HIKING SMART

What kind of hiker are you?

  Foot hikers watch their feet, calculating how every step will land. They seldom stumble, but other than memorizing the path, they often miss everything else there is to see. The same goes for the fast-footed hikers who practically run up the trail, nearly mowing down the slower folks.

  Short-cutters get off the trail when they can save a few steps. But stomping on plants or soil destruction can spell doom for delicate tundra flowers. 

  Snack-happy hikers eat their way up and down the trail, dropping food. These hikers pay little attention to the scenery. Every crumb they drop can make a change in the natural world. Besides, improperly contained foods can attract bears. 

  Head-in-the-clouds hikers mostly watch the weather, or their minds are so pre-occupied with their daily concerns (or what they're missing on TV) that they are hardly aware of being outside.

Smart hikers...

  To get the most out of a mile, smart hikers constantly look up and down, left and right, forward and backwards while on the trail. They listen to birdcalls... all sounds... watch the weather... and get the scents of things.

 They identify trees and notice the details... like a piece of fur stuck to the bark, an animal rub, a claw mark... They notice animal tracks and can piece together a whole scenario of what lives and moves along in the area when no human is around. 

  Besides identifying plants and berries, the smart hiker will know which animals eat them and whether humans can eat them, too. They read before they hike and have a handbook along to help with identifying tracks and plants.

  Smart hikers know what animals live in the area. They are alert, with a plan in mind should there be a close encounter, especially in bear country. Hiking smart means having a jacket and water along, maybe field glasses and a camera for capturing the moments to re-live back home. 

  Plant-stomping, trail-barging, snack-happy, fast-footed, eyes-on-your-feet hikers pretty much miss the whole show. The point isn't to get to the end of the trail as fast as you can. The getting-there-fast part is leaving the city and getting to the country. Once out in nature, smart hikers take it real slow, savoring all the sights, scents, and sounds. 

Courses for Kids:

Kids Arctic Trip

(3 days, 2 nights in Churchill, MB, Canada). Explore birds, whales, bears, inter-tidal with Dr. Charles Jonkel, Great Bear Foundation.

(Call: 406-829-9378)

Summer  -- Glacier National Park, MT

Glacier Naturalists (ages 6-11)

Young Naturalist (ages 9-11)

Junior Fly Fishing Camps (12-15)

High School Programs.

(Call: 406-755-1211)