Trail & Timberline, Issue #1008

Power of the people 12 • where the wild things roam 18 • san juan surprise 40

Trail & timberline The Colorado Mountain Club • Fall 2010 • Issue 1008 • w w w.cmc.org

Wild Things Trail & Timberline

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Help us GREEN to stay Your donation will help us to protect Colorado’s wild places, connect young people to the outdoors, and preserve access to your favorite mountains.

Support the CMC beyond your regular membership dues.

www.cmc.org/support

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Letter from the CEO On the Wild Side

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s avid outdoor recreationists, many of us place great value on our wildlife encounters and understand that our outdoor quests are only improved with the presence of wildlife. Yes, it can be a bit scary to contemplate certain wildlife meetings (mountain lions come to mind), but the majority of tales I can recall are those that involve spotting some beautiful creature while visiting their living room.

The CMC doesn’t always get directly involved with wildlife advocacy; rather, our conservation work often benefits the lands that we love and that serve as incredible wildlife habitat. For example, the month of August saw a celebration of the country's first annual Roadless Recreation Week. The CMC led hikes throughout the state to get people out enjoying and learning about the importance of roadless areas in our national forests. These hikes were a celebration of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (issued in 2001) to protect nearly 60 million acres of national forests from drilling, mining, and logging. While these roadless areas are paradise to hike in, they are also essential for wildlife. The corridors by which wildlife roam benefit tremendously from permanently protected areas like these.

The CMC continues to do great things for the environment as well as for our valued members. CMC volunteers and staff will now be belaying customers at the REI flagship store in Denver on their rock climbing wall, providing shoppers with a fun experience, and helping the club further build its reputation and gather new members.

Speaking of REI, a few of our volunteers have given talks at their local REI stores about an array of mountaineering topics and have promoted CMC membership to the attendees. These outreach events are incredibly beneficial to the club and are

very educational. Thank you everyone for increasing awareness of the CMC. In July, the club’s board of directors passed a “code of conduct” benefiting everyone in the CMC. As we continuously strive to provide a pleasant and positive experience for members, volunteers, and staff, the simple statement of “treat everyone with common courtesy and collegial respect” should make you proud to be a part of an organization that cares as much about how we treat our mountains as how we treat each other.

I hope your autumn months are filled with outdoor adventures and, hopefully, a few safe wildlife sightings!

Katie Blackett Chief Executive Officer

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22 Wild on the Move: Building corridor connections within our Colorado backyard

34 90 Years Ago: The San Juan Summer Outing of 1920

Colorado is a wild place. Wild mountains, wildlife. But what's keeping it all connected?

The club first traveled to the San Juan Range for its summer outing 90 years ago this August.

By Geoff Mueller Photography by Chris Case

By Woody Smith

EXTRA: Meet four of Colorado's most unique inhabitants.

Fall 2010 Trail & Timberline • Issue 1008 • www.cmc.org

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Departments 01 Letter from the CEO 04 Editor's Note 06 On the Outside 08 Mission Accomplishments

Learn the latest from the conservation and education departments, as well as the Mountaineering Museum.

12 The Clinic

Putting power in the people's hands: citizen naturalists and scientists help to preserve Colorado.

By Chris Case

16 Pathfinder

Wander the woods where the wild things roam.

By Chris Case with Dan Shepherd

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40 End of the Trail

In memory of Bob Kilbourn, Trudy Bronner, and Spencer Swanger.

42 CMC Adventure Travel

Want to get away? Join classic CMC trips to Alaska, the Grand Canyon, Mount Elbrus, Nepal, and more.

On the Cover

Two elk lock antlers in a creek bed near Estes Park.

Anya Byers

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Editor’s Note Editor’s Note

The official publication of the Colorado Mountain Club since 1918.

Editor, Director of Photography & Design Chris Case editor@cmc.org

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recently traveled through the Alps on foot and, as you would imagine, it was absolutely gorgeous. Panoramas that could make you trip, gnarled unions of fragmenting glaciers and scaly rock, glowing green grasses. But, there was something missing.

Wildlife.

Yes, there was the occasional marmot or chamois. But, that was it. The only animal I saw time and time again was, of course, the cow. These cows may have looked a bit disreputable, but they weren’t wild.

So when I returned to Colorado, it was rewarding to begin work on this special issue of the magazine. It quickly reminded me of all the incredible species of animal that call Colorado home, some of which can’t be found anywhere else in the world, and some of which face threats that put their entire existence into question.

These animals could use our help. They aren’t as resilient as we humans seem to be to the onslaught of new roads and hazards in our state. While most of us probably daydream about roaming free, their very survival depends on it.

And they make Colorado an enviable place to live. They make every trip into the mountains an opportunity to be surprised, or astonished, by their very presence.

The next time you’re out roaming free, think of them. They want the same thing you do.

Advertising Sales Robin Commons

advertising@cmc.org

The Colorado Mountain Club 710 10th Street, Suite 200 Golden, Colorado 80401

The CMC is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

www.cmc.org The Colorado Mountain Club is organized to ▶ unite the energy, interest, and knowledge of the students, explorers, and lovers of the mountains of Colorado; ▶ collect and disseminate information regarding the Rocky Mountains on behalf of science, literature, art, and recreation; ▶ stimulate public interest in our mountain areas; ▶ encourage the preservation of forests, flowers, fauna, and natural scenery; and ▶ render readily accessible the alpine attractions of this region.

Chris Case editor@cmc.org

© 2010 Colorado Mountain Club

All Rights Reserved

Trail & Timberline (ISSN 0041-0756) is published quarterly by the Colorado Mountain Club located at 710 10th Street, Suite 200, Golden, Colorado 80401.

Periodicals postage paid at Golden, Colorado, and additional offices. Subscriptions are $20 per year; single copies are $5. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Trail & Timberline, 710 10th Street, Suite 200, Golden, Colorado 80401. Advertisements in Trail & Timberline do not constitute an endorsement by the Colorado Mountain Club.

Please recycle this magazine.

Printed on 10% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

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For Members member benefits → Join us on over 3,000 annual trips, hikes, and activities in the state’s premiere mountain-adventure organization. → Expand your knowledge and learn new skills with our schools, seminars, and events. → Support our award-winning Youth Education Program for mountain leadership. → Protect Colorado’s wild lands and backcountry recreation experiences. → Enjoy exclusive discounts to the American Mountaineering Museum and Base Camp gift shop. → Travel the world with your friends through CMC Adventure Travel. → Receive a 20% discount on all CMC Press purchases and start your next adventure today. → It pays to be a member. Enjoy discounts of up to 25% from retailers and corporate partners. See www.cmc.org/benefits for details.

opportunities to get more involved Charitable Donations

Join our select donors who give back to the club every month by using electronic funds transfer (EFT). It is easy and convenient, you can discontinue anytime, and you’ll provide support for critical programs. Sign up at www.cmc.org/support.

By naming the Colorado Mountain Club in your will, you will be able to count yourself among the proud members of the 21st Century Circle. Read more at www.cmc.org/legacy. Please consult your financial advisor about gift language.

If you have any questions about donations, please contact Sarah Gorecki, Development Director, at 303.996.2752 or sarahgorecki@cmc.org.

Volunteer Efforts

If you want to share your time and expertise, give back to the club by volunteering on a variety of projects, from trail restoration to stuffing envelopes. Visit www.cmc.org/volunteer for a complete listing.

Contact Us

Our Membership Services team can answer general questions every weekday at 303.279.3080, or by email at cmcoffice@cmc.org.

SCFD

The Colorado Mountain Club thanks the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District and its citizens for their continuing support. www.scfd.org

The Colorado Mountain Club is a proud member of Community Shares of Colorado.

It PAYS to be a member!

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▶ 50% off admission at the American Mountaineering Museum

▶ 25% off titles from The Mountaineers Books

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Visit www.cmc.org/join ▶ 10% at Rock'n and Jam'n, Thornton Trail & Timberline

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On the Outside World Travelers Those with an ornithologist's eye who have traveled the world might dismiss cattle egret (seen here migrating along the Central Flyway). After all, flocks of these small, white herons foraging in pastures and along roads are a common site—on six continents.

That wasn't always the case.

Cattle egrets are native to Africa. Since the late 1800s they have expanded their range across the world. They first flew to South America in 1877. They reached the United States in 1941, and started nesting by 1953. Now, they are one of the most abundant North American herons and can be found all the way to Alaska and Newfoundland; they breed in nearly every state.

An equally dramatic expansion has occurred in Asia, Europe, and Australia. Photo by Chris Case Trail & Timberline 7

Mission Accomplishments 2010 CMC Foundation Fellowships Awarded

By Tom Cope, Colorado Mountain Club Foundation

Since 1982, the Colorado Mountain Club Foundation has awarded academic fellowships to support research in the natural sciences, following our mission of 1912.

This year, the Neal B. Kindig Fellowship was awarded to Leif Anderson (left), a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research involves modeling past glacial climates in the Wind River Range of Wyoming.

The Kurt Gerstle Fellowship was awarded to Trevor Ycas (center), an undergraduate in the Geosciences Department of Fort Lewis College in Durango. He will investigate the feasibility of distinguishing between natural and anthropogenic metal pollution in the Upper Animas watershed in the San Juan Mountains by analyzing metal concentrations in tree rings.

The Al Ossinger Fellowship was awarded to Tobah Gass (right), a Ph.D. candidate in

the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology of Colorado State University. She will study the effects of vegetation recovery on soil processes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Other fellowship recipients include: Preston Cumming, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography of the University of Colorado at Boulder who will investigate the potential for invasion of nonnative species following low severity fire; and Kristin Kaczynski, a candidate in the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology of Colorado State University who will analyze the causes of willow decline in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The review committee consisted of Kent Groninger, Sam Guyton, Giles Toll, Al Ossinger, and chairperson Tom Cope. △ For more information about the CMCF fellowship program, visit www.cmc.org/fellowships.

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Sometimes, It's All About the Salamanders

By Rolf Asphaug

Four CMC hikers stare intently ahead. They ignore, for now, the wilderness panorama spread before them at the destination of their hike: a set of high mountain lakes in Arapahoe National Forest. They disregard the clear tarn, granite peaks, pristine woods, flowered meadows, and brilliant blue sky that have made for a perfect day in the Colorado mountains.

While the hikers have enjoyed the terrain for the past several hours, their full attention is now directed to something entirely different: something far more important in their minds. They kneel down and stare at a brownish-black, glistening object squirming at their feet, on the edge of the tarn.

“A salamander!” one of them concludes in delight. “It’s a salamander!”

These young members of the CMC’s Colorado Wilderness Kids (CWK) group have found what they’ll probably remember most from this trip: a large colony of fat, sluggish salamanders occupying a small lake near Copper Mountain. Sure, they’ll remember the rest of their day as well: the hike with their parents, the beautiful scenery, the fresh smells, and peaceful sounds of a summer day in the Colorado Rockies. But most of all, they’ll remember the salamanders.

Because that’s just how kids are.

The CWK group is made up of several dozen CMC members from throughout the state, united by their desire to share outdoor adventures and experiences with their children through age-appropriate hikes, camping trips, and destinations. The members realize that most kids don’t solemnly contemplate nature’s splendors, and aren’t motivated by lists of peaks to bag. Instead, kids appreciate things like lakes with lots of nearby rocks to throw in them, streams low enough to wade in, low rock outcroppings perfect for scrambling and hide-and-seek.

And, of course, salamanders.

Each year the CWK group schedules numerous hikes and multi-day camping trips to locations throughout the state, from arid canyons in Colorado National Monument, to trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, to paved paths in Denver-area suburbs. The common thread binding these

activities? Kids.

What kinds of outdoor experiences would kids like? What kinds of trips will be safe, fun, and interesting for children? In these trips, the destination is almost always less important than the journey, and an excursion will happily grind to a halt when kids come across the perfect pond to wade in.

Like CMC’s other trips, CWK trips are listed on the online activity schedule.

While many participants tend to be regular, devoted members of the group, CMC

members of all other groups are welcome to participate as well. In fact, many CWK trips are joint outings scheduled by the Denver, Shining Mountains, and CWK Groups.

Some children of CMC members have grown up from toddlers to teens while members of the group, visiting popular annual destinations like Turquoise Lake near Leadville and Snow Mountain Ranch. They’ve attended the popular annual holiday party where Santa traditionally comes down a climbing wall and gingerbread houses are

▲ A captured (catch-andrelease, of course) salamander.

Photo by Erin Kraemer ▶ It's a salamander! CWK kids show off their find during a Fourth of July weekend campout. Photo by Tonia Dale

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18th Annual

The Colorado Mountain Club presents

www.cmc.org/bash

* Beer by Avery Brewing Co. * Silent and live auctions for hut trips, gear, and more * Screening of Chris Davenport’s new ski filmAustralis, An Antarctic Ski Odyssey * Benefits the Backcountry Snowsports Initiative

$25 Online $30 at the door

Tickets also available at REI Denver and Boulder locations.

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NOVEMBER 13, 2010

AMERICAN MOUNTAINEERING CENTER

GOLDEN, COLORADO

Rolf Asphaug (2)

made. Along the way, these kids and their parents have grown to appreciate Colorado’s wilderness, gained valuable outdoors skills, and made lifelong friends.

Despite its successes—and its low annual dues—the CWK group is one of the club’s smallest, and is always seeking new members and trip leaders. “Our group is a hidden treasure,” says current CWK co-chair Mark Fahey.

“Where else can a single parent, or parents with no outdoors experience, take their kids for outdoor activities? There really isn’t another group like ours with so many hiking and camping opportunities for younger kids.” △ Do you have younger children— from toddlers to young teens? If you’d like to go with them on a hike, easy snowshoe, or camping trip to a location tailor-made for kids’ interests and abilities, check out the CWK trip schedule at www.cmc.org, or contact any CWK group leader for more information.

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The Clinic The Power to Protect Citizens and Conservation Article and photography by Chris Case with Dan Shepherd, Director of Witness for Wildlife

▶ Sometimes you've got to get your knees dirty in the name of citizen conservation.

When you’re out hiking, do you ever see wildlife tracks? Ever see (or step in) elk scat?

Chances are, you see them all the time. Ever roamed through a wildlife corridor? Hiked amongst the habitat of an endangered species? Chances are, you’ve probably done this, too, whether you’ve known it or not.

Now, what if you could put your passion for the outdoors to good use for Colorado’s roaming wild things? All it takes is something you've already got: two eyes and two feet.

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◀◀ Measuring the size of deteriorated scat, likely from a coyote. ◀ Measuring the size of tree markings, likely those of an elk.

▼ Nose to the ground, you'll find plenty to analyze. Elk Markings (left), made with the teeth, are common in Laskey Gulch. Scat can be harder to interpret.

Sometimes it can be white, suggesting the animal may have ingested phosphate by chewing on bones or eating minerals. ◀ If an elk grazes on high, fresh grasses, you may find this�with so much moisture in it, it doesn't form the pellets often associated with elk scat.

Everyday citizens, especially those who often find themselves out on the trails of our state, have the power to make a difference in protecting our land, and the animals who call it home. The success of many conservation efforts is based on being able to document and monitor the threats within a particular landscape, and gauge any changes that result from the efforts. Increasingly, conservation professionals are looking to volunteers as important components to successful conservation programs.

There are a wide range of skill sets and training requirements for conservation volunteers, depending on the needs of the program. Some of these have specialized technical classes in areas like wildlife tracking or habitat and species identification; you might hear this referred to as “citizen science.”

However, one of the most underuti-

lized volunteer skills is the simple power of observation. Citizen naturalist programs that rely more on this natural world experience and less on the specialized training of citizen science are equally powerful for furthering conservation. Either way, anyone who spends time in the outdoors can benefit from knowing more about what they’re seeing around them. And Colorado—and its wildlife—will benefit, too.

Finding Signs Each place we hike in is a bit different, in terms of the species of wildlife we might see, the intended use of the land, the condition it is in, and the threats it may be facing— or may face in the future. Perhaps the corridor falls on National Forest land, and is managed for multiple uses like recreation and timber production. Perhaps the area is

known to be prime habitat for a threatened or endangered species.

By keeping a few simple questions in mind when you’re hiking, you’ll be able to help scientists and land managers better understand the landscape and how wildlife use the area. If the corridor happens to be near a major highway, like Herman Gulch, then your visit will help you to understand the importance of landscape connectivity.

Keep in mind questions that help tell the overall story of the conditions and suitability of the area for wildlife Which animals did you observe and where?

People are not the only ones that think with their stomachs. How about food for wildlife? Did you see plants for foraging or prey species?

Water is usually an important feature of a wildlife corridor. Did you see good Trail & Timberline

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sources of flowing water or perhaps snow pack in the hills?

The climate of Colorado is changing; colder, longer winters used to be a natural control of the native bark beetles in our forests. Did you see large stands of trees with reddish-orange needles, or stands of dead trees?

The answers to these questions will indicate how the area’s multiple uses are being managed, and how habitat fragmentation can affect various wildlife species.

So, what do you do with this information once you’ve collected it? Well, always be sure to write things down and photograph or video animals, tracks, scat, rubbings, markings, and any other signs of wildlife behavior, corridor conditions, and impacts.

Then, you can turn to that great database

in the sky: the internet. In fact, organizations like Witness for Wildlife are designed to help people document and record their observations; they even have field guides for known wildlife corridors online so that you can download them before you make your visit.

What are they hoping to collect? Not only are these organizations interested in what you’ve seen—everything from the animals you may have been lucky enough to see, to the conditions of the habitat—but they also want to know what your experience was like. Did the practice of observation change your perspective of corridor connectivity? Did you see solutions to any of the threats that might have existed?

You can find downloadable field guides to corridors across Colorado (and the coun-

try), learn more about corridor hikes in your area, and input your own observations at www.witnessforwildlife.org.

Of course, there’s always a next step.

This one, however, is certainly not for everyone. But, if you feel like taking your powers of observation to a whole new level, with a little training you can turn your hikes into sleuthing excursions in the outdoors, a fusion of detective work, scientific inquiry, and, of course, walking in the woods.

Nose to the Ground As a kid, Marty Colón spent his days studying tracks in the tacky sands of Lake Michigan’s shore. He would find a track, identify the animal that made it, then follow its path up and down the beach.

That’s a pretty great childhood.

Essentially, Marty is still following the tracks of his childhood. Now, however, he’s tracking mammals big and small and teaching others the rewards of observing the signs, scats, and tracks beneath their feet.

There are stories imprinted in the soil.

While you’re sleeping, when you’re not around, when you’re at work in the city, animals are roaming the woods, riverbanks, and alpine tundra. If you never see these animals, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist—or that you can’t unravel the mystery of their behavior.

Tracking offers an extension to what we see. With a bit of patience, an investigative method, and dirt on your knees, you can figure out what animal it was that went down the trail before you.

Marty has been teaching tracking skills for 30 years. He’s honed his method to three simple steps. Follow them (and take a tracking class or two) and you will not only be able to follow the animal’s tracks, you’ll be able to see an entirely new world of behavior that wasn’t apparent before.

1) Collecting Track Level Evidence As the name implies, track level evidence is on the ground—not in a book, and not in your brain. When you come across a track, be careful not to guess, thinking you are familiar with the print. Be careful not to exclude certain species based on your presumed familiarity with its habitat and range.

When I took a class with Marty, we found ▲ Tracking expert Marty Colón explains the structure of claws and how they create various tracks. ◀ Studying tracks, nose to the ground.

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a black bear track in Prospect Park. Yup, in the middle of Wheat Ridge.

There are four pieces of evidence that you will want to look for—and write down in a notebook. First, count the number of digits.

In Colorado, that can be four, five, or two (technically, the ungulates—things like deer and elk—have a hoof made of two clouts).

After you’ve determined the number of digits, you’ll want to decide whether they are long and slender like fingers, or short and stubby like your big toe. If you can see any claws, note whether they’ve made a fine point near the tip of the digit (indicative of claws that are curved at a 90-degre angle and good for climbing) or are a bit thicker (like a dog’s claws, which are your general purpose claw—not built exclusively for climbing or digging). If you see the indication of a long, thick claw that extends well beyond the end of the digit, you’ve probably found the track of a digger—things like skunks, badgers, and wolverines.

Finally, make note (in fact, make a sketch) of the shape of the interdigital pad, the surface that sits behind the digits—it can look heart-shaped, bean-shaped, and sometimes like the heel of a human.

2) Determining Family If you know the number of digits in a track, you can start to hone in on the family of your animal. Four digits? It’s very likely to be from the dog, cat, or rabbit family. Or it could be from the rodent family, whose animals have four front digits and five in the rear.

Five digits? It will have to be from the raccoon, opossum, shrew, bear, or weasel family (things like wolverine, sea otter, badger, skunk, marten, and ferret). Again, rodents have five digits on their rear feet so you could have yourself a rodent track.

Two digits? That’s a bit easier; you’ve found a track from the deer family: bison, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, caribou, mule and white-tailed deer, or pronghorn.

If you know the structure and function of those digits, you can eliminate even further. Are they long, finger-like digits that would be good for grasping and climbing?

Think of raccoons and squirrels. Are they short and blunt, general purpose toes? Think dogs, cats, and bears.

Next, the shape of the interdigital pad tells you even more. Based on it’s shape, you can further refine your search.

unravel the mystery. Here, you can use a series of gross filters to eliminate species within each possible family. First, look at size. Using a tracking field guide, you can determine if the track is near in size to the average track for a particular species. Too big or too small and you can eliminate that animal from your list of suspects. Be sure not to measure claws—or overshoot your evidence. That is, don’t eliminate an animal unless you’re absolutely sure. In the end, you may not have enough evidence to narrow it down to only one species.

Marty’s guide of choice? Falcon Guide’s Scats and Tracks series. There’s one specific to the Rocky Mountains that’s small enough to carry each time you head into the outdoors.

3) Determining Species Now you’re ready to take the final step and

Power in Numbers Certainly, this brief overview isn’t enough to

▶ Through the simple power of observation, anyone can become a citizen naturalist. turn you into an expert tracker, or a citizen scientist. But we all possess what it takes to start as a citizen naturalist. And perhaps this lesson will inspire you to learn more. With a bit of training and a sound method, the skill of tracking (and scat and sign identification) can make every landscape come alive in a new way.

Still, you may be thinking that these simple observations are just that: simple.

But, over time and in large quantities, the information that citizens collect can tell us a lot about the changes taking place in a landscape and its viability as suitable habitat. No, they won’t replace raw data, scientific inquiry, or thorough research, but they can wholeheartedly supplement it. And they give us a role in preserving and protecting Colorado’s wild places and wild things.

That's quite a powerful feeling. △ Trail & Timberline

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Pathfinder

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Article and Photography by Chris Case

Illustrations courtesy of the Colorado Division of Wildlife

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t’s not every day that you begin a hike with the smell of brake dust in the air and the whir of racing tires in your ears. But to access Laskey Gulch—home to some of Colorado’s most iconic species, including elk and lynx—dust and noise it is. That’s because you enter the gulch right off of I-70 near Dillon.

The hum of traffic doesn’t seem to quit.

The gulch is part of a wildlife corridor stretching from Ptarmigan Peak to the north, across what is known as Porcupine Ridge, to Jones Gulch, near Keystone, to the south.

This is where animals roam—a rather lush drainage this June day, filled with aspen and evergreen, downed trees, roaring creeks, and fine undergrowth. It’s also a great place to walk in the footsteps of wild animals in Colorado.

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▲Once into Laskey Gulch, you start to recognize why wildlife call this area home—the varied species of trees, the density of cover, and the resources available create a perfect habitat for animals that rely on such things for survival.

From our litter-strewn parking spot just off of the highway, we headed straight into this lush basin. And immediately found signs of life: scat, tracks, markings. When we turned around to see where we had come from, we immediately understood how this home had been altered.

If I were an elk, and I wanted to go to Porcupine Ridge to chow on some new foliage, I’d have my hooves full. First, there would be an 80-foot tall fill bank to climb.

Next, I’d have to build up the courage—or throw caution to the wind—to try and cross three lanes of traffic, a dividing barrier, and another three lanes of traffic to jump another wall. I’d be lucky to make it. Many don’t.

Turning around again, we headed farther into the gulch, the surroundings growing quieter with every step. A braided creek

roiled through the felled aspen. Then, it was a slow meander from track to track, scat to scat, trying to imagine what had passed there before us.

Nevertheless, we were content; we were walking through time and life, really. Like a long-exposure of the stars, we could only see the ghost trails of the permanent inhabitants of these woods. Would our final destination be the den of a lynx or the bed of elk?

Probably not; while we pine for any sighting of the creatures of the forest, the creatures themselves have many years experience and the fine senses to avoid us altogether.

Still, we had dreams of seeing something, and the tracks were the breadcrumbs that would help us understand with whom we walked these woods and, maybe, lead us somewhere special.

We contemplated final destinations but even the peaks of the wilderness area above couldn’t draw us on, so intent were we to study the ground and discuss the importance of wildlife in our little world. Our noses went to the ground each time we saw track or scat; our eyes peeled to the trees each time we sensed the markings of animals big and small.

And our thoughts continuously returned to the fact that wildlife—the elk whose tracks we followed, this lush basin that they called home, the myriad other animals that roamed this drainage—defined Colorado. We were proud to live amongst these other amazing beings and shared our favorite stories of wildlife encounters and, more grimly, the fate of so many imperiled species.

Traversing back and forth across the creek we stopped for a short break. We Trail & Timberline

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▲ Lush to the left, concrete to the right. Laskey Gulch is filled with stands of coniferous trees and aspen, healthy creeks, and a rich array of Colorado's wildlife species. But it ends abruptly: with a hearty fill bank and heaps of asphalt, not to mention thousands of roaring vehicles, I-70 creates a dangerous passage to some, an impenetrable barrier to others.

looked around and noticed we’d lost one of our group. On cue, he came walking up the trail.

“Did you see them?” he asked.

“See what? We thought you might have been peeing back there.”

“Elk. A whole group of them were bedded down over there....”

We turned in pursuit of the herd, if only for a glimpse of their rumps as they crested a hill.

We might not have thought we would spot any wildlife today, but at least one of us already had. And now the whole group had the thirst. We scurried after their trail.

Alas, we couldn’t compete. They were long gone and we were left with...ghost trails— tracks and scat. △

Maybe you’d like to walk in the footsteps of wildlife. Or, if you’re like some, you'd be satisfied sticking your nose to the ground and inspecting tracks and scat. Out you go to some of the state's more remarkable and threatened wildlife corridors.

HD Mountains

Named for a 19th-century cattle brand, the HD Mountains near Bayfield, in Colorado’s southwest corner, remain largely the same as they did when Captain Macomb explored the area in 1859. The area contains many of the last remaining stands of unlogged, centuries-old ponderosa pine forests in the southern Rockies. Because the area has remained relatively undisturbed and free of cattle, the winter range is considered high value and supports a healthy mule deer herd. This large block of undeveloped, low elevation habitat is becoming increasingly rare across the San Juan Mountains and the western United States.

A large portion of the mountain range is an inventoried roadless area and has been proposed for wilderness protection by citizen groups. The HDs also encompass hundreds of thousand-yearold archeological sites once occupied by pre-Puebloan peoples.

Now, the area is the subject of an industrial development proposal for hundreds of coal-bed methane wells and associated roads, pipelines, and powerlines that would forever change the appearance, use, and natural life of the mountain range.

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Area Located on the southern extent of the San Juan Mountains, the HDs are a distinct mountain range centered around a 39,172-acre roadless area in the San Juan National Forest. From a distance, the HDs appear to be low rolling hills.

Instead, streams incise deep and rugged valleys whose drier slopes are choked with Gambel’s oak and other dense shrubs, and whose wetter slopes are covered with stands of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, aspen, and white fir.

Access Near Bayfield, a number of jeep roads leading from Route 160 from the north and west will take you closer to the roadless area.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Colorado Division of Wildlife

Animal Species The HDs provide prime habitat for mule deer, elk, turkey, bear, northern goshawk, Mexican spotted owl, and numerous migratory songbirds and raptors. In addition, one might encounter mountain lion, bobcat, short-horned lizard, red-tailed hawk, ash-throated flycatchers, canyon wren, woodpeckers, hermit thrush, and western tanagers.

Importantly, the HDs are one of the last undeveloped north-south migration corridors left for elk and other migrating wildlife in the San Juan Mountains.

Species of Note In southwestern Colorado, mule deer migrate biannually between low elevation winter ranges on the Southern Ute Indian reservation, through the HD Mountains, to high elevation summer ranges in the rugged Weminuche Wilderness of the San Juan Mountains. Animals migrating off their winter range spread out widely into summer ranges such that migration distances may range from just a few miles to as many as 50 air miles.

Threats The San Juan Basin is one of the most intensively drilled areas in Colorado and New Mexico with over 40,000 total wells.

The HD Mountains are one of the last undrilled areas left in the basin. Unfortunately, the San Juan National Forest has adopted a drilling plan that would authorize additional wells and 11 miles of road within the roadless portion of the HD Mountains and several dozen additional wells around the periphery of the mountains.

Several organizations are currently appealing the 2004 Forest Service decision.

In addition, as it migrates from north to south the mule deer herd has the challenge of crossing Route 160.

▶ Primarily migratory animals, mule deer depend on connected landscapes to move seasonally between their summer and winter ranges.

Herman Gulch

A mosaic of national forest and wilderness areas just east of the Continental Divide, Herman Gulch wildlife corridor offers the calm of rushing mountain streams, the beauty of quaking aspen trees, and the refuge of thick fir and pine forests. Mountainsides blooming with wildflowers—including blue columbine, Colorado's state flower—climb steadily higher to alpine lakes and some of Colorado's famous fourteeners.

Just a short drive from Denver, Herman Gulch offers a chance to experience the importance of landscape connectivity; the drastic effects of habitat fragmentation are hard to mistake if you know what to look for.

How did the elk cross the road? It’s not easy along I-70. The lack of roadway permeability—a fancy way of describing ways in which to easily and safely cross from one side of the road to the other—is apparent. The noise from traffic along this major highway is unavoidable. While this is a popular and pleasant hike, a walk in the footsteps (er, hoof prints) of an elk or deer will help you understand the complexity of corridors and why it is critical for sustaining wildlife populations in the Southern Rockies of Colorado.

Area The corridor lies just east of the Continental Divide in Colorado's Front Range. It extends to Byers Peak, Vasquez Peak, and James Peak Wilderness areas to the north, the Continental Divide to the west, and the Pike and San Isabel National Forests to the south. I-70 bisects the western two thirds of the corridor before heading north to form the eastern extent of the linkage area with the Mount Evans Wilderness area.

Access Herman Gulch trailhead, exit 218 off of I-70 Animal Species This corridor is rich in wildlife, including elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear, and at-risk species such as the highly imperiled boreal toad. State biologists have identified the corridor as a high-use area for the region's population of federally threatened Canada lynx; wildlife experts recognize it as an important linkage for the cats moving into new habitat to the north from their established core areas further

south. Many other species may inhabit the corridor, including American marten, badger, bats, beaver, bobcat, bushy-tailed woodrat, chipmunks, coyote, longtailed weasel, mice, cottontail, mountain lion, pika, porcupine, red fox, short-tailed weasel, shrews, squirrels, snowshoe hare, striped skunk, voles, and yellow-bellied marmot. In addition, many bird species may be seen.

▲ A compound track, where a small mammal (possibly a fox) stepped into the track of a larger ungulate, likely an elk.

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Species of Note Boreal toads inhabit a variety of high-altitude wet habitats (i.e., wet meadows, streams, beaver ponds, glacial kettle ponds, and subalpine forest lakes) at elevations primarily between 8,000-11,500 feet. The Herman Gulch wildlife corridor is an important part of their

current range. Boreal toads are a Colorado state endangered species.

Colorado began an effort to restore the once-native lynx to the southern Rockies region in 1999. The cats prefer high elevation sprucefir forests like those found in the Herman Gulch

Lower South Platte River flyway

the mid-1700s, and named it the Platte, French for “flat.” Beginning in the early 1900s, several prominent ornithologists, including Robert Niedrach, Alfred Bailey, and Robert Rockwell, explored the area and documented the rich variety of bird life. In 1997, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and the U. S. Department of the Interior formed a unique partnership, known as the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, with the goal of developing a shared approach for managing the Platte River and complying with the Endangered Species Act.

The entire Platte River basin is an important stopover for migratory water birds in their yearly traversal of the Central Flyway, primarily a northsouth corridor. The flyway is used by these birds because no mountains or large hills block the flyway over its entire extent. The Rocky Mountains to

National Conservation Training Center Image Library

To understand the Lower South Platte River Flyway, one must first understand the Central Flyway. This migration corridor has been called "the flyway of the Great Plains," as it encompasses the entire region between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River Valley. Beginning in the Arctic Circle in Alaska and Canada, the Central Flyway merges toward the east with the Mississippi Flyway, the longest migration route of any in the Western Hemisphere, terminating in Patagonia.

Comprising the western fringe of the Central Flyway is the Lower South Platte River Flyway. The Platte River’s two branches, the North Platte and the South Platte, rise in the Rocky Mountains and join in western Nebraska west of the 100th meridian.

French explorers were the first Europeans to see the Platte River in

corridor, which biologists have identified as a high use area for the cats. Other wildlife experts have identified the corridor as a key linkage for lynx moving between core areas in the south and new habitat to the north. Lynx are listed as threatened on the endangered species list.

◀ Having fought off extinction for the past half century, the whooping crane has not been seen in Colorado since 2002.

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Matthew Johnson, Colorado Division of Wildlife Volunteer

the west provide a visual guide for route finding; good sources of water, food, and cover exist over its entire length.

Area The Lower South Platte River Flyway is the most important migration and wintering area in Colorado. Encompassing 425,310 acres and 200 miles of river from Greeley to the Nebraska state line, this area historically contained 71,080 wetland acres.

Access Jackson Lake State Park, near Ft. Morgan, and Barr Lake State Park, near Brighton, offer fine birding opportunities.

Barr Lake State Park boasts 346 confirmed species of birds, the most for any area of similar size in Colorado. Birders have been flocking to Barr Lake since the reservoir was created in the 1880s.

Red Lion and Tamarack Ranch state wildlife areas also offer waterfowl viewing opportunities.

Animal Species Bird species that inhabit this corridor, either seasonally or year-round, include sandhill cranes, western grebes, snowy plovers, bald eagles, white pelicans, American avocets, great blue herons, long-billed curlews, hummingbirds, cormorants, egrets, geese, and ducks. Whitetail deer, mule deer, coyotes, gray foxes, raccoons, and many types of fish also live in this corridor.

Species of Note The area is also known for the whooping crane, piping plover, and least tern, all federally endangered or threatened species protected under the Platte River Endangered Species Partnership.

Threats Many people think that birds are immune to changes on the land below them, but migratory birds require places to rest and refuel as they journey. Though the Platte River ecosystem is essential for the welfare of many migrating species, it is being degraded due to urbanization and farming.

Channelization, irrigation, and the construction of reservoirs have contributed to the elimination of high-quality bird habitat through the expansion of woodland and the narrowing of river

▲ Sandhill Cranes are listed as a species of special concern in Colorado. Their population decline corresponded with increased human settlement. channels. The threatened whooping cranes, piping plovers, and least terns prefer more sparsely vegetated, open, sandy areas near shallow water.

Discharges from dams built along these river systems pose additional problems for the birds nesting in the remaining habitat. Today, flow regimes in many rivers differ greatly from historic regimes. High flow periods may now extend into the normal nesting period, thereby reducing the availability of quality nest sites and forcing terns to nest in less than optimum locations. Extreme fluctuations can inundate potential nesting areas, flood existing nests, or dry out feeding areas.

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Wild on the Move Building corridor connections within our Colorado backyards

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By Geoff Mueller Photography by Chris Case (except otherwise noted)

Joe Lewandowski, Colorado Division of Wildlife; Chris Case Chris Case; Anya Byers; Chris Case; Colorado Division of Wildlife

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H

uman beings are genetically rigged for conquering goals— everything from tackling summits and capturing podium finishes to climbing corporate ladders, checking off new hikes, and bagging bigger peaks. And we’re constantly in pursuit of what lurks beyond the next bend. But, in this circuitous route to pass go and collect the prize, rarely do we take time to stop, sniff, and study the “scat” along the way.

On a recent trek, though, my eyes—and those of the rest of the group—were fixed on the scat prize. Barely 30 minutes into our mountainside hike there had been ample pause to ponder prints, measure beastly rub marks bored into downed aspens, as well as scope scads of poo. Accompanied by two CMC staffers and Julia Kintsch, from the organization Freedom to Roam (FTR), we prodded various samples—from dried-out to steamy—with twigs and fingers. Inched our noses within sniffing distance. And photographed and vetted differing shapes and stages against pencil drawings in a guidebook specifically designed for this kind of highbrow detective work.

So, you might ask, why the heck would we be traipsing around the woods rifling through the ripening organics?

The goal, my intrepid tour guides pointed out, was not any final destination.

It was, instead, the journey: one that’s part of a burgeoning grassroots movement to immerse the general public in the importance of wildlife and the game-changing habitat shifts occurring right under our toes. Along that same vein, FTR recently embarked on its Witness for Wildlife crusade, teaming with organizations such as the CMC to engage the unconverted through education, action, and hands-on adventure.

The New Backyard Wildlife is not a static entity. To the contrary, it’s constantly on the move. As seasons come and go, so too do various species, sojourning from summering to wintering grounds, from breeding spaces to feeding zones. These migrations, from one core to another, take place via corridors—land, sea, and air arteries bridging areas of land large enough to sustain breeding populations. In turn, these corridors ensure connectivity.

But, just as with an incomplete connect-thedots puzzle from your youth, a handful of missing links creates an unrecognizable picture, one that’s ultimately out of step with the intended original.

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Throughout the world, wildlife corridors have been used by different species for millennia—from deer, elk, caribou, grizzlies, wolves, lynx, and hummingbirds, to turtles and ocean-migrating tuna and tarpon. But with increasing human development, as well as shifts in habitat caused by everything from climate change to urbanization and deforestation, corridors have morphed, shriveled and, in some cases, been severed. Science tells us broken links in the chain inhibit a species’ migration, as well as their ability to seek out food, reproduce, or effectively adapt to climate change, habitat fragmentation, and development. Because wildlife health hinges on these vital arteries, maintaining existing and securing future corridors has, in recent

many recreational attractions.

Tally up the score, and Colorado equals a coveted place to live—for both humans and wildlife alike. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the Front Range Urban Corridor, stretching from Pueblo, Colo., north to Cheyenne, Wyo., grew by almost 20 percent (to 4,328,406 total) between 2000 and 2009. This urbanization onslaught affects quintessential Colorado wildlife, such as mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and lynx in the steamrolling process. As state habitat is incrementally altered, wildlife become increasingly reliant on existing corridors to fulfill daily, seasonal, and lifelong needs.

“Colorado is a microcosm of what’s going on in the rest of the world,” says Freedom

“Colorado is a microcosm of what’s going on in the rest of the world,” says Freedom to Roam Executive Director, Jeff Parrish. “We’re blessed with wild places and open spaces, as well as natural resources on the extraction side—oil and gas, coalbed methane, and forestry. You can see how quickly growth on the Front Range has happened, and it’s happening across the country. It all boils down to, ‘how do you keep the things you love, while still being able to turn the lights on and have electricity.’” times, risen to the forefront of the ecological agenda. Nowhere is this more evident than in our Colorado backyard.

The Centennial State is home to wildly diverse geographic entities: It encompasses most of the southern Rocky Mountains, the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau, and the western edge of the Great Plains. That’s a lofty melee of mountains, plains, mesas, and canyons. In addition, the state boasts 30 of the highest Rocky Mountain summits. It houses four national parks, two national recreation areas, three national historic trails, one national scenic trail, 12 national forests, two national grasslands, 43 national wilderness areas, two national conservation areas, eight national wildlife refuges, 42 state parks, one state forest, more than 300 state wildlife areas, and many,

to Roam Executive Director, Jeff Parrish.

“We’re blessed with wild places and open spaces, as well as natural resources on the extraction side—oil and gas, coalbed methane, and forestry. You can see how quickly growth on the Front Range has happened, and it’s happening across the country. It all boils down to, ‘how do you keep the things you love, while still being able to turn the lights on and have electricity.’”

The Denver-based FTR has been studying similar questions and seeking permanent solutions since its inception in 2007 under the Patagonia clothing company umbrella (In 2009, FTR branched off as an independent nonprofit). Rick Ridgeway, Patagonia's VP of environmental initiatives, founded the campaign, and serves as its board chairman.

Recently, Ridgeway and his team have been

Floating on Snowshoes

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

By Paige Bonaker, Center for Native Ecosystems

Tanya Shenk, Colorado Division of Wildlife

Colorado Division of Wildlife (2)

In a bygone era, early pioneers explored Colorado’s high country on snowshoes. Today, one native still makes a living by hunting this way: the Canada lynx.

Lynx are a medium-sized cat with a grayish coat, faded spots, a short tail with a solid black tip, and conspicuous ear tufts. Perhaps their most remarkable feature are their large feet, covered with thick fur that creates a natural snowshoe, allowing the cat to walk on top of deep, fluffy snow. This gives them an advantage over other predators like coyotes in cold climates and at high altitudes.

Lynx are often confused with their more common cousin, the bobcat. Bobcats, however, are slightly smaller with reddish coats, more pronounced spots, and a longer tail with a black tip that is broken by a reddish band.

Canada lynx are mainly found in North America’s high elevation spruce-fir forests with cold, snowy winters. The cats primarily eat snowshoe hare and other small animals. In fact, in some parts of their range, snowshoe hare make up more than 90 percent of their diet.

Lynx once roamed from the Yukon and Alaska to New Mexico. Native lynx were believed to be functionally extirpated in the Southern Rockies by the mid-1970s, though

reliable reports of native lynx tracks exist into the 1990s. In an effort to restore a viable population of Canada lynx to Colorado, the Colorado Division of Wildlife initiated a reintroduction effort in 1999. Since that time, 218 cats have been released in the state and over 125 births have been documented.

Lynx move through large home ranges to ensure sufficient prey is available. Some individuals travel far to explore. And far means far: animals from Colorado have moved into the surrounding states of Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah and have traveled as far as Montana and Canada.

Lynx are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species throughout most of their range. The current population of Canada lynx in the lower 48 states is unknown, but is estimated to be only about 1,000. Their numbers have declined throughout most of their range in the lower 48 states due to over trapping, as well as habitat loss and fragmentation from logging, fire suppression, road construction, recreational developments, and urbanization. Likewise, highway mortalities, snow compaction from recreation, and genetic isolation from populations in Canada have all led to a decrease in their population.

As with many species, the lynx will continue to be challenged by habitat loss resulting from climate change. Their only hope may be to move higher up the mountains and farther north along the Rockies. △ Trail & Timberline

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working to clot corridor fissures by stretching the dialogue beyond scientific vernacular to more mainstream business, government, and recreational community groups and outlets. One of FTR’s main priorities is creating broad social awareness around wildlife corridors by building a social movement and positioning targeted groups, to respond to local, regional, or national calls to action.

“In Colorado we’re lucky in that there’s an established base of environmental nonprofits working together with the corporate and political communities, and providing

“The biggest challenge is that many people have fallen out of synch with what’s happening in their backyards,” he says.

Engaging An Audience Colorado has approximately 200 identified corridors, which makes moving from your doorstep into the wild relatively easy. Visual red flags of a changing Colorado become strikingly apparent as soon as metropolitan Denver segues into the habitat-rich, mountain backdrops of beetle-kill forest along the I-70 mountain corridor. Along that

mind, the CMC and FTR, along with groups such as the Center for Native Ecosystems (CNE) and the Denver Zoo, have combined efforts on a pilot program to educate recreationists in local wildlife awareness. Starting this summer, CMC has lead these Witness for Wildlife (W4W) hikes at Herman Gulch, Watrous Gulch, and at Lily Pad Lake.

Like my springtime Laskey Gulch adventure, the W4W hikes are less about reaching single destinations, or covering a plethora of miles. Instead, like a class field trip through a moveable museum of natural phenomena,

▲ Center for Native Ecosystems staff person Alison Huyett helps a CMC member to identify animal tracks on a Witness for Wildlife pilot trip to the Herman Gulch wildlife corridor. the public ample opportunities to engage and reconnect,” Parrish says. “We’re reaching out to the unconverted—sportsmen, recreationists, and all constituents from the far left to the far right of the political spectrum.”

It plans to further this goal by stoking a groundswell of grassroots “citizen naturalists” in tune with wildlife, their key corridors, and the importance of connectivity to wildlife health and survival.

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same road, peer under the car wheels, and this state-bisecting concrete swath provides textbook references to what’s been dubbed a Berlin Wall to wildlife connectivity.

Now hit the brakes. Steer into any roadside pull-off. And park. With nothing more than keen eyes and a couple of steady walking legs, firsthand perspective on wildlife abounds.

With this high accessibility model in

participants hike slowly, studying and recording signs of wildlife they encounter along the path. Trip leaders are trained to accurately identify tracks and other wildlife signs, as well as help participants make observations about corridor threats and conditions.

But it doesn’t stop there. Hikers are then encouraged to report their findings and experiences in W4W downloadable field guides specifically catered to their trips. Col-

A Western Icon Under Threat

Greater Sage Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)

By Sasha Nelson, Colorado Environmental Coalition

Chris Case (3)

“The number of Grouse, which flew over the camp, reminded me of the old-time flights of Passenger Pigeons that I used to see when I was a boy. Before long, the narrow valley…was…a moving mass of gray.

I have no means whatever of estimating the number of birds which I saw, but there must have been thousands of them."

This is how one early explorer described the clouds of greater sage grouse that once filled our western skies. Today, the comparison between greater sage grouse and passenger pigeon seems almost prophetic: In early 2010, greater sage grouse became a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act and many fear that if steps are not taken now to protect this species it, too, will be driven to extinction.

There are only two species of sage grouse in the world: greater sage grouse and Gunnison sage grouse. Colorado is home to both species. The greater sage grouse is a grayish-brown bird between 22 and 30 inches long. Males display a white chest and black throat, while the female is very well camouflaged in its environment. The sage grouse was historically found across much of western North America. Now, they have completely disappeared from Arizona, Nebraska, and British Columbia.

They are an iconic western bird due, in large part, to their fascinating mating display and competitive mating ritual, considered to be one of the most elaborate in the natural world. Each spring males gather at their traditional courtship location, called a lek. These open areas of prairie next to dense stands of sagebrush are used by grouse for decades.

During mating displays, males inflate large mustard-colored throat pouches with air, and puff out their collar of bright white feathers, all while making cooing and popping noises to attract the females. The males’ elaborate courtship displays continue with strutting, to show off their fans of pointed tail feathers, and tossing the long plume feath-

ers on their heads. Females watch closely and mate only with the best dancers.

Once abundant throughout the West, the greater sage grouse is increasingly threatened by the loss of its sagebrush habitat. Not only is it the setting for its traditional courting ritual, the sagebrush habitat also provides food and shelter.

The prevalence of oil and gas development, sprawl, human destruction of sagebrush, and invasive weeds like cheat grass all threaten the ecosystem. When habitat damage takes place, it can take 25 to100 years to recover.

Studies suggest that the bird’s population has declined by 70 to 90 percent; they are at great risk of reduced genetic variation due to this severe population decline. Importantly, over 350 other species depend on the sagebrush ecosystem that is essential for the grouse. The decline of the grouse is a red flag that these other species are also under threat.

In early 2010, sage grouse were determined to be "warranted but precluded" for listing as an endangered species.

This means that the species deserves protection, but the agency will not afford such protection yet; the species is on the list of “candidates” for Endangered Species Act protection. There are currently more than 275 animals and plant species on the candidate list; some have been candidates for more than 25 years. △ To learn more, visit www.nativeecosystems.org, www.ourcolorado.org, or www.savevermillion.org, or contact Sasha Nelson with Colorado Environmental Coalition at 970.824.5241 or sasha@cecenviro.org.

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lected information is passed on to experts at the CNE for its I-70 Safe Passages project. Safe Passages was designed to restore access to critical wildlife habitat along the highway, providing the Federal Highway Administration and Colorado Department of Transportation with information to identify and prioritize wildlife mitigation opportunities for future I-70 reconstruction projects. The result will be recommendations for a permeable system of culverts, overpasses, and underpasses for aquatic and terrestrial species.

From CNE’s perspective, projects like W4W are fitting accompaniments to its Safe Passages project because it helps strengthen data collection methods, while increasing community awareness around wildlife movement and habitat fragmentation issues. CNE staff biologist Paige Bonaker says, “Data collected by citizen scientists will be used to fortify current data collection methods by identifying the presence of animals that, for one reason or another, don’t activate our motion-sensor cameras.”

Cats and Corridors What do black-footed ferret, grizzly bear, wolverine, gray wolf, and lynx all share? In addition to their reliance on far-reaching corridor connectivity, they all currently occupy unfortunate space on the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s (CDOW) “Endangered, Threatened and Species of Special Concern” list.

Although the likelihood of spotting a grizz or wolf in the Colorado wilds is next to nil these days, the stoic lynx—thanks to reintroduction work stemming back to 1997—is clawing at a comeback.

Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), with their piqued ears, thick salt-and-pepper coats, and oversized snow-deceiving paws, are predators built for cold climates and high altitudes, where they mostly dine on snowshoe hares— eating up to 200 a year. Colorado marks the southernmost historical distribution of lynx. By the late 1970s most of its native cats were extirpated due to poison28

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Traffic Stoppers Wildlife—everything from mule deer, elk, and bighorn, to rufous hummingbirds, amphibians, and insects—are inherent parts of Colorado’s iconography. We come seeking it, and plant stakes here to live and play amongst it. When the corridors that link crucial wildlife habitats are severed, not only do we risk losing the species that make this state great, we lose a piece of its soul.

While erasing I-70 off the face of the map is not a viable option, there are smart solutions in the mix.

Last June, wildlife occupying areas along the I-70 corridor received a minor victory from legislators in the form of HB 1238, the Wildlife Crossing Zones Traffic Safety Bill, signed into law in Vail. The bill created “wildlife crossing zones,” much like construction zone controls, with reduced speed limits and increased speeding fines in an effort to limit wildlife related accidents on the highway.

In addition, last June marked the kickoff of ARC, the International Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure Design Competition. Along with concerned sponsors such as CNE and others, ARC is courting “the best and most innovative international, interdisciplinary design teams—comprised of landscape architects, engineers, ecologists, and other experts—to create the next generation of wildlife crossing structures for North America’s roadways.” The competition asks applicants to design a site-specific wildlife crossing along the I-70 mountain corridor near Vail Pass, 90 miles west of Denver, similar to other ecologicallysound crossings already found in areas like Canada’s Banff National Park and parts of the Netherlands.

Although the yet-to-be-selected winners will receive cash prizes and other kudos for their efforts, actual construction of new natural bridges and underpasses along I-70 have yet to be slated. CDOT, however, says it is studying the possibility.

ing and over trapping. Between 1999 and 2007, 218 lynx were released by CDOW in southwestern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, which today remains a stronghold for a fledgling population. Elsewhere in the state, the towering Collegiate Peak Wilderness area, bordered by neighboring towns such as Buena Vista, Crested Butte, Aspen, Twin Lakes, Taylor Park, Tin Cup, Pitkin, Ohio, White Pine, Garfield, Gunnison, and Almont, bound another lynx-established core area.

ward meanderings, a Colorado-released lynx recently traveled 1,200 miles back to Canada where it originated—ultimately meeting its demise in a trap line. The radio-collared male was believed to have fathered kittens in 2005 and 2006.

Other lynx have perished along this oft-perilous, experimental journey to freedom. From 1999 through 2009, CDOW recorded 118 tagged-lynx mortalities. Approximately one-third of those deaths are labeled “human-induced,” caused by vehicle

is very much a success and that the population is very much on its way to being selfsustaining.”

Although CDOW is the frontrunner behind the lynx reintroduction, CNE and a coalition of conservation groups have worked with the state agency to help build public support for the program. CNE continues to challenge high-impact development projects that would irreversibly fragment or damage lynx habitat. It’s also in the process of pressing state and federal agencies

◀ Using camera Traps and computers, CNE biologists are able to track the movement of species through culverts, across highways, and around other manmade barriers. ▶ CNE's Paige Bonaker and Alison Huyett rake and shovel the sand and gravel below this I-70 overpass to create a "Track Bed," to aid in recording animal traffic.

Most of the reintroduced cats tend to remain in one area during the winter months and then move more broadly during the summer. According to CDOW biologists, lynx have established several travel corridors throughout the state, including Cochetopa Hills, the Rio Grande ReservoirSilverton-Lizardhead Pass, and Wolf Creek Pass. Clearly, these cats are on the move, often ignoring state, even international borders, while roaming as far as New Mexico, Utah, and north into Wyoming, Montana, and beyond. In an extreme instance of way-

collisions or by being shot.

But there have been stories of success, too.

“We have seen over 125 births since 1999 and those are just the ones that we know about,” says Bonaker, who, through her work as a CNE staff biologist, continues to follow the reintroductions intently.

“In 2006, the first Colorado-born cat was documented as having her own litter and, in 2009, two dens had kittens with both sets of parents born in Colorado. All of this is very rewarding. I think the reintroduction

to adequately protect lynx habitat in light of climate change. In other words, protecting the species is an ongoing tug-o-war between sound science and pushing through appropriate policies to maintain population buoyancy. Citizen naturalists, too, play a role in the end game.

“It is very difficult to fully understand the [lynx] demography—birthrates, death rates, et cetera—of the population from information gathered from so few animals. In other words, taken at face value, the numbers in CDOW’s reports may seem small, Trail & Timberline

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There are Toads in Them There Hills

Boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas)

By Tina Jackson, Statewide Amphibian and Reptile Coordinator, Colorado Division of Wildlife

The females are noticeably larger than the males and only breed every two or three years. Though visitors to the breeding ponds may hear a quiet peep, peep, peep coming from the males, boreal toads do not have a true breeding call.

After breeding, most of the adults leave the pond, spending their summers

Linda Skinner; Colorado Division of Wildlife (2)

Colorado is known for the amazing mountain ranges that make up the heart of our state— the ski slopes, trout streams, hiking trails, elk herds, wildflower meadows, and…smiling toads? Yup, in the very areas where you spend your weekends enjoying the mountains, there is a native toad struggling to survive.

The boreal toad was once found throughout the mountains of Colorado, northern New Mexico, and southern Wyoming at elevations above 8,000 feet. Since the 1970s, however, they have experienced significant declines due, in large part, to a fungus that is spreading around the world. The toad is currently listed as a threatened species by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

There are only a handful of amphibians that make their homes in the high elevation habitats where boreal toads are found; that makes the boreal toad fairly easy to identify.

They can be as large as 4 inches in length, though are as small as a penny when they leave the breeding ponds as toadlets. They also have two conspicuous features: the pale stripe that runs down the center of their dark green back and their copper colored eyes. In contrast to the small wart-like bumps that cover their backs, their spotted, cream colored bellies are smooth.

Heightening their attractiveness is their mouth, which naturally curves into a smile.

Researchers use the size of their smile to estimate their age. If you look closely behind

their eyes, you may also see an oval shaped “wart” known as a parotoid gland, which produces a toxin. Though it has the aroma of peanut butter, don’t be fooled: it tastes bad and is designed to make them unappealing to some predators.

As with most amphibians, boreal toads start life as eggs in the water. Specifically, they start as a string of black eggs in beaver ponds, marshes, and other shallow wetlands. After a couple of weeks, they hatch into tiny black tadpoles that can be mistaken for mosquito larvae for the first few days. These tadpoles have until the time the pond freezes to gain weight and grow legs and lungs, which will be necessities for their life on land. Those toadlets lucky enough to make it out of the pond before winter will take about three years to reach adult size and begin families of their own.

Boreal toads spend the winter hibernating in rock crevices, rodent burrows, and anywhere else that will keep them from freezing. Adults will come out of hibernation as soon as the ice starts melting off the ponds, which can be anytime between May and early July at these high elevation sites (two of the known breeding sites in Colorado sit at over 12,000 feet).

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hiking through the forest and eating bugs.

You might spot them along trails or roads, floating down streams, or hiding in rocky slopes.

The future is still looking bleak for this cute mountain dweller, but you can help.

Humans who venture into boreal toad habitat can help prevent the spread of the threatening fungus by disinfecting any gear that comes in contact with the water or mud, including boots, waders, and nets. △

As you are out hiking and camping, look for the toads, tadpoles, and eggs. Sightings can be reported by calling (719) 227-5237 or emailing tina.jackson@state.co.us.

Details on current recovery activities, population status, research, and how to disinfect your gear can be found at http://wildlife.state. co.us/Research/Aquatic/BorealToad.

but it’s only a fraction of the full story,” Bonaker says. “I think the biggest role for citizen naturalists is to become stewards for the areas that lynx use most often. This includes sharing their experiences of being in important lynx habitat and helping spread the word about the importance of habitat connectivity and movement corridors.”

Over the past two years, CNE has focused on the pressures of I-70 on wildlife movement patterns, studying corridors that are bisected by the highway for the W4W projects. Herman Gulch is one such corridor that has been identified by state biologists as a “high-use” area and important linkage for lynx. How does I-70 continue to affect lynx habitat? Biologists consider it a major barrier to lynx movement in Colorado. Research concurs, showing that an Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) count of 4,000 creates a substantial barrier to wildlife movement. The AADT at the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 topped nearly 34,000 in January 2010. Traffic counts along I-70 are projected to double within the next decade.

Wildlife killed in collisions along the corridor include mountain lion, moose,

coyote, deer, bear, elk, and the first recorded wolf to enter Colorado since 1936 (In 2004, a rogue radio-collared female wolf from Yellowstone was killed on I-70, about 30 miles west of Denver). So far, four of CDOW’s reintroduced lynx have been hit and killed by motorists traveling on I-70.

According to CDOW reports, habitat loss and fragmentation from road construction, recreational developments, and urbanization, as well as highway mortalities and snow compaction, remain the biggest threats to lynx numbers in the contiguous United States.

As temperatures rise, snowpack and forests that lynx rely on are predicted to shrink upward in altitude and northward in latitude, and lynx populations will likely become more isolated. Bonaker says protecting habitat at higher elevations (which includes much of the southern Rockies), as well as important corridors linking those areas is critical for long-term survival of the species.

W4W-type programs, she adds, are important to the survival of species like lynx, because they increase public awareness, “both to the importance of habitat and movement

▲ Though highways and development pose the most apparent threat to wildlife migration, a changing western landscape— modified by a warming climate, riddled with dead and dying trees like these—will continue to challenge species in different ways. corridors these species rely on for their survival, and because more people learn and can be excited about these amazing critters with which they share their outdoor playground.

“The more people who know this and can help spread the word, the better chance these animals and their habitat have of persisting into the future,” Bonaker says.

In contrast to Colorado’s threatened and at-risk species, it’s notable that state elk populations seem to be fairing just fine.

CDOW biologist Darby Finley says the greatest challenges facing elk in Colorado today are urban and energy development and summer recreational use on public lands, specifically by off-highway vehicles (OHVs). However, elk are highly adaptable to environment changes and are adept at modifying their movements.

“Elk in Colorado have faired extremely Trail & Timberline

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Home on the Range

Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

By Chris Case

Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam Where the Deer and the Antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the sky is not cloudy all day.

Chris Case

We’re all familiar with the lyrics to “Home on the Range,” now the state song of Kansas. Written as a poem in the early 1870s, was the antelope in question the pronghorn, by chance?

Pronghorn are a unique North American native. It is, in fact, a mistake to call them antelope: the pronghorn's resemblance to African antelope species (Old World members of the cow family) is only superficial.

Colorado's smallest ungulates (hoofed mammals) are only 4 to 5 feet long, and less than 3 feet tall at the shoulder. When startled, they raise the hair on their rumps to display a white warning patch that can be seen for miles. Weights range between 85 and 100 pounds.

Relative to their small stature, pronghorn have a large windpipe, heart, and lungs, making them extraordinarily fast. They can maintain speeds of 40 miles per hour for several miles and can run up to 60 miles per hour in short bursts. They are considered the fastest animal in the Western Hemisphere and the second fastest land mammal in the world, after the cheetah.

In spring and summer, the older, more dominant bucks remain solitary and the younger males form bachelor bands of up to 12 individuals. Females with young form small herds. In the winter, there are large herds of mixed sex and age. Pronghorns mate each fall, generally in dry, open grasslands and semi-desert shrub lands with rolling topography that afford good visibility. Bucks will gather harems of fe-

The name pronghorn is derived from the forward projection, or prong, on each horn.

Sometimes up to 15 inches long, the horn is composed of a fused hair (keratin) sheath which covers a bone core. Unlike true horns (but similar to antlers), males usually shed this sheath after breeding each fall, and then grow a new one.

About 40 percent of females have horns, but they don't get any longer than their ears and never fork. Only males have a black patch on the jaw below the eye.

Reddish tan in color, with a prominent white stomach and wide, white stripes on their throats, 32

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males and protect them jealously—sometimes battling rivals in spectacular and dangerous fights. In the spring, females give birth to one or two young, which can outrun a human after just a few days. Pronghorns have a typical lifespan of seven to 10 years.

Just after the turn of the twentieth century, pronghorns were nearly extinct because of unregulated hunting. Today, the pronghorn is a big game animal with an annual licensed harvest of about 8,000 animals, from a total Colorado population of about 50,000.

Still, with an increase in barriers to their mobility, the pronghorns face threats.

Uniquely, when they encounter a fence, a pronghorn will usually try to crawl under it. They will seldom try to jump over, their legs being made for speed and not lift.

However, they often have no choice and the consequences of their poor jumping ability are dire. Like other large mammals whose range covers great distances, roads and other development also pose major obstacles.

well over the past 25 years, reaching the highest population levels in recent history,” Finley says. “We have seen overpopulation objectives in most of our DAUs [Data Analysis Units] statewide and have been reducing elk numbers over the past five years.”

Currently there are 57 radio-collared elk in northwest Colorado. They are part of CDOW’s management study for the Bear’s Ears and White River herds, tracked via airplane on a monthly basis. The purpose of the study is to better understand the movements of elk, while addressing population management concerns. The White River herd is the largest migratory herd in Colorado, perhaps the country. The Bear’s Ears herd is a close second in the state.

While Colorado lynx continue the slippery climb toward self-sustainability, and elk, on the other end of the spectrum, adapt and prosper, there are myriad wildlife species straddling the precarious middle ground where forest corridors abut concrete barriers. What will their future hold? Longevity, perhaps, as long as the vital arteries essential to perpetual health can be maintained.

From Laskey to Lately It’s been a little more than two months since my rookie initiation into the realm of corridor science and its menagerie of ecological indicators. As the summer heat slowly wanes into fall-like temperatures, I’ve managed to smuggle precious time away from the computer to visit a small stream and its burgeoning population of fins flowing out of Roosevelt National Forest.

The meadow where I’ve set up base camp is lush, having been soaked by barreling mid-afternoon thunderstorms. It seems the sun has arrived just in time to set.

Wading the river earlier that day, I found myself drawn to a pair of large tracks, with distinct digits firmly planted into a sandy shoal. Something had clearly wandered in for a sip— or a snack. Now, hiking a snaking singletrack to a plateaued river overlook, my eyes are inadvertently scouring the ground for other signs. A few steps farther, I stumble upon a withering heap of elk scat.

Automatically, with the toe of my boot, I kick gingerly at the impressive pile. Contemplating my discovery more thoroughly, I’m suddenly taken by the notion that there’s really no such thing as “alone in the woods.” Together, we have neighbors in the Colorado wild, and their ability to move freely is under siege—up against a tightening noose of habitat constraints. In these thinning hours of daylight, the idea of being a citizen naturalist seems less of an abstract notion of eco-idealism and more of an intuitive form of finding one’s place in the greater schematics of Colorado’s extraordinary ecological spaces.

From my temporary digs, the following morning I peel out of a sleeping bag and start making moves. The meadow below camp is soaked with dew, and I carve a chest-deep trough of bent grass toward the meandering riverbank. Reaching the river, I find the same sandy bank I’d studied the day prior.

The pawed claw marks are still visible, and before I wade any deeper, two tracks of my own are firmly added to the mix. The contrast in shape is striking, but the parallel directions are too close to ignore. △ Geoff Mueller is senior editor at The Drake Magazine. He lives in Fort Collins.

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â–ź "Summit of Windom"

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90 Years Ago The 1920 San Juan Mountain Outing

Ninety years ago this August, the Colorado Mountain Club held its 9th Annual Summer Camp in the Needle Range of the San Juan Mountains. This was the first time the club had undertaken an expedition so far afield and with so many people: including cooks and waiters, they totaled 84. Among those present were 15 members of the Appalachain Mountain Club, from Boston, who were on an extended two-month tour through Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

The campsite in Chicago Basin had been scouted in August 1919 by Bill Ervin, Fred Clark, and W. H. Wolfersberger, "and their judgment many be depended upon," wrote George Harvey in the January 1920 Trail & Timberline. With access to "Four 14,000foot peaks" and "several lesser peaks...Four or five beautiful lakes within a radius of 3 or 4 miles, plus a beautiful clear trout stream running right through" camp, "the first San Juan outing should be a success."

Final notice was given in July: "Two gorgeous weeks of resting, dreaming, fishing... hiking and climbing, amid dense timber, nodding flowers, sparkling lakes, tumbling streams and upright mountains. ...Several registrants have dropped out...unable to arrange their vacations, and their places are open. So you may STILL get in. Just phone Will Ervin...and if his voice sounds the least bit encouraging reach for your checkbook and send him your seventy-five. It's a SAFE move and one that may bring you the greatest vacation of your life. But should Fate be unkind, you will still get your money back!"

And finally it was time go.

As was written in T&T: "Saturday evening, August 7, two Pullman loads of laughing and excited Mountain Clubbers—khaki-clad and hob-nailed—pulled out of the Union Station on the Rio Grande bound for the San Juan."

But despite seven months of advance notice, "three more wildly gesticulating fig-

ures reached the platform just as the train departed." The tardy hopped a Santa Fe train and joined the main group at Pueblo. The party continued south to Walsenberg and west over LaVeta Pass to the San Luis Valley.

"A quick breakfast at Alamosa [Sunday] morning, then transfer to our special cars on the narrow-gauge, over whose twist-

By Woody Smith

ed but sturdy rails we safely made the twohundred miles ride to Durango, arriving in time for a corking good chicken dinner at the Strater Hotel.

"[Monday] morning found us at aboard a mixed train, headed for Needleton and camp. ...A decorous crowd left Durango, but spirits would not down—in fact, they upped—and soon the tops of the cars swarmed with excited gesticulating souls, eager for adventure and determined to miss nothing.

"With hopeless good humor the crew gave us the train. Up the Animas Cañon we chugged—eight miles an hour and sometimes ten! The peaks piled higher and steeper, the clouds sagged lower and darker—and in a dash of rain as we rounded a curve below Needleton, our first glimpse of the Needles hit us! ...The crowd silenced and gasped. No mountains these to trifle with. Instantly we were convinced of the serious work ahead.

"After a hurried lunch, sent down from camp on 'Dynamite,' the pet pack-mule, we

▲ "Juicy weather yesterday" Trail & Timberline

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headed up the cañon, up what proved to be the most beautiful and unending four-mile trail we have ever tackled. A sheer half-mile of elevation our protesting legs hoisted us in the rain that afternoon—up through deep forests, up by roaring and unbelievably clear Needle Creek, up and always up, and then up some more, until the barometer showed 10,650 feet—where burst upon us camp, ready and welcoming, the tents scattered among the spruces, the piled logs of the campfire waiting for the match, the long dining table set and ready for action; and beyond the smiling faces of Schroeder and his tireless assistants, with steaming platters loaded, and more 'coming up!' All that late afternoon the party dripped into camp, ones and twos and dozens, and investigation that evening revealed that while all arrived sousing wet, not a single spirit had been dampened!"

In order to prepare such an inviting camp, the advance party had left Denver three days before the main group, overloaded with provisions. Frank Wadleigh, the club's man at the Denver & Rio Grande helped ensure safe portage. At Needleton, a mule pack train hauled the supplies up valley. Accommodations "included twenty-seven sleeping tents...a kitchen tent and a large fly covering a long dining table and benches."

The site itself was one of "breath-taking grandeur" bounded by "sheer, giant crags standing out against heaven, bold and bare in the sunshine," as was written in T&T.

"One would hardly suppose that a country with so little respect for the horizontal should boast such a wealth of forest-clad slopes and flower-decked hanging gardens. ...Where flowers crowd upon each other's heels, so eager are they to lift their lovely faces in the high, sweet-scented air."

Among those noted were columbine, larkspur, monkshood, and mertensia of "deep blues and purples," plus "goldenrayed rydbergia and helianthella... Everybody loved the white mountain daisy...the yellow senecio and purple astor..." Also present were "Indian paint-brush" growing "on hillsides in rich beds of rose and magenta and yellow with innumerably different and gorgeous shadings."

The campsite's appeal was universal.

Ornithologist Robert Rockwell noted the "Dainty, brilliantly colored Hummingbirds (probably of the Broadtailed variety)" which "were everywhere, one even being seen flying over Aztec Mountain at an elevation 13,000 feet. They were surprisingly tame and buzzed the entrances of the tents 36

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▼ "A quick descent from Aztec"

in a manner that made them easy to study."

"One afternoon," wrote Rockwell, "a twittering migratory flock of Warblers, Juncos, Thrushes, Kinglets, Creepers and Chicadees straggled through camp, busily searching the trunks and branches of the dense evergreens for food."

Other birds spotted included whitecrowned sparrows, water ousels, Clark's nut-

cracker, the Rocky Mountain pine grosbeck, "and one solitary Rocky Mountain Hairy Woodpecker. ...Occasionally the sharp, clear call of a red-shafted flicker was heard, as he winged his way from one side of the cañon to the other..."

The CMC board held a short meeting in which one camper, a Mr. Cooper from Cooperstown, North Dakota, was

▼ "One born every minute"

unanimously elected to membership. Other campers took short hikes for photographs.

The first official hike, up Aztec Mountain, was scheduled for Wednesday, August 11. "Sixty-two made the trip up Aztec Mountain (13,230 feet),” wrote Harvey Sethman, “the climb being made from the east, a mile up valley from camp. ...When on the summit, members of the party could

see the tents of camp, and signals were sent back forth by means of small pocket mirrors reflecting the brilliant sunlight. All of the party reached camp in time for 6 o'clock supper. On the following day a party of thirty-five made an excursion to Emerald Lake, about four miles from camp, and a few went on to Lower and Upper Webb Lakes."

Meanwhile "eight of the most experi-

enced mountaineers on the outing were scaling Mount Eolus, altitude 14,079 feet, in an effort to find a possible mean of ascent for a larger group. Their task was made difficult by stormy weather, which buried them in clouds for the greater part of the day and coupled with snow and sleet, made the rocks above timberline dangerous footing. ...It was decided that ropes would be used in the event of a large number wishing to scale the peak."

It was on this trip that Bill Ervin was photographed standing near the summit, smoking his pipe as he surveyed the valley below.

"On Friday [August 13] and Saturday [August 14] trips to the summits of Jupiter mountain...[13,830 feet], and Grizzly peak...[13,680 feet], were made,” Sethman wrote. “Small parties of four persons each also climbed Sunlight peak...[14,053 feet], considered by many the most dangerous feat of the outing. The summit of Sunlight Peak is a single rock fifty feet high, attained from another rock reaching within a few feet of its tip, but removed from it so that a deep crevice intervened. There was room on the top rock for but one or two at a time."

While days were usually spent hiking, climbing or fishing, evenings were spent in camp. "Everybody knows that one of the greatest institutions ever invented is a camp fire” read the T&T, “especially one like ours, a burning log mountain that sent its sparkling glow deep into the hearts of all those encircling it on logs and benches, and made us want to purr with contentment as we gazed around at the high, 'jugged' peaks or lifted our eyes clear up to study the stars."

Most evenings also featured a speaker or other diversions. "Professor Carl Blaurock" gave "a fine talk on the geology of the region," Katherine Bruderlin "gaily told us what plants and flowers to look for on our jaunts," and Howard Vaille (co-founder of Denver's telephone system in the 1880s) told "of the telephone in its infant days and trials and tribulations connected with its development, we all felt a new respect for this necessary luxury."

The climb of “Mount Windom (14,084 feet) was made the feature trip, seventy reaching its summit in two weeks,” Harvey Sethman wrote. “Fifty-eight of these made the ascent on Monday [August 16]...reaching the top by 1:30 o'clock in the afternoon." The same day, two additional parties, numbering six and seven respectively, also climbed Sunlight Peak. Among them was Carl BlauTrail & Timberline

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â–ź "Sally"

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rock who performed his headstand feat on the summit. The reason? "I thought I would have my feet higher on that mountain than anyone else." In case of mishap, birder Robert Rockwell crouched nearby, to keep Blaurock from taking flight.

On Wednesday, August 18, "...A party of twenty-five having signified their desire to scale Mount Eolus," wrote Harvey Sethman," the climb was set... and a 100-foot rope was procured. Starting from camp at 8 o'clock, the party reached timberline by 9:30, and the climb over rocks and snow was begun. The rope was used first on a steep snowbank, the first and last men being tied around the belt in case of emergency.

Whenever one would slip, those near would grasp the rope and pull him back to trail of steps cut in the snow and ice.

"When the last razor-back ridge leading to the summit was reached, thirteen made a side trip to the top of an unnamed peak [North Eolus], 14,030 feet high, while the tired ones rested. When the party was again joined and roped, the last part of the climb was completed, all topping Eolus by 2:30 p.m. Descent was made by means of a rock slide direct from the summit. Camp was broken Friday August 20..."

As was written in T&T: "Then one morning, after two wonderful weeks brim-

▲ "Target Practice"

▼ "Top of Sunlight"

ful of resting, mending worn boots, dreaming through great beds of flowers, coaxing unattainable trout, rehearsing minstrel songs, mooning 'round with the camera—and with the girls, shinning up spires, sliding down sheer snow-banks, stepping lightly over hair-raising ridges, clinging to ropes in giddy places—then one morning, suddenly time was up, and we must break camp. With regret we struck the tents, close under low-hung clouds that continually threatened rain... And we slid down the trail to Needleton, where the ever-thoughtful Rio Grande...picked us up and trundled us to Silverton. Awaiting autos of the Circle

Route Stage Company whisked us, breathless and speechless, up the hill and over the top past Red Mountain and down, down, down to Ouray, the incomparable.

"With uncanny foresight the Outing Committee had chartered Ouray's cozy [Hot Springs] swimming pool for the evening. It belonged to the Club! And the Club took it!

Yes indeed. Shouts and splashes and yells and whoops bulged the sides of the building and spurted through the cracks far out over the town. As time passed children grasped their mothers tighter, and strong men grew stern.

"...Next morning most of the reluctant party left for Denver via the Black Cañon and Salida. A fortunate score or more, after counting their pennies and borrowing a few, refused to leave, and it is reported that they climbed Sneffels for exercise, and afterwards consumed a sumptuous home-cooked dinner at the beginning of which huge piles of chicken were present.

"...A hasty good-bye next morning, and Ouray was left to settle back in peace, and perhaps to wonder what in the world had passed through.

"Montrose, Cimmaron, the Black Canon, a moonlight climb up Marshall Pass - then, at midnight, Salida and our special Pullman. Immediately it was morning, and there stood Civilization, scanning us with curious eyes." △ Trail & Timberline

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End of the Trail I'll Never Forget His Smile Robert "Bob" Kilbourn ▶ 1931-2009

By Caroline Schmiedt

I’ll never forget the friendly smile and warm hugs of my dear friend Bob Kilbourn. Bob passed away on September 18, 2009, after a courageous battle with esophageal cancer. Bob was an avid hiker and CMC leader for many years. His hiking philosophy could best be described as “focus on the journey, not the destination.” Those who accompanied him on the trails of Rocky Mountain National Park enjoyed exploring wonderful new places, countless hours of interesting conversation, learning some local history, compan-

ionship, and a few corny jokes.

Bob was a devoted leader who never canceled a CMC trip. When you saw Bob’s name in the schedule, you could count on that hike or snowshoe even if it became an unofficial trip with just Bob and you. Bob scouted every trip a day or two in advance to assess the trail conditions and make adjustments as necessary. He was very careful to ensure that the pace set for any trip was that of the slowest hiker. Safety was a priority for him. He was the most conscientious CMC trip leader that I have ever known. Following each trip, Bob invited the group to join him at one of his favorite Estes Park eateries where the camaraderie continued.

Bob’s family has roots in the small community of Glen Haven just outside of Estes Park. Bob spent many summers as a boy climbing the nearby peaks including Croiser Mountain, which he first climbed at ▲ A smiling Bob Kilbourn with the author at age 7, Triangle Mountain, and Sandbeach Lake.

Longs Peak which he first climbed on his 14th birthday.

Bob’s passion for hiking spanned his lifetime. He climbed Longs Peak on his 70th birthday. Soon after he turned 76, he hiked with me over the Continental Divide from Bear Lake to Grand Lake, a distance of about 17 miles with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. We didn’t start out with a plan to go over the divide that day. It was a last minute decision after one of our group expressed a strong desire to do it. Bob loved introducing new trails to anyone who expressed an interest. And so he obliged.

While Bob’s body began to fail, his love and enthusiasm for the mountains never did. Just months before his death Bob and I hiked half way up Croiser Mountain. As we had done so many times in the past, we took a side trip to see the remains of an early homestead. As we returned to the trailhead Bob veered onto a faint side trail, one of his many “short cuts” that I’ll never forget.

But most of all, I’ll never forget his smile.

Trudy in Heaven

Gertrude "Trudy" Bronner ▶ 1942-2009

By Ron Bronner

Born in southern Bavaria, Trudy grew up climbing mountains and cross-country skiing. She had an intuitive compass, and we never got lost on hikes. We vacationed in Colorado from the Midwest, and finally moved here in 1988. She joined her brother, Alex, and sister, Chris, who both lived here. Trudy hiked with her favorite leaders through the fall of 2008 until her illness struck in December. She passed away at the age of 66.

Hiking with the CMC was her number one joy.

We both joined the CMC soon after we got caught in a blizzard in the Indian Peaks area during late September. The Monday night classes were just what we 40

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needed. Soon after, we went out on hikes almost every weekend with the club, learning about the mountains as we went. The snowshoe and cross-country ski classes kept us busy with the club in the colder months. One year, we did over 600 miles of hiking with the club.

Over the years, Trudy had a list of “favorite leaders”, and maintained her high country hiking/skiing as my knees went south. She had climbed over 40 of the fourteeners, some several times. She got to know the various flowers in the mountains, and could relate the seasons to their growth.

Trudy went from climbing fourteeners and living in a gym daily, to being a cancer

victim, losing her battle at Aurora Medical Center, on August 5, 2009 after an eightmonth battle.

Saying Goodbye to a Dear Friend Spencer Swanger ▶ 1940-2010

By David Dietz

David Dietz

Today is a sad day, for today we say goodbye to our dear friend Spencer Swanger.

Spence died in a tragic accident while

climbing in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy.

He was leading a group of climbers on a cabled route across a ledge, when they came to an area of deep snow that caused them to unclip from the cable. Spence made sure everyone safely passed the snow mound and then moved to join them, but lost his footing and fell.

Spence is survived by his wife Karen Morris, daughters Heidi Woods and Karen Frazer, stepson David Morris, two grandchildren and two step grandchildren. Our heartfelt condolences

go out to his family.

Spence was one of the finest and most accomplished mountaineers of our time, but you would never know it from talking to him, because he was so humble. He was the first person to complete climbing the "Centennials," Colorado's 100 highest peaks. He did this before the age of detailed guidebooks and internet route descriptions—real old school mountaineering! Spence's travels took him all over Colorado and beyond, climbing and backpacking in many wonderful places.

Spence was unsurpassed as a CMC trip leader. He hiked and climbed in so many places, so he knew how to set up a great itinerary. It always made for a great trip. Everyone enjoyed these trips and cherishes these memories.

And now we are forced to say goodbye to our friend.

YOUR MOUNTAINEERING LIBRARY NEEDS THIS BOOK “I

N FALL 2008, the Colorado Mountain Club published a guidebook that was riddled with typos and 70 years out of date, at a time when online competition has put the future of even the most current printed guidebooks in question. And it charged $185 per copy. “‘It sounds crazy,’ Alan Stark, the club’s publisher, said recently as he cracked open a new, hardbound copy of the guide. ‘Obviously, this is not a typical guidebook. It’s a collector’s piece. People will buy it not to use it, but to have it.’

“The book is called The San Juan Mountaineers’ Climber’s Guide to Southwestern Colorado. It was first published in 1933—hand-typed and hard-bound in less than a half-dozen copies. It was the first modern guidebook in Colorado, and with its maps, photos, and route descriptions, it set the template for the hundreds that have followed.

“Climbers have passed around photocopied and stapled versions for The San Juan Mountaineers’ generations, making it an almost mythic book. The club reproduced it Climber’s Guide to Southwestern Colorado exactly, down to the crossed-out letters and handwritten notes in the margins of the typed pages.

L I M I T E D E D I T I O N AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB PRESS “In one sense, the Guide to Southwestern Colorado is a history book.

ORDERS: 303-996-2743 In another, it is still a living guidebook.” —Dave Philipps, The Gazette, Colorado Springs

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CMC Adventure Travel For your benefit and enjoyment, the following trips have been reviewed and approved by the Adventure Travel Committee and are officially sanctioned by the Colorado Mountain Club.

Visit www.cmc.org/at for more detailed itineraries and registration forms.

Trekking in Nepal

September 25 – October 10, 2010 $2526 (does not include airfare) Join Pemba Sherpa, a native of the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas, on this spectacular trek through the foothills of some of the world’s highest peaks. Pemba has been guiding visitors to his homeland since 1986, and in 2010 will lead us into the heart of the world’s majestic Himalayan Mountains and into the rarely visited Lumding Valley. Very few Westerners have ever ventured into this unspoiled valley. We will be surrounded by striking scenery as we trek through virgin terrain, all the while marveling at views of Mount Everest and its neighbors. We will also spend time with Pemba’s family in the small Sherpa village of Sengma and will relax for a couple of days in Nepal’s colorful capital city of Kathmandu. For more information, please contact Pemba Sherpa at (303) 525-6508 or pemba@sherpaascent.com.

Yellowstone in Winter

Feb. 2 – Feb. 7, 2011 $1060 – $1190 (depending on accommodations) Steaming geysers, bison, elk, and other wildlife are all part of the experience of Yellowstone National Park in winter. Skiers, snowshoers, and photographers will enjoy the convenient trails leading directly from the lodge to geysers and waterfalls.

The trip includes round-trip bus and snow coach transportation between Denver and Yellowstone, a one-night stay in Jackson, three full days and four nights at Old Faithful, snow coach drop-off fees, happy hours, and several meals, and all entrance fees and gratuities.

While in the park, participants can ski or snowshoe on their own or with other trip participants, or just relax. In the evenings, our happy hours and buffet dinners provide the opportunity for participants to share details of their day’s adventures, and find ideas and com-

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panions for the next day. The trip leaders will also lead outings for smaller groups.

Trip cost does not include remaining meals, optional sight-seeing excursions within the park, equipment rental, or trip insurance.

Register with the leader, Polly Hays, at 303-9648225 or polly_hays@yahoo.com.

Hiking in Mexico's Copper Canyon

On Saturday, February 26, the new advanced leader training seminar will have its first session. There will be additional field trips into the spring and an optional graduation trip to Bolivia in early June.

Watch for more details and signup information in the winter issue of Trail & Timberline and on the CMC website. This class is sponsored by the Adventure Travel Committee, and cosponsored by the CMC Education Department and the High Altitude Mountaineering Section.

February 27- March 9, 2011 $2,400

The Copper Canyon is renowned for being the Grand Canyon of Mexico, but it is really quite different. We will discover this on the 10-day, burro-assisted day hiking adventure into the canyon. We’ll start in Los Mochis, Mex., and be transported to the historical town of El Fuerte, founded in 1564. Then we’ll board the Chihuahua Al Pacifico train for an excursion through the mountains and canyons of the Sierra Madre, arriving at the rim of the Copper Canyon. We’ll load the burros and traverse the canyon rim before descending into the heart of the home of the Tarahumara Indians, with spectacular views at every turn, camping for six nights. Day 8 is the Caballo Blanco Ultra Marathon, which we will observe. The Tarahumara Indians are hailed as world class runners, and we’ll see this vibrant culture up close. After the race, we’ll ascend back up to the pine clad mesa and ride the train back to El Fuerte, then continue on to the airport at Los Mochis. Price includes land transportation from Los Mochis, lodging (camping six nights; hotels four nights), most meals. Not included are airfare to Los Mochis (approx $750), four meals, travel insurance, personal spending money, tips. Cost may decrease depending on number of participants. Contact Janet Farrar at wildjc@juno.com or 303-933-3066.

New Leader Training February 26, 2010

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a leader of a CMC adventure travel trip or possibly a HAMS expedition? Well, as a CMC trip leader at the Group level, here is your chance to find out.

Kilimanjaro 19,340'

March 11 – 25, 2011 $3,730 (does not include airfare, est. at $1,800-2,000) Here's another great outing sponsored by the High Altitude Mountaineering Section.

Kilimanjaro is the world's largest free-standing mountain and is one of the fabled Seven Summits. The CMC uses the Machame Route.

The trip includes a four day budget safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Nights are a mixture of a comfortable and rustic hotel; traveler's camps; and tents. Trip size is limited to 18 persons, plus the trip leaders Steve Bonowski and Roger Wendell. To join, you must be in excellent physical condition and be comfortable with Third World travel. Recent graduation from a CMC entry level hiking school is desirable. Final cost may vary slightly depending on airfare and currency exchange rates. Posted price includes lodging at double occupancy, ground transport, climb and park fees, most meals, Tanzanian visa, gratuities, leader expenses, and CMC fee. Not included in the $3,730 is airfare to Tanzania, shots and medication, a few meals, trip insurance, souvenirs, airline baggage fees, single supplement for lodging, and bar tab. Leaders will hold a mandatory planning meeting in early October to answer questions. Trip packets are available electronically beginning Memorial Day weekend from the senior trip leader, Steve Bonowski (climbersteveb@gmail.com). No phone calls please. Climb Kilimanjaro with the CMC and save thousands.

Best of the Grand Canyon: Colorado River Raft & Hike April 23 – May 5, 2011 $4,140 (Limit 18)

Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this unique trip to the Grand Canyon offers participants the opportunity to experience this World Heritage Site on a motorized raft for 188 miles through the best of the canyon, departing from the historic Lee’s Ferry and ending with a helicopter ride from Whitmore Wash and a plane flight back to the start. It is especially ideal for those who would like to hike in areas which can be reached only from the river, and those who have always wanted to experience the canyon but who do not wish to make the 7 mile, 4,500’ backpack in and out. Our outfitter, Hatch River Expeditions, has been guiding river trips through the canyon for over 70 years. We will have four guides and 20 participants on two 35-foot S-rig boats running fuel-efficient and quiet 4-stroke outboard engines. The average motorized raft trip through the Grand Canyon runs seven days, so this 12 day trip will have plenty of opportunities for hiking. Hatch offers us daily guided hikes at different hiking levels, or one may choose to rest in camp. There are several opportunities for point-to-point hikes where we may hike from one drainage to the next and the raft will pick us up later in the day. The deposit is $300. Please visit www.cmc. org/AT for cancellation policy, payment schedule, and additional information, and to call leaders for availability. Register with leaders Blake Clark or Rosemary Burbank at (303) 871-0379 or blakerosemary@cs.com

Day Hiking in Northwest Spain May 30 – June 13, 2011 $2,725

The Picos de Europa in northern Spain is a limestone massif that offers a unique range of natural, cultural, and gastronomic experiences, including the Upper Paleolithic cave paintings of Altamira and the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela. Join us for a peek into the best kept secret in Europe. If group size allows, there will be two levels of hiking offered: B hikes and C hikes. Included are ground transportation in Spain, lodging, breakfast and dinner (water or wine included), transfers and cable cars. Not included are airfare from the U.S., travel insurance, lunches, and entrance fees, except those listed in the itinerary.

Price may change depending on exchange rate and number of participants.

Contact Janet Farrar wildjc@juno.com or 303-933-3066.

Exploring Russia's Kamchatka: Land of Fire and Ice

August 18 – September 3, 2011 $1,900 - $2,900 (does not include airfare; based on double occupancy; final cost dependent on number of participants and Euro conversion rate at time of final payment) Kamchatka is a stunning mountain paradise and one of the most isolated regions in the world. The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the far east of Russia. There are more than 160 volcanoes on the peninsula, 29 of which are active.

The main attractions of Kamchatka are volcanic calderas, geysers, and mineral springs, all in pristine condition. Supported by 4/6WD bus, this tour passes through the most active volcanic zone of the peninsula and along a high mountain plateau, surrounded by nine of Kamchatka’s highest volcanoes. We will climb three volcanoes, all of which are still active. There will be plenty of wildlife to see, including the legendary Kamchatka Brown Bear. We will have opportunities to meet and learn about the local and indigenous peoples of Kamchatka. Lodging will be in hotels, cabins, and tents. The trip cost includes all Kamchatka lodging and meals (except extra beverages), ground transportation, guide fees, and CMC fee. Not included in the price: Round trip airfare to Petropavlovsk, Russian visa, beverages, rented equipment, tips, and personal spending money. Travel insurance is not included but highly recommended.

Hiking level: Participants should be capable of Difficult B/Easy C hikes. The volcano climbs are non-technical; however, participants should have adequate stamina to do multiple climbs on consecutive days of up to 2,900 feet in elevation gain. For a trip packet, contact the leader at miller866@comcast.net.

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Trekking in Transylvania July 21 – August 1, 2011 $2,277

Thrills, chills, and old-world romance abound in Count Dracula’s homeland.

You will trek 60 miles (8-12 miles per day) in the breathtakingly beautiful and rugged Carpathian Mountains, and climb Romania’s highpoint (Moldoveanu Peak at 8,347 feet). Carry only what you need for a day hike on this fully supported trek, which includes excursions to Dracula’s castle, Peles Castle (a NeoRenaissance Castle built between 1873-1914), an Orthodox monetary, and Sibiu�the wealthiest citadel of the Transylvanian Saxons. Price includes six nights accommodation in 3-star hotels or guesthouses, two nights in a mountain hut, and two nights in restored Saxon houses in a village. Most meals are included. Includes guided hiking and site-seeing tour guide, ground transfers from/to Bucharest airport and to cities/sites within the program, and admission to the mentioned cultural sites. Price does not include airfare to Bucharest, Romania, but the leader will assist participants with scheduling. For more information, contact Linda at lvditchkus@hotmail.com. No phone calls please.

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BUY SELL TRADE WE SERVE AS A VENUE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO SELL OR TRADE IN GEAR THEY NO LONGER NEED & OFFER STORE CREDIT AND CONSIGNMENT TERMS FOR QUALITY USED OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT. LIMITED TO OUR DENVER LOCATION IN-STORE ONLY. CALL OR STOP BY FOR MORE DETAILS

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Timeless

Colorado's Mountains are

By designating the CMC or the CMC Foundation in your will, your investment in them lives on.

Join the 21st Century Circle today. Contact our Development Director at 303-996-2752 to learn more about planned giving.

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WINTER 2010 ORDER FORM order form S E N D O R D E R F O R M A N D PAY M E N T T O :

Colorado Mountain Club Press, 710 10th Street, Suite 200, Golden, CO 80401 1-800-633-4417, ext. 103

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FAX 303-279-9690

or order online at cmc.org BILL TO:____________________________________________________

SHIP TO: ___________________________________________________

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PHONE ____________________________ E-MAIL __________________________________________________________________________________

SHIPPING AND HANDLING

CMC MEMBERS: Please fill in your name, address, phone and email, Visa or MasterCard number and expiration date. Total your order, compute the tax at 7.6%, and add shipping and handling. Checks made out to The Colorado Mountain Club for the total are fine, too.

$ 1 – $19.99. . . . . . . . . . . $5.00 $20 – $49.99. . . . . . . . . . . $7.00 $50 – $75.99. . . . . . . . . . . $9.00 $76 – $99.99. . . . . . . . . . $11.00 $100+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.00

DISCOUNTED BOOK PRICING FOR MEMBERS OF THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB ___ Best Boulder Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-4-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.36 ___ Best Colorado Springs Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-6-1 . . . . . . . . . $10.36 ___ Best Denver Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-5-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.76 ___ Best Fort Collins Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-0-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Best Front Range Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-9-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.96 ___ Colorado 14ers Pack Guide, ISBN 978-0-9760525-3-1 . . . . . . . . . . . $9.56 ___ Colorado 14ers Standard Routes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-8-5 . . . . . $17.56 ___ Colorado Lake Hikes, ISBN 978-0-9799663-1-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.96 ___ Colorado’s Quiet Winter Trails, ISBN 978-0-9760525-1-7. . . . . . . . . $17.56 ___ Colorado Scrambles, 2e, ISBN 978-0-9799663-3-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Colorado Snow Climbs, ISBN 978-0-9760525-9-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Colorado Summit Hikes, ISBN 0-9724413-3-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.16 ___ Colorado Trail, ISBN 978-0-9760525-2-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.96 ___ Colorado Trail Databook, 4e, ISBN 978-0-9799663-7-8 . . . . . . . . . . $7.96 ___ Colorado Wildflowers, ISBN 978-0-9842213-0-1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Colorado Year Round, ISBN 0-9724413-2-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.16

□ VISA OR □ MASTERCARD

___ Comanche Peak Wilderness Area, ISBN 978-0-9842213-1-8 . . . . . $10.36 ___ Essential Guide to Black Canyon, ISBN 0-9724413-4-4 . . . . . . . . . $15.96 ___ Essential Guide to Sand Dunes, ISBN 0-9724413-1-X. . . . . . . . . . . $15.96 ___ Flatiron Classics, ISBN 978-0-9799663-2-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.16 ___ Guide to the Colorado Mountains, ISBN 0-9671466-0-7 . . . . . . . . $15.16 ___ Hiking Colorado’s Roadless Trails, ISBN 978-0-9760525-7-9 . . . . . . $10.36 ___ Morpha: A Rain Forest Story, 0-9671466-8-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Peaceful Canyon, Golden River, ISBN 0-9671466-5-8 . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Playing for Real, ISBN 978-0-9760525-6-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.56 ___ Rocks Above the Clouds, ISBN 978-0-9760525-8-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Rocky Mountain Flora, ISBN 978-0-9760525-4-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.36 ___ Roof of the Rockies, ISBN 0-9671466-1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13.56 ___ Run the Rockies, ISBN 0-9724413-5-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14.36 ___ San Juan Mountaineers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $185.00 ___ Stettner Way, ISBN 0-9724413-0-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11.96 ___ Trad Guide to Joshua Tree, ISBN 0-9724413-9-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17.56

EXPIRATION DATE: ____________

PRETAX TOTAL $__________________

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TOTAL $__________________

Trail & Timberline

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For the adventure in your travel

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Locally owned for 37 years.

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