I Saw a Moose (and other cool stuff)

 8-3-2021

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After a bit of a chilly night – I guess camping at 10,000+ ft elevation is like that sometimes – I lazily prepared for my first day of real R&R. Not that driving through some of the most beautiful scenery in the states isn’t relaxing and gratifying enough, but sometimes it’s just nice to be on foot. Easier to take cool pictures of awesome wildlife and plants this way, too!

I left Jane to her rest at camp – the smell of burned clutch still suspiciously strong in her vicinity – and hiked around the lake to the start of the trails. Molas Campground is located right on the Colorado Trail, a popular but grueling trail running from Denver to Durango, so it’s easy to find some good hiking right from camp!

 

I started on the east arm of the trail, which took me first through several meadows, and then through a lovely aspen forest.

 

I descended down through another large meadow and into a peaceful pine forest rife with purple and yellow wildflowers. Clouds threatened rain, but I was safe beneath the thick canopy of pine boughs. The trail was muddy from past rainfall, but not too inconveniently so; instead, the mud just further amplified the temperate rainforest feel.

The only orange flower I saw all day, so I had to take a picture of it.

Within that forest, still in sight of the nearby meadow, I encountered something unexpected: the most INCREDIBLE mushroom I have ever seen! It sat a ways off the trail, a vibrant eye-catching crimson that beckoned invitingly. I suddenly wondered if I was Alice, and if this was Wonderland. Briefly, I considered that I might be transported to a different land if I drew too close to the mushroom – but I did it anyways. It was just too perfect.

 

Just look at this amazing mushroom!!

Very fortunately, it didn’t kill me or change my size or take me to another world while I took photos of it, so I carried on with my hike. The other wildflowers in the vicinity may not have been as perfectly vibrant as that one mushroom, but they hummed with life, bees and butterflies buzzing about in an attempt to take advantage of the break in the rain.

A very weird growth on this tree.

A little ways further on, I came upon an overlook filled with people! I offered to take their photo, and in return was treated to a lovely (and informative) conversation about things to do in the area and road closures impacting travel. The group of six – Susan, Keith, Char, Clay, Julie, and Scott – were all traveling together, camping at Molas and taking day trips in the region. Apparently, they are all neighbors of many years (or even decades!) who really enjoy each others’ company and have similar interests. I have to say that I was super envious of them – rather, their long-standing friendship of decades. I hope to be friends with my neighbors for that long!

Eventually I got under way again, but not before they had reciprocated my photo-taking gesture. So here’s a rare photo of a nerd blocking the view of some awesome mountains:

 

From the overlook, if one strained hard to peer a long ways through the trees, one could see a distant river flowing through the gorge far below. I decided that I wanted to see it, which meant that I would have to subject myself to the hike down the mountain – and back up again. But hey, nothing like a steep descent and ascent at high elevation for a first day of hiking, right?

 

A long series of steep switchbacks bore me downwards through the forest, deeper and deeper into the gorge. My concern about hiking back up mounted with every new turn – in some ways, this was much like hiking the Grand Canyon (although certainly not nearly so deep). But I wanted to see the river! So down I went.

 

About halfway down the trail, an unexpected sound drifted up from the valley below: an old-timey sounding train whistle. Apparently, the Durango Steam Train – a 1920’s scenic train that travels between Durango and Silverton on sight-seeing trips – runs right along the river here! I was able to find a gap in the trees and see the train, even if it was from afar. Supposedly, this train offers some of the best non-hiking sight-seeing in the area – and seeing it winding through the valley below, I could definitely believe it.

 

After what seemed to be an eternity (but was actually probably more like an hour), I finally reached the river. Unfortunately, thick clouds had set in so it wasn’t terribly scenic. But it did make a good place for me to stop and have lunch while resting my knees. My knees really hate to go downhill for prolonged periods of time these days, in part due to an old high school injury on the right side that seems to flare up when going down. Guess I’m getting old! Fortunately, I am still quite quick going uphill, so I can save face in that direction.

 

I sat a ways off from the railroad and chowed on a peanut butter sandwich while eyeing the rocks adjacent to the tracks. They really did look like a great place to see a pika, one of the tiny rock-loving mammals common in this area. Sure enough, one popped up after a short time to call out warnings to its companions (probably about me!).

 

I tried not to bother it too much, but one can only be so quiet with a bag of Doritos. So I finished up quickly and took off back up the trail. I was concerned that it would take me a much longer time to go up than it had taken me to go down, and I really didn’t want to be getting on towards dusk on a trail like this. Of course, I had forgotten that I am much faster hiking uphill than downhill! So I had nothing to worry about. But I didn’t know that until I got back up to the top of the trail.

Along the way, I saw some really interesting geology, including this super cool fold! Unfortunately I don’t remember much of my geological training for the types of rocks around here (igneous and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks) so I had to content myself with simply enjoying the fact that I had seen a cool fold.

 

About halfway up the trail, I happened to look back down a gap in the trees toward the river, and was very surprised to see a moose fording it! If you’ve never seen a moose, you might have a hard time imagining their truly colossal size. They are roughly the size of a Chevy Suburban, both in height and length, with huge heads and giant bodies atop gangly legs which are deceptively strong. A moose is the only animal I have ever seen run through a river without stopping or slowing. Four feet of water is nothing to them, barely even counting as an obstacle. They are really, really powerful. And as I glanced down towards the river, I saw that this was the case for this particular moose as well. Up to its chest in water, it trotted across the river like the water wasn’t even there. And then it was gone, before I even had a chance to pull out my camera. Not that it would have looked like anything but a smudgy silhouette through my lens at the distance I was working with, I guess. I would have liked to have seen it closer up, but I was still happy to see it from afar. Moose are dangerous to be near anyways, as big and as fast and as aggressive as they are. One of those animals that is much friendlier in children’s stories than in real life, for sure! 

I reached the top of the trail in short order – well, about an hour, which was pretty quick considering it took me an hour to get down. Since I found myself with extra time, I decided to take all of the side trails I had seen along the way. One led to a beautiful little waterfall tucked on the side of a meadow, out of view but easily found by following the sounds of bubbling water.

Other paths, leading back to the west, brought out more scenic vistas and different wildflowers in broader, more open meadows.

 

Very fortunately, the thick clouds lifted in the late afternoon as I wandered about, yielding some stunning views of the surrounding mountains. I spent some time circling the lake again to recapture the morning’s photos in a different light with different weather. This is the real problem with photography, you know – sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate initially, and then it gets really good later on and you feel compelled to go back and take all your photos again. My knees complained about this part but I mostly disregarded them, sacrificing them in the name of a nice picture. As usual.

 

Once the light gave out and evening started to creep close, I headed back to my campsite to scrape some dinner together. As always, I had planned on making my Boy Scout special! I’m pretty unimaginative when it comes to camp meals. But as I prepped the veggies, Clay (one of the guys from the earlier group at the overlook) wandered past and invited me to dinner with the crew!

Well, I couldn’t say no to that – not when I had enjoyed their company so much earlier in the day. And I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about my solitary meal, in comparison to any kind of meal with new friends to talk to. So I wandered over there with Clay, and was welcomed with open arms by the rest of the group. They asked me how the rest of my day had been, and all I could say was, "I saw a moose!" which I suppose was exciting enough, though not a good summary of my entire afternoon. But they didn't mind my rusty social skills. They fed me sloppy joes and s'mores and fit me right into the group seamlessly, without any awkwardness that one would normally feel with strangers. A group of friends like that is rare, more so one that is willing to take in newcomers, and I was truly thankful for it. For the evening, it felt like a little slice of home.

We talked and ate and laughed long after the sun had fallen, until 10 PM rolled around and quiet hours were in effect. It felt like I had known them for years, by that point. What a wonderful, unexpected way to end the night. Feeling as if I had gotten the most out of a beautiful day, I tumbled into bed feeling just... happy. This is the kind of day I love the most. The kind of day where you wander around without an agenda, just taking in the beauty of the world and sharing it with others. A day of perfect freedom.

With that... Kelly signing out.