A Yurt for All

SEELEY LAKE - A mere five-minute drive from town, a myriad of carefully groomed Nordic ski trails rests peacefully. The trees spread their shady arms and Pyramid Mountain stands majestically above. Soon that peacefulness at the Seeley Creek Nordic Ski Trails will be pierced by the sound of swishing skis over bright white snow and the laughter of children.

Every year, Seeley Lake residents and visitors look forward to this easy-access, affordable form of recreation. Last year, a new addition to the trails-a warming yurt-has made the Nordic skiing experience even better.

Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS), a nonprofit organization that strives to bring recreational opportunities to Seeley Lake, raised funds and built a yurt at the ski trails. Last fall, with the help of many skilled volunteers, they built the platform and put up the yurt for the first time. In the months following that, people used the yurt as a place to warm up after a long ski, to wait for friends or family members still out on the trails, to connect and have conversations with new friends and to use it as a place of learning. Classes in grades K-8 (as well as the ski team) visited the trails and the yurt every week through the winter.

Throughout the ski season, as I came up to lock the yurt at the end of the day or stopped by to stoke up the fire, I would take a peek at the guestbook. The yurt drew in skiers from all over the country, and we even had international visitors. I would sometimes meet a family having lunch in the yurt, and we would share a friendly conversation about skiing, the beauty of Montana and what we do for a living.

There were countless interactions just like mine that would not have happened if it hadn't been for the yurt. People would scuttle over to their car, crank up the heater and drive back home. Now we have a place to meet each other and make memories.

Even more meaningful to me are the memories I made with the third grade students I taught last year. In the warmth of the yurt, with a fire burning in the stove, I read "Owl Moon" and taught them about the changing seasons with an apple and flashlight to model as the Earth and sun. We learned which animals migrate, hibernate or adapt when the season changes from fall to winter.

I took my students, who ranged from experienced skiers to complete novices, out on the trails to learn the lifelong sport of cross-country skiing. The look on their faces as they were challenged with explaining and modeling how the seasons change was priceless, and the sound of their laughter when they kept falling and getting right back up will ring in my head until my final days.

All of these opportunities for making memories and connections would not be possible without the continued support and cooperation of the U.S. Forest Service, the Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Club, and the staff at Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE). Rachel Feigley, Seeley Lake Ranger District's new district ranger, and her staff have worked closely with Seeley Lake ROCKS to ensure rules are being followed and the yurt is used responsibly.

The Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Club has supported Seeley Lake ROCKS by helping with the opening of the yurt in the mornings and stoking up the fire during the day. The Ski Club also has shared part of their donations with Seeley Lake ROCKS, in recognition that the yurt has drawn increased numbers of skiers to the trails, and has shared their Forest Service special use permit with Seeley Lake ROCKS. The staff of Seeley Lake Elementary has been very cooperative about leaving the yurt in a cleaner condition than when students arrived and leading students who represent SLE in a positive light.

Monday, Oct. 19, about 10 volunteers helped put the yurt structure back up in preparation for the winter ski season. (Seeley Lake ROCKS, in agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, took the yurt structure down in the spring of this year to minimize the risk of vandalism and align with special use guidelines.) The process went much faster than last year since many of the volunteers had experience putting the structure up the year before.

When I joined in to help after my teaching was done for the day, it was a great sight to see community members of all beliefs, backgrounds and political views come together and work on a huge task. By 5 p.m. that evening, the main structure was up and the only remaining work will be to clean and re-seal the floor. Seeley Lake ROCKS plans to purchase a stovepipe extension to help with the efficiency of its wood-burning stove. We look forward to the memories, connections and learning opportunities this yurt will provide in the new ski season to come.

Will you come out and connect with others at the yurt this winter? Instead of heading to your car to get warm, we hope you will stop by the yurt and sign the guestbook. Let Seeley Lake ROCKS know what you think and any suggestions you may have. You may meet a new life-long friend or someone who can give you advice on the latest and greatest skis to buy. You never know what can happen! We hope you do know that the yurt is a place for all people, including you.

Kelsi Luhnow has been a third grade teacher at Seeley Lake Elementary since 2009. She is the secretary of Seeley Lake ROCKS, and is an avid Nordic skier. She also coaches soccer and Nordic skiing.