Taking a Walk Through Autumn's Colors

In recent months I've spent a fair amount of time wandering through forests high up in the mountains. These forests have aspens and evergreens on more northerly inclined slopes and in sheltered areas, while Gambel oak predominate on drier, more southerly exposures. Rocky Mountain Maple grow in their own little pockets or scattered throughout.

The colors this fall have been impressive in spite of a dry summer. Maples show a relatively wide range of color, with vivid reds and oranges, to yellow that competes with aspens and box elder for any sightseer's attention. Aspens shimmer gold in the breeze, brilliant against a backdrop of evergreens. Oak leaves display a subtle rust color, much more subdued than the showier parts of the forest.

On my woods walks I've seen chickadees, nuthatches, jays, and crows. Ruffed grouse are the color of the forest floor and can be hard to see. Chipmunks are quite common. They often show curiosity, their tails and legs twitching as they watch me before they dart away. Pine squirrels chatter from pine boughs here or there. High overhead, a few hawks in their migration wheel and glide across the sky.

Deer are common in these woods, as are wild turkeys. I've also seen moose and bear here. Judging from sign I've seen, elk roam this area, too, although I've yet to see them in this particular section of the mountains. No telling what other things, hidden from my view, have shared these woods with me on my visits.

One particular day in early October, I walked into an isolated patch of aspens surrounded by tall evergreens. This pocket of aspens was maybe about eighty yards long. Their golden leaves shimmered and rustled in the gentle autumn breeze. Trees still had most of their foliage, though the ground was nearly covered with fallen yellow aspen leaves, giving the impression of gold overhead and gold under foot. The air temperature was perfect. The soft breezes and whisper of aspen leaves soothing. The color was dazzling. I stood there for several minutes, quite content, in what seemed almost like a mild trance. Suddenly, a grouse thundered into the air from it's hiding spot nearby, flew the length of the aspen stand and into the pines. I watched the grouse fly, all the while feeling like I was trying to wake up.

My walk took me up through the woods and onto a ridge. An open meadow there provided a wonderful view of surrounding mountains. Being late in the day, the low angle of sunlight painted distant ridges and peaks with bright sienna and umbers, while cool shadows flooded into deep canyons. Those shadows soon covered everything. In the dark, I walked an old logging road to a dirt road that followed the main ridge between Hobble Creek and Diamond Fork. As I walked the road, a few deer crossed ahead of me. The deer were barely visible in the dark, appearing like ghosts. When I reached where the deer had crossed, I could hear them hurrying away through the brush. Mindful that things more concerning than deer roam these woods at night, I fished a flashlight out of my day pack.

Following the road back would be the long way, but I found another old logging road that seemed to lead in the direction I wanted to go. That trail led down to another meadow, one I was familiar with. From there I was able to follow game trails and cattle trails back to my car.