Climbing mountains, step1: Go up! And on into the skyline went these kids, the heat of August and a hint of creek-side looming; these kids went up! Sometimes making sharp turns, sometimes with a footpath of cobbles, but always up until the Clark Fork became recognizable and the delta flats feeding Lake Pend Orielle faded into the long stretch of water reaching southerly into greater Idaho.
A lunch-out with a view well earned by a can-do group of kids!
Near the trailhead kids lingered at the creek learning the important stuff, like how sticks look like hammers, and how hammers pound sawdust from rotton ol’ logs, and that the river gurgles and sputters sometimes like a not-too-distant language, and its true that plants with big, beautiful leaves have sometimes terrible thorns, and how under a single 1-foot-long section of log 4 different families of insects make homes, and the trick to skipping a stone is really just one more try away…
And while we are here discussing the fruition of this nostalgic trail, I would like to recognize and give thanks to all those good people who have worked so hard so make its current rehabilitation a success! Last weekend, a solid core of dedicated individuals saw through the final cut of this new route honoring the historic Star Peak. A lot of grit and grind goes into building trails through thin soil and rock scree! Volunteers, your work will be appreciated by visitors for years to come. Thank you so much for all your compassionate labor!!! Star Peak All-Stars: remember to join us for the final ribbon-cutting trailhead excavation and signage early this fall. Look for details to be announced or contact Sandy@scotchmanpeaks.org.
Learn more about making a difference toward sustaining our recreational trails in the Scotchman Peaks proposed wilderness, and read on about our Challenge Grants award potentials … https://www.scotchmanpeaks.org/cinnabar-challenge-grant-2014-update/
Thanks for catching up, Friends! I truly hope you have been enjoying this summer’s festivities. And I hope you all had a chance to make it to this years’ Huckleberry Festival, or that you will find a way to attend this 2014 Bonner County Fair (and enjoy our local renditions of OZ!!!). And of course I hope friends from all walks of this region are finding an easy release at this years’ Festival at Sandpoint.
Don’t forget to secure reservations for this autumn’s remarkable evening cruise down the Clark Fork, celebrating and supporting this wilderness land that is our home’s very own Scotchman’s Peak. Come set sail with us on this three-hour tour, seeking out the crepuscular life alive in the foothills of the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. For more information visit: https://www.scotchmanpeaks.org/
