Cabin fever, and I’ve been itching for spring and sun and warmth for weeks now. “It’s been a long winter, and there’s more yet to come,” I think as I stretch my muscles, pushing uphill, uphill, uphill, toward the east and the distant siren song of blue sky on the ill-tempered horizon. more

Dirty clouds drape over the valley like a dingy sheet on wash day, sinking into the washes and draws, threatening a new burst of snow at the slightest provocation. The muted colors of willows and cattails in winter paint ocher and crimson smudges along the narrow stream to my left, melting into the faded sky. more

“No inflating,” reads the sign at the head of the trail. I read it and laugh aloud, vowing to abide by the law and not inflate, with images of Willy Wonka dancing through my head as I check my day-pack one last time before heading down the trail. more

I was young, perhaps ten years old, when I sat in my scout leader’s pickup truck, rubbing the feeling back into my blue toes, and wondering if it would ever return. It was the Klondike Derby, deep in the central Idaho mountains, and it was my first experience with winter camping. … more

Like luscious icing on a layer cake, the earth is frosted in a thick and rich buttercream, white as a veil, as I lean over the railing of an old wooden bridge in a vain attempt to get my camera into that sweet spot for a photo. But I’d need a ladder to get it, so I accept reality and snap “good enough,” before moving on. more