Snowshoeing Moose Creek

Last week, winter returned to the Palouse. We got about six inches of snow in Deary, most of which was still around over the weekend. On Sunday, I joined a group of students and post-docs for a snowshoeing trip to Moose Creek. Although it was a foggy and overcast day, we had a great time. […]

4th of July

Once again, I missed the fireworks. I admit that I was looking forward to photographing them, but in the end, I was busy hanging out with friends, and we decided not to go over to Pullman. I did spend much of my nation’s birthday enjoying one of the best parts about this country: its wild […]

Winter Hike to Jerry Johnson Hot Springs

Last weekend, I reported on a snowshoe hike along the Potlatch River and alluded to a second snowshoe adventure the same weekend. In fact, we had planned a little excursion out along Rt. 12 to Jerry Johnson hot springs. It turned out that the hot springs are still popular in winter, at least enough so […]

Snowshoeing: Palouse Divide

I must have forgotten to post about this trip. This was last week, January 5, 2013. This was Idaho Parks and Recreation’s free day in which no parking pass was required to use the Park n’ Ski areas or any of the state parks. There are two Park n’ Ski areas near Moscow: Elk River […]

Snowshoeing: Spud Hill

This snowshoeing thing is taking off, and if I keep this up, I’ll be in shape enough to not suck at hiking at the beginning of the hiking season. This week’s adventure brings us up Spud Hill, also known by some as Mount Deary. Spud Hill was my first Idaho summit, and it’s a great […]

A walk in the snow

Well, now that Winter has finally arrived, we thought it might be fun to tromp through the snow and get some exercise. I dusted off the snowshoes (literally) and we set off for a little hike out of our back yard. As we began our trek, I noticed an awesome mist hovering over the snow, […]

Labor Day Weekend: Backpacking the Seven Devils

This is the story of how Dan Beck and I ended up spending much of our Labor Day weekend in the backcountry of one of Idaho’s most scenic and rugged mountain ranges, the Seven Devils. It begins over a week before when I sent out a message for a backpacking trip over Labor Day weekend. […]

East Peak

There are many peaks in the Wallowas that top 9000 feet, so East Peak might go unnoticed if it weren’t so easily accessible. It turns out that I’m not the only one who thought to use the Wallowa Lake Tramway to cover the first 3700 feet of elevation, reducing the climb to the peak to […]

Lookout Mountain

Everytime I’m up on Grandmother Mountain, I look to the east and see the bald dome of Lookout Mountain rising over the Marble Creek drainage and I long to stand on top and look down from the other side. Finally, with my parents and sister visiting, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to […]

Backpacking: Seven Devils’ Lower Cannon Lake

My father-in-law and his wife have been visiting us since last Wednesday. Before coming out, he had asked if we could go on a little male bonding trip into the backcountry for a night. So, I set about looking for a short and easy hike to a spectacular place. I figured he had probably never […]