June 13, 2021: Colorado Colors

I was away last week visiting family in Steamboat Springs, exploring the trails, lakes, flora and fauna of northwestern Colorado, marveling over the similarities and differences from New Hampshire.  Though the climate there is semi-arid and the elevation even in town is higher than the summit of Mount Washington, many of the same wildflowers we have in New Hampshire were blooming there, including lupine and columbine.  Then there are the different plants, some of which fascinate me by their ability to bloom with incredible beauty in such harsh environments.  My favorite on this trip's journeys was the glacier lily.

Glacier Lily (Erythronium Grandiflorum)

These flowers grow in the subalpine habitat and were first recorded in Idaho on June 16, 1806 by Meriwether Lewis during the Lewis and Clark expedition.  

Large fields of these delicate flowers were blooming at elevations of 10,000 feet in soil that was already extremely dry even though snow had only recently receded from their location and in fact was still present right beside them.

A field of glacier lilies - note the snow bank at the right side of the picture.

The sun is so intense and the air so dry that much of the snow sublimates before it can soak into the ground, and what does melt quickly evaporates, sometimes leaving interesting natural snow sculptures.  

A snow bridge across the trail.

It seems wherever I go I find myself drawn to a lake, even if I have to walk 13 miles to find it.  Long Lake is found at a elevation of 10,039' near the continental divide in the Routt National Forest in northwestern Colorado.  

Long Lake, Routt County, Colorado.

There was not much human activity here but people do hike all the way up to Long Lake to fish.  The lake, full from snow melt, was pouring out water into Fish Creek which was gushing and sending torrents over the falls farther down stream.

Lower Fish Creek Falls, only a few miles from its confluence with the Yampa River.

Full streams mean being creative at river crossings as they're deep and wide, requiring determination to forge ahead and attain your destination.  

A tight wire act across the upper reaches of Fish Creek.

It sure helps when you have an expert local guide!

Even though we were away from New Hampshire I was kept up to date on the loon activity here at Lake Wicwas as our faithful loon watchers made regular check-ins with the loon nest.  Dave Thorpe captured this great moment on the nest.

This loon may look upset, but it's just trying to cool off.  A nervous loon holds its head down, not up.

On another day Dave was able to get a picture which verified one of the pair is the banded male.  

That's our male on nest duty.  Photo by Dave Thorpe.

Just a reminder, these photos were taken from a far distance with a 400mm telephoto lens and then greatly enlarged.  Dave also got a glimpse of what may have been a green band which would indicate the original banded pair had rejoined after a tryst with the banded female from Lake Pemigewasset.  Perhaps that was the outcome from the lengthy loon battles we observed the prior week.  It might also explain why the other nest was abandoned:  the nest in that location was being built by the male when it was with the Pemi female.  Oh, the complicated, convoluted love life of loons.

At this point we're nearing the halfway point of incubation, and so far so good.  It's helpful that the temperature has moderated and the lake level has been stable - the Meredith Water Department has been proactive in managing the dam for us this year - many thanks to them.  

I'll bet they're relieved they don't have to hike up to 10,000 feet to manage the dam - yes Long Lake, even way up there, is controlled by a dam.

A couple of glacier lilies bloom in arid soil near the shore of Long Lake.