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Photo courtesy of Cory Rossnagel | Synergo

Oregon-based Synergo is building the new zip line tour on Mica Peak southwest of Liberty Lake. Synergo also operates two zip line tours of its own, including the one pictured here near Portland, Ore.

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Cover Story: Touring at the speed of zip
3/30/2015 3:20:27 PM

By Hope Brumbach 
Splash Contributor

More than a century ago, Mica Peak, the mountain bordering Liberty Lake to the southwest, was home to a backwoods industry: brewing premium moonshine locally dubbed "Mica Moon."

The peak, known as "Moonshine Mountain," provided a camouflaged haven for the illicit activity during the Prohibition years.

Now a local entrepreneur plans to reinvent the Mica Moon name for a more family-friendly activity. Next month, Rik Stewart will launch a new venture: Mica Moon Zip Tours, which will offer zipline canopy tours on nearly 300 acres of the peak. The grand opening is slated for Memorial Day weekend.

The two-and-a-half-hour tour will couple the thrill of zipping with a wilderness experience, allowing guests to sail through forested glens, observe the area's natural wildlife and view the remnants of historic moonshine camps, said Stewart, a Liberty Lake resident and president of Mica Moon Zip Tours.

"The entrepreneurs who were here at the beginning were illicit, but they were on the edge," Stewart said. "This will be the natural high."


Splash photo by Hope Brumbach
Longtime Liberty Lake residents Rik and Heidi Stewart are opening Mica Moon Zip Tours in May on nearly 300 acres of Mica Peak. 



The vision
At 5,200 feet elevation, Mica Peak, known for its white spherical dome at the summit, offers expansive views sweeping from downtown Spokane to Rathdrum. Almost two decades ago, Stewart's father-in-law, Ted Demars, purchased 204 acres on the north flank of the peak for the family's trust; Stewart's goal was to build a dream home on a section of it. 

But then Stewart was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and given six to 10 years to live. In the 17 years since his diagnosis, he's endured five rounds of chemotherapy and battled back each time. His last treatment was nearly three years ago; it's been his longest remission yet, Stewart said.

In the early years after his diagnosis, he and his wife, Heidi, went on a cruise with cherished friends, an experience that became a yearly tradition to celebrate their continued life together. On one cruise to Belize, they enjoyed ziplining together for the first time.

Two and a half years ago, Stewart, then working as a data center manager, said he had an epiphany. He had been working in an office space of 3,000 square feet with a constant whir of computer fans, and "I wanted fresh air and people," said Stewart, 54.  

He decided to combine that thrill he experienced ziplining with the treasure hidden in his backyard.

"In the 18 years (we've) owned it, I've been the marshal," said Stewart of the property. He frequently ushered trespassers off the family land, but he often felt it was a shame not to share its beauty with others. 

Stewart quit his job and dedicated the last two and a half years to launching Mica Moon. 

"I'm totally in," Stewart said. "This is my life." 

He's leased 294 acres on the peak from the Demars Family Trust and two other neighboring landowners. He's attended industry conferences. He navigated the Spokane County system to amend the property's rural conservation zoning to allow for commercial recreational activity. And he weathered a legal appeal of his conditional-use permit from neighbors - that ultimately was dismissed, Stewart said. Along with his own personal investment, Stewart said he has several financial backers. 

He's worked with a geologist, biologist, arborist, historian and experts in experiential learning to create the Mica Moon zip tour experience.  Part of the work included a habitat management plan that not only will offer protection of native species but will enhance the wildlife corridor, Stewart said. He's been hands-on with the land prep, clearing trails and pruning zip corridors. 

"It's been a process and a journey getting here," said Heidi Stewart, 45.

On a recent afternoon, Rik Stewart drove onto the Mica Moon property to showcase the views. "It's all about this," he said, motioning to the forested surroundings. 

The property is one of the largest for a zip course in the region, Stewart said.

"It's giving an artist an open palette and getting to do whatever you want," Stewart said about the opportunity for the course's builder, Tigard, Ore.-based Synergo. Construction of the course began in mid-March and was scheduled to be completed in five to seven weeks.

Erik Marter, Synergo's executive director, works with 50 zip tours a year. He said the aspects that set Mica Moon apart are the historical aspect that will be woven into the experience as well as the layout of the course. While some courses can be viewed in their entirety from a single vantage point, this course has a quality of mystery to it that allows it to be experienced one line at a time. 

"I'm really picky about layout," Marter said. "I think a zip tour needs to tell a story as it unfolds. People don't want to just ride zip lines; they want to have an experience."

It's this complete experience that Stewart is excited to share. 

"We've taken a beautiful piece of land, and we can share it with (others) on our terms," Stewart said. "I don't think the people who live down there know what's here."

The tour
The Mica Moon experience will certainly appeal to the thrill-seeker, but Stewart said he hopes it will be "a family activity, not just the adrenaline junkie." 

The closest similar experience is in Wallace, Idaho, where Silver Streak Zipline Tours operates. 

Mica Moon Zip Tours generally will operate between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with limited hours in the month or two leading up to and following the peak season, Stewart said.

Guests will check in at the Mica Moon Zip Tours office, located in the Liberty Lake Portal building.  A 15-passenger van will shuttle guests to the beginning of the private road at the base of Mica Peak. From there, three utility terrain vehicles will cart guests to the start of the tour on the west side of the valley that cleaves the north face of the mountain. 

During the two and a half hour tour, which begins at 3,200 feet elevation, guests will glide along eight proposed zips, Stewart said. Platforms for the zips will be built between 10 and 75 feet above the ground. The experience also will include two short hikes, two treetop bridges and possibly a rappel. Two of the zips crisscross the valley, soaring to birds-eye heights and reaching speeds of 25 to 45 mph, Stewart said. The longest will extend in the neighborhood of 1,500 feet. 

The final zip will thread an aspen grove, finishing at about 2,700 feet elevation. 

Mica Moon plans to employ about 14 people at the start, including Stewart, his wife Heidi, and at least two of their eight children as guides. Most employees will be part-time and seasonal.

The tour won't have an age restriction, but riders need to be old enough to understand directions. Guests also must weight between 65 and 275 pounds. An adult will pay $96 for a weekend zip tour.

Certified guides will be the facilitators of the experience, ensuring safety and also providing information about the history, wildlife and ecology of the Mica Peak area. Guests will wear a helmet, harness and leather gloves. The course is designed with automatic braking systems, so riders will not have to stop on their own, Stewart said.

Mica Moon plans to offer specialty and themed zips, such as a fall color tour, romantic twilight zips with a sunset catered dinner and a Halloween fright zip through the dark. Tours also are available for large groups, families and corporations.

"I find when people are on the edge of comfort, that's where you find the real person," Stewart said. "People begin to talk and you peel back the layers. I'm excited for what's going to happen with these groups."

The future
Stewart estimates Mica Moon will host around 3,000 guests its first year in operation, but "everyone tells me I'm low on my projections," he said. The relatively new industry of zipline canopy tours has experienced healthy growth in the United States, according to Stewart. In roughly the last 10 years since its U.S. inception, it's grown to about 600 canopy tours in the country with $1 billion-plus revenue last year as an industry, Stewart said.

If all goes well with Mica Moon, Stewart is entertaining expansion plans in another three years, he said. He's already investigating additional property for an aerial adventure park, which is like an outdoor playground and obstacle course on steroids. It could include challenge courses with platforms, bridges and zips, as well as mountain biking trails.

"My goal would be, in a very real sense, to turn Liberty Lake into the recreational magnet that it was in its heyday," Stewart said. "It would be like Spokane's playground. That's my goal."

• • •

Mica Moon Zip Tours
Season: Generally, Memorial Day to Labor Day 

Hours: Daily during peak season; 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. during the week; additional times of 11 a.m., 2 
p.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends

Tour: Two and a half hours; eight zips, two treetop bridges 

Rates: $96 per person on weekends; $86.40 per person on weekdays; $76.80 for youth (ages 6 to 14); 
group rates available

Contact: www.micamoon.com or 509-587-4020

Pickup location: Liberty Lake Portal, 23402 E. Mission Ave., Suite 100, Liberty Lake

• • •

Moonshine Mountain
Spokane newspaper headlines from more than a century ago often included references to Mica Peak's illicit activities: "Give the Mica Peak Gang No Rest"; "County Officials Raid Most Up-to-Date Outfit Operated in Spokane County - Nab Two Men"; "Swoop Down on Moonshiners' Haunt Under Cover of Night."

Mica Peak, often known as "Moonshine Mountain" in the years of Prohibition, was home to "Mica Moon" brewing operations for close to two decades, said Ross Schneidmiller, president of the Liberty Lake Historical Society.  

"It was one of the first places that moonshining started in the county," said Schneidmiller, who is helping provide the historical information for Mica Moon Zip Tours.

Families originating from North Carolina, a hub of moonshine production, set up operations on Mica Peak and surrounding areas. The colony was considered ornery and combative, Schneidmiller said.

Some local residents recalled seeing flickering lights at night, evidence of the stills often camouflaged on Mica Peak in caves or hidden under brush to evade law enforcement, Schneidmiller said.

"That's part of what allowed these guys to exist is that they became very clever about how they hid their operations," he said. 

Some residents also reported the sounds of airplanes at night, Schneidmiller said, and it was suspected that Mica Moon was bootlegged to locations in Montana.

Part of Mica Peak's appeal to moonshiners may have been its remoteness, water source and vantage point, Schneidmiller said. "Also the fact that many of the operations would have taken place in these abandoned saw mills; Mica had some of those," Schneidmiller said.



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