Coyote Friend

 The short story is I entered RMNP around 9am and proceeded to drive up Old Fall River Rd in little Audi. Nope... I don't have good clearance. Nope... the road is not nicely graded any more.  

But driving 10 mph and avoiding most of the large holes and deep ruts, I was able to use little Audi's stellar AWD capability to pull myself slowly around hairpin bends, driving only on the high parts of the dirt road. It helps to be kinda small.

It made keeping an eye out for wildlife damn near impossible but staying in the present, eyes forward, was vital for also staying on the road and not bottoming out!

Just before the final push up to the Trail Ridge visitors center, I stopped for a what looked like a steep hike up a ridge. (Audi was telling me that I had been driving 2 hours and needed to take a decent break. She's good like that.)

It was BREATHTAKING - in too many ways!

All of a sudden, there he was. A fluffy coyote, taking a break on the tundra. Admiring the view and the nice weather, just like me!

At one point he saw something yummy scurrying by and make a half-effort to catch it. But otherwise he was super-chilled. 

Animal sightings were slim. If it wasn't for the next guy, the coyote and a chipmunk would have been it for the day.

The adult males have chased off their juvenile male competition and are waiting for their harems to reunite at this time. I didn't see a herd all day and definitely heard no bugling. 

You betcha I'll be back in a week or two. This place is magical!

Woodland Lake Hike

 I went back to the Hessie Trailhead! 

This time, being a weekday in late September, there was no parking at the high school and taking the shuttle, instead I drove little Audi up the road through Eldora and parked her roadside not a quarter mile from the trailhead. And I took my friend Doug with me. Bonus!

It was the most perfect blue sky day you've ever seen.  The aspen leaves were bright yellow and the temperature was cool to start and warm, but not hot throughout.

We hiked up that rocky road I did a couple of weeks ago. Then at the split where I went yonder to Jasper Lake, we took the "other way" to Woodland Lake. The sign said 4 miles... we were 1 mile in already.

At Woodland Lake, we stopped for little rest. The view was lovely! (Alas not a moose to be found.)

While critters were few and far between, we did have cause to 'rescue' a caterpillar or two from the trail. I couldn't even tell you which end was the head on this one! Seriously though, he has put considerable effort into looking good today and all that eye-catching-ness paid off when I didn't step on him but instead, picked him up and gave him a lift to safer ground.

My watch ran dead flat at exactly 10 miles... I think it missed recording about .5 mile, so I'm saying I hiked 10.5. That's not the best part though. At mile 10 I still had spring in my step, breath in my lungs and no sore feet! I think all this hiking is finally paying off in a way that is visible. Ha!

As you can see, I went a bit faster than normal today. Doug is speedy... he spends a lot of time hiking uphill with 30lb of climbing gear in tow. I had to slow him down, for his own good. We were here to see the colors, smell the forest and picnic by a lake. I even had him eating Werthers candy with me. 

The joy is not found in finishing quicker, it's found in staying out there as long as possible. :-)

Peach Salsa

About 3 years ago, our little beaut' of a peach tree outdid itself and rained peaches. We made peach salsa, among other things, and I've never forgotten that deliciousness. 

Our peach tree gave us all of 2 dozen peaches this year. The squirrels got to half of them and the other half were amazing... but you know, there were not enough to cook with. 

Luckily, our friends Kris and Charles, generously gifted us a bag of their home grown peaches. So today was salsa day and in case you want the recipe, here goes:

PEACH SALSA

Ingredients

6-8 cups freshly diced peaches

6-8 large tomatoes (Or double if you use Roma)

1 cup finely chopped red onions

4 jalapeno peppers (seeds removed and finely chopped)

1 large sweet red pepper (seeds removed and finely

chopped)

½ cup finely chopped cilantro

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (more for more heat)

2 tsp ground cumin

¼ cup honey

½ cup white vinegar

Instructions

How to Make Peach Salsa

Blanch peaches and cool in sink of ice cold water. Peel, pit and chop into small chunks.

Blanch tomatoes and cool in sink of ice cold water. Peel, remove seeds and chop into small chunks.

In a large cooking pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. 

Cook, uncovered for about 5 minutes, stirring often. If mixture is too thin, continue boiling for another 4-5 minutes or until enough liquid has evaporated and the mixture thickens.

Canning Peach Salsa Directions

Ladle peach salsa into hot jars within ½ to ¼ inch from the top.

Using a paper towel, wipe the rim to remove any residue.

Center lid and hand tighten. Repeat until you run out of salsa to fill jars.

Place jars into a hot bath canner.. Process for 10 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.

Let them sit 12 hours... or... chill it and scoop onto a blue corn chip ASAP!

A hiking kinda weekend...

Where do I begin?

On Friday night I decided that Teddy should get a hike somewhere new to him. You know... enrich his little life by mixing it up a little, just like I do for myself!

We chose Meyers Gulch (Walker Ranch) because it was less than 30 mins drive and it would be just about an hour before sunset. The parking lot here closes after sunset.

A short and sweet mile out and back. Beautiful light, fresh air, a little elevation goodness and temperatures a least 10 degrees cooler than back in Boulder. 

It was on the way back that our wee hike took an amazing turn... 

Weeks of searching for moose at every pond and stream I've hiked, hours spent scanning the geography for tracks, poop and moose at RMNP. Nada. Then low and behold, not one but TWO moose not far off the trail here, no where near water. LOL

Teddy was amazing. Sat still and quietly as we waited from a distance for the moose to cross our hiking trail and move off. And did I have my big camera with me? No. No I didn't. So this is all you get in the way of proof:

You bet your bottom dollar I went back the next day with a more impressive lens! 

I hiked to the end of the trail, 5+ miles return. The midday heat was relentless - well, that may be a bit dramatic. It was toasty but manageable - and I took lots of pics... but alas there was not a moose to be found. Drat!

This hike turned out to be a warm up for what transpired the next day:

Twin Sisters Peak with Sue!

I mean... after I made us 7am peach-melba pancakes with whipped cream, of course :-)

We landed at the Lily Lake adjacent parking lot just before 9am. Technically, part of RMNP and requiring a timed-entry reservation to park there if we had arrived after 9am, but I don't see how that is checked or enforced, if I'm being honest. The parking lot is right off highway 7 between Meeker and Estes Park. It's a gorgeous area any day of the week but right now with leaves starting to tinge gold and orange, it's even more so.

Lily Lake sports a stunning reflection when it's calm and clear.

Lily Lake is also the last chance for a pee break supported by an actual toilet. If this sounds like I recommend it... then you are mistaken. Use the woods! Much cleaner, nicer smelling and I'll even venture to say, private.  (Unless you actually prefer the pungent aroma of ammonia first thing in the morning.)

This hike has us literally ascending 2400+ feet via a trail that switch-backs up a mountain. First through the worlds straightest pine forest - with zero undergrowth. Then over roots and rocks, across an old avalanche path, through aspen groves catching the wind and the morning sun and finally up above tree line for a little scrambling amongst lichen covered boulders to the peak.

The uphill is relentless... but it's really probably the most gorgeous of trails too and at our pace of just under 1.5 mph, completely doable with a smile on your face for hours at a time. 

We ate a picnic (that was all Sue!) at the top and admired the changing sky. What once was all blue, now was a moody and dark picture with maybe rain 10 miles from us. Was it coming our way? Hard to say.

But when the temperature plummeted 15 degrees and the wind kicked up, us with 3 layers on now, we said goodbye to the pikas at the peak and started down. We still had 4 miles to hike back to the car.

Ok... there *might* have been a few more pika pictures on the way out of the boulder field!

(Do you blame me?!)

Then we made tracks back down the trail, across the avalanche scene, through the forest and... less than a quarter mile from the car, the weather arrived. 

Just sayin' ... the timing of Sue and Dallice hikes when it comes to weather is pretty special!

More special than the Lily Lake toilets, which I had to use again!