Trails Correspondent Marlene Borneman reports in on her recent trip to the West Side Of Rocky Mountain National Park:

West Side RMNP

This past week my husband and I got to spend time on the west side of RMNP.  Please do not misunderstand when I say we have held the west side of Rocky special in our hearts for many years.  We enjoy every square inch of Rocky from corner to corner.  However, as soon as Trail Ridge Road opens in the spring until it closes in the fall, we hike, climb and backpack as much as possible on the west side of the divide.  There is something about fewer trails, remote lakes/peaks and the sheer ruggedness that is a strong pull. The west side of the divide receives more precipitation resulting in lush, captivating forest, powerful waterfalls, vast meadows and a variety of plant life.

Summer 2020 was no exception.  We did several cross-country hikes and backpacking trips to remote areas.  I’m pleased we took the time and effort to make these trips happen and fully took in all that surrounded us.  Who knew what was to happen in the coming weeks that would dramatically take that away?   

I read reports and have seen a few photos of the trailheads from the fire damage, but nothing prepares you for hiking/snowshoeing the trails that are affected by the Troublesome Creek fire! The blacken sticks on the hillsides, charred lichen on rocks, the private cabin in Summerland Park along the North Inlet Trail destroyed.  I worry about the streams; will they be healthy?  I feel much discomfort,  but strangely also comfort in nature’s healing.

I am thankful for what the fire did not take away.  Much of the Never Summer Range is intact, Timber Lake Trail, Colorado River Trail, Holzwarth Ranch  intact.  I saw bright spots among the destruction; snow on the ground and frozen ice crystals that will nourish plant life, a green ponderosa pine sapling, , the sunset over Mount Craig and Grand Avenue with shops and restaurants open for business.

Thank you Snowy Peaks Winery for sponsoring Notes From the Trail

Visit : www.snowypeakswinery.com

In 2015 Rocky Mountain National Park celebrated its 100th birthday!  Three weeks ago, I celebrated my sixty-eighth birthday.  I’m learning that with the aging process comes both physical and emotional scars.  I have an appendix scar, back surgery scar, in-situ melanoma scar, scar from childhood slide accident and a few other minor scars.

​The deaths of my parents, my sister, dear friends and a divorce left me with emotional scars.  I have healed and live a rich life in spite of these scars.  Rocky has it share of scars too from beetle kills, floods, fire, and even initials carved  into aspen trees. ​

by Barb Boyer Buck

The fires surrounding my home in Estes Park caused me to evacuate for a time with my parents; experiencing the mass exodus under midday dark-orange skies with suffocating smoke and ash is something I won’t forget soon.
​
Wildfire is common in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains but this ongoing situation is unprecedented. 

The Cameron Peak Fire started in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, less than 100 miles north of Estes Park, on August 13 when the Pine Gulch Fire, 18 miles north of Grand Junction, had already burned more than 137,000 acres.  Pine Gulch was declared the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history until Cameron Peak grew much larger; today, the Cameron Peak Fire has grown to 208,913 acres with 89% containment.  

​This is the equivalent of nearly half of the acreage contained in Boulder County, or more than twice the size of the City of Denver.  ​

On August 14, the Williams Fork Fire started 10 miles southwest of Fraser, Colorado, and has burned nearly 15,000 acres with 76% containment. 
On October 14, the East Troublesome Fire ignited north of Hot Sulphur Springs, west of the Continental Divide.  High winds pushed the fire more than 100,000 acres overnight, extending north into the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.   

Grand County Sherriff Brett Schroetlin reported this fire growth as “unheard of. This is the worst of the worst of the worst,” he said, in an interview with NPR.  Today, the East Troublesome Fire’s footprint is 193,804 acres with 37% containment.

On October 17 three miles northwest of Jamestown, the Calwood Fire started.  It is currently 76% contained and has consumed more than 10,000 acres.
​
The Lefthand Canyon fire began on October 18, one mile west of Ward and consumed 438 acres of brush and timber before it was 100% contained on Oct. 22. ​

Also on Oct. 22, the East Troublesome Fire experienced another “unheard of” growth, jumping over the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park, miles of rock and tundra that usually provide a natural fire break.  As of today, this spot fire, named the Thompson Zone, has burned 4,346 acres just west of Estes Park, within the boundaries of the national park. ​

Way back in 1996, the Rocky Mountains experienced a cyclical, natural event: the beginning of a pine-beetle infestation.  Pine beetles are insidious creatures, boring into the bark of lodgepole pines and slowly killing them.  Pine-beetle infestations occur every 30 years or so, but this one was different. 

​This one LASTED for nearly 30 years because of the increasingly warm climate.  If it doesn’t get cold enough in the winter, the beetles don’t die and continue their destruction of our forests. ​

A pine tree that has been infested with pine beetles is killed from the inside out.  Their needles turn red and eventually fall off; what’s left become “gray ghosts.”
Since 2009, these gray ghosts have been more and more prevalent in Rocky Mountain National Park; 95 percent of Colorado’s lodgepole pine forests were killed during this infestation which began to abate in about 2015.

These dead, yet standing, trees also create extreme fire danger.
​
Now, add the extended drought Colorado has been experiencing and it becomes clear, it would take only a few years to create the tinderbox that is burning all around my town.  According to RMNP’s website, Colorado has been experiencing warmer-than-normal conditions for the past decade.  ​

But those conditions still would not have been enough to cause the situation in and around Estes Park right now.  The second part of Polis’ statement on the wildfire’ intensity must be taken into consideration. 

In 2019, Rocky Mountain National Park hosted 4.7 million visitors, most coming through the community of Estes Park.  The impact of human utilization of our wilderness is a significant threat, especially when regulations in place to limit harm are ignored.   

When COVID19 became a significant threat in the spring of this year, it was essential to limit the number of visitors to the national park and Estes Park’s mayor requested it be closed.   When the Park reopened in late May, NPS soon implemented a timed-entry reservation system to limit vehicles entering to numbers that were last experienced in 1996. 
​
But the reservation system ended on October 12 and even before that, thousands of visitors crowded the Park after 5 p.m. (when a reservation was no longer needed) to watch the elk rut season which began in early September.

The National Park, forest service, and Estes Park has had a fire ban since August 15, yet every fire I mentioned above was believed to be caused by human activity except for the Pine Gulch Fire, which was caused by a lightning strike on July 27.  The exact causes for all of the other fires are still under investigation but the blame has been laid squarely on humans.

Estes Park lifted or downgraded evacuations in town last week but Rocky Mountain National Park and all forest service land surrounding town is closed to all access, except for firefighters. There was a caveat to lifting evacuations orders and to visitors coming back into town: “be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.”

422 structures have been lost in the East Troublesome Fire to date; it is still unknown how many were lost in the Cameron Peak Fire.  Residents in Glen Haven and its surrounding communities were only allowed to return home yesterday. ​

There has been some progress on the containment of the two fire’s edges that directly threaten Estes Park, and visitors are being welcomed back into town. 

But without the National Park or the Forest Service to recreate in, the only choice is to visit the business establishments in town and COVID19 cases are increasing in all communities in Colorado.  

Another spell of dry, warm, and windy conditions is predicted for this coming week.

To date, the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires have burned 29,000 acres of RMNP - the most acreage burned in any fire or combination of fires in the same year since the Park was established more than 100 years ago.  
​
If 2020 is teaching us one thing, it’s that we must always pay for our actions.  If we don’t take care of our environment, it will take care of itself. No consideration will be given to the fact that humans live here, too.  Wildfire serves to clean out the dead growth in our forests, but the extent of wildfire in northern Colorado this year is more than a warning.  It signals a significant climate shift and we must all take heed or humans will be another casualty of Nature’s wrath. 
​
The following slide show features pictures of the destruction caused in RMNP by the East Troublesome Fire between Oct. 23-25. Photos courtesy of RMNP or Larimer County Sheriff (as noted):

The site of the old McGraw Ranch still has buildings, including one that has been standing since 1871, the original homestead cabin of Harry Farrar.  Others were built between 1884-1887, and most of the guest cabins were built between 1935-1936 by Frank and John McGraw (for more history of the ranch's early days, see part one of The Cow Creek Trail, published last week). ​

The first part of the hike is a beautiful meadow that climbs a bit before it wanders back to Cow Creek.  For most of the hike, you can hear its rushing or trickling waters, something I enjoy very much. It's so relaxing.
​
I needed a bit of calming down because I was anxious about taking this hike by myself, the first one with a distance of more 2 miles I've taken on my own since my back surgery. And there was no one else on the trail that early in the morning. ​

Every rustle in the trees had me looking - this is bear country after all!  It's also a hunting ground for mountain lions, although it's very rare to see these creatures anywhere near humans.  
​
A bit further down the road comes another trail crossing, this time giving you the option to turn left to hook up with the Lumpy Ridge Trail to visit Balanced Rock and Gem Lake. ​

When I passed through the meadows again, the butterflies were flitting all around me, enjoying the late-August sunshine.

It took me about five hours to do six miles roundtrip but remember, I stopped to take many pictures along the way.  It was worth it and I needed it. It was the first morning without any smoke haze after two days of good rain.  The air was clear, the sky was blue and the morning light was perfect.  Happy hiking, everyone! ​

by Barb Boyer Buck

Imagine it's 150 years ago (I do this all the time).  Imagine you have made the long trek via horseback to the beautiful mountain valley of Estes Park.  At that time, Colorado was a territory of the US and the land was declared "public" by the Homestead Act.

Every piece of the valley that is not already developed is open for homesteading.  All you have to do is pick out your 160-acre parcel, "improve" the property, and pay a small registration fee.

Put yourself in that scene.  What is your personal perspective?  Are you a child, part of a family looking for a new home?  Are you sick of the towns where you live and want some peace and quiet in the Colorado mountains?  Do you fancy yourself a wilderness man or woman, fiercely independent and resourceful? You're itching to live off the land and figure things out for yourself.  Whatever your perspective, I'm sure you'll agree.  The homesteading narrative is romantic and adventurous.

Let's say you’re a big game hunting guide and you marvel at the wide-open fields below you as you crest that final hill over Estes Park. It's  the late summer of 1871, and the basin looks mostly dry, with only the snake of the Big Thompson River slicing through it (there was no lake back then).  You notice the prime spots along the river were already claimed.
​
Now, suppose you ride north in the valley, where the mountains meet the meadows and the elk are plentiful.  Finally, you see it.  The Cow Creek Valley. ​

Suddenly, I found context in past events. I studied possible motivations for historical figures.  I found similarities between myself and everyone who came before me.  I can imagine myself into the mindset of someone in Estes Park, 150 years ago.  In the case of the Cow Creek Valley, I can imagine the stirring excitement of the situation, being given just enough help through the Homestead Act to get myself started in something entirely my own. 

In reality, Estes Park had long been the hunting grounds for native Americans, a summer stop on their nomadic routes.  Just because a place had never been permanently settled, doesn't mean anyone should claim it.  It had been a public, shared, space for ten thousand years before the homesteaders arrived.
​
Several buildings near the original homestead near Cow Creek were finished in 1887 after the property was developed with its sale in 1884.  The barn, the lodge, the bunkhouse, and two additional cabins started this valley along another journey.  It provided water for cows and the family that lived there. I imagine an idyllic scene, exactly how you'd imagine what a Little-House-on-the-Prairie homestead would be like here, in its perfect riparian ecosystem. Bounteous and cozy. ​

I'm an environmentalist, so I understand the damage human development has affected on our ecosystem, but the feeling of adventure, possibility, and excitement is intoxicating. 

John and Irene McGraw, grandparents of the surviving McGraw lineage, bought the ranch outright in 1909. John set it up so there could never be any debt on it.  There was no way any of his kin was going to gamble with the family home by using it as leverage in other concerns.  This pioneer tradition of establishing family ranches can be found in nearly every rural town, including those close to a National Park.
​
Frank and his brother John, sons of the senior McGraws, turned the place into a dude ranch in 1936 by building additional cabins, eager to get in on the action so many in the area had at the time by taking in lodgers.  ​

Every week, the sights, smells, and sounds are different, making it a shame to limit yourself to just one trip.   

The road closes when the first snows start accumulating at that elevation, usually at the beginning of October.   September is a beautiful month to drive it as well, with the aspen leaves in full color (not just gold, but often orange and red, too) and the tundra becomes a sea of rust-gold.
​
Old Fall River Road travels from Endovalley (near the Alluvial Fan), where it passes through several ecosystems as you travel up.  These include the montane, subalpine, and alpine. In some spots, rich riparian areas offer a rare east-side Rocky look at the sights and sounds of this ecosystem. You move from dense forests to tundra in only 11 miles. 

This will be one of the longest 11-mile drives you will take.  But especially if you’re used to city traffic logjams, you couldn’t ask for a more pleasant delay.  There are plenty of places to stop and I recommend stopping at all of them, if you can.  ​

Glorious wildflowers, wildlife, lush forests and stunning views greet you the entire way. When its approximately three months of vehicle access is over, you can hike or bike this road (weather permitting). 

Of course, I love the sights and sounds I witness from my car & the short hikes I do when I stop at certain places.  But just as enthralling to me is the rich history of this road. ​

Construction of the road began in 1913 and lasted seven years, with a brief interruption caused by World War I in 1914. When it was finally finished, it connected Estes Park to Grand Lake.  When Rocky Mountain National Park was dedicated in the Fall River Valley in 1915, attendees could observe men, using only hand tools, widening the path that Native Americans had weathered for 10s of thousands of years.

This actually caused an issue for some of the more refined and prominent representatives at the RMNP dedication.  Because at the time, Colorado State Penitentiary inmates, housed in nearby cabins, were the men building the road. (A construction company took over building the road before it was fully extended to Grand Lake.)

​Congressmen, Colorado’s governor, prominent local businessmen, and local women associations attended the dedication; seeing the convicts carving out the road was the not the proper aesthetic and the men could be dangerous, some thought.  In my opinion, seeing slave labor at work was not very palatable for the higher-ups of the time. ​

But after Fall River Road finally opened to create vehicle access from Estes Park to Grand Lake, the story changed a bit.  Eventually, Estes Park was not the place to stay for weeks or months at a time; it was a place to stop for a few days on the way to points west.  Grand Old Hotels gave way to roadside motels, especially in the 1950s and 60s when vehicle travel became America’s favorite pastime. 
​
Do yourself a favor and make Old Fall River Road part of this summer's adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Be sure your vehicle does well in high altitudes, has a full tank of gas, and my advice is not to drive large vehicles up it, it’s much more difficult that way.  But above all, remember it’s only ONE WAY, going up – you will have to take Trail Ridge Road to go back down, either to Estes Park or Grand Lake. ​

By Barb Boyer Buck

Rocky Mountain National Park is a wonderland of high-country wilderness.  Millions of people from all over the world travel here to experience the beautiful scenery and hike trails every year.  Summer is the most pleasant in RMNP with burgeoning wildflowers, a plethora of varied wildlife, and stunning weather – but it’s very important to keep in mind safety concerns and take the proper precautions. ​

Preparing for changing conditions. If you’ve ever visited Rocky Mountain National Park in any season of the year, you have probably experienced a sudden thunder-storm that clears up within minutes, or have been pelted with hail only to be unbearable hot shortly after, when full sun emerges again. 

Weather is extremely changeable and unpredictable in the Rocky Mountains.  

Lightening strikes happen every year in Rocky, in every location.  There are many areas in the park that allow hiking above or at treeline which increases the chances of being struck.  Watch for storm clouds forming and plan for reaching shelter if the weather suddenly shifts.  ​

Wear layers, including a hat, to protect against the sun even if it is cloudy.  Sunscreen is essential as you are about two miles closer to the sun than if you were at sea level.  Sunburns can happen even if it’s overcast.  

Wear the proper footwear and plan for changing trail conditions.  A dry, dusty trail can suddenly shift to a snow-packed one and regular hiking boots may not be adequate.  Bring boot spikes or snowshoes (in the winter) along with you on your hikes. ​

Lack of data reception  You can't count on your phone to communicate dependably, or internet service while in RMNP.  Be sure someone outside the Park knows where you are and when you expect to return.  

Protect from getting lost while hiking Rocky by downloading our free app, which utilizes GPS to power its trail maps, available here: GPSMyHike.com

A "perfect" day in RMNP can turn into a serious situation quickly, so be sure to follow these basic safety precautions while visiting this beautiful national treasure. ​

Park officials have tried to respond. It’s now possible to Park your car east of the Town of Estes and catch the Hiker Shuttle that heads you straight into the Park. But, there’s still more work to be done. It would be great if there was a dedicated lane for the shuttle busses to pass the long line of cars waiting to go through the entrance gates, for example. 

​This year, in response to coronavirus concerns, the Park is trying out a reservation system to limit the number of cars entering the Park and spreading the people congestion throughout the day. Last Sunday, I got to try it out. My hiking partner and I decided we would get a reservation to go into the Park between 8am and 10am. I signed up on recreation.gov the previous week and found plenty of spaces available. That may change as people begin to learn about the reservation system.

by Barb Boyer Buck

A father fights for a better life for his children, a grandfather spoils them.   

A father shows his offspring how to be productive citizens of the world by teaching them the valuable lessons he has learned. A grandfather rests on the wealth of his knowledge and experience and shares these, generously and without condition, with his grandchildren. 

Such are the patriarchs of the Estes Valley, Enos Mills and FO Stanley, the leaders who are credited with the development and the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Town of Estes Park.  ​

Enos spent winters away from the homestead working at various mining operations until a fire at the Anaconda Copper Mine in Butte, Montana, put him out of work in the fall of 1889.  Visitors would not arrive to Longs Peak House (Lamb’s establishment which was later purchased by Mills) until summer, so it freed the young man to travel to places he had never been.  While visiting a beach in San Francisco later that year, Mills listened to a speech by John Muir who disparaged the west’s prevailing philosophy of homesteading.  People do not have a divine right to the indiscriminate use of surrounding natural resources while establishing a home or eking out a living, Muir positioned.   This California naturalist and champion for Yosemite National Park would become his lifelong friend and mentor. Mills soon began to question his choice of employment in the mines.  

He studied conservation and began writing his own pieces on the subject.  When guiding his summer guests around the Estes Valley and up Longs Peak, Mills spoke of the negative impact humans can have on nature.  Visitors were chastised for picking wildflowers and encouraged to get out into the wilderness every day of their visit.   Eventually he became Colorado’s official snow recorder, snowshoeing the high ridges of the Continental Divide to measure snow-pack with his trusty dog Scotch by his side.  He was soon inspired to take on the cause for creating Rocky Mountain National Park.  

Mills’ original plan for the national park included 1,000 square miles of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, extending from Colorado Springs to the Wyoming border.   But the Rocky Mountains contained valuable minerals, including gold.  The Colorado Gold Rush which began in 1858 was instrumental in the formation of the state of Colorado in 1876.  There was money to be made from logging as well.  Conservation was a very hard sell in the west during the 19th Century. 

This was a difficult time for Enos Mills, living in the Estes Valley.  Local residents – all homesteaders – resented his work in conservation and felt personally threatened by his idea of creating a national park in their backyard.   Sewer lines were run onto his land and his cattle were reportedly poisoned.  History may look upon Enos Mills as one of the most visionary men of his time, but his neighbors saw him as a dangerous pariah and meted out frontier justice with the conviction of self-made pioneers.  

Mills began to travel the country and speak on naturalist subjects and the proposed Rocky Mountain National Park.  He gained enough support and influence to see his dream realized – America’s 10th National Park was established on January 26, 1915, and dedicated in September of that year.  But it only contained a little more than 350 square miles.  Subsequent acquisitions grew the Park to what it is today. ​

FO Stanley, “the grandfather of Estes Park,” also came to the area for health concerns – and he didn’t exactly fit in with his new neighbors, either.  Estes Park residents first heard of his arrival in the early summer of 1903 when he completed the 16-mile trip from Lyons to Estes Park in less than two hours via the Stanley Steamer, a feat none thought possible.   

FO invented the Stanley Steamer (a steam-powered motor car) with his twin brother, FE Stanley.  They were raised in Kingston, Maine, and these brilliant men are credited with another remarkable invention: dry plate photography.  They sold this technology to George Eastman who went on to establish the Eastman/Kodak company.   

But by the time he was 50, FO suffered from tuberculosis and he left his home with his wife, Flora, to seek the dry mountain air of Colorado.  When he first arrived in Estes Park, crowned by the indomitable Longs Peak, he was smitten by its beauty.  

Imagine the reaction of the earliest Estes Park pioneers when they first saw Stanley sputter into town in his motor car, backed by the wealth of his established family and the many successes he and his brother realized.  Within several years, he announced his intention to build a luxury hotel, complete with running water and electricity.    This was a crazy plan, thought most of the locals, and viewed his activity with suspicion.  But Stanley’s innovative developments proved beneficial for the entire community.  

To generate electricity, he established a hydroplant at Fall River and built distribution lines from the operation to his hotel.  Along the way, he sold electricity to residents by selling them light bulbs.  
He established the area’s first water distribution system, too, by feeding the waters of Black Canyon creek directly to his hotel via wooden pipes lined with pitch.   When the doors opened in 1909, the Stanley Hotel greeted its guests with a stunning view of Longs Peak, a flood of electric lights, and hot-and-cold running water, amenities unheard of in the remote Colorado mountains at that time. ​

​It was his kindness and generosity he extended to the children of Estes Park that first earned him the moniker “grandfather of Estes Park.”  He would give children trinkets and dimes and would often stop to give them rides in his steam car.   

Although both men were initially treated with attitudes ranging from skepticism to outright hostility, Mills and Stanley are now viewed as the most important contributors to area’s development and preservation.   As it is can be with any good parent or grandparent, their efforts in guiding and providing for their “children” were misunderstood at the time.   

In Estes Park this morning, looking at the unspoiled views surrounding Longs Peak, gratitude fills my soul. 
Thanks, Dad. 
Thanks, Grandpa. ​