Backpack Training: Week 6 - Predators & Prey
We saw a lot of wildlife during our training hikes this week, both predators and prey, including hawks, coyotes, geese, ducks, deer and elk. Our two short hikes were near our house, but for the long, ten mile hike, we drove up to the town of Loveland to the Devil's Backbone Open Space and hiked the Blue Sky Trail.
Our first hike was to Metzger Farm and along Big Dry Creek trail again. We entered Metzger Farm just as a red-tailed hawk pounced on a mouse. The hawk was not very happy to see us and took his prey over to the top of a nearby post after giving us some glaring looks. Of course Right Buddy was snapping pictures the whole time. The hawk was still not pleased with having dinner guests and kept glancing back at us, so we moved on. Along Big Dry Creek we spotted a couple of coyotes. As usual, they spotted us first and moved away from us, keeping the distance between us large enough for their comfort.
Our second hike was around Broomfield Commons right after a fresh snow fall, which always makes the landscape prettier during the winter. The snow clung to the trees and made the pine trees look like mops. The sun created a mist above the water in the Tom Frost Reservoir where the Canadian geese and mallard ducks were hanging out. As Right Buddy approached the pond to take pictures, the ducks started approaching her. Our guess is that there are people who come feed the ducks on occasion. We found it rather funny that the ducks would sit down every time we looked directly at them and would get up and walk towards us when we looked away, like they were trying to be sly about it. As we walked around the back side of the pond, we happened to look ahead down the trail just in time to see a coyote jump over a fence. The Backroad Buddies looked at each other and said "That would have made a great shot!". Well, you can't have them all. Right Buddy did manage to get her camera out to take some great shots of the coyote which stood out well against the white, snowy background.
The city of Loveland is about an hour from our house. Right Buddy typed in Devil's Backbone Trail into Google Maps instead of Devil's Backbone Trailhead and we ended up in a new housing development west of the trailhead instead of at the trailhead. But it was not in vain because there was a large herd of elk hanging out among the houses, so Right Buddy got out and snapped pictures. Does Right Buddy look scary? She didn't think she was getting very close, but they all had their eyes on her and started turning their backs and walking away. She felt sorry for one of the elk who had some type of net entangled in his antlers.
We turned the car around and managed to find the trailhead. Luckily there were restrooms at the trailhead because it was needed after drinking a morning coffee and riding in the car for an hour. We also appreciated the trail maps at the trailhead and the friendly park rangers who answered our questions about the trail conditions. The trail heads north from the trailhead and is actually several trails linked together which eventually becomes Blue Sky Trail that goes all the way up to Horsetooth Reservoir which then links into the trails in Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. Yes, Horsetooth Mountain Open Space is where the trail runner was attacked by a mountain lion the week before. It is about ten miles from Devil's Backbone Trailhead to Horsetooth Reservoir and we only went about five miles before turning back since our goal for the day was ten miles.
The trail is beautiful, nestled between two rocky ridges, swinging up to one ridge, back down, then up to the other ridge. There are a few loops along the trail that would make wonderful turning around points for shorter hikes. We took the east leg of these loops on the way out and the western leg of these loops on the way back, except for Laughing Horse Loop. The east leg of the Laughing Horse Loop was marked as difficult, so we took the western leg both times. Once we know what "difficult" means in that context maybe we'll consider it next time we're there. The Keyhole, which frames the view west, on the western ridge is along the western leg of the first loop, Wild Loop. We took the Wild Loop, the Hunter Loop, the Laughing Horse Loop and then followed Blue Sky Trail just a little bit past where the Indian Summer Trail branched off to the west before we turned around and headed back. Just before the Indian Summer Trail split and before the trail crossed Indian Creek Road, there were two benches under a couple of large trees along Indian Creek. We made this our lunch stop.
The trail was pretty rocky most of the time, so you have to pay attention where you are putting your feet. The trail gave our ankles a workout. On parts of the trail that were in the shade, there was still some snow and ice. We managed to make it to our turn around point in just our hiking boots, but we decided to put the Yaktrax on for the return trip. Neither one of us wanted to have to carry (or drag or roll), the other one out. The Yaktrax worked great. They gave us the traction we were looking for on the snow and ice while still giving us traction on the red rocks. We didn't see very many people on the trail, but it was February, cold and the skies were hazy. However, we did stay pretty comfortable, shedding layers of clothing to keep from sweating as we ascended up the trail.
We could imagine that the trail is even more beautiful in the spring or fall with wildflowers and leaves on the bushes and trees. However, the trail probably has more use during those times. It also looks like the trail is popular for mountain biking. We only saw a few mountain bikers, so it was not much of an issue to share the trail with them, but it may be a detraction from the hike depending on how many there are. We probably would not take this trail in the heat of the summer or high winds because you are pretty exposed to the elements.
Right after we turned around at our half way point and before we made it back to Indian Creek Road, Right Buddy spotted a mule deer crossing the trail up ahead. She got out her camera, but she had already lost track of the deer in the bushes. Then Left Buddy pointed out a herd of deer further down below the trail. She snapped off a few pictures and then headed down the trail towards them. When Right Buddy turned around to look at the deer tracks on the trail that Left Buddy was trying to point out, she saw another group of deer behind him up the hill on the other side of the trail. Oh my gosh! How did we miss seeing all of those deer? Right Buddy spent the next ten minutes shooting pictures of the deer. The two groups of deer were clearly part of the same herd and they seemed to be rather annoyed that they were split across the trail with us in between them. Some of the deer from above approached the trail as if they were trying to get the ones below the trail to come over and join them. A few of them did cross over the trail with Right Buddy's camera focused on them. There was a six-point buck on the uphill side of the trail that appeared to be the leader of the herd. We guess we overstayed our welcome, because he was gradually walking straight towards us. We took the hint and continued down the trail. We are not sure if he would have attacked us or not, but we weren't willing to stick around to find out. It also was not our intent to stress out the deer.
Around where we saw the deer, there were signs that indicated the area was a golden eagle protection area. We saw a couple of large birds soaring way off in the distance, but they were too far away to identify. So we can't say we saw any eagles this week. We also didn't see any mountain lions, not that we really wanted to. But it was definitely a great week of wildlife viewing. We hope you enjoy the pictures.
(RB)