Elk Butte

On Top of the World

Tranquil wind, biting fresh cool air in a brand new winter’s day, I sit on Elk Butte feeling on top of the world. Not a thing superior to me for miles around it seems. Or am I just feeling like everyone else that comes to this spot?

Nestled back just on the outskirts of the wilderness sits a small little town at the end of highway six with a mammoth of a mountain, Elk Butte. From on top the views seem to make time stop. My heart races from the impact of God’s work of art. Wondering if I am able to see the end of the earth, I spin frantically gazing into Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. The ice cream covered mountains that have been pummeled with this winter’s devastating snow come into focus in the abyss. Clouds seem to float like cotton balls suspended in the air. Birds of all kinds drift with the ease of the morning’s cool breeze. An abundance of animals frolicking through nature, without a care in the world, are getting the last bit of their day’s duties behind them. Looking down at the town, people scurry around like ants on a mound. The tiny buildings swallow the people as they enter.

Flashes, like a thousand cameras, sparkle from the reservoir below. The sun coming up from the east sends out an array of colors, letting the moon know it’s time to sleep. As I look around, the magnitude of such a sight is almost too much to take in. I have to be on top of the world.

At 6000 feet, the sheer rock cliffs send shivers up my spine, telling me I’m too close to the edge. I realize just what a small speck I am on the great mountain. As I close my eyes, the smells hit me like a freight train.

Winter is in the air. Pine trees and wild flowers that used to consume the air as potpourri are now without scent and covered in snow. The slight stench of oil and exhaust from the logging operation below give me a sense of reality that human life is present on my mountain. The Elk know the presence of winter and start sending out their own perfume. Urine, like men’s aftershave, attracts the female cows still in heat. The sharp, overwhelming smell of urine wakes me up as if I was just revived after being knocked out. After weeding through the cologne, I get to the damp smell of the fresh snow on the ground. Feeling like I’m in heaven, the air shakes with the sound of a thundering elk herd.

Without worry of what is in their path, the herd tramples across the overgrown clear-cut, snapping trees, branches, and decimating untainted patches of snow. In record time, the racket fades off with the distant herd. Nature is restored with the singing of swallows, robins and camp robbers. A small creek splashes and trickles in the distance. The never-ending distraction of the thousand chipmunks that never seem to enjoy the peace and quiet, even bring a smile to my face. I take a deep breath and soak it in.

In my trance, it occurs to me: my seemingly endless time on the top will come to an abrupt end. Once again the little people shove life back into focus. The real world jumps back into my empty head. Thoughts race like the traffic steadily approaching, down highway six, to the hub of real life and serenity, Elk River.

Not too far from the busy hustle of the society I live in day to day, is this wonderful place. I come to let the troubles, worries and stresses of my life take a break for the moment. I realize my life is just a small part of the things that go on around me daily. When I sit back and take in all of the views, smells and sounds I have just experienced, I am firmly convinced this is the most amazing place on earth. I accept the fact I’m not on top of the world, just a humbled soul that needs to get back to reality.

03/03/2010 06:53 AM