Prairie Trail, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Now that I know we are moving, I am in a low-key panic to try to write about the trails around here I have not written about yet. Why? Sigh. Probably because I am ridiculous. Anyway, I have written about the North Idaho and Spokane Centennial Trail, which is a 64-mile mostly-paved trail that connects […]
Fernan Lake Natural Area, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Writing is hard. Writing for a website where your work is immediately available for public viewing and scrutiny is hard. Writing for the public in hopes of connecting to others in some way is hard. “They” say to write like no one is ever going to read it, to write like everyone is dead, to […]
John Pointer Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary Trail, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
24 Christmases as a mom. My first one as what they call an empty-nester. Things 2 and 4 are in the world and chasing happiness. Thing 3 is settling into his first duty station and being a new homeowner in Virginia. Things 1 and 5 are making their way through the Rockies to then slog […]
Stevens Lakes, Murray, Idaho
This is hike 30 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest: Popular among weekend campers, this hike quickly leads from Interstate 90 to an area of quiet alpine lakes in the western reaches of the Bitterroot Mountains. The lakes are situated at the brink of timberline below Stevens Peak and just a ridge west of […]
Marie Creek, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
The trees know about the winter about the change about the falling about the loss and they grow anyway Grow anyway. I wanted to hike with SB, a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. She had invited me on a last-minute trip to Nelson, British Columbia, but I had to decline, so she […]
Upper Coeur d’Alene River National Recreation Trail, Murray, Idaho
Finding ways to feel good in the gap of space between where you are and where you want to be is everything. I was supposed to go on an epic trip to the San Juan Islands on the Washington coast, courtesy of J Go. We were going to stay at her family cabin on Lopez […]
McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, Chapter Two
Four days, 12 women and children, 14 miles of rafting, 27 miles of hiking, loaded with laughter and some tears. Memories were made. Trailkat and I scouted out this trail last year. I wrote about that here. It was really fun, and really really icy, and really really really cold. Like last year, I scheduled […]
Spokane River Loop, Riverside State Park, Spokane, WA
I was supposed to be backpacking for two days on Mount Hood. It sure seems like many of my sentences begin with “I was supposed to.” Sigh. I was especially excited about this trip. This trip was to a place I have never been, with people I have never met. And I had nothing to […]
Dog Mountain and Spirit Falls, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Add professional fucking hill climber to my fucking resume, thanks. Especially if it gets me places called Dog Mountain with views of Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens, and there is a fancy 10 am summit cocktail. Dog Mountain, in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, is approximately 6 miles with nearly 3,000′ elevation […]
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Following our backpack trip to Eagle Creek Recreation Trail, J-Go suggested we go to Cannon Beach, Oregon – a place she loves and that I’ve never been to. It was a two-hour drive from the trailhead. The drive is beautiful, winding through incredibly lush coastal forests almost the entire way. We camped at a private campground […]