On the trail - September 4, 2011

Proposed Title: Stewards of the Land

We pulled into the Mount Margaret trailhead parking lot near Red Feather Lakes around 8:00 am. It was a comfortable 56 degrees with bright sunshine. The entry gate to the trail was soaked in morning dew as we walked thru and began our hike. We surmised that it must have rained heavily the day before for the trail was moist sand with tracks of storm water runoff. It was quiet except for the occasional birdsong. The world seemed fresh and new.

Fast forward to around noon and we found the world had changed. The sun had warmed the dry air and the sandy trail had dried out. The light was harsh and the colors of the landscape were washed out. The sounds of the trail were now filled with hikers, dogs, and mountain bikers. We then heard a series of rifle shots. A little startled, we figured someone was target shooting on private property adjacent to the trail. There was now a stark contrast between the peace and quiet of the early morning and the gunshots echoing off the rock formations in the early afternoon.

My hiking partner and I this day were hiking as members of the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, a local organization who fulfill an important role as the eyes and ears of the United States Forest Service for the Canyon Lakes Ranger District. Our hike today would include cleanup of established campsites, fixing damaged trail signage, and assisting and educating the public on conservation principles as stewards of the land.

I commented to my hiking partner that the trail and the campsites were in relatively good condition considering the easy access to the trailhead by automobile and the amount of use this trail gets by hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. We discovered this was no accident when we spoke with a mountain biker out for a morning ride. The man told us he loved the area and that he too was a member of the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers. He went on to say that we should have seen the campsites last Monday that he cleaned up. I told him he had done a great job and that it had made a difference how I viewed my hike today.

As we hiked, it occurred to me that my partner was also a fine example of someone who cares about the environment and makes a contribution to preserve it for those who will follow. His name is Ras Erdal and he is a first generation American. His parents were from Norway and eventually settled in Brooklyn, New York. Ras remembers growing up in a concrete jungle where there wasn’t a blade of grass for blocks. His sense for adventure and mountains started with the Boy Scouts and eventually led him west where he has been for the last 18 years.

A decade ago, Ras was my mentor on a hike to Mount Margaret for the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers. We have remained friends and I enjoy and appreciate his company and zest for life. On this day, Ras and I would finish our 8 mile hike before 1:00 pm and head back down to Fort Collins contemplating the day’s activities full of contrasts and contradictions. As we drove home, it suddenly occurred to me that Ras is an entire generation older than me. He will be 80 this fall.

Our quiet hike of the morning to me represented the rewards of conservation and stewardship of the land. Our noisy finish to our hike represented the challenges that lie ahead and how people like Ras have made a difference by setting an example of the effort needed to preserve the land for generations to come.

On the trail - August 28, 2011

“Summer's almost over.
Sad, isn't it?
Makes you want to...
I don't know...
Reach out and...
...hold it back.”


From the movie The Great Gatsby

Adventure can be found not only on the trail, but on the water as well. The following is a story from last year that I want to share with you:

I loaded the kayak onto the Jeep around noon and headed off to the lake (Horsetooth Reservoir). It was the last day of August. I had been kayaking all summer long and this was to be a sort of farewell to summer paddle. When I put in at the dock at the south end of the lake at South Bay, it was 12:40 pm.

There was a nice breeze blowing from the south and the lake was virtually empty of motor boat traffic. I decided to paddle into the middle of the lake and let the wind carry me where it may.

The sun was bright and warm and I was enjoying the day. Normally, I would paddle just enough to realize that I had to paddle just as far back. Today was different. Today I just felt like seeing how far to the north I could go.

After about 2 hours, I began to recognize the surroundings of the north end of the reservoir. Wow, that south wind must have really been pushing me. I was going to paddle all the way from the south end to the north end of the lake, cool.

Since I was tiring, my mind began to start to rationalize a minor detail; how was I going to get back to the south end of the lake?

I docked my kayak at Satanka Bay, the North end of Horsetooth, at 3:03 pm. I was alone. The sign said nobody works here on Mondays and Tuesdays. My mind was like...hey buddy, you just paddled the entire length of the lake with a stiff breeze at your back and it took you 2 hours and 23 minutes. How long do you think this is going to take going against the wind?

3:53 pm. I push away from the dock after exhausting all my options and tell myself that I need to pick small incremental goals and just not think about the task at hand. My shoulders are telling me that this is not going to be my idea of a good time.

I select targets on the horizon to aim for like: buoys, rock outcroppings, trees, and fishing boats and paddle on. I begin to think about having hot dogs and a beer when I am finished. By this time, I have begun to count my strokes to keep my mind off my pain. Counting to 100 seems to distract me and I press on.

The south end's familiar surroundings finally come into view and I am close to being done. At 6:02 pm it is over. Surprisingly, I make it back in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

I throw the kayak up on the Jeep and tie it down and am home by 6:45 pm.
Because of errands and other duties, I would not get those hot dogs and a beer I had been hallucinating about until well after 9:00 pm.
It is then that it begins to sink in that I had paddled the equivalent of a half marathon on this last day of August both with and against the summer wind.

And it is then that I realize with contentment:

“There'll be other summers.”

Also from the movie The Great Gatsby

On the trail - August 21, 2011

Proposed Title: Sundance Spirit

“It was so beautiful that I couldn’t pull myself away. The mountain, Timpanogos, was to me like Everest. It was Yosemite on a different scale. Spiritually, it was fascinating. When I left, I couldn’t shake it off. I lay in bed and thought about it. And when I had the chance to go back, I did.”

-Robert Redford, from his biography by Michael Feeney Callan

I first visited Robert Redford’s Sundance in January of 2000. I drove with a friend to Salt Lake City after work on a Friday night. I ended up cross country skiing and having a bite to eat at the Foundry Grille at Sundance the next day. It was to be a short trip for we drove back to Colorado the next day and were at work again on Monday morning. But like Redford or maybe because of him, I too was drawn to this place located about 45 minutes south of Park City, Utah.

My family and I recently vacationed in Park City and the lure of Sundance beckoned again. My wife and I actually visited two times, for the breakfasts at the Foundry Grille were to die for. But there was something else that lured us. We had heard there was a private trail for the guests of the Sundance Resort that led to what is known as the Stewart Cascades. We were told that it was an easy trail and it was not to be missed.

Missed is almost what we did in just trying to find the trailhead. If they want this trail to be hidden and hard to find, mission accomplished. I had to ask several people the trailhead’s location and then walked right by the stone marker that was concealed by overgrown grass.

Overgrown seemed to be the theme of this trail from the get go. The trail was very narrow, slanted, rolling, and looked more like a trek through the North Woods of Michigan rather than the mountains of Utah. We saw ferns and lush vegetation that encroached the trail at every opportunity. It was a wild trail for sure.

As we proceeded down the trail, we could hear and then see the roaring cascades known as Stewart Falls. When we arrived at the base of the falls, there was so much spray from the cascading water that a photograph of the falls put your camera at risk of getting seriously wet. I managed to take a quick shot from the side and then we headed back down the trail.

I wondered if this trail was left natural unpurpose or if they had had such a wet summer that it was just a little out of control. It did seem to fit in with the rest of the rustic surroundings though. This particular adventure was just another piece of the puzzle that is Sundance.

They shot the movie Jeremiah Johnson starring Robert Redford on and near this location. An old mountain man early in the movie sizes up Johnson and then proceeds to test him. He says, “Now boy, are you sure you can skin Griz?” Johnson cock sure replies, “Just as fast as you can fetch ‘em.”

Well in the movie, the old mountain man rustles up a Grizzly and has it chase him down into the cabin where Johnson is. Amongst the ensuing chaos, the old mountain man jumps out the back window of the cabin and yells to Johnson, “Skin ‘em pilgrim and I’ll fetch ya another!”

I saw a picture of that cabin hanging on the wall at Sundance with a caption that indicated that the photo was taken near Stewart Falls. Although our adventure did not include a close encounter with a grizzly bear, we now understood a little better the spirit of what it must have been like to walk in Redford’s shoes back in the day.