cataract lake

Things are happening

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo.
It’s this dead zone between two places.
But to walk, you’re some place that’s already interesting.
You’re not just between places.
Things are happening.
~ Rebecca Solnit

Fauna and flora

/ Tracy Abell

I spent the last couple hours working on my work-in-progress and decided to reward myself by looking through photos from this past week’s camping trip. Here’s a Steller’s Jay that did me a solid by posing long enough for a decent photo :

Such a handsome bird. And here’s a Yellow-rumped Warbler that also visited a nearby tree:

Gotta appreciate a bird with such an obvious marking AND a name that directly corresponds to said marking. Kudos to the ornithologist!

Here’s one of the many chipmunks that drove Emma to distraction:

Finally, here’s a sampling of some late-blooming wildflowers spotted while we hiked around Lower Cataract Lake:

My research says these flowers are called Mayweed / Stinking Chamomile / Dog Fennel which don’t really seem like names that suit the flowers. Granted, I didn’t give them a sniff but surely there’s another name that would better represent their appearance/demeanor. [Oops, just saw that they’re officially listed as a noxious weed here in Colorado, so maybe “Stinkin’ Chamomile” was just the most polite term available.]

Thankful Thursday: second time’s the charm

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Almost exactly two years ago, Zippy and I attempted a hike to Eaglesmere Lake in the White River National Forest, but were thwarted in our efforts (in no small part because Zippy had forgotten shoes and was hiking in socks and Tevas + we’d forgotten to bring the trail info + we missed the turn due to a very faded trail sign). I wrote about that experience here. Today, I’m happy to report that yesterday we made it to Eaglesmere Lake!

Zippy took this wide-angle shot with his phone.

click to enlarge

It’s true that the last time we attempted the hike, the trail sign was old and faded. But what’s also true is that there was at least a mention of Eaglesmere Lake on the middle sign. Not so anymore. Here’s the new sign we encountered yesterday:

No mention of Eaglesmere Lake whatsoever. So, if we hadn’t been better prepared this time (as in knowing we’d started on Trail 61 and needed to turn right at Trail 60), we would’ve been hosed again. Fortunately, we had proper footwear AND trail info!

After hiking the 4.3 miles there, I asked Zippy to photograph me with the elusive lake in the background to show we’d prevailed. I wanted documentation, darn it!

And Zippy wanted a photo of me without the visor and hood:

Then we ate a late lunch. We were the only people there because, once again, we’d gotten a late start which meant that everyone else had already been and gone by the time we arrived. After eating, I clambered over the rocks to photograph the grasses (?) floating on the water.

click to enlarge

After a little more rest, we started back. Along the way, we spotted a Downy Woodpecker in the same area where we’d watched a woodpecker circle the trunk of an aspen tree two years ago. We grinned at the synchronicity. Then just a little farther down the trail, we were treated to a sighting of the larger Hairy Woodpecker! Hooray!

We arrived back at our campsite at 5:30, tired from our exertions but very grateful we’d accomplished what we’d set out to do.  All hail Eaglesmere Lake!