.jpeg_600.jpg)
Some people rarely spend any time outdoors between Halloween and Easter. Once the first snowflake falls, their only excursion beyond their home might be running from the house to the car and the car to the store or work. If you are unlike me and have a garage you can actually park a car in, then your outside exposure is already cut in half. If you throw in the pandemic, working from home, and food and grocery delivery services, some people may have hardly left their homes at all this winter!
While I enjoy laying on the sofa and messing with my smartphone as much as the next guy, I must admit that I really like doing stuff outdoors around Idaho Falls during the months when nearly everyone else wants to stay indoors. Early spring can be an especially fun time because aside from nasty piles of toxic snow in parking lots, most of the signs of winter are gone here on the flats.
As the days start to warm up, the Riverwalk becomes walkable again and the only thing you need to worry about slipping on is the goose poop.
A short drive out of town will put you out into the forest where winter is still hanging on. The ski hills may be shut down, but only because of a lack of skiers. There is usually plenty of snow late into the spring and even early summer for those hardy skiers willing to hike up! Even out in the desert, a stroll through the lavas will often yield a surprising amount of snow cached away in the shadows. Lava rock is an excellent insulator because of all the air bubbles trapped inside of it. Whenever I drive around and see the old homes built from lava rock, I wonder how cool they must be on a warm summer day.
For those who venture out onto the desert where there isn’t lava rock, it’s really important to make sure that the soil is really dry. I’ve seen lots of vehicles make the mistake of driving out onto the damp desert soil right after the snow melts. The ground looks pretty dry but the moment the tires start to turn it transforms into chocolate pudding. The harder you try to get out the deeper you sink in. You can try to tear up sagebrush to feed to the mud gods in hopes of gaining release, but salvation is highly unlikely. I have seen friends drive out to help extract someone and they in turn also get stuck. Finally, someone shows up with a long enough tow rope to be able to stay on truly dry ground and pull the chain of stranded vehicles out.
Those hoping to squeeze in that last little bit of ice fishing or take a short cut across a frozen reservoir need to exercise extreme caution as well. The ice may appear solid, but looks can be deceiving, especially where springs may be working away at the underside of the ice. In places where the spring runoff starts early, the rising water level will cause the ice to rise and create a gap between the old ice and the shore. The new ice that forms in the margins overnight is far less solid and I’ve seen more than a few trucks and even snow machines go into the drink in the spring.
Eastern Idaho is a wonderful place to get out and enjoy, especially after the combined effects of winter and a seemingly never-ending pandemic. As you head out to try and rejuvenate yourself remember to be careful.
Have adequate gear in case you are forced to spend more time out than you had planned and always let someone know where you are heading. Remember, unless you are carrying a satellite phone or a similar device, there are still plenty of places around here where cell coverage is non-existent. Make sure your brains are still working, especially if your smartphone isn’t.
Click here to read the April issue of Idaho Falls Magazine.