Yurt missing out...

This Valentine’s Day I decided to take my own advice and try number 3 on my “7 Date Night Ideas for the Lame and Uninspired” listicle. And even though Valentine’s Day is over, I would strongly recommend you find a night or weekend and take this trip with your honey or with a group of friends. Seriously, pencil in a date… you need to do this.

The ISU Adventure Center has a variety of different yurts to choose from, but we picked the Catamount because of distance and location.

The trailhead for this yurt started at McNab Rd., which was roughly seven miles out of Inkom. So it literally took us about 30 minutes to get to the trail and another hour to hike into the yurt. In a typical Idaho winter, you would need to snowshoe or ski in, but this year, we walked. The trail was relatively easy, not too steep and not too icy, and the views were incredible.

If you go in the dead of winter, you might want to check out this blog post on Backcountry Adventure Press as they give a better idea of what you can expect with a typical winter snowfall.

The yurt was tucked back into a little patch of pines, and as we approached tattered prayer flags fluttered in the wind. The atmosphere was very peaceful and very relaxing. Honestly, if you just need to find some space and time to breath, this is the trip for you.

But don’t be expecting five-star accommodations. Keep in mind, you’re hiking to a tent in the middle of nowhere. It’s very rustic, but that’s the adventure. You don’t have pillow- top mattresses (or any mattresses for that matter), running water, or electricity, but you do have all the basics.

You have a Coleman stove, a Coleman lantern, 6 bunk beds, a timeworn wood stove, pots and pans and the cutest little wooden chairs I have ever seen. Seriously, they were awesome.

Plus you have an outhouse without a door. It sounds crazy, but you get to do your business on a toilet in the open air, and we found this to be a pretty sweet amenity.

Once we checked out the yurt, toilet and surrounding area we unpacked and started cleaning and organizing, making the yurt our little “home” for the evening. And what a perfect home it was. No cell service, no internet, no interruptions. Just the forest, some shelter, and my best buddy. Oh wait…we did have food. Lots and lots of ridiculously good food.

Now my husband always makes outrageously delicious camp cuisine. It’s a must for us. So this overnight trip was no exception. We didn’t even use the camp stove and we indulged in melted brie with roasted garlic and sundried tomatoes, a sourdough baguette, an anti-pasta plate and steak Oscar with bacon wrapped filets and snow crab. Premade backpacking meals? No thanks.

Other highlights of the trip included, a pre-dinner sunset hike offering amazing views of the valley, a post-dinner starry night hike offering amazing views of the universe, and a beautiful morning hike out offering an amazing view of an owl. Whoooo?

All in all, this trip was perfect for a few reasons. One, it was cheap. Two, we didn’t need a lot of time to prepare for it or to experience it. And three, it was great to get away from everything and really connect with nature and each other.

So call the ISU Adventure Center and book your trip. Stay in a yurt. You won’t regret it.

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