Dragons in the Mountains

 

On My Way to the Ridge.

On a nice late summer day last week, there was nothing better I could think of doing than go exploring places in the mountains I haven't been yet. So that's what I did. After driving a ways up a jeep trail, I parked my 4Runner and continued walking through the woods on a trail to a large meadow. There I found another trail that led up onto a ridge. On that trail I came across this little red dragon, a horned toad which might have looked ferocious if it hadn't been but an inch long. After spending a few minutes watching and photographing the little lizard, I moved on up the trail. 

Little Horned Toad

Only a few steps later I found another, bigger dragon:

Bigger Horned Toad

Horned toads always seem to me a little like miniature dinosaurs, maybe something like a mini ankylosaurus. This horned toad, at four inches or so long, is the biggest one I've ever seen. Perhaps not quite dragon material to humans, but I imagine that's the way ants might see them. Horned toads eat ants.

Overlooking Diamond Fork

Continuing up the trail I reached the top of the ridge. From there I could see Strawberry Ridge to the east. To the west were the Wasatch Mountains, rising up nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. The view southward overlooked Diamond Fork Canyon and the Sheep Creek area.

Southern Wasatch Mountains; Mt. Nebo in the Far Distance.

There on the ridge I sat and enjoyed the evening. The weather was pleasant and the view spectacular!  As the evening grew late I watched a full moon rise in the east...

...and was also treated to a wonderful sunset in the west.

After dark, I hiked down off the ridge and headed back through the woods the way I had come. Broken beams of moonlight shone down through a forest of aspens and tall evergreens. Pale aspen tree trunks glowed in the bright moonlight. A small snake quickly crawled out of my path and into the brush by the trail. It was too dark by then to clearly see markings on the snake, but I'm guessing it was a racer or garter snake, judging from it's general size and shape. A rhythmic chorus of crickets and other night sounds accompanied my walk back to the car.

I ought to do this sort of thing more often.

Thanks for reading!

A Winter Walk

It's cold outside. There's snow on the ground. There's the threat of avalanches in the mountains and the freeze-thaw effect causing occasional rockfalls. But it's a beautiful, sunny day outside. Time to go for a walk in one of my favorite Wasatch Mountain canyons!

Of course I'll hike carefully. The walk will likely be less than two miles up the canyon, and then back. This hike won't go near the avalanche-prone higher slopes, and I'll stay alert for anything the cliffs and slopes might toss down at me.

My hike started in the afternoon, after finishing a few tasks in town. The snow sparkled wherever the low winter sun's rays could reach the bottom of the canyon. The sky was so blue. The high mountain ridges and cliffs were, as usual, spectacular.

Not all, however, on this trip was pleasant and enjoyable. There's a little trail which cuts off from the main trail and goes for a quarter mile or so before rejoining the main trail. It's a narrow trail, and not much used, but nicer than the section of main trail it bypasses. I always take this trail on my way up the canyon. On this particular day on that trail I saw only one set of boot prints other than mine in the snow. About halfway up the trail, though, I came across an unexpected and unpleasant obstacle. There was a dead moose right on the trail. Not only was the moose dead, it had been heavily scavenged, and subsequently spread over more of the narrow trail. The snow around the moose corpse was packed down with paw prints of coyotes and/or foxes. Traces of blood were still visible on the snow. This part of the trail is a little steep, and passes through thick oak brush. That made getting around the massive carrion a little challenging, but soon enough I was able to continue up canyon.

No other unpleasant surprises awaited me that day. The rest of the hike was simply a walk in the Wasatch mountains on a glorious winter's day. Small birds, such as black-capped chickadees foraged among bare twigs and branches of Gambel oak and rocky mountain maple trees. High up among towering cliffs two eagles soared. I had no goals on this hike; no peaks to bag, no circuit to complete, no particular spot to arrive at. I had no interest on this hike other than to just be out in the wild, and that I was.

I walked the canyon for the rest of the afternoon, often pausing to look, listen, and generally absorb the experience as much as I could. Early evening I returned back down the canyon. On the way to the trailhead, I got to enjoy a nice end-of-day treat. There were enough clouds far to the west for the setting sun to shine and reflect through. It made for a small, but enjoyable sunset.

Late Autumn Hike 2018

Autumn color is past. The brilliant reds of Rocky Mountain Maples and warm golden glow of aspens have come and gone, always, it seems, in too much of a hurry to go. Grays, ochres and russet tones dominate the landscape in this season.

Of course, any season can be good for hiking in the Wasatch Mountains. Last week I went for a hike in a nearby canyon. The weather that day was very pleasant, a little cool but not really cold. Higher up there was frost on the ground and small patches of snow in parts of the canyon that never see the sun this time of year. The higher peaks are snow capped.

When hiking, I try to always carry a few things I might need with me in a day pack. Things like water, snacks, compass, flashlight, knife, warmer clothes for when the weather turns colder, etc. These days, one of the things I try to always have with me is a camera. The images in this post were all taken during last week's hike.

First Meadow, Left Fork

Up near the top of the canyon the trail forks. Following the right fork, I came over a rise to see two large, dark animals in the path. Two cow moose blocked my way. When I took a couple more steps toward them, the larger moose laid her ears back. That's when I decided it was no longer my path and retreated a few steps. After one more look back at the moose, I decided to hike back the other way, away from the moose!

Moose

In case the above photograph isn't clear enough to easily see the moose, I've added something in the next photo to help point them out to you.

Returning to the fork, I then went up the left trail to a favorite meadow. There I ate some snacks I'd brought with me, drank some water and refilled my water bottle at a spring in the meadow. Wandering around the meadow I found a broken tine from a moose antler. I wondered if it had been broken off in a savage fight between two adult bull moose. 

Broken Moose Antler

A few years ago I was in this same meadow when I heard a loud grunt off to my right. I turned to see a huge bull moose coming off the mountainside and into the meadow. The moose was walking straight towards me! The moose would take a few steps, pause, then move a few steps closer. As He approached, he slowly tilted his head back and forth as if to draw attention to the massive antlers that adorned his head! Not waiting to see if and how the bull moose intended to use that rack, I quickly surrendered the meadow and headed back down the trail walking at a fast pace. 

There were no moose in the meadow when I was there last week, so I took my ease and enjoyed exploring the place. As I wandered around through some aspen trees I discovered some extensive carving on a couple of them. This one stated,

"I WILL CROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE    GARY TAYLOR   1871"

I can't verify the date carved at the bottom, nor do I know anything about the rest of the carved statement, but it was a mildly intriguing find.

A nearby tree had an even more extensive text scrawled into the bark. I'd imagine that any comment that began with the word "Yea" might be important. Unfortunately I couldn't make out what most of it said, so that Wasatch Mountain prophet's message is lost to me. Good luck if you think you can make it out. If you can, let me know in the comments, OK?

These three little figures were carved on the same tree. Maybe they have something to do with the message carved on the tree? 

Throwback Thursday

Colored Pencil on Paper

This painting goes way back to before I started using oil paints. Probably even before I made any paintings with pastels. It's a studio piece that brings together various experiences I've had on night hikes in the wild. The moon was done using a sketch of a lunar eclipse I made from my back porch in Pennsylvania (back porches can be wilder than you might imagine.) The cliff is based on one I came across in the Wasatch Mountains. The bighorns are based on ones I saw while passing through the Colorado Rockies, and alludes to the many times I've been aware of wildlife not far from me on walks in dark forests and canyons.

Here's some thumbnail sketches I did while working out the composition for this picture:

I wish I had gotten a better photo of it before it was gone. The painting was sold at a gallery that closed years ago. The picture at the top of this post is a digital image of a bad 35mm film photo, heavily edited to try and bring it up to the quality I think I remember in the original piece. It's the best editing I can do, but still falls rather short of the original. Nonetheless I hope there's yet something in the image the reader can find to enjoy. 

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Canyon Cottonwoods

9" x 12" Oil on Panel

I spent a few days in the four corners region of southeast Utah recently. It wasn't nearly enough time. Of course, maybe there's no such thing as "enough time," especially with all there is to see and do in that area.

The weather was great for camping. Aside from all the wonderful landscape scenery, I enjoyed a little wildlife viewing. Pronghorn antelope, mule deer, a couple tarantulas, a few little lizards, a golden eagle, and some wild turkeys (pictured above) were among the native fauna I was privileged to see.

As you can see from the photograph above, I lived lavishly on this trip. Suite #34, from right to left: bedroom, kitchen, and bath. Well, sort of bath.

I did most of my hiking in the canyon shown above. It's where I made the painting shown at the top of this post. As is fairly common in this region, the canyon has several Anasazi ruins and other ancient sites. I wanted to spend time exploring and painting in Bears Ears, but time and resources came up short. I plan to make it there in the relatively near future, hoping it doesn't become too controversial a place to visit. Or maybe even if it does. This picture shows about as close as I was able to get (Bears Ears is that distant bump on the horizon):

Here's a photo taken from the top of a mesa looking towards the Abajo Mountains:

There's so much to see, and so much to paint in this place. More exploration will be needed before I can do more than the occasional painting there. Right now I still feel like I'm just beginning to learn the place. That may take a while. In the mean time, here's a couple more photos taken from inside the canyon:

Thanks for taking time to visit my blog!

Wallsburg Willows

12" x 16" Oil on Panel

A week or so ago I drove up to the little mountain town of Wallsburg. Wallsburg is a side trip off of the main route through the mountains. It's an agricultural town in a valley along the Wasatch Back. There are no convenience stores. No gas stations. Just ranches and homes. The road into town leads only to town. It goes nowhere else, unless you want to drive off the pavement and take dirt trails up into the mountains.

I rarely go to Wallsburg. Usually I feel an urge to continue on up to Midway, passing the turnoff to Wallsburg without a second glance. I've only painted once before in that little mountain town. In the last week or so, however, I've spent more time exploring the town and it's surrounding valley. There's a lot to paint there.

About a week and a half ago I drove into the valley to paint. Most of the day was spent driving around; exploring. Aspen trees on the mountainsides had already been stripped of their fall foliage, but willows along the valley bottom were in peak color. There was time for one little landscape study. I found a place where late afternoon sun had cast the east-facing mountain slopes in shadow, but sunlight brightly illuminated stands of willow farther away from those slopes. The contrast was stunning! Here's the little painting I made that day:

6" x 6" Oil on Canvas Panel

As I painted, a sizable flock of wild turkeys foraged in the field in front of me. At one point a few elk moved through the far end of the field, partially shielded from view by the trees and brush shown in the painting. Later in the  day deer ventured out in twos and threes to browse in the open fields. It was such a wonderful afternoon, and I was happy with the little painting. A couple days later I returned to the same place to experience it again. That time I made the larger painting shown at the top of this post.

Random Pics from Random Hikes in the Wasatch Front 2017

Paintbrush

Hiking has always been a very important part of my life. Going on walks in the woods, mountains, desert - anyplace wild - is beneficial physically and mentally, and in so many other ways.

The Dry Lower Slopes of the Wasatch Front

Right next to town are the Wasatch Mountains. A few canyons cut deep into the mountains, and are convenient places to begin hikes. The photos in this blog post are from a few of the hikes I've taken this year. To view larger images, click on the pictures.

Near the Mouth of the Canyon

I don't always take photos while hiking. When I do, it's with a cheap little Casio camera that is usually with the gear in my day pack. I have better cameras at home, but it's the Casio that goes with me on trips. If the camera should be accidentally dropped, lost, or otherwise die, it wouldn't be too great an expense to replace it. All of the photos in this post were taken with that little $60 camera.

Water on the Trail

The spring runoff was pretty heavy this year. Fast moving water cut the usually dry canyon trail in several places. A springtime hike included a number of stream crossings while trying to keep my feet dry.

Closer View of the Water in the Previous Picture.

Thick vegetation covers some areas of the canyon bottom. Above that rise towering cliffs.

Wildlife commonly seen in the canyon include mule deer, bighorn sheep, and sometimes moose. I've seen elk sign in the canyon but have yet to see live elk.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies were common in the canyon this year.

Over halfway up the canyon trail you begin to get views of mountains rising above 11,000 feet in elevation.

Lizards are the most frequently seen reptiles in the canyon, but snakes are also often seen. I've met a number of rattlesnakes, and in spite of a couple alarming experiences we've always parted company peacefully. Also common are nonvenomous snakes; gopher snakes, racers, and - surprisingly - rubber boas.

It's not a giant earthworm -it's a rubber boa!

The upper end of the canyon opens up into meadows surrounded by evergreens and aspen trees, and wide open views.

Near one meadow I discovered a good sized aspen tree with very interesting claw marks on it. The claw marks were quite large. Similar marks were also found on a nearby tree. Could the marks have been made by a bear climbing the trees? The marks were rather old, but still encouraged vigilance on my part.

The claw marks go quite a ways up.

In another canyon later in the year I found this. It's not what I'd call pleasant accommodations. It looks like it should have trolls living in it. 

The top of this canyon also opens up into wonderful views of high mountains.

Provo Peak viewed from the north.

Imposing cliffs of Cascade Mountain.

The following photographs are a mix from a couple different canyons. Which canyons doesn't matter for my purposes here. I think this post will be about hiking and just being out in the wild more than it is about any particular place.

There are fascinating views of impressive mountain geology all around during these hikes, but there's much to see closer up, and on a smaller scale.

A Gnarly Rocky Mountain Maple Tree

Mud Wasp Nest?

High up on a cliff I saw this. Below the initials "LW" are reddish concentric circles and other marks. Are the reddish images ancient Indian rock art?

Among all the bigleaf raspberry plants I found one raspberry. I ate it.

Late summer wildflowers, including asters, growing by the trail in abundance.

Following are more views from Wasatch Range canyon hikes. The first one is a similar view to one shown earlier, but photographed later in the year, after most of the snow had melted.

Thanks for checking out my blog. Hope you liked it! Finally I'll leave you with this picture of me enjoying time spent in a Wasatch Mountain canyon.