The two week course is on public lands management and is based out of Missoula, MT. As the course centers around the history and practices of the Forest Service, we took students into the national forests for each week of class. The first week we went backpacking for three nights just across the border in Idaho in the Clearwater National Forest. It's my third year doing this course, and Dave's second, and we're still happy to go backpacking in these same places. The way the course works is that we have class in the mornings, usually go for a day hike late morning, and then have class in the evening again after dinner. The best part of the first week is the day hike up Granite Peak. It takes you right up to the Idaho - Montana border and provides a great view to the surrounding area. My other favorite part of the backpack is the stream -- we camp nearby and it is lovely (but cold!) for swimming. We also do a day hike up to the headwaters, which are located in a beautiful alpine meadow. It's been neat for me to see the differences in the area between the last three years I've gone. The first year was definitely the wettest (they had a big snow year that winter) and the wildflowers were amazing. The second year was dryer (even though it was two weeks earlier), and this year was even drier and hotter. The wildflowers were mostly gone by, though we did hit the alpine gentians at their peak -- a flower I hadn't seen either of the two previous years.
In between weeks in the out-of-doors, we stayed with Chelsea's cousin Abby, John, and Georgia (and soon to be baby boy!). They were very gracious to have us, as they were moving houses and are 8 months pregnant right now. Getting to spend time with them is one of the main reasons we keep deciding to come and do the course again. It's wonderful to see them and to spend time in Montana with them. We didn't head out on any major adventures this year, which was OK since we were pretty exhausted from teaching the course, and Abby was less mobile than usual since she's carrying around a second person! We did head down the Bitteroot Valley to cool off in the river, and also made a stop at the Wildwood Brewery for a refreshing drink. We also hit up the Saturday Farmers' Market in Missoula, which I think is the best farmers' market anywhere in the country.
The second week we took the students down the Bitteroot and into the Bitteroot-Selway Wilderness up Bear Creek Canyon. Fortunately, it cooled down the second week, and so we weren't quite as hot -- although we could see and smell smoke from the wildfire across the border in Idaho. I really love this second camp site -- it's sort of up on the rocks and has lovely views of the canyon walls. It also has an amazing stream nearby. This year, we made it up to Bryant Lake, which is at least 5 miles up from the camp, but was well worth the hike. It was so beautiful up there, and because the lake is pretty shallow, it made for relatively comfortable alpine lake swimming. We had just a small group of students go with us for this day hike, which made for a lovely intimate hike. On the way up, we weren't sure we were going to make it, so we barely stopped and didn't enjoy any views or huckleberries. So, on the way down, we gorged ourselves on huckleberries and stopped for beautiful views -- in fact, it took us longer to get back even though we were going downhill than it did to get up to the lake.
We learned a lot from the two week course -- most notably that teaching is hard, but also rewarding. And, that I really do know the material and can teach the course (which felt good to realize). Co-teaching is awesome because you don't have to do all the work and it's wonderful to have two minds sharing ideas and thoughts with the students. Dave is an amazing assistant professor as well (he gave lots of talks on the geology of the area and on science and how it is used in policy-making). And, Montana is still awesome, despite the fact that it was really hot. Thankfully, it started to rain just after we made it back to the van at the end of the last lecture! It rained the last couple days, which was a blessing since it has been so hot and dry. It was good for things to get a thorough soaking.
Now we're heading off to Haida Gwai in British Columbia for a week of sea kayaking. I've been looking forward to this part of the trip most of all because it will be a completely new adventure. I've never been to this part of the world (or anywhere near really) and I've never been on a multi-day sea kayak trip. We're certainly looking forward to it and will be sure to post some pictures upon our return. And, hopefully we'll add some pictures from our time in Colorado and Montana as well!
Sorry not to post as often as we had hoped. With any luck, we'll be able to back fill when we return from Canada mid-August...
The second week we took the students down the Bitteroot and into the Bitteroot-Selway Wilderness up Bear Creek Canyon. Fortunately, it cooled down the second week, and so we weren't quite as hot -- although we could see and smell smoke from the wildfire across the border in Idaho. I really love this second camp site -- it's sort of up on the rocks and has lovely views of the canyon walls. It also has an amazing stream nearby. This year, we made it up to Bryant Lake, which is at least 5 miles up from the camp, but was well worth the hike. It was so beautiful up there, and because the lake is pretty shallow, it made for relatively comfortable alpine lake swimming. We had just a small group of students go with us for this day hike, which made for a lovely intimate hike. On the way up, we weren't sure we were going to make it, so we barely stopped and didn't enjoy any views or huckleberries. So, on the way down, we gorged ourselves on huckleberries and stopped for beautiful views -- in fact, it took us longer to get back even though we were going downhill than it did to get up to the lake.
We learned a lot from the two week course -- most notably that teaching is hard, but also rewarding. And, that I really do know the material and can teach the course (which felt good to realize). Co-teaching is awesome because you don't have to do all the work and it's wonderful to have two minds sharing ideas and thoughts with the students. Dave is an amazing assistant professor as well (he gave lots of talks on the geology of the area and on science and how it is used in policy-making). And, Montana is still awesome, despite the fact that it was really hot. Thankfully, it started to rain just after we made it back to the van at the end of the last lecture! It rained the last couple days, which was a blessing since it has been so hot and dry. It was good for things to get a thorough soaking.
Now we're heading off to Haida Gwai in British Columbia for a week of sea kayaking. I've been looking forward to this part of the trip most of all because it will be a completely new adventure. I've never been to this part of the world (or anywhere near really) and I've never been on a multi-day sea kayak trip. We're certainly looking forward to it and will be sure to post some pictures upon our return. And, hopefully we'll add some pictures from our time in Colorado and Montana as well!
Sorry not to post as often as we had hoped. With any luck, we'll be able to back fill when we return from Canada mid-August...
