Author Archives: westerner54

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About westerner54

Hello. I'm Cindy, and I love to hike, bike and explore the outdoors - particularly the western U.S.

Bear Trap Canyon: After the Burn

Posted on October 22, 2012 by westerner54

Bear Trap Canyon is a swell early or late season hike: it warms up early in the spring, and stays warm longer in the fall than hikes up in the mountains.  The hike follows the Madison River through the Lee … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

What’s the Shortest Distance You Can Hike and Still Be Tough?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by westerner54

Here’s a lesson:  if you suggest a weekend backpack, and remember a beautiful spot that you visited years ago, and you want to impress your tough hiking friends with this swell hike, it might be a good idea to actually check out a map … Continue reading →

Posted in Backpacking, Hiking, Montana, Nature | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Rethinking Nature: the Value of Wild Places

Posted on October 13, 2012 by westerner54

What makes you feel alive and happy?    Until two weeks ago, I thought the answer – for me – was pretty simple:  being out in nature.     Surprisingly, I didn’t necessarily consider “wildness” a huge plus; it seemed to me that … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Hiking, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Geese in the Eagle’s Nest

Posted on October 10, 2012 by westerner54

Last spring I hiked out to an eagle’s nest high on a cottonwood near the shore of a nearby lake.  The nest had been home to a pair of bald eagles for the past three years, but this year a pair of  Canada geese … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged | 8 Comments

Highland Mary Lakes

Posted on October 2, 2012 by westerner54

The Highland Mary Lakes in the San Juans of southwestern Colorado are a great introduction to the high peaks of the Weminuche Wilderness in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.  The wildflowers are bigger there than anywhere else I’ve been, the trails are higher, … Continue reading →

Posted in Backpacking, Hiking, Nature, Outdoors | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Watching Wildlife in Yellowstone: the Best Places to Hang Out

Posted on September 25, 2012 by westerner54

Conventional Yellowstone Wisdom has it that the best way to find wildlife is to look for a gaggle of folks along the road with really good spotting scopes and long lenses on their cameras.  And it’s true; you will certainly … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Hiking, Montana, Nature, Wildlife, Yellowstone | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Posted on September 24, 2012 by westerner54

Originally posted on Mind Margins:
They say home is where the heart is, and I believe it. I’ve written before about how being in Wyoming feels like home, even though I’ve never lived there. What is it about certain places…

Posted in Hiking | 2 Comments

The Sanctuary of Open Spaces

Posted on September 18, 2012 by westerner54

During a bad fire year a few summers ago, the Forest Service closed all of the Forest Service lands in western Montana.  Totally.  No access, even for hiking.  I was dumbfounded.  It had never occurred to me that they would … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Nature, Outdoors | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Johnny Gulch in the Elkhorn Mountains

Posted on September 4, 2012 by westerner54

Even a small mountain range like the Elkhorns in western Montana is chock full of wonderful backroads that are just begging to be explored.     Recently we loaded up the camper and headed out to see what we could find.  Can’t get … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Camping, Montana, Outdoors, Travel | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Goodbye Summer Flowers. You’ll Be Missed.

Posted on August 31, 2012 by westerner54

Western Wildflowers, 2012

Posted in Nature, Outdoors, Photography | Tagged , , | 13 Comments