Many long hours have been spent over the years scouting locations, background, and the position of the Milky Way at those locations. Consideration has to be given to the time of year, moon phase, clarity of the atmosphere and cloud cover. Knowing all this, I marvel sometimes that I have been able to get any decent shots of the night sky at all.
The best time of the year in the Idaho sky has always been late spring. The galaxy arcs across a southeast sky in a manner that allows that stunning arch to cap whatever background finds itself underneath.
The chill is still in the air with a springtime sky and nights have found me crawling back into my tent, hands so numb I was unable to get my shoes untied without the aid of a knife. Gloves? I have them. Camera settings don't adjust well though with a gloved hand. Small price to pay for the shots that create scenes that few people witness.
Miles hiked, lonely hours sitting, many times at the edge of 800 ft drop-offs, equal hours postprocessing, misfocused frames, things that go bump in the night, the cold, the damp: prices gladly paid for the rarest of results.