By Brett Haverstick
The last time I attempted to hike through the saddle, it snowed heavily, and I was forced to retreat back to the lake and build a fire to warm up. That was September though, and this was July. Rain was in the forecast this go-round, but I was determined to make it over the saddle, and find the other lake nestled in the crags that I’d been staring at on a map for years.
Through hours of rain and chilly winds, I slogged through soaking wet brush and grasses, peered through the fog, and traversed the necessary 2,000 feet in elevation gain. In the late afternoon, I carefully navigated the notch in the mountains, slid down the snow still clinging precariously to the mountain slope from last winter, and made it to the soft, sub-alpine carpet of wildflowers, moss, and rock.
After pitching my tent, I climbed in for a nap and a reprieve from the summer storm stretching across the Bitterroot Mountains and Divide between Idaho and Montana. I didn’t emerge from my small shelter for another 15 hours, as the rains increased, the wind gusts grew, and thunder could be heard in the distance. I passed the time by reading my book, staring at my map, and munching on trail mix. Fifteen hours in a tent can feel like fifteen days, but at least I was warm and dry!
With some morning sunshine hitting the corner of my tent, I unzipped my rainfly and poked my head out at the horizon. Towering mountains engulfed me on all sides, with ribbon-string waterfalls gently sliding down the granite slopes, and a hush of silence and solitude permeating the air—a scene that can only be experienced far from roads and deep in the Wilderness.
I cooked breakfast, and packed up my tent with a sense of excitement. I inspected my map again and set off for a distant peak that would take me 1,000 feet higher into the Bitterroot Divide. A few gray clouds from yesterday’s storm still stretched across the sky but the skies to the east were clearing, and I felt secure in knowing, or hoping, that the rain had finally passed.
As I approached the peak, the trail was still buried in snow, so I carefully negotiated the boulders and jagged rocks until reaching the crest. The sun faintly penetrated the dramatic granite walls and deep canyon below me, and I was immediately filled with wonder, awe, and inspiration as I stared across the endless sky and into the headwaters of the Lochsa River.
I’m not a praying man, but this was “God’s” country as they say, and standing on that mountain peak, with its pulsating, panoramic views of crag nestled-lakes, wind-swept forests, and profound canyons delivered a peace that seems more difficult to achieve these days. John Muir may have said it best when he eloquently stated, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity….”
After hours of blissful quiet, I put my shoes back on, packed away my book and food sack, and set off for another distant peak further to the north. As I crossed the ridgetop, I thought of the wolverine, the wolf, and the grizzly bear, and what a fine home this must be for them—miles from roads and largely devoid of humans. Wildlife, particularly large carnivores, need Wilderness even more than I do.
For the next few days, I continued to walk peacefully through the unbroken forest and its babbling streams. As I grew nearer to the trailhead at which I started, I reflected on what the land had bestowed upon me the last few days. I was reminded that Wilderness is the deepest love I’ve ever known. We’ve only permanently protected a measly three percent of the Lower 48 as Wilderness, and five percent of our nation’s total land mass when Alaska is included. There are over fifty million acres of roadless wildlands eligible for Wilderness designation on the National Forests alone, and we need to protect these ecosystems before they are lost to the chainsaw, bulldozer, and road grader.
Brett is Wilderness Watch’s membership and development director.
Photos by Brett Haverstick.
105 Comments
Wilderness should never have motor vehicles or any construction vehicles going down them and harming the area as well as scaring the innocent animals that live there. Trails should never be made by anything except people using their tools to make a small trail that will not interfere with the wilderness as a whole. No buildings should every be built in a wilderness. Wilderness is for animals and people to enjoy being out in the woods and not for people or organizations building in it for any reason. We need all the trees we have and more so please don’t damage what we have. Our environment and ecosystem need all the trees we have and more so we can have less pollution and breathe fresh air instead of smog. Thank you.
I really enjoyed your story. I was in the Rocky mountains years ago and it was amazing. There was actually a lake on the side of one of the mountains in Rocky mountain national Park. I get it! when you say God’s country I totally know what you mean. The beauty of nature takes your breath away. Sometimes I wish I lived in the middle of nowhere. I pray that our country’s leaders do not take away the beauty that’s left. Thank you for sharing.
Brett, I love reading what you so eloquently wrote of your experience. You have a good heart for sure . You see and you hear and you feel whereas most people do not. Never stop fighting for these lands and waters and the beautiful animals only home… They have little left from so many horrid wildfires and people destroying everything everywhere. I hate human beings anymore from what they are doing to this once beautiful planet..and our once great USA…. I thank you and the very few who care,,,, who can hear their cries of pain, and death. They are blind and deaf. And stupid. They do not care about anything but money. What is lost forever makes no difference to them. Never change and never stop fighting . You and your organization have my utmost respect. May God bless our animals, our lands and waters, our air and caretakers. May the destroyers answer for everything they do when they face God one day. Bless you and your people and our beloved animals.
Save and protect all wilderness, wildlife, water, trees and nature.
What a inspirational wilderness story!!!
We need the EARTH, it doesn’t need us! Don’t worry about anything from this moment on. Why? We have destroyed our magnificently beautiful spaceship Earth our only Home by greed, ignorance, senseless wars, overpopulation and squandered resources. We have passed the precipice of any hope of saving ourselves from what we have recklessly set into motion, ‘Climate Change’. We have begun the sixth mass extinction of animals caused by homosapien activity. We treat animals as if they have no value, it is we without value. We contribute nothing to our environment we only take. Check out Earth overshoot, that tells it all. Too late…
Brett, you are a better man than I (I’m an 80yo woman). I NEED the wilderness, as you do — but you did it, and my endeavors are in more peaceful land, the Texas Hill Country, where we have a Wildlife Land Management property. The peace and quiet enrich our lives. We MUST protect our public lands from the unthinking trump quest for more oil & gas. It is up to people like you and I, and all the other cogs in the machine, to save what is beautiful and important, for all us animals. I admire your resolve, that you DID this, and your writing is beautiful — you made me SEE was you saw. Thank you.
Please save our wildlife and protect our national treasures
I agree! We’ve got to save the Wilderness! The natural, pristine beauty, the fauna & flora, the clean water, the valuable trees (that give oxygen) can never be replaced once they’re gone! Wildlife also needs a place to live & thrive! Trump doesn’t value Wilderness at all! He wants to exploit it & destroy it for profit! When you Worship Money, apparently you can never get enough of it! You don’t care who & what gets hurt in the endless pursuit of the Almighty Dollar!
Need more wilderness and less development!
It looks like a lot of fun and beautiful.
It is so beautiful
Please protect the existing wilderness area and expand it as much as possible for public preservation.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Sometimes, words don’t come close to describing what one feels when out in nature, especially in real wilderness. We must continue in our fight to protect what is left, for all living things, plant and animal alike. It is all interconnected.
Thank you for all your wonderful content and all the work you do to protect our wilderness.
It is of utmost importance that more areas in the U.S. be designated as wilderness. Wilderness nourishes the human soul while protecting wildlife.
We ALL need wildlife and wild places to thrive
That is one heck of a story you and all the other WW staff are true wilderness icons love that you were doing peaks. Thats what I do when I go wilderness trekking you get on a summit of a peak and nothing but wild country as far as you can see.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read our blog, and leave a comment! I appreciate all that you do for Wilderness and the wildlife that call it home. See you on the trail one day!
Thank you for celebrating this special place!
We need to protect these ecosystems before they are lost to the chainsaw, bulldozer, and road grader. – These are true words and the landscape doesn’t have to beautiful for it to matter, though it IS.
No, what matters is Every single ecosystem impacts every other ecosystem, and every loss Counts. Save Nature, Save Humanity, and Save the Wild, Beautiful Face of the Earth.
Stop killing Nature!
Thank you for the story. No substitute for being there but real close.
I grew up in the Bitterroot Valley in gorgeous Montana-in the 1970’s-so i was privileged to be there before the massive invasion of outsiders looking to escape what they created elsewhere-turning our valley into that they tried to escape from (Glacier International Peace Park is now a huge nasty noisy polluted traffic jam for one example) and i have hiked up to the St. Mary’s Mountain fire lookout along with many canyons and i longingly gazed at the selway-bitterroot wilderness with awe and i can only imagine how amazing a journey through that rough country is.
Thanks for the share invigorating memories i cherish of growing up with this wilderness in my backyard that i will always be connected to regardless of how the invading human animals continue to control manipulate and destroy it especially by the eco-disastrous environmentally killing wildlife murdering polluting ridiculous Fourth Reich Cult members of TRUMPLER….May KARMA SERVE THEM ALL…
We need to protect these ecosystems before they are lost to the chainsaw, bulldozer, and road grader. – These are true words and the landscape doesn’t have to beautiful for it to matter, though it IS.
No, what matters is Every single ecosystem impacts every other ecosystem, and every loss Counts. Save Nature, Save Humanity, and Save the Wild, Beautiful Face of the Earth.
We need to do all we can to preserve these ecosystems and be stewards of the environment for future generations.
protect wilderness
We must preserve our wild spaces. They cannot be replaced.
The current attack on our remaining wilderness is absolutely unconscionable. We are given “reasons” saying we need more minerals, oil, gas, fossil fuels, but that isn’t true. Another lie so the mega wealthy can line their pockets with profits by decimating our remaining wilderness! Wilderness destroyed can never be fully restored. Our planet needs fewer fossil fuels and immediate support for green energy. Instead, portfolios of billionaires swell, while the planet suffers.
Protect our wilderness,
our. wildlife’s habitation.
Rachel Magnavite
Advocate for Wildlife
Leave Mother Nature alone
We need to take better care of what is left of our environment, for wildlife marine life, plant life, and people.
True wilderness is protection of all living things, all species, trees, water. If they don’t exist, we don’t exist either. The environment is being attacked from all fronts- reckless state and federal policies. We must stay vigilant and speak out.
Protect wilderrness. We all need a safe place to live including all the plant and animal species that the republicans and billionaires are trying to exterminate.
These lands can be lost forever. God is not creating more wilderness and animal and plant species. Stop playing God and killing these things forever for short term profit. Your children will thank you.
In a democracy under our constitution we the people have a right to share in this decision making. A small handfull of corporations and billionaires are not allowed to make these decisions for us. Follow the laws of this country. Do not close your eyes and sell out to an illegal felon pretending to be a King. We are watching what you do.
It is imperative that we protect the flora, fauna and the wild ecosystems they thrive in order to ensure a better future where people and nature thrive and coexist.
None of us can survive, much less live, without a healthy planet.
Every single ecosystem impacts every other ecosystem, and every loss Counts. Save Nature, Save Humanity, and Save the Wild, Beautiful Face of the Earth.
Protect the planet.
You should care about the environment and the creatures that inhabit those spaces. You will lose billions of dollars from tourism if you destroy the very things that people come to see and experience.
It’s a shame so little can be protected on the current budget.
We need to protect these ecosystems before they are lost to the chainsaw, bulldozer, and road grader. – These are true words and the landscape doesn’t have to beautiful for it to matter, though it IS.
No, what matters is Every single ecosystem impacts every other ecosystem, and every loss Counts. Save Nature, Save Humanity, and Save the Wild, Beautiful Face of the Earth.
Love Mother Nature!
Thank you and the team for all your hard work and dedication fighting to educate and protect this beautiful planet.
Stunning photographs! Our poor, poor planet is much too close to the tipping point for us to be enacting policies that will only serve to push her over the edge. We must preserve whatever precious little pristine wilderness remaining and re-wild much of that stolen from the animal nations.
Please save and preserve all wilderness and animal species.
There are too any examples in history when humans have wrongly decided that certain resources are unlimited. We don’t need another example. Our wilderness areas are too precious for so many reasons. Let’s preserve them, while we can.
Please protect the wilderness and the wonderful array of animals that live in it. Posterity deserves so much better than what we are giving it now.