Moore Park (Page 7) |
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by Jerry Cates |
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After spending a few minutes at the ranger station, I headed back to Moore Park. The trail from the station, as mentioned early, is pretty steep for the first half mile up to the fork. To add insult to injury, it has log barriers spaced every few feet to limit erosion during rainstorms. Ideally, the trail would slope uniformly upward, but here, because of the steep incline, you have to negotiate the steps formed by these inconveniently-spaced barriers. They make it impossible to maintain a regular gait, unless you happen to be a horse... and it seems likely the horses, if they could talk, would voice the same complaint.
While passing through the ruins of the old Eugenia Silver Mine, I took a photo of the bridge that crosses Inn Brook where it runs south of the mine. That's it, in the photo below. The Eugenia Silver Lode was discovered a few hundred yards northwest of here on September 23, 1905. The mine was worked for a few years, but the title was allowed to expire in 1919, the year my mother was born. It is said there wasn't much silver in the vein. Some Colorado historians are quick to point out how fortunate it is that Eugenia Mine petered out. If it was as successful as its original owners hoped, there wouldn't be a Rocky Mountain National Park today. Not much is left of the old structures that used to be here...
Finally, ny campsite came into view. Everything was the same as earlier in the morning, with one exception. The backcountry permit left sticking out of the pack now hung loosely by its lanyard. A ranger, or another hiker looking for a place to bed down for the night, probably inspected it to see if the campsite was legally situated. My backpack was just barely out of reach. Maybe the person who checked my permit was on horseback. If a full-grown grizzly bear came by, it would be his (or hers) for the taking. My skills at hanging the backpack were still primitive. They would have to improve...
I cooked one of the dehydrated "meals for three campers" purchased at REI. Single meal portions were too small for my stomach, at this stage in the trek. Beef stew for three was just about right. It was even reasonably tasty. This was only the second day, and the bland character of dehydrated food was not wearing on me quite yet... It would, however. Big time.
After washing all the cooking and eating utensils, I stripped down, took a quick sponge bath, and changed into fresh underwear. Today's and yesterday's underwear got washed in a Zip-Loc bag of water and camp soap. I was determined not to become uncivilized in the backcountry, not just for the sake of my fellow hikers, but to avoid producing odors that might attract a bear's curiosity. Bears learn quickly that campers who are not careful about hygiene tend not to be careful about making their food supply bear-proof. The last thing I wanted was to attract bears, whose sense of smell is known to be among the best in the animal kingdom, hundreds of times better than that of a human, and several times that of a dog. Bears are also very curious animals, and may be attracted to any unusual smell. Speaking of smells, the woodsy-smelling camp soap I bought at REI was used to bathe and wash clothing in. Its piney, woodsy fragrance was great at first, but began to wear thin on the second day. Surely, I thought, REI would not recommend a camp soap that bears would be attracted to. Naw... Nobody would be attracted to this stinky stuff. Even so, I made a mental note to bring something else--maybe Dr. Bronner's unscented aloe vera soap-- next time I hiked into the backcountry. The quiet, secluded campsite became as still as a cemetery as night began to fall. But some of the animals and birds entertained me. One bird, a Canada Jay, repeatedly swooped down from a tree, perched on my hand, and snatched whatever food I had in my fingers. I did not try to feed this guy- he (or she) just came and forcefully stole it. After each raid, it released its grip and flew back into the trees. Amazing... This bird's behavior, however, is legendary. Next: Goblin's Forest... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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