A Grip on Sports: If life’s ups and downs get you in a funk, there are places to shed the blues even on the most red, white and blue day of the year
A GRIP ON SPORTS • On the day this nation celebrates its independence from the tyranny of a crazy king, it is a tradition of ours to explore life’s ups and downs. Literally.
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• If we were living in the figurative realm, we would mention the Mariners. Though even that wouldn’t be appropriate today, as they have been doing nothing but roll downhill recently. The free fall is getting so bad, the offense so inept, we expect Jerry Dipoto to shake things up before the weekend.
He’ll probably claim a right-handed middle reliever off the waiver wire and proclaim his work is done. A pennant awaits.
But as we have no control over the M’s fortunes, and we are fresh out of sage, we thought we would talk about a favorite personal up and down. Our Fourth of July family tradition. A nature walk.
For some reason the woman related to us by marriage, the dog (if applicable) and yours truly have made it a tradition each Fourth to challenge ourselves with a local hike. As we both walk consistently throughout the year, even in the depths of winter, it’s not as dangerous as it sounds.
We must admit, though, there has been a couple times we looked at each other while trying to reach a hilltop and thought one or the other might actually experience their spirit continuing to ascend.
It hasn’t happened yet, and won’t this year either. One of us injured themselves this week and we have called off the annual trek. Much to disappointment of our dog Donut, who accompanied us last year as we walked up and down the Spokane River on our easiest walk in years, a section of Trail 25 in Riverside State Park.
Donut was pretty gassed when we hit the power lines, but then again he’s the size of a possum, so it must have seemed like a marathon.
We have some other hikes we’ve done on the Fourth and we’ve labeled them.
The hottest: No question about this one. On one scorching Fourth, we stopped on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene and decided to hike to the top of Mineral Ridge. It was our first holiday excursion and it came on a whim. We had driven to St. Maries to sample a milkshake at Burger Express, which seemed a pretty Fourth-of-July-ish journey. But by the time we got near Interstate 90 on our ride back, we wanted to stretch our legs. Boy did we ever.
The view was spectacular. The trek itself in 90-degree weather? Not our favorite.
The steepest: Nope, Mineral Ridge doesn’t win this one. There is a trail out near St. George’s School that rises up on a north-facing ridge. The reward? A great view of the Little Spokane River as it meanders through the valley below.
Most wildlife: We enjoyed the easy walk on the north side of the Little Spokane by the Painted Rocks so much we’ve done it twice, once with our sister, who is nine years older than us. The first time we photographed deer and turkeys and a bunch of folks in colorful kayaks making their way toward the Spokane River. May have seen a moose. A raccoon. But we don’t have photos of them. They were fleeting and we’re slow on the iPhone draw.
The wandering trails: If we just want to mosey on the Fourth, and we want to sleep in, we head to nearby Dishman Hills. We’ve entered at the Edgecliff Trailhead and actually gotten a little lost in the southern part of that section of the Hills. We’ve started at the Glenrose Trailhead, walked across the divide to Phillips Creek and back again. We’ve hoofed it uphill from the Iller Creek trailhead, battling, and losing, to the mosquitos and the grade. Mainly the former.
Favorite: We’ve twice welcomed the Fourth from the Rocks of Sharon in the Dishman Hills, though over the years we’ve made our way up those hills multiple times, not just on Independence Day.
And, by welcome, we mean rising before dawn, heading to the Stevens Creek Trailhead and huffing and puffing up the trail as the sun pulls itself out of bed. The views of the Palouse were spectacular the first time we did it. We vowed to bring breakfast the next time. We forgot. But it was still worth it.
Come to think of it, ever hike we’ve ever taken, even that time in the Canadian Rockies where the mosquitoes threatened to fly off with Kim or the one last October to the Humpback Rocks in Virginia, with its multiple natural and man-made staircases, have been worth it. All challenging. All rewarding.
Just like freedom.
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WSU: Washington may have left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten but new basketball coach Danny Sprinkle is fine with playing one former conference opponent. The Cougars and Huskies have agreed to a home-and-home, starting Dec. 18 in Seattle. Greg Woods has more in this story and we have a few other thoughts in the Gonzaga section below. … Before we move on, we want to call your attention to one more column on Klay Thompson. It comes from Jerry Brewer, the former Seattle Times columnist writing for the Washington Post these days. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Washington lost its fourth head coach in the past year, with baseball’s Jason Kelly headed to Texas A&M as an assistant. … Football recruiting stories continue, with Washington adding to its collection. … And, yes, the football number stories continue in the Oregonian as well, with No. 59 on the schedule for Oregon State and Oregon. … Arizona State finished last in the recent Big 12 football media poll. Is that a big deal? … The Oregon State baseball roster seems pretty much intact as the transfer portal window closes. … Arizona, which lost its entire starting rotation, has rebuilt through the portal. … Former Utah basketball star Alissa Pili has impressed WNBA folks thus far.
Gonzaga: The future is always out there, threatening to pull down whatever success that has been built up in the past. To keep that from happening, programs recruit unceasingly. Jim Meehan has this story on a coveted guard, Davis Fogle, from the Puget Sound area. He visited GU on Hoopfest weekend. Yesterday, he announced his top three schools: Kansas, Creighton and Gonzaga. … We linked a story above about Washington entering into a two-year scheduling agreement with Washington State. Our advice for the Cougars: Don’t be too good. The Huskies pulled out of their four-year deal with the Zags when Sprinkle decided his newly put together Husky roster wasn’t going to be well served by playing one of the nation’s best teams.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, a former Montana State player awaits induction into the Montana Football Hall of Fame. … Montana hopes that honor awaits some of its latest recruits.
Indians: Tri-City has been scuffling lately, having lost all but one of its first 12 second-half games. During the eighth inning of the Dust Devils’ latest loss, a 3-0 whitewashing by the visiting Indians, tempers flared. Benches emptied. Order was restored. The teams change venues for the rest of the series, playing in Spokane through Saturday, with tonight’s game starting at 7:05. Fireworks are guaranteed. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Everett handled host Vancouver 6-2 and visiting Hillsboro edged Eugene 2-1. … Dave Nichols has a story on an upcoming Spokane visit from former WSU and Indians player Ron Cey. The longtime Dodger has written a book about his career. We’ve read it. It brought back memories from more than 40 years ago, when we did a few stories on the early 1980s L.A. teams, including covering one road trip to Cincinnati and Atlanta. Cey’s book lays out his case for inclusion in the Hall of Fame, arguing forcefully he was the second-best third baseman of his era behind all-time great Mike Schmidt. He might be right. It will be up to the Era Committee to make that decision.
Chiefs: As we mentioned yesterday, Berkly Catton skated with the Kraken for the first time Tuesday.
Mariners: The latest loss was this close to being, well, something else. In the third inning, with two outs, Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn hit a long drive to left-center off Logan Gilbert. Julio Rodriguez seemed to be on it but, sliding to avoid the wall, the ball ticked off his glove. Make the catch and the inning ends scoreless. Instead, the Orioles ended up with a three-run lead, made it four two innings later and Cal Raleigh’s sixth-inning solo home run became a footnote in the 4-1 defeat. As the game ended with another strikeout – Rodriguez – the remaining members of a more than 37,000-person crowd booed. And the M’s had lost 10 of their last 13 games. The American League West lead is two over Houston. Yep, the addition of a non-descript middle reliever seems on the horizon. … The All-Star Game starters were announced Wednesday. No M’s, of course, despite their long first-place stay. At least one former Mariner farmhand, though.
Kraken: Seattle made history Wednesday. The signing of assistant coach Jessica Campbell was the first for a woman in the NHL. Campbell will focus on player development. Dan Bylsma also hired Bob Woods, with whom he has a long history.
Seahawks: Nothing about the current squad, but some former Hawks are in the news. The oddest story? Marshawn Lynch has teamed with California governor Gavin Newsom on a podcast. Is this the sign podcasts have jumped the shark? … Russell Wilson’s charter school has earned a new role.
Olympics: Simon Biles is the best. And the best at just following her own voice. … The water polo team that will represent the U.S. in Paris could actually be representing Northern California nearly exclusively.
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• The next time you see someone about to set off fireworks in a place like Spokane, where they have been banned, we have a story you can tell them. Not about disastrous fires, they have probably heard plenty. And are obviously ignoring them. Ditto about injuries. Try this one. The loud bangs bother one 13-year-old dog we know so badly, even with anxiety medicine he struggled last night. On July 3rd. How badly did Junior labor? He lost control of himself. And we thought we might lose him. He survived – but it wasn’t fun. If people losing homes or limbs don’t dissuade folks, maybe the suffering of a gentle old dog, who just wants to spend his last summer on earth relaxing, might do the trick. We doubt it. A misguided sense of personal freedom often seems to trump others’ needs, or even the law, these days. … Hey, instead of ending today’s column on a down note, let’s celebrate something uplifting. By that, of course, we mean doughnuts. Until later …