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youre coming from the NORTH CASCADES, because you dont have good enough mountain access? what am i missing here?
you honestly might be a little too entitled to find a place you actually like tbh. what a ridiculous list of demands...
the bitterroot didnt have enough forest and lakes for you??? LOL!!!! surrounded on three, actually five, sides by rugged mountains, national forest, and wilderness.
are you trolling or what?
I don't live in the NC > but that is the wilderness area we love and spend most time in > remote and wild. It is almost impossible in winter due to access. We are hoping to utimately relocate out of WA/OR at least part time. The list of "demands" is flexible. I am not entitled but the reality is the whole PNW area is overpopulated for us. I do love the bitterroots! it is just too dry. We just came back from that area. Alaska and possibly SW CO to a degree.
Driggs Idaho is further east than your initial target area but it is a combo of fairly cool mountain town and great wilderness access. Pretty lush.
Preston Idaho is another spot that could work for some. Access to Logan UT metro for work and other stuff.
You indicate a desire to leave WA. Ever consider Winthrop WA? You also indicated interest in Wallowas. Joseph OR might be a reasonable fit with criteria too.
I’ll be making another trip to visit north MT and north of Sandpoint. I love the wilderness of Canada, but am in position to relocate there. Are the Purcells mostly north of Bonners and in Canada?
I’m going to possibly consider SW CO but probably not full time.
Thank you!
The Purcells are mostly in Canada but extend into NW MT...though at much lower
elevations 7,000 to 8,000 feet, compared to over 11,000 feet in BC...
They are part of the Columbia Mountains ..which include Monashee, Cariboo and Selkirk Mountains...all famous for Heli-skiing....
the western slopes features the only "inland" temperate rainforest in the world,
lower elevations with thick stands cedar and hemlock...
depending on elevation, "three zones"...rainforest...snow forest...
and above 7,000 feet ...no forest....The Selkirk Mountains also extend into northern Idaho,
....Bonner's Ferry ...Priest Lake areas.
Flathead Lake itself (along with Whitefish and Eureka) is located in the "Rocky Mountain Trench" and very wide flat valley which it extends north for about 1,000 miles to the Liard River near The Yukon and NWT borders with BC.
Driggs Idaho is further east than your initial target area but it is a combo of fairly cool mountain town and great wilderness access. Pretty lush.
Preston Idaho is another spot that could work for some. Access to Logan UT metro for work and other stuff.
You indicate a desire to leave WA. Ever consider Winthrop WA? You also indicated interest in Wallowas. Joseph OR might be a reasonable fit with criteria too.
We do love that area, but do you think a business would thrive there? I actually know an Arborist I could talk to who lives in that area. We go to Winthrop pretty often to recreate - it is nice to visit but pretty isolated for work, although I have a few friends who live there. I am hoping to find a more laid back area that is more "live and let free"
You're right....the tree line is much higher in Colorado ...about 11,500 ft
for SW Colorado.
The San Jaun Mountains are great.
Telluride is the best but is expensive ...Tom Cruise and Oprah have/had homes there.
If sticking to Montana ...I would look at Eureka....on HWY 93 near just south of the
Canada (BC) border...like another poster already mentioned ...SE BC has the "alpine" mountains the OP is looking for....Purcell Mountains Wilderness Reserve...
the Purcell Mountains are like the North Cascades but on steroids...
has true alpine lakes well above the tree line ...like Cobalt Lake, very scenic...
and if you are a mountain climber...."The Bugaboos" are world class.
Thank you! We are going to check out SW Colorado and Tahoe/Reno on the NV side this fall. How familar are you with these areas? I love the San Juans! Do you think a small business could thrive there? I'd love to live around Ridgway but again its expensive. The Bugaboos is what I am looking for!
The Purcells are mostly in Canada but extend into NW MT...though at much lower
elevations 7,000 to 8,000 feet, compared to over 11,000 feet in BC...
They are part of the Columbia Mountains ..which include Monashee, Cariboo and Selkirk Mountains...all famous for Heli-skiing....
the western slopes features the only "inland" temperate rainforest in the world,
lower elevations with thick stands cedar and hemlock...
depending on elevation, "three zones"...rainforest...snow forest...
and above 7,000 feet ...no forest....The Selkirk Mountains also extend into northern Idaho,
....Bonner's Ferry ...Priest Lake areas.
Flathead Lake itself (along with Whitefish and Eureka) is located in the "Rocky Mountain Trench" and very wide flat valley which it extends north for about 1,000 miles to the Liard River near The Yukon and NWT borders with BC.
I meant to say am not in a position to relocate to Canada at this moment. Do you feel like Sandpoint area has the accessability we are looking for? We are used to having so many options of mountain ranges and eco-systems in the Cascades. Driving hours to recreate is soul crushing and we are forced to get away from crowds, althought do not mind for longer trips. How different is Tahoe/Reno compared to Cascades? I have not spent much time in the Sierras.
I spent a couple months in Minden, NV (a few minutes south of Carson City) for work a few years ago. Carson City/Reno/Tahoe are nice outdoorsy areas with enough city, but especially a lot of touristy, things to do. Not just the big (or small) casinos, but shopping, dining, skiing, boating, historic tourist towns (Virginia City), etc. The forests are not as dense as the Cascades, more like the ones in Eastern Oregon/Washington, or even Western Montana. You have access to Yosemite NP from the east side that is pretty close by. But, there are a lot more people in the area, 250K in Reno alone, so maybe another 100K with Carson City and smaller towns around. Then it's only a four hour drive from San Francisco to Reno or Lake Tahoe, and you can guess the numbers of people that flock there at certain times. It might be a great place to setup a business, but not a great place if you want to get away from it all in a densely forested wilderness.
I spent a couple months in Minden, NV (a few minutes south of Carson City) for work a few years ago. Carson City/Reno/Tahoe are nice outdoorsy areas with enough city, but especially a lot of touristy, things to do. Not just the big (or small) casinos, but shopping, dining, skiing, boating, historic tourist towns (Virginia City), etc. The forests are not as dense as the Cascades, more like the ones in Eastern Oregon/Washington, or even Western Montana. You have access to Yosemite NP from the east side that is pretty close by. But, there are a lot more people in the area, 250K in Reno alone, so maybe another 100K with Carson City and smaller towns around. Then it's only a four hour drive from San Francisco to Reno or Lake Tahoe, and you can guess the numbers of people that flock there at certain times. It might be a great place to setup a business, but not a great place if you want to get away from it all in a densely forested wilderness.
is it as busy as the Flathead or Cascades areas? We would live in a more rural/actual mountainous town (not hills lol). I will have to ask on a few climbing pages. We haven't spent much time there or in the Sierras. Any suggestions on towns where we don't have to drive 2 hours to snowmobile? I'm sure it is no different than Seattle area where everyone goes to the same places lol. CA is way too regulated, is NV leaning in the same direction?
Northern Utah is ideal for accessability, but is it much larger than we want. We just need to live where there are forests because we are arborists > people don't like to pay for services because it is costly but aren't all contractors? Where are you located? It would be nice to have some sun in the winter vs overcast all season Thank you for taking the time out of your day to reply!
Tahoe will have many popular spots that are much much busier than the north Cascades or the Flathead. Less used spots are available too if you look for them.
Small living spots near Tahoe include Truckee, Graeagle (northwest of Tahoe City, near Lakes Basin Recreation Area) or up the Carson Valley (southeast of South Lake Tahoe) to Woodfords or beyond to Markleeville.
Usually very heavy snow "in the mountains". (Truckee below Donner Pass). Surely snowmobiling nearby but I haven't looked for specifics. Sierras right around Lake Tahoe are not that tall. 8-9k peaks with a pretty high base. Some 10k off of SE corner.
Sierras have a lot in common with Cascades. Whether to call them parts of the same chain, I hesitate, not knowing the geology in detail. Same chain, "sisters" or "cousins". Dense forests, sub-alpine and alpine lakes. Climbing in spots. Some rivers and lots of feeder creeks..
Minden / Gardnerville and outlying areas add up to a lot of people / potential business. 50k in Douglas County. Pretty old average demographic. Folks with money to spend on construction and landscaping. Established or new arrivals.
Is there enough business in small spots? Depends on how many are already there and how good / fair / regarded they are. How far you'd be willing to travel for jobs closer to heavier populated hubs is also part of the equation to figure out.
If Reno / Tahoe area is too busy even on the edges, maybe consider satellites of Mammoth Lakes like June Lake (or near it) or "Tom's Place". Or the nearest mountain area to Bishop (lots of bouldering there and a popular winter hang for some hardcore climbers). Peaks in immediate region to 13k for summer (or the extended winter, if into and competent for that).
Tahoe will have many popular spots that are much much busier than the north Cascades or the Flathead. Less used spots are available too if you look for them.
Small living spots near Tahoe include Truckee, Graeagle (northwest of Tahoe City, near Lakes Basin Recreation Area) or up the Carson Valley (southeast of South Lake Tahoe) to Woodfords or beyond to Markleeville.
Usually very heavy snow "in the mountains". (Truckee below Donner Pass). Surely snowmobiling nearby but I haven't looked for specifics. Sierras right around Lake Tahoe are not that tall. 8-9k peaks with a pretty high base. Some 10k off of SE corner.
Sierras have a lot in common with Cascades. Whether to call them parts of the same chain, I hesitate, not knowing the geology in detail. Same chain, "sisters" or "cousins". Dense forests, sub-alpine and alpine lakes. Climbing in spots. Some rivers and lots of feeder creeks..
Minden / Gardnerville and outlying areas add up to a lot of people / potential business. 50k in Douglas County. Pretty old average demographic. Folks with money to spend on construction and landscaping. Established or new arrivals.
Is there enough business in small spots? Depends on how many are already there and how good / fair / regarded they are. How far you'd be willing to travel for jobs closer to heavier populated hubs is also part of the equation to figure out.
If Reno / Tahoe area is too busy even on the edges, maybe consider satellites of Mammoth Lakes like June Lake (or near it) or "Tom's Place". Or the nearest mountain area to Bishop (lots of bouldering there and a popular winter hang for some hardcore climbers). Peaks in immediate region to 13k for summer (or the extended winter, if into and competent for that).
We would not like to have to travel far within around 30 mins/give or talk due to gas. is NV just like CA? which WA is a new CA. I liked Northern NV due to the location and it being close to rock climbing for winter although it seems pretty isolated and I do not see myself traveling to any cities in CA. Are any towns on the N Tahoe side? We would like to be closer to wilderness areas and skiing, 30 mins or so. I wonder if its even worth a trip there. I will follow up with the messages. Thanks, NW Crow!
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