Hike Craters at sunrise. Paddle Meadow Lake on a Tuesday. Fish Tincup at last light. Sleep in the backcountry. Sit high in the country. Eat trailside. This is how we find a way to enjoy our natural resources with the ever-growing crush of crowd that’s staying rather than passing through.
These new faces around town made me realize one major reality early on in the pandemic. We knew where to be all along. It didn’t take a global sickness to set our priorities straight. Now others are trying to right their worlds by moving into our world and Idaho is quickly changing its tune from, “Look what we have,” to “Look what we have to protect.”
Our natural resources are one of the major, if not the major, reasons most of us thrive here. Idahoans have always known our saving grace is not in the city. It’s in our rivers and ridges.
As newcomers experience our wild West, we’ll have to change more than our tune. We’ll have to change our plans too. To stay ahead of the herd, hike Craters before breakfast instead of lunch. Lakes have water on weekdays so float them after work instead of on Saturday. And try unknown fishing holes no one else is hooking up with.
There are still ways to get away. You just have to find a way. Skip the campground. Climb higher. Eat on a log instead of a picnic table. Our Idaho still has what we forevermore seek. Our advantage is we’ve known that all along. Let the newbies learn. The solace we seek outside could be their saving grace too.
May we all find a way this summer.
Kris Millgate