During a snow squall of late December, sandstone red slabs are tilted and leaning in the courtyard of the old brick church built in 1664. The inscriptions, faded from the elements are barely readable.  

But the history is obvious, you can feel it. Moss covers parts of the Dutch names like Johanne Van Houten, departed this life age 33 years in 1776. Now rust-colored head stones, some with intricate carvings of angels lie alongside a more recent gray slab dedicated to the officers and men of the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons. These men were slain by British troops as they slept, and this event was known as the Baylor Massacre.

2013 was a tough year for a lot of folks. Many had relatives pass on, or get seriously ill or injured.  Economic hardships are prevalent. A more impersonal world cultivates greater lonliness. On top of it all, maybe your pipes froze and really tried to sink your spirits.

Let’s consider this though. In late December of 1777, Gen. George Washington pulled his troops from New York to Valley Forge, Pa. The valley was named for an iron forge on Valley Creek. The now rag-tag army left a trail of crimson in the snow.  Then Gov. Morris described them as a “skeleton of an army...in a naked, starving condition, out of health, out of spirit.”    

Approximately 12,000 soldiers were greatly aided by the women of those times, although about 3,000 died that winter. Camp followers consisted of the wives, sweethearts, children, mothers and sisters of the soldiers.  

These women provided life-sustaining aid as nurses, laundresses, and gave valuable emotional support. Some lost their lives on the battlefield, trying to obtain goods for the cause from wounded or dead soldiers. Some, no doubt, died while fighting. It is a little known fact that estimates of women in camp aiding the plight of freedom numbered about 500.

It is rumored that sometime between Christmas 1777 and mid-January 1778, Washington was spotted and heard praying on his knees alone. It is said that he prayed to the “God of the armies, beseeching to interpose with his divine aid, for the cause of the country, humanity and the world.”  

According to the testimony of Issac Potts, (original manuscript account Diary and Remembrances of Rev. Nathaniel Randolph — Historical Society of Penn. call number PHI.AM. 1561-1568) Washington was seen in a wooded area and Potts approached quietly. Issac remarked he had never heard such a prayer from the lips of man.  

Somehow, the colonials held out. Baron Von Steuben came in February and began to train the troops.  The Americans won the war, and gave us our freedom. Along with the freedom to pursue happiness.

So, here is one way to look at it.  If the hardships of Valley Forge could not destroy the spirit of the revolution, and those men and women won for us the opportunity to pursue happiness, then by God, we ought to get out there and be happy.

We live in an amazing place folks. There are so many advantageous ways to experience the healing balm of nature. Allow me to list a few activities to pursue in the new year, and recreate alone, or with friends or family.

Turner Mountain downhill skiing is “steep, deep, and cheap.”  

Libby Polar Bears, powered parachutes, snowmobiling and the Libby Sno-Kats. ice skating, cross-country skiing, (groomed trails available at Flower Creek, Bear Creek, Timberline and Flatiron Mountain) and snowshoeing.

Animal tracking and winter birds of prey viewing. Snowboarding styles include free ride, freestyle, free carve and splitboarding. Dogsledding, ice climbing, winter wildlife photography and Nordic skiing.  

How about winter camping, biathlon, or igloo building? Troy Snowmobile Club, ice fishing tournaments and Chain of Lakes through the ice. Kootenai Cross-Country Ski Club, snow tubing or duck hunting. Hikes available through Montana Wilderness Association, Friends of Scotchman Peaks, and maybe an avalanche awareness training from our excellent local search and rescue.

So, fellow Montanans, get out and about and pursue your happiness. Your forefathers and mothers earned you the chance to do it, and the spirit of healing in nature can help you leave the trials and tribulations of the past on the back shelf.  Happy New Year.

(Brian Baxter is an outdoorsman.)