The way my wife rolls her eyes when I talk about it is testament to how much I love the mountain, and to how much time I spend there. I once saw a car parked at a secluded trailhead that had a sticker with an image of a mountain and the text “Take Me to Church.” Amen, brother (or sister - it was a Subaru, so it could go either way). I’m not the kind of person to put stickers on my truck, but I want that sticker.
I’m also not one to evangelize, but I’ll take any opportunity I can to preach the good word of the mountain, because it was there that I discovered who I was and who I was meant to be. Every time I return from a trip, I come back a better man, husband, father, friend, worker, and human. That experience is available to anyone who’s looking for it and willing to pay the price.
We recently did a podcast with a dear friend and fellow member of the "Church of the Mountain," wherein we discussed the benefit of the Idaho outdoors, how to get started discovering them, how to do it safely, and how to take care of this sacred and very fragile gift to which we have access (it’s literally in our backyard). If you’re reading this and you, or someone you know, are interested in getting out there to see what all the hullabaloo is about, you may get something out of it.
So put this magazine down, get out of this chair, and get to church.
Shane Plummer is co-host of The Boise Bubble Podcast (@theboisebubble). He’s an avid outdoor enthusiast and proponent of wildlife and wilderness management and conservation. If you see him and want to talk outdoors, he’d love to swap stories, but don’t do it if he’s with his wife.