Limber Pine Project

One of my coworkers working on limber pines took me out to a rocky outcrop off of Fall River Road to help her place anti-beetle pheramone packets on those rare trees and record data. It was an amazing day- traversing rocks, boulders and ravines at high elevation and slope in search of these elusive trees... all in hope of saving them from the viscious beetles. Here is a picture of me in a small wildflower patch. I had to give up my fear of heights for this project- one wobbly knee could have destabilized a rock and sent me downhill a thousand or so feet (in a few areas only of course.) Maybe I am exaggerating, but the day had the potential to be dangerous at times. The picture shows the elevation and slope.


Erin is a great photographer, and friend. Here's one of sheep meadows (?) framed by a limber pine.

Backpacking the Continental Divide Trail to Haynach

I needed to get out of the city part of the park for a bit, recruit the sights and sounds of isolation to cleanse my inner sense of self marred by absurd doubts and fears at work and in relationships. I left the day before the 4th, expecting to carry on for several days and complete the west side section of the Continental Divide Trail, which eschews for the most part steep and rugged terrain. There is a section that ascends to Flattop Mountain, a 1000+ foot gain over 1.5 miles, and crosses the mountain at high elevation for 5 or so miles, then descends back to low elevation in less than a mile with switchbacks. I would have completed the whole trail if the weather did not promise lightning when I would be above treeline. So, I camped at the base of Flattop at a little llama packing site called Haynach.


It took me a long time to choose my campsite as there was a high risk of lightning storms that night and I wanted to take every precaution to not tent under dead trees or in an open area.... or on snow. It started raining heavily while I was deciding this and I ended up getting soaked. Being soaked in a cold and damp tent is a miserable thing, so I persevered for 2 hours to shake-dry my hair. Several brooks babbled nearby, obscuring the sound of thunder in the distance that perks my ears instinctively and makes my intestines coil. The solitude of this journey and the hours before sundown allowed me to reflect on how much we all rely on ourselves for our strength and self-love. Being alone, I gave myself permission to verbally thank everything I take for granted- my higher power, my parents, my brother, family, and myself.

In the early morning I did a bit of exploring and found this gorgeous view (above) right outside my camping area.
As I often backpack alone, it's hard to take pictures of myself, so I prefer to take pictures of my shadow. The following are the rest of the photos of the trip.

Saved the best for last... :)

June Hikes to Mills Lake and Eagle Mountain

Eagle Cliff, about 1 mile from my cabin.

1000 feet incline in about .5 mile to the top of Eagle Cliff Mountain. Was way worth it. I also got a burn-tan on those cloud white legs of mine. Behind me is headquarters and Estes Park.


Poppies are a poppin'... in people's yards. Hah.


Mills Lake:

In the sweet little crevasse of glacier gorge awaits Mills Lake.



Alberta Falls en route to Mills.

Elk Jam Awareness

Every day I encounter a phenomenon known as an Elk Jam. An Elk Jam is when excited tourists, who we pejoratively call 'elktards', stop in the middle of the road, get out of their cars.. or idle in them, and take pictures of the elk or other -what we parkies consider common- animals and jam up the roadway a few hundred feet or more. These myopic tourists fail to notice the brigade of cars trying to make their way around them. However, usually most people think that something amazing must have stopped the first car, so everyone else follows suit- sometimes running- out of their cars with their cameras to approach the wildlife. Supposedly people have been seen trying to put their grandkids on elk for a ride. Wildlife is wildlife, Rocky Mountain is not a petting zoo... tourists have been eviscerated by elk antlers before. The following picture is of elk crossing the road rather than a tourist caused elk jam.



I understand the excitement that goes along with seeing something new. I also understand the opposite- complacency. For example, I drove through the 25 mph entrance station at 45 on the 4th of July and was pulled over. The attractive young ranger treated me very well and gave me a warning ticket. =)

Perks of This Park

One of the greatest perks of the resource management division of Rocky Mtn. NP is that they have the time and money to put a lot of effort into training and developing the skills of their seasonal employees. The second week.5 of my summer was dedicated to training in a grand variety of subjects such as the history and goals of ROMO and NPS, plant identification, backcountry operations, and safety. The latter was our primary focus for several reasons; there have been many deaths as a result of unsafe practices here in the park, but also because our job is inherantly one of the most dangerous- we run bobcats, UTVs and large vehicles, use heavy tools, spray herbicides and pesticides, work on rocky and steep slopes, and conduct business in weather that can turn hazardous in minutes. Sweeet! I'll be posting some pictures of steep slope working once I get a hookup cord for my smaller camera.

The following pictures are from a two day training session on ROMO plant identification with the Biedelmans who wrote a great 'Plants of Rocky Mtn.' book, and who are quite famous in Colorado and California.
The Beidelman duo took us to Lumpy Ridge to practice keying out plants. This is half of the resource management seasonal troupe.

Keying out shooting stars under the bridge.

Mi Casita

My little house, mi casita, is super quirky and old-school. The wallpaper in the kitchen is 1950's "jam contest" themed and the bathroom is "US military eagle lapel" style. The linoleum was never fully cleaned so I have to beware of sprinkling water on the floor or I make mud. This, I do not mind as I drag in so much mud and dirt from my job already it would be antithetical to have a clean floor. I am so excited though, this week I got a brand new stove because the old one started leaking gas when I was trying to bake some banana walnut chocolate muffins (delightful!).

I also have a lot of friends living in my house. Sam is a small spider of an unknown species that tries to trap pests above the doorway. Sam has quite a number of buddies throughout my house, some of them make a mess partying in my shower. I also have a few large ants that like to peruse the bathroom floor. If you know me, you know how I feel about ants. However, these guys don't bother me as they don't come in swarms and are easy to pick up and throw outside.

Here are some pics of the place.

View from my front door with the bed, closet and bathroom door on the left and the kitchen on the right.
View of my bed, and front window.

View of my little kitchen! I love cooking in there- it's always a challenge.

I'm sure my mom is concerned about my diet, so here's a preview:

Spelt pasta with garlic sauce, sunchokes, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and tempeh.
Wilted spinach salad with miso, walnuts and cranberries.
Salad with goddess dressing, crumbled blue cheese and nutritional yeast.
Apples with chocolate cashew hemp nut butter for dessert.

I have to eat well because I likely need a 3000 to 4000 calorie diet... stay tuned for more recipes such as chocolate zuchini bread and the awesome banana walnut chocolate.