Northern Idaho hike on our anniversary

The next morning was our anniversary and we decided to spend it going on a hike. At first we checked out the recommendation from our airbnb hosts; they advised taking the trails that started from a nearby resort. We drove over there but did not find any trails that seemed like a “real” hike.

So we headed further north for about an hour, and deeper into the mountains. The next trailhead wasn’t actually what we were looking for, but we were anxious to start hiking. A group of people were unloading and John didn’t want to be caught behind them, but meanwhile I wanted to go back to the van for something I forgot (I’m always deciding I want a different pair of glasses or a different hat, or I forgot my walking stick or some darn thing.)

Then we made the mistake of letting Biska off leash with too many people nearby. To our surprise, Biska dashed back down the way we had come and started barking at the people behind us! She never does that. John had her leash and was fairly far up the trail in front of us, while I was running back down the trail trying to grab her by the collar and apologize to the people.

Well, you can see where this is going. We ended up having an argument on the trail on our anniversary! About why we were on a steep, crowded trail when I had specifically not wanted a trail that started off going downhill, and why we let Biska off leash with people around, and why we were in such a big rush and failing to communicate. This whole vacation was having its challenging moments!

We decided to try another trail just a little bit further up the road. We hiked out, got back in the van, drove another few miles and tried the next trailhead.

Whew, third try was the charm. That trail was great and we were the only people on it. It was a beautiful trail.

If you’re wondering why we were the only people on such a beautiful trail while the other one was crowded, it’s because the other one went down to a waterfall. People are total suckers for promised waterfalls. But I grew up in the Pacific NW where spectacular waterfalls are a dime a dozen. John and I are out for the hike itself and not a shrug-worthy destination a mile down a crowded trail.

But by then it was later than we meant to get started, and we knew we were running the risk of being caught by afternoon thunderstorms.

When we got to this river, John didn’t trust Biska to walk across the log. She’s certainly agile enough, but she can be fearless and reckless and has no concept of fast running water. He was afraid she’d jump in and get swept off her feet.

Once I got out on the log, I turned around, looked back at the view and realized the storm behind us was closer than I thought. I decided we needed to turn around.