This week's hike was a bit of a two-fer! I know I have probably mentioned it before, but in North Idaho we tend to have rough winters. However, the last few have been a touch on the mild side, which means we are overdue for a snowpacolypse. Regardless of whether we get buried alive in frozen floof or not, every September I venture down to the restaurant supply store and procure my winter stock of dried goods. There is something so glorious about collecting 50lb bags of flour, rice, onions, and sugar. I am definitely cut from The Little Red Hen cloth, as I like to go into winter with a nice and full larder. You know, cause winter happens every year as my pal 
Anyway, since a couple of friends and I hike every week, we thought we would make an event out of winter larder food stuffs collection and our weekly hike. My favorite bulk foods store is located in Coeur d'Alene, so we decided to just park downtown, go for our weekly stroll, and stop by US Chef's Store (formerly Cash and Carry) on our way out of town. We might have also dropped by Toro Viejo and devoured plates of delectable Mexican cuisine after our hike, but I am neither going to confirm or deny that.
Coeur d'Alene has changed a lot since I was a kid. It's always been beautiful, but it is definitely much more manicured and developed. Everything is, well, gentrified. I tend to find CDA's polishing amusing due to its mining, logging, and homesteading roots, but I can't complain about how well kept the burg is.
A lot of the glistening and fanfare comes from the Resort. The towers of the Resort spear the air next to Tubbs Hill like spires of 1%er heralding. Fancy boats, legions of red geraniums, and miles of boardwalks adorn the grounds of the resort. It's an interesting juxtaposition when one can wander to the edge of such a place and stride up an unruly, untamed mountain.
Tubbs Hill is a 165 acre public land oasis. As soon as you hike up the first crest of the trailhead you are transported into a tranquil patch of North Idaho woodland paradise. Rock bluffs abound with endless views of the glistening blue waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Can you tell I like it there?
Honestly, I like anywhere that is not like its surroundings. Downtown CDA is a growing, trendy place. Sure the Fort Grounds are gorgeous, as is City Beach. The shops lining Sherman Street downtown are full of tempting smells and sights, McEuen Park calls to the playful with all its diversions, but Tubbs Hill, well it's a mecca for the slightly untamed. I don't claim to be a lot, but I am rather and more than slightly feral. I blame that on my mostly wilderness upbringing. Although I am perfectly comfortable and content to traverse the wilds of urban and suburban humanity, I prefer the wild spaces on this planet, and Tubbs Hill is a microcosm of wild for all to enjoy smack dab in the middle of an urban setting.
There are lots of different routes to consider. The Summit Trail, The Fire Road, and the perimeter trail around the circumference of the hill. That's not counting all the little deer trails which pepper the landscape. We walked to to the top of the hill, then as we were chatting and not really paying attention, baled off the side down to the water, before taking the long way around to East Tubbs park and walking back through some quiet Coeur d'Alene neighborhoods to our truck next to the Human Rights Institute.
So, even though things are changing in my North Idaho neck of the woods, I have to admit I left the hike with a big smile on my mug. One, I saw about 50 dogs of all breeds, a thing which always makes me joyful, but honestly it was the awareness of the fact that some of the wonderful things about this chunk of planet that I call home won't be changing any time soon, and Tubbs Hill is one of them...
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken in the author's still petulant that it even spent any time in her blue pant's pocket during that hike iPhone.
