Boulder Falls Trail…A Remembrance

As reported in The Daily Camera The City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department has decided to indefinitely close the popular Boulder Falls Trail after finding it too expensive to fix the area’s rock-fall danger. This historic spot near the confluence of the North and Middle Boulder Creeks was given to the City of Boulder by Charles G. Buckingham in 1914 for recreational purposes, hence “saving this beautiful spot from the encroachment of the great tungsten boom.” It is the furthest, shortest, most visited and most spectacular trail in the 130 miles of the Boulder trail system. In addition to it’s natural beauty the easy access from Boulder Canyon’s SR 119 made this the place to meet and greet people visiting and admiring Boulder from all over the world. I will miss this place.  If any of you are interested in exploring public or corporate fund raising for a solution to reopen this Trail please post your comments.

Fortunately I was able to capture this panorama from the base of the Falls last summer before the closure…

Boulder Falls
captured 30 June 2008 2:00 pm

@ 40° 0′20.44″N 105°24′22.77″W

Boulder’s Bears Get Drowsy

I admit to a weakness for bears. Maybe it’s because my urban childhood was filled with cute and fatherly images of Teddy and Smokey. It wasn’t until I moved here to Boulder Colorado that I saw a real bear and now I’m delighted to see them every fall. I still think they are pretty cute but not at all fatherly as the males have no role in raising cubs.

It was during my hike up the popular Mesa Trail from the Chautauqua Trailhead yesterday that I noticed a few excited folks acting like paparazzi photographing three black bear near the junction with the Bluebell Baird Trail. This mother and her two cubs seemed pretty sleepy and not at all concerned about having their pictures spread all over the blogosphere. Unaware hikers on the McClintock Trail came within 50 feet of a chubby cub fast asleep splayed across a tree branch. I was somewhat surprised to see these bears after our big snowstorm last week but I guess the return of warmer temperatures brought these drowsy Ursus americanus out from their den for another look around. Black bears are not true hibernators. During their winter dormant period they do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate, but may wake up if disturbed.

Here are some photos of the event…

Paparazzi Photograph Bears

Drowsy Mom and Her Cub Watch Humans

Bear Cub Sleeps on Tree Branch

Black bears are amazing animals. To learn more about them you can check out The North American Bear Center and National Geographic websites.

A Fall Color e-Hike on Boulder’s South Side

After leaf peeping around Colorado’s high country I returned to one of my favorite places for fall color: Boulder’s South Mesa Trail. Now is the time to go to this magnificent place with your camera and a dog. While there are no aspens here, the sumac are bright crimson and the grasses and shrubs are rusting. Since the impending snow and cold will soon end the visual fireworks I went out to capture some pixels and to take a 3.5 mile virtual tour. Please join me.

To get to the trail head we go 1.7 miles west of Highway 93 (South Broadway) on Eldorado Springs Drive (Highway 170). The GPS coordinates are 39°56′19.56″N  105°15′29.56″W. It’s a spectacular drive as you head west towards Eldorado Canyon and the State Park. The trails are mostly dog friendly and a Boulder Voice and Sight green tag permits your dog to let you off leash in many places. On-leash areas are well marked and should be observed to protect wildlife and not tick off the bears and Rangers. I recommend printing the OSMP Circle Hikes Guide for a map and helpful information about regulations.

 

This trail head area has everything: pit toilets, streamside benches, beaches and picnic areas…

a little ditch for little dogs…

and a big creek for big dogs…

The trails from here provide sweeping mountain and prairie vistas as well as a rich cultural landscape.  Click on this link for a Cultural Resources Map  provided by Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department.

Mandy and I started our hike by crossing the bridge over the South Boulder Creek…

once over the Creek we  followed the Homestead Trail west past the Dunn House  (at moonset)…

Soon the trail heads north leaving the South Boulder Creek to cross a wide valley where the view west reveals Eldorado Canyon and the southern foothills…

 Climb the steps up the mesa…

where  forest views give way to spectacular foothill vistas …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandy appreciates Boulder’s convienent trailside water bowls…

After 1.1 miles we reach the junction of the Towhee and Homestead Trails…

Follow the Towhee Trail  for .2 miles along the creek toward Shadow Canyon… dog guardians will need to leash up for this stretch…

As we proceed west, the Matron appears at the entrance to Shadow Canyon. This rock is home to raptors and a challenge for climbers (but not at the same time)…

We continued west to the Shadow Canyon Trail. You can free your green tagged pooch since this is a Voice and Sight trail …

Once on this trail I went left (west) about .1 mile to get this photo of the McGilvery Cabin (good location, needs work)…

If you continue west on this trail for another .1 mile it leads to a colorful view of  The Matron. I took this at GPS coordinates °56′39.34″N 105°16′59.81″W…

The Shadow Canyon Trail west connects to the Mesa Trail at two places before continuing up the Canyon. We turned back east here and reconnected with the Mesa Trail in about .3 miles. This wide and level trail gently descends back down to the South Boulder Creek and South Mesa parking lot…

As if providing a visual finale this hike offers spectacular views looking west …

Thanks for the hike!

Boulder Wolfs Host Bears

This time of year in Boulder the black bears get so hungry they drop their shyness and make an appearance where ever they can find a good meal. They are preparing for a long winter of temporary hibernation known as torpor by chomping down about 20,000 calories per day.  Our Open Space trails provide lots of fruit and berries so off I went into the woods to capture some photos of these amazing creatures. It’s pretty easy knowing when you are getting close to a bear from the trail scat. After several days tracking bear poop for my readers my wife called with the news that three bears were hanging out in the locust tree in my front yard! While our trails can be a good source of calories,  our local neighborhoods can be a virtual bear buffet with fruit, berries and some very nice garbage and compost for desert. Here is the story of the three bears that came for an unexpected visit to the Wolf home…

At about 2:00 pm Mom and her two cubs were spotted in our tree:

Mom and Her Two Cubs Arrive (Photo: Wendy Wolf)

After about an hour of aerial gymnastics the folks from Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife decided to tranquilize the sow to get her out of harms way.

Wildlife Crew Attempting to Outwit Mama Bear

They missed and mom took off leaving the cubs at our house.

Mom Takes Off

After a few minutes of heart wrenching crying, the cubs settle down to chew on tree bark and enjoy watching the entertaining humans who have begun to assemble. They are just waiting for Mom to return.

Where's My Mom?

Having parked the kids in our tree Mom proceeds to loot the neighborhood for calories.

Mom Has a Snack (Photo:Karima Gebel)

She tries to come back to pick up the kids but decides it is too risky.

Maybe She'll Pick Them Up Later

At about 5:30pm the cubs scooted down the tree and set out to find mom. I spoke with Larry Rogstad of the Colorado Division of  Wildlife get to the conclusion of this family drama. He told me that after they left my house he followed the cubs back to the tree where they had been earlier that day with Mom. They stayed there until dusk entertaining the humans by playing with branches. They eventually sauntered off in the direction of where Mom was thought to have bedded down for the night. Nothing was heard of them today and this is good news. If they were not spotted in town that means they found their way back to the foothills to live happily ever after…or at least until tomorrow.

Ok Folks, The Show Is Over

Information about living with the  American Black Bear can be found on the Smithsonian National Zoo website. Here are ten fun facts from The American Bear Association:

Black Bears…

1. eat mostly berries, nuts, grasses, carrion, and insect larvae

2.  have color vision and a keen sense of smell

3.  are good tree climbers and swimmers 

4.  are very intelligent and curious 

5.  can run up to 35 miles per hour

6.  weigh an average of 125 to 600 pounds

7.  can go without food, urination and defication for up to 7 months during hibernation in northern ranges

8.  usually give birth to 2 to 3 cubs during the mother’s sleep every other year

9.  can live over 25 years in the wild (average age in the wild is 18)

10.  are typically shy and easily frightened

Tips on living with this beautiful creature can be found in Living With Bears  from the Colorado Department of Wildlife

Quaking Aspen Exposé

Caribou Ranch Aspen Grove Captured 27 September 2009 1:45pm @ 39°58'53.69"N 105°31'9.96"W

The wildflowers are playing out their last act of the summer here in Colorado and it is just about the time to focus on fall colors. Unlike the Eastern US with its maples and other colorful deciduous trees, here the primary source of sweeping fall color is our beloved Aspen (Populus tremuloides).

The Quaking Aspen is a graceful tree whose leaves dance in the slightest breeze. They are usually found swarming in large groves and at this time of the year their colorful season finale descends from the high altitudes in a glorious display. These swarms turn yellow and red and we Coloradians log on to the local weather to find out where to worship them with our cameras.

Enjoy them while you can. Almost a third of Colorado’s aspen trees could be dead in the next few years. The white-barked tree is suffering from what scientists call “sudden aspen decline” or SAD. The die-off troubles environmentalists and business owners. The number of tourists checking out the fall foliage is down this year — partly due to the aspen die-off. The sad story can be found on this audio link from National Public Radio and at this article from Reuters.

Longs Peak Aspen Vista Captured 25 Sept 2008 1:15pm @ 40°15'11.87"N 105°32'12.51"W

Caribou Ranch Aspen Vista Captured 9 September 2009 2:15pm @ 39°58'55.61"N 105°31'10.87"W

Eldora Colorado Aspen Grove 26 Sept 2008 @ 39°56'54.93"N 105°33'47.78"

Kebler Pass Aspens captured 25 Sept 2009 11:40am @ 38°52'5.15"N 107° 9'59.85"W

There is more to this popular poplar than meets the lens. It turns out this plant has a very interesting ecological back story. Here are some facts:

-It propagates itself primarily through root sprouts, and extensive clonal colonies are common. Each colony is its own clone, and all trees in the clone have identical characteristics to the original mother tree and share a single root structure.

-A stand of aspen is really only one huge organism. Think of aspens as large systems of roots that remain hidden underground until there’s enough sunlight. Then the roots sprout up white things called trunks (or suckers) that then leaf off green things called leaves. This is called “vegetative” or asexual reproduction. This makes the grove hardy and independent of pollinators but it also halts evolutionary progress making adaptation to environmental change impossible.

-Entire aspen colonies can be lost due to the encroachment of spruce and fir into its ecosystem. Aspen is dependant on fire, avalanche, or other “clearing” disturbances to keep stands open allowing sunlight to permit reproducing from suckers. Grazing and fire suppression are causing loss of aspen habitat.

-Thanks to a common genetic blueprint, all members of a clone will all have a uniform shade of color transitioning from green to yellow at the same time. By examining  the different color patchwork along a mountainside in the fall you can distinguish individual clonal colonies from each other.

-Dispite their solitary method of reproduction,  aspen seeds do exist. They have very specific conditions needed to germinate and under adverse climatic conditions seldom produce aspen seedlings that survive. Aspens here in the Western US have not propagated from seed since the last Ice Age which means that this ancient organism hasn’t evolved for over 10,000 years!

-A group of 47,000 Quaking Aspen clones nicknamed “Pando” in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah (USA) is sometimes considered the world’s largest organism by mass, covering 43 hectares (110 acres).

Wet Your Pup on Sanitas

The August heat can be tough on our canine companions. The Sanitas Valley Trail is a great place to wet your pup and go for a great hike. It is easy to get there from Mapleton Avenue in Boulder. This trail is unique. It has amazing Boulder geology and  history, cool clean water from The Silver Lake Ditch, and a loop hike to a local peak named Mt. Sanitas with great views of the priarie and continential divide. Not surprisingly it is very popular with dogs, guardians, babies, a mutant black fox, and the occassional black bear. Beware: parking on weekends is limited.

Wet Mandy in Silver Lake Ditch @ 40° 1'23.28"N 105°17'45.73"W

Continental Snow Cone

When the temperature exceeds 90 degrees (F) in Boulder I am especially intrigued by the sight of snow on the Continental Divide. It is easy to drive/hike to some of that snow by heading to a glacier. Located on the steep slopes of  the Apache (13,441′) and Shoshoni (12,967′) Indian Peaks (which form a stretch of Continental Divide) is Isabelle Glacier. This Glacier is the origin of South Saint Vrain Creek and is Lake Isabelle’s main source of icy cold water. Isabelle Glacier is a couple of hours away from Boulder by car and foot. Just drive to the Brainard Lake Recreation Area and go to the Long lake/Isabelle Glacier Trailhead in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. The 2 mile Trail to the Glacier is pretty easy up to the lake and passes by some spectacular alpine meadows and forest. Here’s a view from the Lake looking toward the Glacier…

Lake Isabelle & Isabelle Glacier 05 August 2009 1:40pm @ 40° 4'11.30"N 105°37'15.78W"

Here’s an interesting fact: glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to the oceans as the largest reservoir of total water!

Melting Isabelle Supplies this Wellspring of the South St. Vrain @ 40° 4'7.89"N 105°36'30.97"W

Tanager!

I was hiking near the South Mesa Trailhead today right off the South Boulder Creek at 39°56′22.14″N 105°15′36.86″W when I spotted this colorful little Western Tanager.  He would seem better suited to a jungle than to Boulder. Check out the link to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology to learn all about (and hear from) this handsome fellow..

Send me your photos of Tanagers and I’ll post them here!

Blooming Beebalm in Boulder

There is a beautiful Boulder meadow currently filled with magenta beebalm…

Upper Shanahan Ridge with Beebalm (Monarda fistulosa menthifolia)

This is part of a stunning .5 mile of the Mesa Trail between the North and South Shanahan trails. The shortest route is about a 1.5 hike west from the Shanahnan Ridge trailhead on Lehigh Rd. The GPS coordinates are 39°57′36.12″N 105°16′47.56″W.

Here is another view toward NCAR Mesa with Green Mountain and The Flatirons as backdrop and wild bergamot up close and personal. It was captured on July 27 @ 9:45am @ 39°58′8.64″N  105°16′6.70″W…

View toward Green Mountain from North Shanahan Ridge

Here are some interesting facts about beebalm (a.k.a., horsemint, wild bergamot)…

-Beebalm is an edible and medicinal mint.

-Beebalm leaves and flowers and stems are used in alternative medicine as an antiseptic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic and stimulant.

-The red variety is commonly known as Oswego Tea. It was used by colonists in place of English tea after the Boston Tea Party,

-Beebalm was used as a medicinal plant extensively by Native Americans who used also as an active diaphoretic (sweat inducer) for ceremonial sweat lodges.

-It is aromatic and suitable for sachets and potpourri

-It is sought after by bees and butterflies (at the same time)…

 

WildFlower Alarm!

I’m sounding the wildflower alarm for Colorado’s high country. If you have a camera it’s time to head out and capture some of this beauty. Here’s a photo I took in the Indian Peaks Wilderness at Long Lake from the Jean Lunning Trail at 10,500 feet. The peak is Apache, the glacer is Isabella, the flowers are pink elephant heads, bistort and snow buttercups.

 

Indian Peaks Wildflower Vista

Captured 22 July 2009 11am @ 40° 4′28.06″N 105°35′14.99″W