That's a great POGI

(Image from pigseye.com)

The Colorado Geologic Survey calls these "POGIs." They're points of geologic interest, and there are plenty of them in the Pikes Peak region. Think Garden of the Gods, the Paint Mines, Cave of the Winds. The CGS has compiled a list of the state's best POGIs in their most recent magazine, "Rock Talk." The list is comprehensive, but it missed a few of our favorite smaller geologic features:
++ Window Rock, a natural arch above Shelf Road south of Cripple Creek (pictured above).
++ Dome Rock, a perfectly named dome between Cripple Creek and Florissant.
++ Balanced Rock, again perfectly named, in Garden of the Gods.
++ The hoodoos that stand sentinal in Palmer Park.

Can you think of any others? Let us know.

Taking on the CT

There's a lot to be said for human interaction. Colorado Springs resident Tim McElderry realized that last summer as he tackled the 500-mile Colorado Trail in a solo trek.

McElderry, 55, had retired that spring, and planned the trip as a post-retirement gift to himself. He set out in August, traveling at a steady pace - his best day was about 19 1/2 hours; other days were more like 11 hours. "My time would vary, depending on the availability of water, where I was going to camp, and the weather conditions above treeline."

It didn't take long for McElderry to recognize his need for human interaction. "I would go about four days, and then, just be kind of done," he says. He wasn't defeated by the physical effort required - he has climbed the 100 tallest peaks in Colorado and earlier this year did a rim-to-rim-to-rim trip in the Grand Canyon.
"I just realized I was having trouble be alone all that time."

So he would hike for a few days, then get a ride home. Later, if the opportunity arose, he would get a ride to where he left the trail and continue on. "Finally, I just realized it wasn't going to happen for me."

This time around, he feels ready. He'll leave Saturday and get a ride to Spring Creek Pass, between Lake City and Creede. He'll travel into the Weniminuche Wilderness Area, over Molas Pass and down to Durango, about 123 miles. Watch for the blog for news on his progress.

World wild web

I was looking at Web sites related to Death Valley for a travel article when it occurred to me how few of our parks have catchy sites. Some of the unofficial sites definitely have more intriguing photos and information and better graphics. Makes me wonder how you'll grab a new generation of parks enthusiasts.

Anyway, I stumbled on this site for Beatty, Nevada, on the edge of the desert. Check it out. Definitely makes me want to drop by sometime.

In memory of a pioneer

As someone who grew up playing in the cool waters of the Pacific and later south Atlantic (way south, tip o' Africa south), I'll toss a figurative lei in the waves for Bill Meistrell, the founder of Body Glove.

Meistrell's synthetic wetsuits transformed surfing and deep sea diving. He died Tuesday, from Parkinson's at home. He was 77.

Meistrell sold his neoprene suits under the name Thermocline until his friend Duke Boyd, founder of the Hang Ten surf brand, urged him to pick a catchier name. It's said the name came from Meistrell's claim his suits "fit like a glove."

Mr. Meistrell, there have been many a morn I thanked you - and thousands of others did, too.

Where there's smoke, there's cigarette butts

We just got this question from a reader about the Pikes Peak Highway: "I was up on the highway yesterday, and was quite disturbed by the number of cigarette butts I picked up, both at Glen Cove and the summit. I also picked up enough litter to fill a kitchen trash bag out the brush just off the Glen Cove parking lot. What is the highway authority's responsibility for this?"

Three answers: First, the city maintains the private toll road up to the summit, so in some regards, any trash left by users is its responsibility. On the other hand, the road passes through the Pike National Forest, so one might be able to argue that dropped butts in the forest are a federal responsibility. But since neither entity really has the manpower to handle annoyances like this, the truth is that it's our responsibility. If we want clean forests, we have to keep them clean, even if we didn't put the trash there.

I don't know why smokers feel they can toss their butts out of their cars, or on sidewalks, or in the woods, but I also think the fruitless effort to convince them not to do it could be better spent picking the butts up. I find it's particularly effective to wordlessly pick up a butt in front of the person who just threw it.

Pikes Peak guided hikes

We just found out, after living here for almost 30 years, that the Pikes Peak Highway folks do interpretive nature walks every Tuesday during summer. Reservations are required. Each week it's a different theme: flowers, birds, tracking bears. To find out more visit http://www.pikespeakcolorado.com/ProgramPage.htm

Swimming holes: the few and the proud

OK, Colorado is not like a lot of other states. Not much water. And so topographically slanted that the water rarely gathers in one place. People who move from other states with memories of the old swimmin' hole are often disappointed, but there are a few places worth checking out.

First: Lake Pueblo State Park's Rock Canyon Swim Beach , which boasts a large sandy beach, shaded picnic areas (with grills provided), a locker/shower room, and plenty of room for swimming. plus a five-story water slide, bumper boats, and paddle boats. .Open Memorial Day to Labor Day, 11 AM to 7 PM.
Entrance Fee $1

Don't feel like driving?
Prospect Lake, downtown, has a fairly nice, free swim beach, and now the lake actually has water.
For directions click here.

Finally, if you really want to find a sweet hole, we'll let you in on a secret: The Grotto.
This is a longtime favorite on the hidden back of Pikes Peak. We'll leave directions purposefully vague to protect it from the less ambitious and imaginative skinny dipper, but here goes.
Take highway 50 west of Canon City, then go north on Highway 9. At County Road #11, take a right. Drive for 15 minutes or so until you come over a hill. There is a parking area on the left, with a sign that had the various BLM regulations posted for the area. Good Luck.

Plans for White River National Forest

From the AP:

The White River National Forest, which includes some of the country’s premier ski resorts and eight wilderness areas, released a proposal today to reduce growing conflicts among hunters, off-road drivers, hikers and cyclists.

The long-awaited travel management plan contains four options, ranging from little change to closing some trails and roads to motorized vehicles. Forest managers recommended one that would designate trails for certain uses.

“We’re trying to accommodate all these users and reduce some of the conflicts that are occurring,” said Wendy Haskins, a forest planner and head of the team that wrote the draft environmental impact statement on the travel plan.

The White River Forest covers nearly 2.5 million acres west of Denver and is bisected
by I-70. With about 9.6 million visitors a year, it's the nation’s busiest.

U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has said the growing illegal use of off-road vehicles is one of the greatest threats to forest health across the nation. The White River forest has identified about 1,000 miles of unauthorized trails, either old logging roads never designated for recreation or others blazed by recreationists.

Off-road enthusiasts want to keep as many trails open as possible, saying the majority of riders are responsible and as entitled as others to enjoy the forest.

Forest officials will take public comments on the plan over the next 90 days.

Whoa!! Floyd Landis accused of doping!

According to the AP, Tour de France champion Floyd Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race.

His Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the UCI on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after stage 17 of the race last Thursday. That was the same day he made his amazing comeback.

Speculation that Landis had tested positive spread earlier Thursday after he failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark. A day earlier, he missed a scheduled event in the Netherlands.

Landis has been suspended by his team pending the results. If a second sample confirms the initial finding, he will be fired from the team, Phonak said. Landis wrapped up his Tour de France win on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year.

News reports this morning quoted team members saying they have no idea where Landis is.

Pikes Peak Marathon an international must do?

Photo of last year's Ascent winner from Colorado Runner

Runner's World magazine ran a long story on the Pike's Peak Marathon this month called Peak Experience that said the race has "evolved from a locals-only contest in 1956 pitting 10 nonsmokers against three smokers into an international gotta-do-it."

The story notes "Registration for the 51st Pikes Peak Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, August 20, filled up in a record 23 hours."
But with so much elevation gain, it's still advantage locals.

Marathon legend Matt Carpenter said the first mile above treeline is where many runners falter.

"This mile alone has crushed the dreams of many runners," Carpenter, who holds the course record of 3:16:39, writes in his official course description (skyrunner.com/ppcourse.htm). "From here on up it is about wanting to get to the top. If that means running - awesome. If that means walking - super. If that means crawling - do it. Just keep moving!"

Autumn Aspen show may fizzle out this year

Drought and disease may make Colorado's annual golden autumn leaf season more brown than usual.
According to a story in the Pueblo Chieftain "the unusual combination of insect damage, age and overgrowth of other trees is contributing to the increased number of dying aspen trees in forests throughout Colorado, including the Pike and San Isabel National forests."

Already this year, Smith said about 10,000 scattered acres of aspen trees have been affected by the caterpillars in the Cuchara area alone.

But what about the area around Pikes Peak. It was definitely dry through June. Since then we've had some nice rainy spells. On a walk in the woods of the Rampart Range a few days ago, the aspen looked healthy and bright.
We'll see how they look come September.

Outdoor school under fire

Who assumes the risk when you join a guided trip into the wild and things go wrong?

We mentioned earlier that a client on a hike in Utah with the Boulder Outdoor Survival School died after a 10-hour hike in the heat. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Dave Bushow of River Vale, N.J., repeatedly told instructors he was thirsty, but he wasn't given any water.

The school has also been named in a lawsuit by a client who says she was injured during one of the school's courses. Lisa Tabb of New Orleans says she broke her hip, leg and ribs and dislocated her shoulder in a fall during a BOSS course in Utah in May 2005.

In an AP story, Josh Bernstein, president and chief executive officer of the school, defended his company’s safety record and said the school makes clear to participants that its courses involve risk. “We don’t guarantee safety,” he said. "There are inherent risks in the wilderness that are beyond our ability to control."

What do you think? Who takes the responsibility in an outdoor survival school course? Who determines the amount of risk? Who assumes the risk if you're on a guided raft trip or horseback ride?

Is the Web saying "happy trails" to guidebooks?

I've been messing around on www.14ers.com.
The site is way cool. It has a map of all the fourteeners. Put your cursor over a peak and a photo of the peak pops up. Double click on the peak and a whole page of photos, maps, and descriptions appear: pretty much everything you need to climb the peak. Plus, trip reports posted on the site will tell you what conditions the trails are in.
And the cost for this helpful service? Nothing.
It seems to me the days of spending $25 for a good guidebook are nearing an end, which is bitter sweet for me. I really like the old guidebooks. They're generally written by passionate, interesting dudes. Each one is a snapshot of its era and has its own personal flavor. It will be a shame to lose that.
On the other hand, the writing is more concise and portable in the books, so I don't think they'll disappear tomorrow.

So we're in a golden age now, great guide books and great new internet resources. Pretty good time to be hitting the trail.

Grand Staircase-Escalante decision

One of the largest national monuments will remain a monument.

Monday, a federal appeals court said opponents had no standing to challenge the creation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. A decade ago, President Clinton shocked and angered Utah politicians by creating the monument, the second largest in the lower 48 states. The monument's creation was especially contentious, because the announcement was kept a secret until just days before it was made. Here's what President Clinton said on the day of the announcement:

On this site, on this remarkable site, God's handiwork is everywhere in the natural beauty of the Escalante Canyons and in the Kaiparowits Plateau, in the rock formations that show layer by layer billions of years of geology, in the fossil record of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life, in the remains of ancient American civilizations like the Anasazi Indians. Though the United States has changed and Utah has grown, prospered and diversified, the land in the Utah monument remains much as it did when Mormon pioneers made their way to the Red Canyons in the high desert in the late 1800s.

Its uniquely American landscape is now one of the most isolated places in the lower 48 states. In protecting it, we live up to our obligation to preserve our natural heritage. We are saying very simply, our parents and grandparents saved the Grand Canyon for us; today, we will save the grand Escalante Canyons and the Kaiparowits Plateaus of Utah for our children."

A speed bump that bites...

The AP reported today that a Boulder triathalete hit a bear while riding her bike during a race. She came around a corner on a paved road and broadsided the black bear. Neither was seriously hurt. The woman went on to finish the race.

This reminds me of when I was snowboarding once and hit a squirrel. I came around the bend, he was running out of the woods, and POP! I looked back to find he had been pushed down into the snow by the board, like something out of a cartoon. Once I slid past, he popped up and ran back to the woods.

Anyone else ever have a non-motorized run-in with an animal? And no, tripping over the cat in the dark doesn't count.

Mountain lion shot in town

Division of Wildlife officials shot and killed a mountain lion in the Ivywild neighborhood Monday. It was the second reported sighting in residential area in the last few days - the other was northeast, by Powers, which surprised neighbors and others. Officials believe the first lion lost its bearings and was wandering yard to yard in an effort to get back out to the Black Forest area.

The mountain lion shot in Ivywild will be tested to see if it was unhealthy in some way. At the least, officials believe it may have been malnourished.

If you see a mountain lion, follow the experts' advice and do not run away. Do not look the cat in the eyes and slowly back away. Call the DOW.

Inspiration

Cycling fans who watched the Tour de France might have wondered: why are Americans so good at that race?
Chris Carmichael, writing on his Tour de France newsletter on http://www.trainright.com, answers that question:

"Americans men are so good at the Tour de France because it’s the first race we learn about when we’re young, and the first race we fantasize about winning. The cycling heroes that teenage boys want to emulate, and the posters that adorn their walls, are of American riders wearing yellow, and they have been for the past twenty years. The Europeans better not expect this cycle to end anytime soon, either. No matter if Landis wins several yellow jerseys or just one, in the years to come there will be another American standing on top of the podium in Paris, and he will say that Floyd Landis was the reason he wanted to race a bicycle."

Carmichael is founder, CEO and president of Carmichael Training Systems and personal coach to seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong.

Clove by clove

Back to the mosquito problem... I hadn't thought about them much this year, until I went hiking a couple of weekends ago in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The swarm that greeted me there reminded me of a local outdoors guy who has called a few times over the years. He swears he knows how to keep the mosquitoes off you - by eating garlic.

He's not alone - check out "garlic" and "mosquitoes" on Google, and you'll find tips for spraying yourself and your plants with garlic as a mosquito repellant, as well as popping garlic capsules to ward off the evil pests. No word on whether eating vast quantities of Italian food will help as well, but it wouldn't hurt to try, in the interest of research.

Good for what ales ya...

There's an interesting thread on 14ers.com's discussion forum right now about drinking beer on summits.
Many people crack a celebratory brew, others say "just water, thanks very much."
But it begs the question, what beer is for the outdoors?

A can is helpful for two reasons, it's lightweight, and won't break.
But canned beer can be... uninspiring.
A favorite that keeps popping up again and again in outdoor circles is Dale's Pale Ale, made by Oskar Blues Brewery of Lyons. It's the only microbrew in a can and packs such a strong, hoppy flavor that it takes a minute to realize that, yes, this really IS coming out of a can.

Boaters love it. 10th Mountain Ski Tourers do too.

Me? I have to admit, I don't drink and hike, but afterward, I reach for a nice, watery PBR.

Battle over Bigfoot

(photo courtesy of Bigfoot Discovery Museum)

Bigfootophiles are in the middle of a legal battle. To which I say, why can't we all just get along?

Following is an abridged version of the story posted by the San Jose Mercury News:

Bigfoot - that bashful, large lug of a hairy monster - is causing trouble among his believers. Not that he - or she, or whichever - ever did anything to anyone except pose for really fuzzy pictures, leave mammoth footprints in remote areas and never get caught.

C. Thomas Biscardi, a Redwood City, Calif., man who bills himself as a “World Renowned Bigfoot Researcher,” has sued the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization, its president and vice president. The group was established in California last year “to track, study and learn about the Bigfoot creatures that are believed to inhabit North America.”

Biscardi, who’s been in the Bigfoot business for 33 years, says he was supposed to be paid $250,000 to “lend his experience, knowledge and reputation” to conduct “Bigfoot expeditions,” and to provide the group with use of his library - which consists of things such as plaster footprint casts, films, photos and sound recordings.

The group, the lawsuit claims, paid him only $65,000 and won’t give back his stuff. Neither defendant could be reached for comment.

The Mercury News reached Biscardi by cell phone Monday. He was Bigfoot hunting just outside Paris, Texas. He didn’t much want to talk about his lawsuit, which he considers his “private business.”

But he was in a high state of excitement. The crew had a Bigfoot sighting Sunday night. Biscardi said they had found a spot that looks like “Jurassic Park,” and saw — guess who? — yep, Bigfoot. Biscardi said he’s had five “close encounters” with a Bigfoot in his career, but nothing like this.

“I gotta tell you something,” he said, “this is the largest thing I’ve ever seen in my life."

Biscardi said television captured its image and he figures the find will hit the national news this week.

We're waiting