Walkin Jim Wanders Into Sanders County

Walkin Jim visited Sanders County this last week, bringing his unique blend of inspiring songs and slides. I must confess at the outset, Walkin Jim is a personal hero. Having walked over 27,000 miles, Jim is the envy of many a long distance hiker such as myself!

But what I admire most about Jim, is the way that he brings all those back country experiences to life. If the purpose of Art is to bring about a reaction, Walkin Jim’s songs personify the best that art has to offer.  They never fail to stir an audience, to transport us all to those special landscapes and the send of Wildness they embrace.

The feeling is more than the starkness of the desert, or the stuningness of the Panormaic peaks. Jim brings the feeling of being WILD to life!  The sense that there are still wild places where there are still forces at play beyond our own, the sense of joy, fear, uncertainty, of significance and insignificance, of desire and of hope.

What always amazes me is the wide range of audiences which respond so positively to Jim’s message and music. To see the light in the eyes of the child in the audience brings joy to the heart.  But even adults start singing the echo part of the songs!  Jim inspires such passion that we even had one person travel from Seattle, by Amtrak, to Sandpoint to meet a friend and proceed on to Thompson Falls, to be able to see this concert!

When Art meets Wilderness, the result is Walking Jim, a true traveling troubadour. We were fortunate to be able to help him kick off his spring tour with stops for the Scotchmans in Sanders County. If you have never seen Walking Jim perform, go to his website and check out his tour schedule and find an event near you!

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About The Author:

Phil Hough is the Executive Director of the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness.

He has hiked the "triple crown": the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest trail (twice). He has also paddled the length of the Yukon river. Phil's love of wilderness guides him as he works to save the incrediblly wild Scotchman Peaks, one of the last and largest roadless places in northern Idaho and western Montana.

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