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
Too hot to Hike? It’s hot. Recording setting hot in Yakima, Washington, this week (August 2022); 105-110 degrees. Tired after a day’s work and still fighting a cold, I headed up the Chinook Pass Scenic Byway, hoping to find cooler air for a hike. I’m … Continue readingNaches Peak Loop Trail at Chinook Pass
The Canyon Basalt columns rise from the Tieton river valley providing protected roosts and nest sites for ravens and golden eagles. Climbers are also drawn to the sheer rise, crawling like ants up the walls. Lichens decorate the gray and brown rocks in yellow … Continue readingBirds and Snakes on the Tieton River Trail
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
It’s a happy, warm, sunny day in Seward, Alaska. August days like this are a special treat in this rainy Pacific coast town. The Trail The Lost Lake Trail in Seward traverses seven miles over 1200 feet of elevation gain to its namesake alpine lake. … Continue readingLost Lake Trail in Seward, Alaska
The lift-off from the ground is imperceptible. I just notice that the ground is a little further away and moving underneath us now. We met at 6:30am on a cold, clear morning to go on a hot air balloon ride along the Teton mountain range … Continue readingThe View from Above: Hot Air Ballooning in the Tetons
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