West Fork of Pine Creek Coeur d'Alene National Forest, Idaho

The calendar's flipped and it's time to get the 2020 backpacking season started. The previous year was a banner year for the wanderers and we're looking to get this season started on the right foot. We're heading into an area that's new to us but still right in our backyard. Well we're here in West Fork of Pine Creek. First trip of 2020. I'm glad we're on this snowmobile trail now because it was a little tough going at first. It's a lot of snow back here, happy to be out. Our new favorite secret weapon, gotta make a couple hammock spots here, but this is camp. Well we've got camp set up, got a fair amount of wood, the leaf stakes are on the menu. Got some good looking broths for tomorrow too. Really nice spot here, I'm very happy with it. There's a good three feet of snow here, but it's getting on about fire time. That's right, I've got him a new big boy hammock. Well kind of winding down here for the night. Fire's been excellent, had a good steak. Can't ask for a better start to the season, but this trip's not over. Tomorrow is supposed to snow and Sunday's be pretty good. Well good morning, snowing on us here this morning. Started out with sunny skies, but now it's snowing. We had a visitor this morning, guy trapping up here, it was his snowmobile trail we came in on yesterday. Came into camp this morning, had a little chat, nice guy, definitely gonna need some more wood. We just got the fire restarted, who knows with the snow like this it might be an all day affair. We'll see how it goes. It was good to be out. We settled into the rhythms of being in the wilderness once again. It had warmed up the night before and the snow that was in the trees started to let loose and fall to the ground. There were a couple times in the night where I was wondering if my tarp would hold up to all of the abuse that the snow was throwing at it. It held up though, and we made it through. After a lazy morning, it was time to think about getting out of there. The sun was trying to break through and it was a beautiful morning. Although in the trees where our gear was, it meant that it was straight up raining. It was going to be a very cold and wet pack up. Eventually our gear was packed up and it was time to start walking. With my hands still numb, we hit the trail and headed back to town. Well, we're here on our last hike out. Just over a mile to go. It is warmed up. It is clear and beautiful. What a great trip. What a great way to get the season started. This is right in our backyard too. Boy, we have a lot of these great spots right here. That's why I call it a paradise. I can tell it's the first trip of the year. I'm tired. We're on our single track now and this is a lot harder than the snowmobile track. But this is definitely the home stretch. We're almost there.