This photo was an hour and a half into my ski out Lick Creek Road near McCall. The view is to the south of Boulder Mtn and the Shaw Twins.
At the bottom of the photo you can see the tracks of the ever present snowshoe hare. And the flakes were falling fat and silent.
My pup loved the chance to get out although he kept looking at me with what looked like his thought pf "I'm pretty sure he's lost it this time, but this is fun". The road had been driven by a cat so it made for easy going. The experience on this road in the winter is not usually this peaceful, but I was early enough that the 'bilers weren't out yet. This is a very popular spot for snowmobilers to access the backcountry. The north side of the road is all closed to motorized winter travel and the right side is open to motors. On my way out I met a couple of sled access skiers, nice guys, who were scouting for a winter camping trip later in the season. They planned to ride in several miles past Brown's Pond and drop the sleds and skin into the forest and up the South Fork of Lake Fork Creek. That is an area I would love to spring ski into and summit Boulder for some good corn turns. The sunrise over Little Payette was awesome on my way back to the family. It was only a few hours but it changed my whole day.
To learn more about backcountry skiing near McCall check out the Central Idaho Recreation Coalition's website.
