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Margaret Fuller

Margaret Fuller is a pioneering author of guide books to Idaho’s trails. She began in the 70s, out of frustration that many of the directions that rangers gave her were inaccurate.

“When my husband and I built a cabin in the Sawtooths and we started taking our kids on hikes –our five kids--we kept getting lost on trails the rangers told us about or they’d be too long for the kids and we’d never get there,” says Margaret.

She began poring over Forest Service maps dating back to the 1800’s and rewalking the trails. Eventually she had enough material for a book, but no publisher.

“It basically took seven years to do the hikes, write the book, find a publisher and get it published,” she says.

fuller with child25 years later, her guide to the Sawtooths is in its third printing. She has also authored or co-authored guides to trails in Western Idaho, eastern Idaho and the Frank Church Wilderness.

But her directions weren’t always welcomed. “There was quite a bit of controversy when my first book came out and there were letters to the editors in the Statesman about that I should not be giving away all these secret places,” says Margaret. “And the Statesman even printed an editorial cartoon with a backpacker hugging the state all to himself with a sign “Idaho’s Wilderness.”

newspaper editorialBut Margaret was undeterred. Her love for hiking grew out of years spent in the California mountains with her family, and the guide writing was a natural extension of that desire.

“I guess I’ve always loved being out in the mountains and I kind of felt like I wanted to give back what the mountains had given me to give to others in a broader way,” Fuller says.

“Besides, if you really love the mountains and want to be in them so much, you’ve got to have a pretty good excuse or they’ll think you’re crazy.”

Margaret Fuller's Favorite Idaho Hikes
(for more information see Margaret's books)

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