Bridge of Heaven Hike

I am trying to get as much hiking in before the summer busy season starts and this weekend was no exception.  Since I had a whole day and was feeling pretty spry I decided that I wanted a good challenge.  The trail I hiked was aptly named Bridge of Heaven and I started out by following a trail called Old Horsethief that would lead me to where I wanted to go.  There are a couple different ways to get to the Bridge of Heaven and I choose one of the longer and more difficult routes.

The trail starts along highway 550 just north of the town of Ouray.  The beginning is steep and forested and has many switchbacks as it makes it's way up the mountainside.

The trail skirts a large rocky scree field called the blowout.  The blowout is a huge gash running up the side of the mountain which is incredibly steep.  The trail winds back and forth along the south side of the formation and then comes to a point near the upper end of the gash that is level enough to cross.

The trail then continues to wind it's way up the north side of the blowout.  Every so often the trees open up to reveal the ever more impressive views.

There are a few nice little waterfalls along the trail too.

The trail continues to climb higher and forest gives way to high mountain meadows and thick stands of aspen trees.

 The view to the north reveals the town of Ridgway down in the valley and far off in the distance is the Grand Mesa.  I am glad that I had a relatively clear day that allowed me to see so far.  There has been a large fire burning to the south and the smoke has often filled the mountain valley this summer.

 Mount Abrams is an imposing figure front and center from this view.  At this point I have nearly reached the tree line and I can see the very top of Red Mountain in the distance.

 To the northeast you can see the western side of the Cimmarons and Courthouse Mountain just peeking above the ridge line.

The trail continues to climb more gradually and there is one final push to the top through a flower filled alpine meadow.  At the high point on the trail you can see far into the distance in every direction and the views become incredible.

To the south Red Mountain fills the end of the valley that makes up Ironton Park.  I have hiked around that area a couple times and I was surprised that I could see that far up the valley from here.  You can even make out Clear Lake at the close end of the valley.

 To the southwest you get a great view up the two valleys on either side of Mount Abrams.  The valley centered here is Yankee Boy Basin.  The Sneffles Range runs along the north side of the basin.

To the north you can see the Grand Valley spread out below the Grand Mesa.  The distance I can see from here is astonishing.  There are so many places to explore between here and there.  From this elevation I feel like I have only scratched the surface.

 To the northeast Courthouse Mountain stands out squarely against the backdrop of the Cimmarons.  I have seen the view from the top of that mountain too and it is nearly as breathtaking as what I am seeing today.

If you look closely in this view to the west you can even see the La Salle Mountains in Utah.

As I made my way down the mountain I took the time to stop and appreciate this tiny trickle of water.

 There was still a little snow left up this little protected valley just under the peak.  I imagine that this patch of snow hangs around much longer into the summer after a snowier winter than we had this year.  I have a feeling that this particular creek will be running dry within a month when the snow disappears.

I tried to take in some details on my way back down and got some really nice shots of the local flora.  This lichen growing on a rock was growing in such an interesting pattern that it caught my eye.  I don't ever recall seeing one growing in a spiral like this before.

 The alpine meadows were filled with all kinds of different flowers.  

Overall the hike was awesome by my standards.  It had all kinds of great views and lots of varied terrain.  I started fairly early in the day so the weather was just about perfect the whole way too.  I will say that this hike isn't necessarily for the faint of heart though.  My total trail length was just under ten miles and I hiked an elevation gain of around 5000 feet, starting at around 7000 ft and getting to the high point of 12500 feet.  Needless to say it was a very long hike and I had to take many breaks to catch my breath on my journey to the Bridge of Heaven.  By the time I got back to my car I was very happy to be off my feet.

I topped off the day with a good soak in the local hot springs when I was done.  It wasn't by any means the easiest trail I had ever hiked, but the view from the top has me itching to do it again soon.  Just hanging out on a mountain top on a brilliantly beautiful day is quickly becoming my favorite hobby.

Cherry Season: Wine Making Edition

I have been cruising the local farmers market the past few weeks and was happy to see that the summer fruits are ready again.  Cherries are the first to appear and this year's crop is tasty!  I bought a couple bags for snacking and then I made a deal with the farmer that grows these lovely red fruits.  This last farmer's market they had a box of cherry seconds for me for a great price.  Seconds are just as good as firsts, though some may be blemished or on the small side.  I didn't care how big they were or what they looked like because I was going to turn them into wine anyway.  I traded two bottles of last summer's plum wine for over twenty pounds of cherries.  I'm pretty sure I got the better deal (but I have been told that my wine is pretty tasty too).

When I got these lovelies home I set about transforming them for wine production.  I picked through all of them and removed any that were squished or too soft and then removed their stems and washed them well.  Little by little they filled my fermentation bucket and I mashed them every few layers to help release their juices.  One I had cleaned all the cherries I added sugar to the whole mix and then topped it all off with boiling water.  I followed a recipe on Jack Keller's wine making page to make a variety of sweet cherry wine.  This recipe calls for a couple of additives like tannin and enzymes to help break down the fruit.  The next day I added the yeast to begin the fermentation process.

For the next five days the cherries will be stirred up twice a day.  Once the primary fermentation is finished I will filter out the juice and put it in a glass carboy where it will finish becoming wine over the next few months.  I was hoping to get enough to make a full six gallons of wine, but the one box only had enough cherries for a two to three gallon batch.  I may see if I can get a box of Rainier cherries next week and try my hand at another batch of wine.  I would be interested to find out how different the flavor and color of the final product would be using a different variety of cherry.

The Hatch and Grafting

The babies have hatched and the numbers are low.  It looks like I am only getting four chicks out of this round of incubation.  The eggs in the incubator were the only ones to hatch at all, though two of the eggs under the hen pipped, but did not hatch successfully.  After the first 24 hours I moved the hatched chicks into my little brooder set up under a heat lamp.

After another 24 hours it was clear that the broody hen was not going to have a successful hatch on her own.  I wanted to try grafting the newly hatched babies on to this new mama hen so I waited until dark and then one by one I tucked the chicks under her.  I also tried to remove any unhatched eggs so that she would know that she was done setting on eggs.

At first she pecked at them quite a bit and I was worried that she would hurt them, but I kept checking on them every couple hours and they seemed to work it out by the next day.  Now she is keeping the babies close to her and staying fluffed up to keep them warm.  She has even been encouraging them to eat when I go to check on them.

From the looks of things today I think they are going to be just fine.  I am very happy to have a broody hen to raise the chicks for me.  Now I won't have to run a heat lamp in my back room and the chicks can stay outside from day one.  They have already survived the last couple cooler nights with their mama hen keeping them warm in the nest box.  Now that I know that I have a good broody hen I plan on keeping her around for awhile.  It will save me a lot of work and worry if she proves that she can do a good job.

Neosho Mine Hike

Last week I had a few hours to kill before I had to go to work, so I decided that I would squeeze in a little day hike.  I want to explore new trails around Ouray and this seemed like a good fit for the amount of time I had available.  The trail begins just off of Camp Bird road just south of town.  In the beginning the trail is pretty steep and has many switchbacks, but after the first 45 minutes or so it reaches it's high point and levels off.  It has many great views of the city as you hike higher and higher.  After the official viewpoint the trail follows the curve of the mountain and heads up the valley.

Along the way there are a couple of creeks and some nice little waterfalls.  The snow pack was very low this year, so I imagine that these falls can get a lot bigger during years with more spring melt to feed them.

There were several points along the trail where the trees opened up to reveal some really nice views of the valley.

Close to the mine there is a small marshy area that spans a little valley.  There is even a little pond in the middle of the marsh.  I'm sure it was a convenient reservoir for water for the miners when they lived in this area.

The end point of the trail is an old antique shop and bunkhouse that were built near the Neosho mine.  There was still plenty of artifacts to be seen inside the buildings if you were brave enough to venture inside.  There was even an old mine cart and some track remnants right near the entrance to the main mine shaft which was a large black hole that appeared to go deep into the mountainside.  It was a pretty neat little site to explore and I decided to have a little lunch while I was there.

The scenery on the way back was just as beautiful as on the way up.  Across the valley you can see the tall waterfall that comes out below the million dollar highway.  That waterfall is bear creek plummeting into the valley below.

The hike took me about 3-4 hours total and still left me with enough energy to be able to work that afternoon.  Even though the trail gets steep in the beginning, the leveled off portion of the trail makes for a nice easy stroll through the woods.  Coming back down the steep part was a bit challenging at some spots, but I took my time and got back to the trail head just fine.

Early Summer Garden Tour

The garden is filling in more and more each day.  I have started dong some regular harvesting in a couple of the beds - mostly lettuce and peas.  Everything else is just getting established but in a few short weeks things are gonna get busy around here.

The peppers are fairly happy at their end of the garden.  They have just begun to flower so I may have some peppers for picking by the end of July.  The row of carrots down the middle of the bed is also looking pretty good.

The tomatoes are coming along nicely as well.  They have reached a point where I need to start tying them up to the trellis.  They have also begun to flower.  There are already a couple of tiny green tomatoes on a few of the plants.  I have a feeling that I will be getting plenty of tomatoes this year since they have gotten off to such a good start for me.

The potatoes are growing like mad.  They too have started flowering which means that there are also tubers forming underground.  It has been months since I have eaten a fresh potato and I may start digging them up a little early since I have so many volunteers around the garden.  Potatoes seem to really like it here and have always grown well for me.

The cucumbers seem to be off to a rough start.  They didn't germinate all that well and I think many of them were mowed down by young grasshoppers shortly after they came up.  I did have a handful of survivors that seem to be doing ok, but I had to do a second round of planting about a week ago.  Hopefully this round will have better luck than the first and fill in the large gaps on the trellis.  I am hoping to can a bunch more pickles this summer, so I will be needing lots of cucumbers from these beds.  I may even have to buy more seed if this round doesn't take off the way I hope.

The corn beds are looking fairly happy.  They had some patchy germination, but the ones that did come up are doing well.  I planted Ute Indian Squash in the larger gaps in the corn beds.  I also planted Scarlet Runner Beans in the smaller gaps.  This is yet another variation on the three sisters that I am trying this year.  I think that timing of the plantings is important so each variety gets what they need.  The beans go in last so that the corn has time to grow tall enough to support them.  The squash go in after the corn germinates but is still small enough that it won't shade out the young squash.  I try to put them on the edges of the beds so that they can sprawl out from the bed as much as they want without really bothering anything else.  By the end of summer the squash should make a good ground cover between the corn and around the edges of the beds.

The celery is looking very good.  I finally got around to weeding everything thoroughly and this bed revealed happy, healthy celery plants and a nice row of parsnip seedlings.  The celery stalks are still small, but I have begun to add the tender young stalks to my salads and stir fries.

The green beans are off to a good start.  All three rows had decent germination and I only lost a few to insect damage.  This bed was very weedy, but once I got those under control and mulched around the beans, things were looking pretty nice in here.  I saw the beginnings of flowers on some of the plants, so I'm sure it won't be long until my dinner menu includes fresh green beans.

The broccoli are filling out nicely.  I saw the beginnings of florets on some of the plants so I should be able to start harvesting soon.  I just hope the heat doesn't cause them to bolt.  The bed does get some shade during the day, but it has been in the 90s here and the sun is intense.

This was the spinach bed that got away.  There were a number of other things planted in this bed and they were all cool season crops that are now past their prime for harvesting.  There were numerous lettuce volunteers and a handful of radishes that came up without any help from me.  Also the turnips that I planted over winter skipped forming a nice round root and instead went straight to flowering.  I will let this bed go to seed so I can have more free veggies again next year.  I was able to harvest lettuce and radishes from this bed daily over the past few weeks and all I had to do was add water.  

The onion beds have been growing very nicely for the past several weeks.  I was able to weed them pretty well before they were mulched and they seem to be enjoying the benefits of a straw blanket.  Some of them are sending up flower heads also, so I may get free onion seed to plant next year also.

Last but not least is the very nice looking garlic bed.  The plants are nearing the end of their season.  They have started to send up their flower stalks or scapes and I will be harvesting them for fresh eating for as long as they are available.  Once the lower leaves begin to turn brown I will have to let the bed dry out a little before I harvest and cure my garlic crop.  I am excited to see what the bulbs look like this year.  Garlic is a crop that will acclimate to it's environment over time.  This is the third year I have planted it in this garden and the bulbs have gotten bigger every year.

Most of the garden has gotten off to a good start this year and as long as I can keep it from drying out too much I think I can look forward to a pretty decent harvest season this summer.  I am happy that I was able to get most everything mulched in this early in the season.  It should make a lot less work for me as far as weeding and watering goes.  I am going to try to keep my watering as minimal as possible due to the very bad drought we are experiencing here, so the mulch will definitely be helpful with that.  Now I will have a little more time in the next few weeks to turn my attention to other parts of the yard like the flower bed.  Maybe this will be the year that I keep up with the ragweed infestation.