Kroetch, Krise spearhead building, long-term vision of Empire Trail system

What started as a vision in the woods has mushroomed into one of the region’s premier trail system — and in less than a decade.

Marc Kroetch moved to the Spirit Lake area in 1994, but had visited the area since the late 1960s.

“The whole trial system idea is an economic tool,” Kroetch said. “We’re trying to bring people out here to enjoy the lake with canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, and the Empire Trails will complement the water sports.”

Kroetch’s involvement with changing the perception of Spirit Lake goes back to 2007. “The idea was to build a trail from the top of Mount Spokane down to Spirit Lake and encourage people through that experience to return to our area.

Kroetch, the acting Spirit Lake Chamber of Commerce president, began negotiations with landowner Inland Empire Paper to build some hiking and mountain bike trails west of the town.

“(IEP) did not have problem with the concept, but we ran afoul with the dept of natural resources. They threw up all these red flags and they said, wait a minute — we don’t get paid unless we micro-manage every bit of the entire trail building process.”

Kroetch said all this was prior to mountain biking being as big as it is today. “So after Washington state said no way (they could build from Mount Spokane), we came back and said well, is there some IEP land where we can focus on that has one property owner in a spot where we know there won’t be any logging ever, or at least in the next 80 years, so enter the location that we chose which is up the head of the lake.”

In the big picture, Kroetch said IEP was trying to come up with a way to generate some revenue off that section of land when they are done logging for the time being. “If they can figure out some way to get some passive income to lay for the salaries to play for the gate guards to keep people from dumping. That is part of their motivation, and the other part is to be a good citizen.”

Kroetch’s charges worked with IEP, and created a little half-mile section of trail and a bridge, which is now named the Pin Ball section, “to show them we knew how to build trails and bridges,” Kroetch said. “When IEP came out, they said, ‘You went farther than we thought you would, but it looks good.’

“So we showed them we could do that, and then we got John Bowman (Mountain View Cyclery owner) involved. Kroetch said Bowman jumped in and was the main architect of the trail. “With him and a group of about 10 volunteers, we got it going. We got a local Boy Scout troop out and we have had some other volunteers as well.”

Kroetch said Bowman deserves the attention and adulation since he was the driving force behind the building of the trail. “Dave (Krise) and I just go along for the ride and provide as much labor as we can,” he said.

“So we brought IEP back out and showed them our first trail, they said go for it — knock yourself out,” Kroetch said. After three years of volunteer labor, a 5-plus-mile trail system has been constructed with rototillers, pickaxes and other hand tools. “The ultimate idea, the big picture is to join our trailhead with the city of Spirit Lake, but IEP wants to see us operate the existing trail for one full year before and operate to our satisfaction before we give you the go-ahead to connect all that up.”

Kroetch said most of that trail is roughed in and flagged on existing logging roads and an existing deer trail, and when it’s finished it will add another 4 miles to the system. “I approach it more from an economic-development standpoint. As chamber president, my goal through all of this is to change the perception of Spirit Lake.”

Once known for low-income housing and drug problems, Spirit Lake is revitalizing itself with a spruced-up downtown and a soon-to-be-built hotel, The Moose Inn, the future is looking very bright for the small town.

I was able to ride the trails recently with Kroetch and Krise. We headed out from their offices downtown and made our way out on Spirit Lake Road to the turnoff for the trailhead. It’s a short 10-minute ride on the tarmac, before you turn off the road to the north and crest a small hill to the parking lot and trailhead. The landowner, Inland Empire Paper, has a guard stationed there. The trails require a pass, at a cost of $2.50 per day.

We rode west on Lake Terrace Road for 1.8 miles until we reached the start of the first trail, an intermediate sill level track named Pin Ball. A quick dip down into the trees and you’ll see where the name comes from immediately. If you’re not careful, you’ll be bouncing from tree to tree in the tight singletrack.

The trail is a half-mile long, and pops back out and crosses Lake Terrace Road and continues on into the 1.7-mile-long Bronze Bay Trail, which winds its way through rock outcropping and hillsides. Along the way, be sure to pull up at Vista Point and Onza’s Lookout, as both provide stunning scenery. This intermediate-level trail has a multitude of switchbacks, and balance and speed keep you moving up the twisty trail.

The trail ends at the Shadow Fall trailhead. The trailhead also has parking and is just off Spirit Lake Road.

From Shadows Fall, Tesemini Trail travels east for 1.9 miles. Tesemini is more straightforward than the previous two, and you travel over a variety of terrain and four bridges. You also drop down into some dense forest, with some very dark canopy. It can be a sharp contrast to the bright sunlight, but on a very hot day, I’m sure the shade would be welcome. Tesemini is also listed as an intermediate trail, but it has very few tricky sections, and I had no problem keeping my tires on the path and sliding through the rocky sections.

At the east end of Tesemini is Charleston Loop, which is a .4-mile loop trail that is listed at beginner-level. Take a left from the junction with Tesemini, and the trailhead and parking is a couple hundred feet away to the north. Turn right and you will traverse most of the trail before it swings next to the trailhead.

If I had time, I’d have stayed and traveled through the trail system again, but unfortunately I had other commitments and a full day of riding at Empire Trails will happen again soon.

Kroetch and Krise rode e-bikes, which I don’t consider cheating, especially on trails like these. Kroetch is a dealer for Surface 604 e-bikes, which hold a charge for around 40 miles, plenty to get through a few hours of trail (or road) riding.

Also, the 4-inch-wide tires tended to carve through the rocky trail with ease.

“It’s technical single track — you need to pay attention — nothing fast about it,” Kroetch said. “The easiest way to ride the trails is counterclockwise.”

“I’ve been riding mountain bikes for about 15 years,” Krise said. “I’ve been working on the trail going on six years and since then I have gotten pretty serious about riding. Krise said he used to live in Spokane and come out to the cabin (in Spirit Lake), but he also rode Beacon Hill and Riverside State Park and other trails in that area.

“I’m just really proud to be a part of this project. They really are world-class trails, and it is nice to have such positive comments from riders from all over the nation come out and be impressed with what we’ve done. It’s nice to have the ability to be a part of something like this.”

“It’s been great for me to be able to take off from my house and do a 16-mile loop, see some beautiful country, some great views and ride on some very nice single track.”