I'm finishing up my master's degree this semester, and so the wife and I are looking to relocate.
We want to wind up somewhere with more outdoor rec opportunities than we can use (up to now, we've been much more limited with our opportunities such that we have to make longer term plans than we want to account for visiting places - a simple weekend out an hour or two from home has offered few options).
we've started tossing resumes out and about with relatively few limitations on where we wind up. One being outdoor rec, but the major one being someplace big enough that we can both land jobs. there are a couple of other specific requirements - like avoiding southern MI/northern IN because it's too close for crazy overbearing family members to drop by unannounced, avoiding states like CA and CO due to unfavorable regulatory environment for my wife's profession, and avoiding places where summers can last 9mo and have months of temps consistently above 100 and whatnot. Still leaves most of the country.
At any rate, my wife has sent resumes off to 3 places in WA, and so far the one that seems most interested is in Spokane. They're going to do some phone interview stuff next week and I hope that leads to an in-person interview relatively soon.
from what I can tell, Spokane looks to offer a lot for my primary passion, mountain biking. Right in town, too, and more just outside of it. Seems like quite a lot within an hour.
Paddling is pretty easy to see that I'll have plenty to do.
Hiking, and backpacking is a little less clear. I know Spokane is only a couple hours from Missoula and there's a lot of mountains in-between that probably offer quite a bit. I know there's a dayhike to the top of Abercrombie that looks to provide really nice views. I've seen photos of some of the forests up there and they're a lot more open than what I'm used to. With the rocky ground it looks like a hammock is definitely a more comfortable way to go, but I'm curious how realistic that is because I see some pretty expansive meadows and burned areas with dead snags you obviously don't want to hang from.
Any hangers on here from eastern WA able to provide some suggestions about the backpacking and hanging available in the area?
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Do not overlook Id as you look around for activities. Missoula is close, but Coeur d'Alene is closer and has some good hiking etc...
Originally Posted by Festus
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