Silver Lake in American Fork Utah

We were lucky to have a free weekend and good weather so we decided to venture out and take the most of the opportunity. We head to Silver Lake which is a really pretty place; well we didn't actually make it to the official Silver Lake, which was a 2 mi hike. It took a little longer getting there for the lack of a non-4wheel drive vehicle and we didn't want to hike down in the dark and break an ankle since we forgot the flashlight :( Oh well, we enjoyed it nonetheless! I'm just amazed of what a gorgeous area we live in and often we are too busy to take advantage of it. Well the next place to try will be Squaw Peak!

Click images to enlarge

Poison-ivy: “Leaves of three let it be”

All of us have itches we really shouldn’t scratch. Vaporizing the slow driver in front of me or breaking into my neighbors wine cellar and binging on Bordeaux are itches that plague me repeatedly but that I manage (so far) to avoid scratching.

A Poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) rash is another thing one should avoid scratching. Obviously, the best way to ease this temptation is to avoid having it in the first place. Hence this post. Poison-ivy infests the Mesa Trail this time of year and does not always stay neatly on the side of the trail but in several locations grows between the rocks in the middle of the trail. I have seen many hikers blissfully rubbing ankles with the leaves.

Poison-ivy has and oil called urushiol on the leaves that react most unpleasantly with human skin. Contact with the oil either through touching the plant or touching something has touched the plant (e.g. your dog, your clothes) can also transfer the oil. One should note that it is not just the leaves but also the vines and roots contain this oil.

The rash caused by Poison-ivy can be a small itch or a big itch. It really depends upon your immune system. Some people get a small spot of oil on their skin and they will have a small itchy area. In others, this small exposure will cause a full body reaction. Still others seem to be immune. There are various pharmaceutical products out there to treat a Poison Ivy rash. Best to talk to your Pharmacist to determine the latest greatest. The rash can last from one to three weeks.

Poison-ivy has three green almond-shaped leaves that grow in a cluster, which is the source of the mnemonics “Leaves of three…let it be.” The leaves in our area are straight edges but I have seen pictures where the leaves are crenulated like Poison Oak (west coast), so don’t let that fool you. There is a definite sheen to the leaves that can make them shinny. In the fall the leaves can turn reddish. Note they do not make an appropriate Thanksgiving table display. The oil can remain active for years after the plant is dead so be cautious handling it.

Timetables

Several days ago, the Prime Minister of Iraq said that he would like to see a timetable of 16 months to begin for the removal of United States troops. The news media is playing this as saying that Senator Barack Hussein Obama was correct and that Maliki is backing Obama.

President Bush has said all along that timetables were not appropriate because it would signal to the enemy that they should sit back and wait for us to leave and then begin anew, their attacks on Iraq.

Things have changed, however. The war is nearly over. Victory has nearly been achieved (although I believe that victory has been achieved). There is very little al queda left in Iraq any longer. Those that haven’t been killed or taken captive, have been fleeing Iraq in droves. Iraq has taken over 10 of the 18 provinces and there is almost no threat of al queda left in Iraq. What is left, the Iraq security forces can take care of with limited support from the American military.

Wasn’t that the goal? Weren’t we supposed to stay there until the Iraqi security forces could control their own country? That’s what we trained them to do.

To call for a timetable now, or time horizons, seems to me to be appropriate. The Bush administration has always said that we’re there as guests of the Iraqi’s and that we’d leave when they said they could take care of themselves. That time seems to have come. This was inevitable. The only ones that seriously thought that they war couldn’t be won were the terrorists, al queda and the liberals. Newsflash: We’ve won!! It hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ve won.

So why would it be wrong to start planning for the withdrawal of American troops? It is easy for Obama to say ‘my time frame and calling for a timetable was correct.’ The dynamics have changed. He called for this timetable as the troop surge was beginning, which he said had no hope of succeeding. Now the surge has proven to be even better than predicted and certainly better than Obama said would happen.

There will likely be some setbacks as we withdraw. The insurgents, terrorists or whomever is still lurking will try a resurgence as we leave, but the point is that the Iraqi’s can now handle their own. There is no civil war. There is no quagmire. This is not Vietnam and never has been.

The United States should declare shortly that the war in Iraq is won and over and troops will begin coming home or being redeployed to Afghanistan. If Obama is going to play the game of “I was right, Bush was wrong” then President Bush should come out on national television and announce that victory has been achieved in Iraq; al queda is on the run and headed to Afghanistan and our troops will be following them into Afghanistan to put an end to the al queda infrastructure.

I welcome your comments.

Brett

Mt. Sniktau

Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
Elevation: 11, 990-13,234 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,675 ft (net) 2,147 ft (cumulative)

(Left: View from the summit) Mt. Sniktau as a great introductory peak for anyone wanting to train for higher endeavors. It is close the Front Range so you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and the trail is relatively short so you can get acclimatized gradually. In fact, I met a couple from Montreal on the trail for this exact purpose. I chose this hike because I have passed the trailhead many times and have just been curious about getting “up there”. The trip was delightful despite some pressure from the weather and I would recommend it to anyone fit enough to roam above tree line.

The trail starts on the west side of Loveland Pass. There is a large parking area there that was empty when we arrived at 7:45am but that was packed when we returned. You could tell there were many lowlanders marveling at the pass and wandering about the knolls right next to it.

Guidebooks will tell you there are two false summits on the way to the summit of Mt. Sniktau and this is technically true. When you look on a topographic map there are two obvious summits, one at 12,915 ft, one at 13,152 ft and the final one at 13,234 ft. On the ground, however there are many more knolls, bumps, and talus piles that make it difficult to determine how many “summits” one has traversed. The main thing to remember is that the final summit is not visible until you are on the second of the “official” false summits and that it is a large triangular hunk of rock. All the other knolls and summits are very rounded. You also have to descend 100 ft or so from the second “official” false summit before you can ascend the final summit. All the other milestones are generally upwards.

Looking up at the first summit from the beginning of the trail. The second summit is off to the left.

The first part of the trail ascends up a very steep ridge to the first summit at 12,942 ft. This ascent takes 0.94 miles so you are ascending 1,000 ft in less than one mile, which is good for separating out the mountain goats from the domestic goats. None of the day-trippers that infested the parking lot ever made it up that high. It is a lung and calf buster. Descending this pitch is much easier with poles because the ground is loose, slippery, and filled with small rocks.

Farther up the initial pitch

Every step upwards improved the view as the Continental Divide becomes more distinct. The tundra was green and filled with wildflowers. A few large snow banks remained but certainly nothing worth skiing. When we reached the trailhead we passed a skier starting out with a skis and heavy boots. I suspect he was going to be disappointed. All the snow banks were off the trail and did not impede the journey.

(Right: Finally, on the ridgeline). From the first summit at 12,942 ft the trail is a very easy stroll across a wide ridge. You can see the second summit off to the northeast. A trail also goes off to the southeast towards Cupid Grizzly peaks. That looks like a nice trip as well. One of those large talus piles exists about half way across ridge towards Sniktau. We skirted its edge on the way up and went straight over it on the way back. It is easy enough to navigate. Talus always has the potential to twist an ankle so don’t be complacent even when the piles are small.

The second official summit is deceiving. There is a large wind shelter there, a USGS stake in the ground, and a rock pinnacle. Without the ability to judge distance, we thought were on Sniktau and were looking at another 13er off to the left. This is wrong. While the second summit is above 13,000 ft it seems to be unnamed. We were also confused by the obvious deep decent from the second to the final summit. I know that for a 14,000 ft peak to be its own named peak there has to be at least 300 vertical feet between them. I do not know if the same rule applies to 13ers. I need to calibrate my sense of the vertical because I was thinking the decent to the ridge between these summits was greater than 300 feet when in reality is was closer to 110 ft.

Talus pile on ridge to the second summit

At this point we were torn because the sky was completely covered in dark cumulus clouds. They were not building very much but the clouds right over the summit were the darkest in our immediate area. We wasted way too much time vacillating over continuing on when we should just have been hiking. Finally, we decided to go on and it was a short 20-minute journey to the official summit. Another clue. You can see Eisenhower Tunnel from the official summit and not from the second summit. The other major view is looking south. There is small lake between Sniktau and Torreys, which is quite picturesque.

Trail above the skree to the second summit

Alas, we did a high-five, took a few shots and left the summit quickly. Sometimes I hate Colorado’s weather. After all that work it is nice to hang out for a while and being chased off a summit by the weather is a real downer. After leaving the summit, the clouds did begin to break up a bit. This enabled us to slow down and enjoy the scenery. It was not until we had reached that 12,942 ft summit that things started to get really dark. It was here that we met the couple from Montreal. They were heading up and we pointed out the dark clouds and indicated it was tricky to continue. They chose to go on even and we were scurrying downwards. This is always risky. Storms in Colorado can build very quickly. They may or may not produce lightening but 1.5 hours up a treeless trail is a dangerous place to be. As it was we saw them on the summit long after we had returned to the car. The storms had been building and dissipating so hopefully they survived. I would not have started up with that level of darkness to the clouds. If I had been leading a group of people I would have also turned around at the second summit rather than take a chance. Risking your own life is one thing, risking others is quite another.

View from the second summit
I really enjoyed Sniktau. Purists might think it is too short to be worthwhile. I for one want to do every trail and can find an occasion for every type of trail no matter the distance or elevation gain. Sniktau has great views and is really fun, which in itself makes it worthwhile. Had the weather been better, I would have taken that second trail that leads off towards the southeast from the first summit. That trail leads to another unnamed 13er. From peak there is a narrow ridge to Grizzly Peak.

Mt. Sniktau from the second summit

Wildflowers and views looking northwest

Missouri Lakes

Distance: 7 miles RT to the lower lake
Elevation: 10,000-11,550 ft
Elevation Gain: 1, 550 ft


Summer has not arrived yet at Missouri Lakes. We could not even get to the upper lake because it was completely snow bound. I have seen numerous pictures of the lake at this time of the year and they are filled with campers. This year only the hardy had pitched their tents between the drifts. Still, Missouri Lakes was a spectacular destination and we can’t wait to go back. The trail has everything a hiker could desire, waterfalls, steep canyons, raging water, meadows, mountain vistas, and wildflowers. There is no way to get bored on this trail because it changes constantly.


Waterfall near the beginning of the trail
The trailhead to Missouri Lakes is in the Holy Cross Wilderness and is a good hours drive from Minturn up two dirt roads. While my sedan made the trip easily, it was slow and there were hordes of ATVers all along the road. Take the mileage you see in guide books with a grain of salt and follow the mileage markers that the forest service has installed. The turn off to the actual trailhead (the second dirt road) is around 8 miles in. There is a brown sign that says Missouri Creek. This is a large and obvious sign, which means you can ignore the many unmarked side roads.


The gorge
Initially, the trail starts off gradually, stays in the trees, and follows the creek. It will begin to ascend sharply after a half-mile or so until it comes to a large picturesque waterfall. Above this fall was a small lake. The creek and a dramatic gorge dominates the next portion of the trail. With the snowmelt in full force, it was easy to see how the water could carve such deep structures. The second major stream crossing takes you across a large bridge that straddles the gorge. The water was pouring through the gap in a stampede of water molecules in a sheer panic to descend to lower ground. The roar itself was almost deafening. Past this bridge, the trail travels up the gorge and in several places was underwater. A little more volume and the trail would have been impassible.


The creek bordering the trail
At the head of the gorge is a series of green meadows infested with Marsh Marigolds. Logs occasionally lead hikers above the bogs but there is no way to traverse this trail without getting your feet wet. From this point there is a longer pitch through trees, around rocks, and over drifts. Here we met with an Outward Bound adventure. One creek was so swollen that it covered the trail. Someone had placed several mid-sized tree trunks across the creek balanced on the shore and a large rock in the center. There was nothing to grab on to and the logs were not much wider than my boot. They certainly were not flat. Fortunately, we arrived at this point just as other hikers appeared on the far shore. With help they pulled us across. I cannot image trying to manage that crossing with a large, overloaded backpack. Had I been hiking alone, I probably would have talked myself out of the crossing. Fortunately, I was not alone and we made it across. The view at the lakes was well forth the effort.


One of the lush meadows
Missouri Lakes is a series of 14 separate lakes and ponds but with all the snow it was impossible to distinguish anything but the largest of the lower lakes. The clouds kept building and dissipating behind Savage Peak but we were able to lounge on a large rock for almost an hour. It was not until much later in the evening that we ran into the rain. In fact the drive back to Denver was a white knuckled affair of hurricane-like downpours. What is it lately with rainstorms and holiday weekends? We ran into the same thing coming back from the Black Canyon over Memorial Day.


The far side of the lower (we think) lake
While the trip to Missouri Lakes makes for a very long day trip it was by far one of the most scenic hikes I have yet to experience in Colorado.

Update on the wildfire

Emergency vehicles in the NCAR parking lot
I spoke to a representative from Boulder Fire while leaving work today. He indicated that the fire was most likely caused by lightening. It can take days if not weeks for a lightening strike to develop into a fire. The department sent 15 personnel up the Bear Creek Trail and they then hiked over the ridge. The trip took and hour and a half. As of 5 pm the fire was contained.

Wildfire on Boulder's Flatirons

A wildfire started early this afternoon high up in the flatirons above NCAR's Mesa Laboratory. I do not know yet what started it. The fire is to the right of Mallory Cave and higher up the ridge. There was no lightening today. Only climbers tend to head for that area.


In the time we observed it, the smoke would billow and fall downwards as the wind caught it. It did appear to be moving up the ridge.