Weminuche Wilderness Pt. 3

On Day 3 we hiked up Johnson Creek toward Columbine Pass.  We'd covered a lot of miles in two days and decided not to push ourselves too hard, turning back at about the 3 mile point after stopping for lunch next to a miniature flowing canyon.
Gazing on the sheer cliff before us, we pondered the madness that would compel people to blast chasms two miles deep in such terrain in the pursuit of silver.

Throughout the higher elevations we noticed large swaths of forest consisting of mostly dead trees.  I think this is attributed to a succession of drought years which enabled a large-scale beetle attack on the Colorado pine forests.

Organ Mountain on our left.

I didn't take as many photos this day partly because of rain.  We got back to camp and hunkered down as the afternoon rains passed over us.  The sound of thunder in the mountains was awesome.

As the skies cleared and the sun was about to descend behind the mountains, we emerged and lit a fire and ate our rehydrated dinner meals.  The aspen looked on...

The next morning a rainbow greeted us over Thunder Mountain and also warned of possible rain as we rushed to pack our camp up.

I am pretty sure this is a yellow-flowered species of salsify, the plant responsible for the poofball seedhead picture on Day One.  In Napa, they have a light purple flower.

Eager for fresh food and comfortable furniture, we frolicked down the glacial trajectory of Vallecito Creek back to the car.  It was an awesome trip.

Weminuche Wilderness Pt. 2

Day 2 brings the promise of lighter packs and new scenery.  We eat breakfast and  hike further up Vallecito Trail toward Rock Pass.
We pass a giant dandelion-type poofball... old friend Salsify, root of bland repute?

This cricket was a stunning jade green color

Clovers

Another one of the many types of berries that adorned the edges of the trail.  I recognized this Twinberry honeysuckle (lonicera involucrata) from the Martha Walker Native Plant Garden at Skyline Park in Napa.

Looking back toward our campsite between Mt. Irving (Left) and Thunder Mountain (Right), with Organ Mountain in the middle background.

Dad spots a curiously perched stone.

Indian Paintbrush

Campanula parryi at it again, looking casually chic in this rock-lichen outfit

Feeling overwhelmed by the sheer beauty all around us, we are forced to take momentary reprieve along the creek, hydrating and collecting our wits.  A spikelet of Fireweed looks on from the forest edge.

Sprawling geraniums were common throughout our trip, seeming to vary in size and shades of pink-white.  I remember thinking these two were the epitome of best friends.

Another dashing duo, monkey flower and daisy, chime in on the chorus of wildflowers in every direction.

Not the biggest.  Not the juiciest.  Not the sweetest.  And yet somehow, the BEST raspberries I have ever eaten.  Yum yum yum

Tiny bells.  Unknown to me.

A passing hiker informs us of a moose resting in some foliage about half a mile up the trail on the left.

We keep an eye out for the majestic beast.

As disappointed as I was not to spot the moose, I was stunned to see these showy blue Columbines, just like the ones sold at the nursery, growing in the rugged, rocky hillsides at 10,000 ft. elevation.

We reach our turning point for the day.  This creek's rocks are stained orange, unlike Vallecito Creek's rocks which are colored a chalky white, from differences in mineral runoff, we guessed.

This was one of, I believe, two species of Artemisia I saw, both with the

sage-y pungeant aroma common to the family.

Indian Paintbrush and Yarrow

Descending back towards our campsite.  Thunder Mountain on the right half of the phtoto.  Camp is around the bend to the left somewhere.

Oh, there it is!  

A mysterious 8 ft. berm ran a straight and even course past the edge of our camp.  We tried to conceptualize how it may have formed... was it by river?  Glacier?  How was the land leveled so evenly on it's higher side?  It provided a cozy privacy from the, albeit uncrowded, trail.

As we settled in for dinner the hillside was partially illuminated by the fabled "alpine glow".

Looking north toward where we spent our day.  Thunder Mountain on the left.  That's the Big Dipper constellation in the sky there.

Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness Pt. 1

It had been two years since the last backpacking trip with my dad and my brother-in-law, Dave.  That trip was my first backpacking adventure outside of California, in Canyonlands, Utah.  This last week we got the opportunity to spend 3 nights on the Vallecito Trail in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado.  My first backpacking trip in the beautiful state of Colorado!

As we neared the Weminuche Wilderness, we passed by Chimney Rock, an archaeological site of the pre-Puebloans, dating back about 1,000 years, with evidence of two ceremonial Kiva rooms and 36 other rooms. Unfortunately, there were no tours that day due to weather (heat?), but we did get a glimpse of the peculiar rock formations which the ancient structures were built around, and we also checked out the visitor center.   An interpreter there told us how the location allowed for line of sight in multiple directions and the ability to communicate through smoke signals or other methods of long-distance communication.  The same pre-Puebloan people left behind remnants of cliff dwellings all around the Four Corners area of the Southwest, including Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon which I have had the pleasure of visiting.  Why they gave up their homes and moved on (~1125 AD) is not entirely known, but harsh weather and scarcity of resources is a likely explanation.

Day One

We hit the trail, ready for anything!  

Look, a colorful rock!

Here's a cute lil' plant that made it's presence known without rest the next 3 days: Parry's Bellflower, a member of the Campanula family

We climbed the initial portion of the Vallecito Trail and got our first glimpse of Mt. Irving.  We planned to camp just to the west (picture left) of it that evening.

The turquoise water was very enticing as we sweated our way onwards.

I began to notice many different types of berries along the trail.  Such as Snow Berry (Wolf Berry)

The best-tasting Thimble Berries I have ever had the pleasure of grazing upon... less dry than the ones I've found in CA, and with what seemed to me a rich, yeasty flavor, just sweet enough.

Chilling creekside for a moment.

We began passing some Parry's Gentian flower tucked amongst the grass.

I swore this was a type of delphinium, but apparently it is Western Monk's Hood (Aconitum columbianum).

Woah!

These asters were absolutely everywhere along the trail, with many devout followers.

Unknown tiny flower

This grouse flew up into a tree to avoid talking to us, but was very curious... A grouse is basically a mountain chicken.

I believe this was the second bridge on our hike.  We ate our lunch down below by the cool flowing water.

Across the river I spotted a rock look-alike of Kronos the lizard peering back at me, stone-faced and beady-eyed.  

(More on Kronos in a future posting...)

Not sure what this one is, but it's nice.

These black and white fellas were ubiquitous, seen swarming over some type of equally-everpresent ragweed-looking plant along the trail, and in the early mornings, still drunk from the previous day's bacchanal, slumped lifeless atop the mounds of pollen, awaiting the encouragement of the sunshine on their wings to commence living once more.

Getdownonit

This little creeper caught my eye

Blue butterflies

We climbed higher into forests populated by Aspen, with their quivering silver-dollar-sized leaves.

Mt. Irving getting closer and the landscape becoming more alpine...

Tiny White-flowered grassy-looking plant

A slide area along the river, not far from where we had to wade across due to an avalanche that wiped a bridge out a few years back.  We welcomed this opportunity to demonstrate our aquatic prowess.

A rock lichen none other

We set up camp up in the left foreground of the next photo, just south of the towering Thunder Mountain.

Thunder Mtn. after dark.

We decide to explore further up Vallecito Creek Trail tomorrow and save the more strenuous climb up Johnson Creek for the following day.

With a little advice from Dad, I am eager to experiment with some new camera techniques.

The moon descended behind the mountains and we slept like little babies, devoid of regrets and full of awe.