Some of you have been reading my blog since the beginning, but there are a few newbies checking in occasionally. At the start of my first full summer spent in Idaho (2009) I was concerned about how I was going to enjoy the mountains around me as I'm not an outdoors person and also not very brave. Then someone told me about the W.H.A.L.E.S. (Women's Hiking And Literary Epicurean Society). They meet each Wednesday morning in a parking lot and carpool to a different trail head each week. The hikes are usually 6 miles round trip and vary on their elevation gain. The group consists of women who live here year round and others, like me, who vacation here. Though there is an occasional woman in her 40s or somebody's visiting daughter, the age range is usually early 60s to late 70s. Needless to say no matter what the age, I'm woefully in poor condition compared to the rest. But they are patient and great teachers.
Literary and Epicurean ... yes that was a concern also. Was my sandwich going to be judged? Would I be expected to give a book report? There's an occasional book recommendation, and the epicurean event happens in late September while they sit out hunting season. So I'm safe.
Fifteen to twenty women show up for these hikes. That's not good for the trails, but it sure does keep the bears away. I'm amazed at how well travelled these women are. I'm talking everywhere from NYC to third world countries. I thought I'd been a lot of places, but not compared to this group.
Here's a pictures of last week's hike along Mahogany Creek in the Big Hole Mountains. This was on our way out. That's me leading. To our right is the creek winding through the willows. This is usually a habitat for moose, though we did not see any.
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