Stardate 2015.616

Snaefell – More or Less

Day Two of our wildflower trip found us in the Mount Sneffels area, high up East Fork Dallas Creek at the Trailhead for Blue Lakes and Blaine Basin, both potential staging areas for a climb of Mount Sneffels from the north. The standard route is on the south side. Normally, we ascend to Blue Lakes. However, we chose Blaine Basin this time around because I had not visited it for a while. I hadn't been in Blaine Basin since May 1994, when I climbed Sneffels via the Snake Couloir route. Everything was still snowbound at that time.

In the background, 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels (state rank #27) plays hide-and-seek with the cameraman.



We're in the middle of the monsoon season in Colorado. The southwest mountains are especially affected by the monsoonal flow. In a nutshell, lots of water and thunderstorm activity. As a result, we stayed below treeline. Despite the wet, we did get some moody photographs. I hope you enjoy!

The red "berry" actually is a non-evasive gall. Inside the gall resides a mite or a wasp, I'm not sure which in this case.



Colorado's state tree is the Blue Spruce. They are very blue this year.




Golden Aster
Heterotheca fulcrata
Aster family



13,041-foot Walcott Mountain played with a silent, mystical mist throughout most of the day.




Alpine Groundsel
Ligularia amplectens
Aster family


Help! Do you know what this bad boy is? I think it's a saxifrage of some sort.




Geranium
Geranium richardsonii
Geranium family




Bedstraw
Galium septentrionale
Madder family




Dusky Beardtongue
Penstemon whippleanus
Figwort family




Mountain Bluebell
Mertensia franciscana
Borage family




Nodding Ragwort
Senecio bigelovii
Sunflower family



A bridge now exists. However, there was a time when crossing East Fork Dallas Creek could be a task during spring flows.




Monkshood
Aconitum columbianum
Hellebore family



A monastery of monkshood waves in the background. Monkshood is one of my favorite flowers. They can be quite thick (hence my monastery label) and reach heights of six feet of better.



Mount Sneffels is in there somewhere. Mount Sneffels, along with a handful of adjacent peaks over 13,500 feet in elevation, can create its own weather.



Thanks for visiting. Our next stop is Yankee Boy Basin; a high, flower-smothered gem on the other side of Mount Sneffels. Stay tuned.

Adios

Stardate 2015.570

More Crested Butte

After a somewhat wet Day One, we retired for the evening along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir and listened to the waves caress the shoreline throughout the night. For Day Two, we headed back up toward Crested Butte via Ohio Creek and Ohio Creek Pass.



When we arrived at the base of the pass, the Anthracite Mountains were still enshrouded in overnight mystique.



The flower-bathed meadow at the Swampy Trailhead was awash in yellow.



Remember, a flowery hill slope is a happy hill slope.




Goldeneye
Heliomeris multiflora
Aster family




Yellow Paintbrush
Castilleja sulphurea
Figwort family
This species can have a while color variation.
The actual flower is hidden within the colored bracts.




Coral Root
Corallorhiza maculate
Orchid family
This is a very shy orchid.




Orange Sneezeweed
Dugaldia hoopesii
Aster family




Sticky Geranium
Geranium viscosissimum
Geranium family




The above two pics are of backcountry and livestock staging area corrals at the Swampy Trailhead. I think the bent upper rails are to ease in throwing heavy bales of hay into the corrals. If the corrals are full, it would be easy to get squished while feeding from the inside.

I had a unique bonding experience with these corrals on that day. I was filming the fields of flowers with my video camera, just moseying through the grass and flowers. The plant life was waist- to chest-high and I couldn't see my feet very well. Slowly moving, concentrating on keeping the camera still, I faintly noticed the tail of a snake in front of me. No big deal. Without looking, I conveniently stepped up onto a small log to go around the stealthy reptile. Well, as I stepped onto the log, I jumped clean out of my skin and exited as fast as I could! The log was covered with serpents sunning themselves! As soon as they felt the log tip, they began writhing hypnotically and slithering around! The rest was all reflex and a few colorful words! Snowcatcher caught the moment on film, too, and it's hilarious. My camera was still recording as well. I think the trailhead should be renamed Serpents' Lair. What do you think?



More Day Two is on the way!

Adios

Stardate 2015.559

Wildflower Season is Here!

Snowcatcher and I took a jaunt to one of our favorite haunts recently. We spent two days in the Crested Butte, Colorado area. Early monsoonal rain has helped to yield a spectacular crop of wildflowers. During our foray, we encountered a bit of everything, from rain and sun to washing bicycle wheels off in the creek before riding because the 4Runner's tire spray had entombed them in mud. The mountain gods are keeping things fresh and exciting.



In the distance, Avery Peak (12,366 ft) rises above the headwaters of the East River.



Flowers were dancing in the breeze all over the place.



12,625-foot Gothic Mountain



Mount Bellview reaches 12,519 feet. The left and right sub-peaks are 12,473 and 12,445 feet in elevation, respectively.



The west face of Avery Peak watches over the beautiful lush subalpine forest beneath.



The alpine basin in the upper right background is Rustler Gulch. This probably is a fitting title, considering the past 100-plus years of ranching in this region.



Mount Bellview (12,519 ft)



The East Brush Creek jeep trail looks a bit ordinary. However, not far beyond this spot, after a major stream crossing, the road turns into a real 4x4 jeep track that meanders all the way up to 12,705-foot Pearl Pass. From Pearl Pass, the jeep route continues down Castle Creek to posh Aspen.



It's day's end along East Brush Creek. The peak to the left is Teocalli Mountain (13,208 ft, state rank #478). The high peak in the far background is Castle Peak (14,265 ft, state rank #12).

Thanks for reading. There's more Crested Butte coming.

Adios

Stardate 2014.389

Captain Ahab

From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned whale...

Each year Snowcatcher and I pilgrimage to the land of sandstone for my birthday. By then Moab usually is flirting with temps into the 90s. Not so this year, as it was a wee bit wet with lows into the 30s and highs touching the upper 40s and low 50s. But that's okay, the deserts mystical magic is at its finest when assaulted from above.



Desert flowers were approaching full bloom and robustly soaking in their lifeblood. The Fisher Towers were even more spellbinding in the swirling mist. Left to right is King Fisher, Echo Tower (in the shadows), Cottontail and The Titan. It would have been a good day to kick back and read the exploits of Layton Kor, the first to lay a route to the summit of Titan. I've been fortunate to visit the Moab region a lot, having grown up two hours to the northeast. However, I haven't mountain biked a handful of newer trails. On the list this year were Hymasa and Captain Ahab, both of which are located on Amasa Back, but don't use much of the Cliffhanger jeep trail anymore.


After a stream crossing of soupy sediment that was a bit below hub height in depth, it's up, up and away on Moab's magnificent sandstone. The Hymasa trail steeply rises above Kane Creek Canyon and is a two-directional trail (you can ride both directions).


Exquisite views of the Behind the Rocks area fill your senses.



As storm Zephyr slowly cleared, the sun began to play. However, the La Sals maintained their shrouded tops. As for flowers, yellow Princes Plume were having a very bright year.


At the end of Hymasa, Captain Ahab(one direction downhill) takes off and wraps around the west edge of Amasa Back before zig zagging back down toward Kane Springs Canyon. Ahab rejoins Hymasa and the jeep road just above the stream crossing.


I didn't see any white whales, but certainly felt like a whale on some of Capatin Ahab's techy stuff. It's a beautifully designed mountain bike-specific trail with lots of technical riding. Spending too much time on the road bike and want to reclaim some of your tech skills? Visit Captain Ahab. It graces the current issue of Mountain Flyer as well.


Vibrant beds of violet aster presented a picturesque end to an outstanding ride. Yet again, Moab delivers.