

Tim Connor

Tim Connor is a regional and national award-winning investigative reporter who specializes in complex environmental, legal, and public corruption stories.

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Justin Skay

Justin writes about cycling and other recreation in the Spokane area.

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Jessy Humann's black and white profile image of them smiling.

Jessy Humann

Jessy Humann grew up climbing and enjoys hiking, backpacking, paddle boarding, and camping. Aside from freelancing, Jessy loves to write poetry, some of which can be found on her website.

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Allison Armfield's black and white profile of them looking off into the distance.

Allison Armfield

Allison Armfield enjoys traveling and is always down for new adventures. Allison is an avid runner but also enjoys backpacking, climbing, yoga, snowshoeing and paddle boarding and believes that adventure pairs nicely with craft beer. She has a Masters in Communication and Leadership studies from Gonzaga University.

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Katie Botkin's profile of them behind their camera.

Katie Botkin

Freelance writer Katie Botkin is the managing editor of MultiLingual magazine, which ships to 87 countries. She frequently does international travel and adventure writing, and enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, and a variety of other outdoor activities.

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