Palouse Falls hike March 10, registration is open

The springtime Palouse Canyon hike from Lyons Ferry Park to Palouse Falls is on Saturday, Mar. 10. The deadline to register is Mar. 2 and registration is filling up fast.

The leaders, Lloyd Stoess and Gene Kiver, can accommodate 70-80 hikers. The distance of the hike is eight miles, and follows a combination of established trails, game trails and bushwhacking. There are steep ascents and descents, but special equipment or training are not required.

The hike includes discussion about geomorphology, geology, botany, zoology, Ice Age Floods and early Native American history. Any hiker interested in joining the hike must be in good physical shape and should not have serious heart or vertigo problems.

Hikers should bring a daypack, appropriate clothing, good shoes, lunch, water and snacks. Bottled water, provided by IAFI, Cheney-Spokane, is available at the end of the hike. Optional items include a camera and binoculars. Pets are not allowed on the hike.

The hike begins promptly at 9 a.m. at Lyons Ferry State Park Fish Hatchery and concludes about six hours later at Palouse Falls State Park. Vehicles are available to shuttle hikers back to the Hatchery.

To carpool to Lyons Ferry State Park, meet in Cheney no later than 7:15 a.m. in the Cheney City Hall parking lot, downtown. At Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery, the group plans to meet under the railroad bridge before 9 a.m. There is plenty of parking at the Hatchery. A restroom is available at this meeting site/parking lot.

To register for the event, hikers must complete a registration form and a liability release form, with the fee payment before Mar. 2. The payments should be payable to IAFICS and sent to the Field Trip Registrar, Linda Long, 705 Dubois, Cheney WA 99004.

If interested in joining IAFI and for hike registration information, contact Linda Long, at 509-235-4251 or by email at, [email protected]. For hike information, contact Lloyd Stoess, [email protected], or call him at work 509-646-3292 or home/weekend phone 509-646-3274.