Hall Creek Morning

A busy weekend was capped by a quick one-night camping trip to the Hall Valley, this is a nice spot and one I enjoy visiting. As we arrived after a fun day at the Rocky Mountain Showdown college football game the sky looked a bit ominous in the valley as we climbed. Sure enough, as soon as we met with the rest of the group at the site the drizzle turned to snow! Winter camping 2011, check! Actually the weather cleared after an hour or so and the evening was very nice for the late season.

Yesterday morning I woke early and headed off for a walk. Unfortunately the location of this valley has never been good for early morning photography, but it is a nice area for a walk regardless. I failed to relocate the Moose a couple of others had seen the previous evening, but did see Juncos, Mountain Chickadees, and Colorado Chipmunks.

When the sun finally did peak over the ridge the Chipmunks all came out to socialize and bask.

Posing on the edge of a creekside meadow this Chipmunk shows that the colors are beginning to change, and soon will be in full fall mode.

Even so, some remnants of summer are hanging on, like this Pleated Gentian(?). There is still a new species I have to update from last week, and perhaps a few more Wilson's Phalarope pictures from Friday, which I haven't had a chance to look through closely yet.

Imagination Post!

I had a fantastic weekend camping. The air was cool, the creek next to the campsite babbled pleasantly, food cooked over an open fire tasted better - as it always does. In general it was a great visit into the wild.

Unfortunately the trip didn't coincide with great photographic output. So the reader will be left to imagine a narrow valley of Douglas Fir, surrounding and shading the origins of the Platte River. Marshy Meadows choked with Willow scrub teased the potential for Moose, but didn't reveal any to these eyes. Last year's prickly Porcupine visitor to our camp didn't return, much to the relief of Blizzard the Golden Retriever's human companions. Those dogs are amazing in the water though. A fast moving mountain stream doesn't even faze a Golden as it chases a treasured muddy tennis ball. Watching them wade through white water, tail wagging, where biped humans would be struggling to stand is quite a sight. Knowing that the wet, muddy dog will not be sleeping in your tent is priceless!

So, photographically what happened? To start, that stretch of woods is a bit tight for shooting with my telephoto, or even birding in general. Birds hide in the treetops, only offering brief glimpses before they vanish behind the trunks. Early morning and evening sunlight is blocked by the slopes, leaving bright skies and dark foregrounds at peak birding hours. Columbines were blooming along the road in a few places, and they were great, but those stretches of road weren't ones where a camera could safely be left on the passenger seat to get a shot. Sadly, my point and shoot Nikon met an untimely end a few weeks ago, and the replacement, a waterproof & shockproof Panasonic didn't arrive in time to make the trip with a charge. Once I have that tool back in my bag I will be more able to relay the experience visually.

Finally, the 4runner passed it's most recent challenge with flying colors...opening even more possibilities for accessing the high country in search of the those Rosies and other high alpine breeders.

Birding highlight, Dusky Grouse hopping from the middle of the road to eye-level in the brush beside me. I did reach for the camera on that one, but go figure, the Grouse was not content to sit beside a vehicle with a dog head sticking out the back window.

Camping in Pike National Forest

Summer in Colorado equals camping in the high country. Or at least it should, as often as possible. I was fortunate to get a second trip up this past weekend, and once again had a great time. Unfortunately, the birding wasn't spectacular. The Grey-headed, Dark-eyed Junco posed nicely in the early morning light, but that was the extent of good, photogenic birds.
I think the great sleeping in open air, the lack of alarm clocks or even watches, and the presence of good friends on hikes are all conspiring against me. I know that if at some point I can rise in the very early morning hours that I can get a blind set and see some good sights, but until then I am just going to keep going back for the whole experience and let the birds be what they may.

That was not to say that it was an uneventful campsite. Saturday morning we had a prickly visitor! Not wanting a confrontation between the Porcupine and Charlie (one camping couples' six month old Yellow Lab) we encouraged the spiny fellow along by slowly walking behind it and speaking loudly in the areas where it stopped in the trees.

Unfortunately, a porcupine who is being encouraged to keep moving along only pauses in the thick brush at the base of trees, and doesn't dawdle through the spaces in-between.

The highlight of the trip was a hike to Gibson Lake. It was a 6 mile round trip hike, and a nice one at that. Our campsite was conveniently located in the vicinity of the trailhead, and after breakfast and porcupine watch we were on our way.
I did notice a difference in myself while hiking with my friends up to the lake at just below 12,000 feet. What I found was that my group was still in a mindset of reaching the destination, while over the past year I have changed my focus to the journey and appreciating the transitions between habitats. Reaching the lake was rewarding though, a cool breeze across the tundra, trout jumping, streams and waterfalls emerging from snow fields, and groups of Alpine Forget-me-nots coloring our grassy seats on the lakeshore. Poofy white clouds periodically sprang from the ridgeline, but never developed into dark masses that could spell trouble for anyone caught above treeline.

I saw a few White-crowned Sparrows, and Robins - of course, but no Ptarmigan, Rosy Finches, or other high alpine specialities. I also missed a Marmot that had been around before we arrived and failed to photograph a Pika that had disappeared on a boulder slope before I could get it in frame. Just more reasons to get back up there soon!