The wind has been howling for five straight days, which means that there’s a new soundtrack accompanying me whenever I get up the gumption to go outside: Bob Dylan’s “Idiot Wind.” It’s actually not one of my favorites, and is not particularly “hummable”, but the “idiot wind” lyric certainly resonates on these cold, gray, blustery (to put it mildly!) days. Really, it is an idiot wind out there.
Yesterday I walked around the frozen lake and found a few folks who were doing a good job of enjoying the moment. I particularly admired this guy who’d figured out the perfect way to entertain himself while his buddies waited for the fish to bite.
He’d zip across the ice, then pull his sled pack and do it again, over and over. Gotta love him.
And there was a little fancier version as well:
As for me, I made do with a slower pace and tried to focus on the landscape and the geese and ignore the idiot wind.
Off the Beaten Path: Hikes, Backpacks, and Travels 
Good for that guy to make something good of that infernal wind. I’ve often said it can be a nice day or a windy day but not both. I liked that last photo.
Exactly! My tolerance for the wind did improve a bit when I cut my hair off a few years ago – but not much.
Great post 😀 Love the guy with the red ‘sail’
Me too! Thanks.
I love it when people get creative with their recreational choices. I bet that wind chill was something…
Actually, it’s been pretty warm – in the 40’s, so the wind chill is not as bad as it could be. Doesn’t stop me from complaining, though!
Oh, I feel the same way about the wind. If it’s cold AND windy, my running shoes are staying in the closet.
Add in some freezing rain and it’s a trifecta of miserable-ness!
I once did a 17 mile run in freezing rain with a group of friends. We were miserable. We still talk about that run often. We even banned all 17 mile runs after that, and stick to 16 or 18 milers now. Bad juju.
Ha! Good plan.
I’m just amazed at the frozen lake. It looks awesome; though you can keep the idiot wind.
The lake was pretty cool. It was getting warm, so there was a sheen of water over the top.
Good for you for getting out there. Wind just makes me want to hole up in the house with a cup of tea and a book.
🙂
Very ingenious although it looks pretty darn cold to me! 😉
He was ingenious, wasn’t he?
I keep up with the weather in the Livingston/Bozeman area, and saw that even the Interstate was closed recently due to high wind!
I’m sure that wind-tunnel that is Livingston was just ridiculous. A friend of mine posted a video of the chairlifts going crazy at Bridge Bowl: (let’s see if this works – I’m not sure how to post a video link in the comment section!) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=712579838775110
When we lived in central Wyoming we often heard ourselves say, “It would be a nice day… if the wind wasn’t blowing.” And we said it A LOT. I’m sort of glad I didn’t think of Idiot Wind (wee-und) cuz it would’ve been playing in my head non-stop in the fall. I don’t think we ever got completely immune to it, even after a decade plus.
Now that we are in the Bighorn Basin we get to say, “It’s such a nice day. The wind isn’t blowing.”
The Bighorn Basin – beautiful. Lucky you. And I’m glad it’s a wind-friendlier place, too. Today is sunny and calm, so I’m pretty much over my aggravation.
I have not seen a runner sled like that in decades, nor ever that type of creative use of that sled. Cheers to the impromptu windsurfer.
I remember we put butter on the runners of our sleds to get some extra speed…I wonder if he did that too?
Haha, I think of the Dylan song too when it’s been windy for more than a couple days.
I don’t remember any of the words other than the title – need to look it up and see what he was actually talking about!
Terrific shots, all, but that last one is simply exquisite. They may be Silly Geese, but at least they’re not Idiots! 😉
Ha! Thanks.
The homemade sail on the sled is fantastic! 🙂
I agree!