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Into the Wild

By Julia Beeson Polloreno

Trek into the Idaho wilderness for a glimpse of frontier life and a taste of mountain living at its finest

THE AMBER GLOW of tiki torches lights a winding path through the ink-black wilderness. The flames dance atop their stems——a firefly’s flicker in a giant forest of pine trees that pierce a twinkling canopy of stars. The rhythmic sound of snow crunching underfoot is punctuated by the periodic rustling of brush——the surrounding wild is teeming with life. Night has fallen in central Idaho’s Ponderosa State Park, and we’re making tracks (in temperatures hovering in the teens) to a gourmet feast in a Mongolian yurt.

In McCall, Idaho——about 100 miles north of Boise——the folks at Blue Moon Outfitters embrace winter by preparing and serving up four-course meals inside a yurt, a round, tent-like dwelling used by nomads in the highlands of central Asia. Everything——equipment, provisions, food——is hauled in and out of the park via sleds pulled by workers on skis. A large box of wine bottles cruises by us en route to the yurt. We pick up the pace. A mile into the park, the yurt appears in a clearing lit only by kerosene lanterns and candles.

Inside, the firelight and a steaming cauldron of mulled wine bathe the space in spicy warmth; colorful Tibetan prayer flags hang from the ceiling. A half-dozen picnic tables are placed throughout the room. In the center, a spread of appetizers is laid out: mango chutney and Brie on crackers, sesame asparagus spears, organic greens with local huckleberries. Dinner is Cornish game hen in pasillo sauce, followed by decadent chocolate Kahlúa cake. And more hot mulled wine. By the time we lace up our snowshoes for the return trip to the park entrance, the tiki torches have all but extinguished. No matter to us, though: The moon is high and bright, like a beacon guiding nomads across the icy tundra . . . or to a waiting Suburban with heated seats.

Home base is the Whitetail Club & Resort. Hugging the now-frozen shores of Payette Lake in McCall, Whitetail sits majestically at 5,000 feet on 1,100 acres of postcard-perfect nature. A colorful piece of McCall history, the property originally opened in 1948 as the Shore Lodge and was purchased by Manchester Grand Resorts (that’s Doug Manchester of the opulent Grand Del Mar Resort and downtown San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt) in 1993. Manchester poured $25 million into a two-year renovation, creating an all-suites luxury resort and club. The result: a classic, European-style mountain lodge that is both upscale and elegant but isn’t afraid of families tracking snow through the lobby.

In fact, McCall doesn’t get more family-friendly than now, during the annual McCall Winter Carnival, which takes place here late January to early February. There’s a Mardi Gras–style parade, vendor area and food court, beer garden, entertainment stages, a plethora of winter games, pony and buggy rides, and a Fourth of July–caliber fireworks display over Payette Lake. A longstanding festival tradition is the snow-sculpting competition, in which entrants (some amateur, many very serious) spend weeks carving out huge ice creations around McCall, a town imbued with Wild West charm. A longtime resident who’s competed for more than 20 years proudly stands before his creation, a life-size family of African elephants. One team has painstakingly re-created Australia’s Great Barrier Reef; another has reconstructed the Taj Mahal.

But the competition doesn’t get any hairier than at another favorite carnival tradition: the Beard & Sexy Leg Contest. Guys compete in a beard-growing contest, with awards for Best Overall, Softest, Longest, Most Colorful and Ugliest. Ladies are encouraged to toss out their razors and join in the fun, too. Seventy-five bucks goes to the gams with the wooliest coat.

WE OPT TO TAKE IN some native wild life of a different breed, and head to the nearby town of Donnelly for a sleigh ride on a wild elk ranch. The Hap & Florence Points Ranch sits on the Gold Fork River, where a wild elk population roams freely. Lyle, a rotund, pink-cheeked fellow in his 40s wearing a hunter’s cap, thick flannel shirt and work pants, invites us onto the horse-drawn sleigh. We take our seat on a hay bale before Lyle snaps the reins and the horses jolt to a slow trot.

Lyle’s great-grandfather settled on this land “before Idaho was a state,” and his family continues to live in communion with the wild elk. Lyle tells a story to illustrate this synergy: When Lyle was a boy, his father left one morning on horseback. When night fell and he didn’t return, a search party was sent out to look for him. They found his dead body on the mountain, surrounded by a dozen elk that had formed a circle to protect the man from scavenging animals after he suffered a heart attack and fell from his horse.

Clearly the elk are acclimated to a human presence in their habitat——the antlers prodding me between the shoulders betray their fearlessness. The hay bales on which we are sitting are quickly diminishing as emboldened elk approach the sleigh to steal mouthfuls of my seat.

They are imposing, regal animals, with velvety coats and chandelier-sized antlers. When a couple of males in the pack (there are dozens assembled) get too aggressive, Lyle calls out to them, and they hastily retreat.

Back at Whitetail, we imbibe more local flavor while sipping a huckletini——a martini made with the juice of local huckleberries. Dinner follows in Narrows, the resort’s fine-dining venue, where executive chef David Campbell crafts dishes showcasing the local bounty. Fuel up on the Nunavet caribou rack with huckleberry compote before hitting the slopes the next morning at nearby Brundage Mountain or one of Tamarack Resort’s 41 powder-perfect runs (adrenaline junkies: Don’t miss the 22-foot super-pipe).

Recover from your day on the mountain with a body treatment at Whitetail spa, where Cindy Dowling blends her own oils, scrubs and creams using all-natural, locally grown ingredients.

The two-hour drive to Boise for the flight home is a picturesque sendoff along the winding Payette River. Passing through the tiny mountain towns, it’s easy to appreciate the beauty of simpler days——a time when people broke bread in yurts and didn’t shave their legs.

If You Go

Southwest Airlines flies direct from San Diego to Boise. Expect a two-hour drive to McCall. Whitetail Club & Resort winter rates range $165-$500 per night; summer weekend rates are nearly double. Visit whitetailclub.com or call 208-634-2244 for package rates and reservations. For information on Blue Moon Outfitters, call 208-634-3111. Hap & Florence Points Ranch: 208-325-8783; hfpsleighrides.com.