"In the Shadow of the Bitterroots" airs at 8 p.m. on Dec. 1st and 7 p.m. on Dec. 4th on Idaho Public Television.
For the past year and a half, Jay Krajic and myself (Lauren Melink) have been exploring the Bitterroot Mountains from all angles. In the photo above we were hiking in the Selway Crags after camping at Cove Lake. Hiking off-trail through boulder fields is no easy feat!
On the way home from the Selway Crags, we were driving a curvy, dark, dirt road and came across two mountain lions. We just sat and stared at each other for several minutes before they wandered away. Pretty special!
The Selway River is formed from run-off from the Bitterroot Mountains. We spent 6-days rafting down the river and it was on of my highlights of this project. Amazing scenery, great company and perfect weather.
Of course, not everything was perfect in our year and a half production. In this photo I'm wearing my raincoat not because it's raining but because we were being swarmed by mosquitoes. We had left our camp at Kooskooskie Meadows to find another place to eat breakfast with fewer mosquitoes , but they were everywhere.
We also explored winter in the Bitterroots. And let me tell you, they are cold and snowy. You can see the Lochsa River is partially frozen!
And I know sheep don't seem like they'd fit into a show about the Bitterroot Mountains, but we visited Mountain Valley Farmstead in Carmen, Idaho where the owners make sheep cheese at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains.
We even drove across the infamous Magruder Corridor with a couple of adventure motorcyclists! Here were are enjoying a nice campfire after a long day of riding.
Another thing... we climbed Trapper Peak! It's the tallest mountain in the Bitterroots. It might be in Montana, but that just means it provides the best views of Idaho.
The Bitterroot Mountains are truly a special place. There's just something special about such a rugged and remote landscape. Don't forget to tune into the show on December 1st at 8pm and December 4th at 7pm on Idaho Public Television.