Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
“Sheep go where men don’t go. Goats go where sheep don’t go.” – Joe Rahn (Montana Wildlife, Fish and Parks) The Goats Word is that there are mountain goats at Bernard Peak on Lake Pend Oreille. Validating the rumor, Farragut State Park across the … Continue readingMountain Goats at Bernard Peak
I’m on a local four-mile round-trip trail in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. The elevation gain is about 1500 feet, making it a fairly steep trail for this former flatlander. The route is mainly switchbacked with one last long steady climb. Necessary stops to eat … Continue readingChilco Mountain Hike
In north Idaho, osprey are ubiquitous. They are migratory fish hawks who winter along the southern US coasts and summer primarily along the eastern US coast, around the Great Lakes, northern Canada, and in the Pacific Northwest. Nesting platforms are common. These tall posts with … Continue readingOsprey Nest
Winter and spring all in one walk. Round Lake State Park in North Idaho is a 200-acre preserve surrounding a 58-acre lake with hiking trails, multi-use trails, and a campground. It was chilly when I started out on the 1.8-mile Trapper’s trail roughly circling the … Continue readingRound Lake State Park, Idaho
I’m pedaling a bicycle in the middle of a dark, two-mile-long, old train tunnel somewhere in the Bitterroot Mountains of northern Idaho. There’s a headlamp on my handlebar providing the only light. It’s cold, dark and damp. Water drips and runs from the walls and … Continue readingBicycling the Route of the Hiawatha