August brings the rains!

I went for an evening hike yesterday evening to enjoy being out in a rich and alive midsummer landscape, and to cut out a couple of trees that had fallen across the trails- one at the beginning of the Devil's Canyon Trail, the other a ways up the south part of the Northridge Trail. The choke cherries are enjoying a bumper year, and the golden asters clearly say that summer is slipping by, as they typically kick in past midsummer. Yes, summer is slipping by, and this awareness certainly had much to do with why I was out there. There was a thunder storm brewing as I moved further into the park's undeveloped parts, but the sky's relative brightness and the storm's position that seemed quite a ways south of the park felt like it was OK to be out. As I was finishing up on the 2nd tree (with a bow saw I had strapped to my pack), the thunder's intensity told me that it was time to head back and not continue the trial's full loop. Well, to make a long story short, that storm proved my original projection wrong, because it seemed to track right into the park - with lots of lightning . I was wet and out of breath from some quick travelling when I finally got to a safer place to wait out the storm. It didn't produce a lot of rain (o.18"), but the electricity was prolific. Speaking of rain, the park has received nearly 4 1/2 inches of rain the last 10 days (and only received a bit more than 2" in the previous 2 months), so the monsoons are in full swing.

Devil's Canyon Trail getting better all the time!

Strong winds and less volunteers than expected did not stop MPEC and the great Denver-based organization VOC (Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado) from making a significant upgrade to the Devil's Canyon Trail this past weekend. Improved creek crossings, a 900 foot new trail re-route that brings the trail out of the rough, rocky and sometimes water-filled drainage into a lovely sun-dappled forest above the drainage, and closing off the old section of trail made for a busy weekend in Pueblo Mountain Park. The outcome is a wonderful improvement to the park's system of trails. While the adults were putting their sweat and muscle into the trails project, MPEC educators facilitated a "Young Stewards" camp for the youngsters. (Photos: VOC volunteer Glenn Ward instructing volunteers; moving a large rock into the creek bed; a happy volunteer digging new trail tread; where that large rock wound up as part of a new creek crossing.)

A delightful spring afternoon hike!

The temps were not that warm, it was kind of breezy, but yesterday's afternoon solo hike in Pueblo Mountain Park was still a delight to all of me. I first hiked to Devil's Canyon to see some major spring runoff. The video of "Devil's Dribble" (the name of the occasional creek that runs through the drainage) shows the waterfall at about as full as it ever gets (not counting floods from major storms). I then headed up the Northridge Trail. Blooming flowers I spotted along the trail included mountain bladderpod (pictured here), kinnikinnick (with more blossoms than I can ever recall seeing), spring beauty, golden smoke, and mountain candytuft. I sat up at the top of the canyon for about an hour and watched turkey vultures floating by, enjoyed a strengthening sun, and spotted (I heard it first) a yellow-rumped warbler, a migrant that just arrived from wherever it spent the winter.

We have a trails weekend scheduled for May 22/23 where we plan on doing some more work to the Devil's Canyon Trail. It's a great way to spend a day or a weekend, and it is being led by the wonderful folks at Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. Please sign up at www.voc.org - find your way to the Mountain Park Environmental Center project.

Happy trails, Ranger Dave