August 5

Saturday would have been a good day at Forest Hill for a hike with my dog, Remi.. However, I was traveling to Estes Park, Colorado and Remi was back in Alma. So, Sunday, I planned to hike with family members on Bear Lake Nature Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. The half-mile trail circled Bear Lake, a small lake at 9475 ft. cradled in a rock basin fringed with spruce, fir and pine The early morning weather was sunny with a temperature of 58 degrees and no wind. I started out and immediately noticed some Pearly Everlasting. A poultice of the flowers or the whole plant can be applied to burns, sores and rheumatic joints. An infusion of the plant can be steamed and inhaled in the treatment of headaches. A cooled infusion of the roots and shoots has been used as a laxative. Continuing on the trail, I spotted some Rocky Mountain Goldenrod. Next, I stopped to see some Fireweed. I picked a leaf and tasted its fresh, lettuce-like flavor. Resuming my hike, I was surprised to see a baby Robin hopping around on a large rock. Also, nearby were Quaking Aspen trees. The 1900 fire opened this area to these sun-loving, smooth-barked trees, perhaps the best-known of Rocky Mountain trees. Next, I paused to notice some green lichens and orange lichens growing on some rocks. The orange coloration results when nitrates occur in the rock or when mammal and bird droppings are deposited on the rock. Moving along, I spotted some Smooth White Aster. Walking along, I came to a large dead pine tree and noticed the tunnel markings of the Mountain Pine Beetle on the trunk. This insect has caused extensive destruction of Lodgepole, Ponderosa and Scotch pine trees throughout the western United States. Continuing around the lake, I was pleased to see a California Tortoiseshell Butterfly perched on a yellow Arnica flower. Suddenly, I spotted a Red Squirrel, referred to as Chickaree scampering through the undergrowth. Also, along the trail were several large boulders of Gneiss- metamorphic rock with bands of light-colored and dark-colored minerals and Granite-pinkish igneous rocks speckled with dark minerals. Finally, I completed the circle and headed back to the car.

The plains ignore us,

but these mountains listen,

an audience of thousands

holding its breath

in each rock.  Climbing,

we pick our way

over the skulls of small talk.

On the prairies below us,

the grass leans this way and that

in discussion;

words fly away like corn shucks

over the fields.

Here, lost in a mountain's

attention, there's nothing to say.

Ted Kooser