Plan Z, for Zion!

My last day in Zion was a glorious one, although the great conditions were in doubt just the night before. I was somewhat rested up after the 8.5 mile hike in Bryce Canyon so, I felt ready to hit the trails again. The mandatory Zion shuttle system was still in place for just one more day so, I found a place to park above the Visitors Center and got on the shuttle.

The light was very good and the angle of the sun was just right for some parts of this amazing canyon. I want to be up THERE!

Here at the lower elevations, cottonwoods and maples still had their leaves, and the peak of color hadn't arrived yet. This Sunday morning hike was idyllic, with plenty of friendly people hiking the many trails.

I had decided to take the relatively easy Emerald Pools Trail all the way up to the Upper Pool. Some people do not climb the last third of a mile of more difficult hiking. This is what they miss out on, as you arrive at the Upper Pool. I literally stood there and gawked at the immense grandeur of these regal orange cliffs.

While the pool isn't exactly "Emerald", it still provides a wonderful contrast to the arid cliffs and dry landscapes. I had almost 10 minutes of peace before rowdy kids arrived. I worried for their safety climbing on the huge, slippery, sandy boulders. (I also worried for the adults climbing on them who should know better.)

As it was time to head back down the canyon, my planning had worked out great with the sun at my back. You will always have the shadows at Zion this time of year but, finding ways to artfully use them is important. My next Zion post will show the pleasantly different views I saw on the other trail back down the canyon.

Fall and the dreaded "short-timers disease"

Yes, the signs of fall are all around us now. Leaves changing from green to yellow. Football season in full swing. And the foresters are getting "short-timers disease". It happens at the end of a long hot season of woods work, when one looks ahead to snowy days sitting next to the woodstove, sipping from a mixture of 100 proof peppermint schnapps and hot chocolate. Yes, we're even HOPING for a big snowstorm to come and end the work season.

These two pics were taken during my lunch time, along pretty little Cole Creek, on the Eldorado National Forest. Out here in the West, we do have some nice fall color in some places, with cottonwood, aspen and dogwood showing their brightest foliage during this very comfortable Indian Summer.

While walking through an unharvested part of the burned area, I see a battle looming between the planted trees and the fearsome whitehorn (Ceanothus cuneatus ). Yes, those stout needle-like thorns will go right through your jeans, impale your leg before finally breaking off, leaving the tip inside to do it's own dirty work. The future of this particular piece of ground is rather a gloomy one. By not harvesting most of the snags, the tree plantation will not survive the next inevitable fire. In this part of California, and throughout much of the West, dead trees do NOT become part of the soil through slow "natural" decay. They sit until the next lightning strike chooses to hit the same place.....again.

I think that most would agree that the picture below shows a bit of a fuels problem. These trees were cut last fall and couldn't be harvested before winter. Over the winter, a lawsuit stopped us from harvesting these already cut snags. Finally, after months of wrangling, they graciously allowed us to use this "fuel".

The picture below shows how dramatically we've reduced the fuels on this "cooked" piece of land. We've still left trees for wildlife and left logs to help with soil stabilization. With the true firs and cedars having such a great cone crop, I'm sure we'll see lots of natural regeneration in the harvested areas.