Stories

  • 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 that the one-mile trail was packed down such that we didn’t need snowshoes after all. So, for the second time this season, a snowshoe hike simply became a winter hike. While we were all looking forward to snowshoeing in, the real goal was to soak…

  • Snowshoeing: Potlatch River Loop

    This week’s snowshoeing adventure takes us on the Potlatch Canyon loop trail (Clearwater NF #765). If the view above looks familiar, it’s because I have hiked this loop many times in the summer, and first posted about it two years ago. This time, armed with snowshoes, we had a very successful winter hike through the woods. Despite the rising temperatures this past week, the Potlatch Canyon was still a veritable winter wonderland. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the temperatures down by the water never rose above freeziing all day. That’s because we have been having some inversions the…

  • 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 and Palouse Divide. The Park n’ Ski areas are generally groomed nordic ski trails, but some of them are good for snowshoeing as well. Since the hike to Elk River falls would have been more than 2 miles one-way, I suggested we head up to…

  • 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 little local hike that I often overlook. But I’ve always wanted to hike it in the winter, and today, Spud Hill became my first winter Idaho summit. The one difference between snowshoeing and hiking, aside from the snow on the ground, is that distances seem…

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    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, and since we hadn’t left the yard yet, we turned back to get my camera. We were walking in snow that had not been disturbed, so it was quite soft and difficult, even with snowshoes. In fact, in the hour that we were out, we…

  • Thanksgiving, Parts II & III

    Holy smokes, it’s almost Christmas and I never really finished posting about my Thanksgiving trip to Las Vegas. So, I’m going to give the abbreviated version of the rest of the trip and then move on to some more current events. When I visit Las Vegas, it’s not for the usual reasons that most people go for. This is the second time I’ve been in the city, and I still haven’t been down to the strip or inside a casino. But it’s the second time I’ve been down there to visit TJ and Clare. TJ is one of my best…

  • What I am thankful for

    During the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, many people post about the things they are thankful for. I have been stewing over just how to say what it is I’m thankful for, because it’s a little bit different than most people’s ideals. There are two major concepts that I am thankful for. Number one is free will. Number two is an objective universe. These two ideas are not unrelated. I am thankful to know that my thoughts, my actions, and my decisions are mine, and belong to no one and nothing else. At the same time, the consequeses of my…

  • Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, Part 1: The drive down

    One of my best friends from high school invited Erin and I down to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. In fact, we were invited down last year, but we weren’t able to make it. Therefore, I decided that we’d make it work this year. Erin still wanted to host our annual Thanksgiving dinner at our house, so we had one on Saturday before everyone left for their break, and on Sunday, we packed up the car and headed south. This trip has a lot of firsts in it for me. It was my first time venturing south of McCall, my first…

  • Fall Foliage

    I’ve been spending a lot of time finishing up my dissertation proposal, which is due in a little over a week, and that has kept me from taking time to enjoy the outdoors. We got some considerable rain over the past weekend which lead to some dramatic skies and really clear views on Monday and Tuesday, but I just wasn’t able to take advantage of the nice conditions. I did get out for a little bit yesterday afternoon to check out the fall foliage in the arboretum on campus. In Idaho, we don’t see very much fall color. There are…