From the huckleberry pie to the mashed potatoes and sometimes even the turkey, Thanksgiving can be a time to be thankful for the food collected from the woods and our gardens.
Sharing the joy of exploring Boundary County is one of the many things I’m thankful for this year.
I find myself thinking of all the things I am thankful for this time of year. This year I’ve been thinking about how thankful I am to live in such a wonderful place with places to go and activities to do outside.
I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of the county’s 1,269 square miles. Each year I make a list of places to go and by the end of the year there are still places left. So I start next year’s list with those places and add more.
With over 350 miles of trails in the county, there is a perpetual “wish list” for hiking. Trails that lead to mountain peaks, alpine lakes and fire lookouts.
I tend to save the lower elevation trails for when the high country is snowy. Then I explore the trails to waterfalls, the Refuge and the wildlife management areas. I still fondly remember the winter we had a few days of perfect conditions for ice skating on the long sloughs and drainage ditches at Boundary Creek WMA.
Of course, Boundary County is dotted with dozens of lakes and some are accessible year-round for ice skating and ice fishing if conditions are right. Some lakes are great for fishing, others for swimming and others for the view. I’ve yet to make it to all the lakes, especially ones that aren’t connected by a trail like Brooks Lake or Cutoff Lake.
Even with over 350 miles of trails, there are numerous ridges, peaks and basins only accessible by going off trail–even the highest point in the county. Our highest point is unnamed on the map and is labeled with 7,709 feet. Located on an unassuming ridge southwest of Fisher Peak, the off-trail adventure is worth the feeling of being the highest person in the county.
I’m thankful that there are “camp sites” tucked along Forest Service roads that offer close access to hiking, creeks and huckleberry patches. Still on my perpetual list is to explore a creek by just wading upstream on a hot summer day.
One of these years, I’ll cross off my list canoeing the entire Kootenai River through Boundary County. I’ve done portions over the last several years but have yet to go from Fleming Creek to Porthill–a slower stretch that allows time to take in the view.
A view of our three mountain ranges, each with their own unique traits–the Selkirks with rocky peaks, the Purcells with rounded ridge lines and the Cabinets with tree-studded peaks. A view of the fertile Kootenai Valley filled with a colorful mosaic of crops in the summer. I always enjoy a drive through the valley any time of year to see the fields and the wildlife.
I’m thankful that the wildlife in our county is plentiful and diverse–from insects to birds to big game. Species that are fun to look at like frogs to species like deer and elk that fill our freezers.
A few years ago I came across a blog that challenged readers to list as many species as they could that lived near their home. Once I started listing birds, trees, wildflowers, insects, mammals and fish, I realized how many species we have in Boundary County that I knew and how many that I couldn’t remember their names.
I’m thankful that each time I go outside, there is a chance of seeing something I haven’t seen before (I’m still waiting to see a blue-tailed skink), of seeing something that racks my brain for its name, or seeing something I can put in the freezer to enjoy all winter long. Time for more huckleberry pie!
