{"id":1912,"date":"2010-05-13T18:59:01","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T01:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/blog\/archives\/hiking_and_photographing_the_owyhees"},"modified":"2015-01-13T10:16:30","modified_gmt":"2015-01-13T10:16:30","slug":"hiking_and_photographing_the_owyhees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/blog\/archives\/hiking_and_photographing_the_owyhees","title":{"rendered":"Hiking and Photographing the Owyhees"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the last five months, I’ve done more hiking than I have in the last 15 years. I find trekking the wilderness inspiring.<\/p>\n

Most of the time, I hike alone.  My days are typically filled with interactions with numerous people. I like that. But getting away occasionally rejuvenates me.<\/p>\n

My favorite places to hike are the Owyhee Mountains of southern Idaho. I can get to them and start hiking after a 35-minute drive.  There are benefits to living in Idaho!<\/p>\n

I typically head out to hike in the early evening. I have several objectives for this kind of adventure. I’ve already mentioned one: I need solitude from time to time.<\/p>\n

I also spend a great deal of my time taking photos when I hike. The “perfect” days for hiking photos have wild weather. I look for swirling clouds or sunrays shining through darkened skies. Great clouds and varied light make all the difference!<\/p>\n

Part of my motivation to hike is exercise. I typically hike steep hills and mountains, and I often break a serious sweat. I prefer stair stepping in the wild to stair stepping at the gym.<\/p>\n

Sagebrush, rock, and desert ravines motivate me to hike. Perhaps my experience growing up in the open spaces of eastern Washington State draw me away from forests and toward open deserts.<\/p>\n

A couples days ago, my hike was especially enjoyable.  In previous weeks, the rains have descended in uncharacteristic May fashion.<\/p>\n

The upside to rain, however, is that diverse desert flowers bloom. I don’t know their names, but their colorful hues appeal to my sense of beauty – especially when those flowers mix with green and golden crabgrass and green and gray sagebrush.<\/p>\n

Two does scampered away from behind rocks while I hiked up a steep grade that day. The deer bounced off and paused after reaching a safe distance of about 60 yards. They disappeared after briefly glancing back at me. Unlike the deer I see while jogging near home, these does aren’t accustomed to seeing people.<\/p>\n

I typically avoid trails when I hike – unless I think the trails are narrow enough to have been cleared by deer. There’s something about trekking on virgin soil that enlivens me. I could have been a fossil hunter or anthropologist if my earlier life had been different.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I imagine finding an old miner’s campsite or Native American granary. I watch for pictographs and scan the rocks for caves. I’m also looking for animal dens and rattlesnakes. Exploring is second nature.<\/p>\n

Last week, I followed the edge of a cliff that must have been 200-300 feet high. Rocks jutted out at weird angles. Portions of the edge had eroded. A half a dozen ravens circled below me.<\/p>\n

While walking along the rim, I spotted a small pocket of water on a ledge.  I eased my way down to the pocket to take photos. I felt especially vulnerable – like prey exposed to an eagle’s eye and talons.<\/p>\n

That evening the wind was especially brisk. Being on a cliff ledge makes the wind feel even stronger.<\/p>\n

Despite the gale, I sprawled out next to the pocket of water.  I put on my wool hat and gloves, and buttoned my jacket tightly. Folding my arms on my chest to keep warm, I relaxed and enjoyed my perch.<\/p>\n

I sat for about a half hour. The sun disappeared over the mountains in front of me. The ravens flew near to check on my status. And the wind swirled incessantly.<\/p>\n

I lay suspended over the deep ravine, and I marveled at the beautiful creation.<\/p>\n

Time well spent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last five months, I’ve done more hiking than I have in the last 15 years. I find trekking the wilderness inspiring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[2179,2189,2188,2187,2186,2185,2184,2183,2182,2181,2180,2178,2177,2176,2175,2174,2173,1349,1327,1235],"class_list":["post-1912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-and_the_kitchen_sink"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1912"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}