Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
Reportedly, one of the “Top 25 hikes in America,” Sitton’s Gulch Trail in northwest Georgia follows its namesake creek three miles to a stunning waterfall. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. The trail is covered in fallen leaves predominantly brown and … Continue readingSitton’s Gulch Trail
Up a “minimally maintained” one-lane forest road (hand saw and ax recommended) is the Howe Lake Trail. This rustic road follows the fish creek ravine, overlooking an enormous beaver lodge in a wetland teeming with birds and notably absent of moose. As the road curves, … Continue readingFire and Flowers on the Howe Lake Trail
It’s a classic Glacier National Park hike. Mid-day in July or August you’ll find people circling the parking lot for an hour or more looking for a place to park as traffic backs up on the narrow, winding, two-lane Going to the Sun Road as … Continue readingHidden Lake Trail at Logan Pass
There are just a handful of other cars here when we arrive in the early morning. It’s 45 degrees and spitting rain. A couple is gearing up for a bike ride on the Going to the Sun Road, which is still closed from here to … Continue readingAvalanche Creek Trail in the Rain
After a harrowing 7 1/2-hour road trip yesterday (congestion leaving the city, construction delays, troopers escorting a wide load at 30 mph on the 70 mph bypass, and finally a rollover accident that closed the road—seriously, all of it), I needed to unwind. I set … Continue readingThe Japanese Ritual of Forest Bathing
As we pulled into the empty parking in the early morning sun, a red-tailed hawk flew by in dogged pursuit of a raven. I wonder what raven mischief raised the hawk’s ire. It’s a windy, windy day and they seem to get blown past us … Continue readingCougar Bay Hike in Coeur d’Alene