54. The Hoodoo Mountains

I love where I live here on the northeastern edge of the Palouse where it gives way to the Hoodoo Mountains of Latah and Benewah counties in Idaho. The mountains here are the source of the Palouse and Potlatch Rivers and a northern extension of the Clearwater Mountains, the western slope of the Bitterroot Mountains. The highest peak in this range is Bald Mountain at 5,335 feet, so it’s not exactly a high elevation range but it’s beautiful and it is home. These are the mountains where I camp, hike and ski, where I pick huckleberries and mushrooms, where I get panoramic views of the Bitterroot Mountains and the rolling hills of the Palouse. I have taken my boys camping at Laird Park, driven to the top of Bald Mountain and watched the moon eclipse the sun here. While they aren’t the mountains I grew up in (they are far too wet compared to those) they are the mountains I have chosen for my home. They are easily accessible and in them you are not terribly isolated but they aren’t a haven for tourists. You can get confused about whether or not you are on public lands or Potlatch lands and that can be an annoyance, but they are beautiful and in my back yard. I am ever grateful for the Hoodoo Mountains of Idaho.