SALT LAKE CITY — Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, former CEO of outdoor retailer REI, made a recent visit to Salt Lake City and discussed significant issues with the Deseret Media Companies Editorial Board, including the possibility of a national monument designation in Utah, the potential listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species, public lands initiatives and the impacts of fracking technology on environmental and energy concerns.
But we also asked another question: Secretary Jewell, what are some of your favorite hikes in Utah?
Jewell is no stranger to the outdoors, but her love for hiking is best summed up in a college-days story she related during the interview.
"I took one summer off in college ... the summer of 1977," she said. "I had a red Fiat Sport Coupe and a little yellow cooler and took myself, by myself, and a little CB radio and I put 15,000 miles on that car."
Camping out almost every night for three months, Jewell said she went hiking everywhere, from Utah and Colorado to Florida.
"It was in the good old days when you could actually take time off," she laughed.