Outdoor adventure

Take A Hike With The Humanities

Take A Hike is a virtual program designed to get Idahoans enjoying the outdoors with a reading inspired by the beauty of this land.  Each week we suggest a reading to help you make the most of your outdoor adventures!  We will include short stories, poems, cartoons, essays, songs and more.  

Share your photos/thoughts/inspiration with us on FacebookInstagram, or at programs@idahohumanities.org.

July 2026

This Week Take a Hike With Kevin Goodan

Born in Montana and raised on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where his stepfather and brother are tribal members, Kevin Goodan is a poet, author, and firefighter. He joined the US Forest Serviced “hotshot crew,” when he was 18 years old, and served ten years fighting forest fires in the Lolo National Forest. He earned his BA from the University of Montana, and his MFA from the University of Massachusetts.  His first book was the recipient of several awards, and his poems have been published in numerous literary journals, including Ploughshares, the Colorado Review, and The Mid-American Poetry Review. He formerly taught at Lewis-Clark State College and currently resides in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire.

Take a Hike with Kevin Goodan

Check Out Previous Hikes

On the Fifth Day

July 31, 2025

Beat the heat by getting outdoors with contemporary poet Jane Hirshfield.

The New Colossus

July 17, 2025

Celebrate Independence Day by getting outdoors and read The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, which has been inscribed on a plaque inside the base of the Statue of Liberty since 1903.

Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson

July 3, 2025

Nobody loves summer more than Calvin & Hobbes.  Get out and enjoy summer outdoors with Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes. Explore this curated collection of Calvin & Hobbes enjoying the great outdoors. 

Alurista

Luna

June 26, 2025

In sunshine or moonlight, enjoy Taking a Hike with the Humanities! Read Luna by Alurista while you are enjoying Idaho’s beautiful summer skies.  

Black Women and the Wilderness

June 18, 2025

Consider the wilderness from a new perspective and Take A Hike with the Humanities. Read Black Women and the Wilderness by Evelyn White while you are exploring new trails.

Inventory for Spring

May 29, 2025

In rain or shine, enjoy Taking a Hike with the Humanities! Read Inventory For Spring by Wendy Xu while you are enjoying Idaho’s wild weather.   Inventory for Spring by Wendy Xu  

Wilderness Letter

May 21, 2025

Take A Hike with Wallace Stegner and connect with Idaho’s wilderness. Wallace Stegner, an award-winning author, educator, and environmentalist argues in Wilderness Letter for Americans to preserve the beautiful and wild spaces in our country.

William Stafford

Maybe Alone on My Bike

May 8, 2025

Get out on your bike with award-winning poet William Stafford. Enjoy his poem, Maybe Alone on My Bike while you Take A Hike with the Humanities.

Instructions on Not Giving Up

May 1, 2025

Welcome the blossoms of Spring with former Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limón. Take A Hike with her poem Instructions on Not Giving Up. 

No Way to Say Goodbye

April 22, 2025

Say farewell to winter and Take A Hike with beloved Idaho writer CMarie Fuhrman. Check out her short story No Way to Say Goodbye.