Unlike yesterday morning, no bears visited today. I love seeing bears but it's good news that he doesn't think that further diligent exploration will yield food from our
birdfeeders. However, we have new, ingenious, bear-proof garbage cans that I suspect that the bear will investigate at least once before abandoning our territory for the season.
This morning, our foursome, two humans and two dogs, started with a hybrid bike and run, on a trail that's so sinuous, with sharp hairpin turns through rock gardens, that running it is probably faster than riding it. The trail wends through a pine forest punctuated by a few moist meadows and gulches. It has more views to the east than any other direction.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnJG092WUA1J9GksP8imPBNpYr9Yy5NMnxrKfIUJKeUNM85_aw9QUkVKz6dQm0FqjFP0zhWqXdsThYdB2D2BjBYAszVfHEkek70aBPMh-ACcFHef6H2kTwjGOSrG6UoGj9l41SZbgWj0/s280/P6130009.JPG)
But, we occasionally saw a towering craggy peak, with
couloirs still laden with snow, to the southwest.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9Haxm3iiXUZXvVS86O37enwQ6OZQKSM1Yl0aVPmnU11_S7ZJhuBtp2iYhA89AiF6Vm3GtROt4Xzncmr5DAqXIdz9E0Z8fhedKym2kt-xVxWutBozwdsDBizRHxTxxZPdCoJP6IMx-b0/s280/P6130003.JPG)
When I rolled off to ride solo, I continued my quest to get to know the nooks and crannies of our woods by exploring a new part of our pine forest. I tried to follow an almost nonexistent path that faded away numerous times during my exploration. I decided to explore uncharted territory today because I dislike riding mapped trails on the weekends with the swarms of people visiting from the city. So, I've dubbed Saturday as my day for getting lost. I succeeded today.
Someone has been working on the faint path that I followed and constructed an amusing stick tunnel.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTI8fKbEHc7_ScOGVUzqHRmQKmiVkUGsGaVFuCxSY6XOlBW0pKHyougqURL_ezGQetrp5uCqiETjdh-CCryGumcTMIK2nRzU-2I0nYLRwirWlt8EIn-8E-an5FN4NGTaC5JRsTJn18kE/s280/P6130047.JPG)
The master trail-builder also used a unique trail marker, an elk pelvis and spine, which he balanced upright, pretending that it was a human spine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaB7npX-aELv3xvuNAa5ZAHGaQHV0ZoVLus9H5CHfHu6shHNftqmFQjusKfaZXfI1gxBed93X_v6J881ad4uLv_len8BwxnpVINPk5cH3BhwXDmw5Ub49NWaJMYnfvAyU0jB0petJzIKI/s280/P6130059.JPG)
Most of the trail winds along a tortuous path through dense pine forest, with trees so closely spaced that my handlebars barely scrape between them. This habitat doesn't support many wildflowers. But, the golden yellow Heart-leaved
Arnica (
Arnica cordifolia) flowers flourished in the deep forest and stood out like jewels in the darkness.
Arnica is a 'composite flower' combining outer 'ray' flowers and inner 'disk' flowers. If you look closely, the inner disk flowers look like a sea of miniaturized classic flowers.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpG0DMjAo5cSi7_10dv2-n5kKPI-uDv6VUEINLPAkqsioIB0SNBe-4C69d8QhzwYxbpzfqDug2pIZPPyQqS-n4YiUckp20-57UX2BaLYEhAypymGMPqv6yconJ4YDAMb2ok9AFLrHrSA/s280/P6130041.JPG)
From the side, the pistils of the inner disk flowers, which need pollen deposited in them by insects or birds for a seed to develop, protrude like golden spikes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR-GEoF0NAlBGylE8uQqONxYDP8_1b7jCV-hiZQRGU7Zs-bjEHwAfoQchTDfsyzLaJlXLrX8oRWWOhwTBuJtL86bSDk_sHWqfbe7njL5vF6mhbmaP59lUID2xKIgknm3pkSnFtIrKcL8/s280/P6130045.JPG)
As I spun along after investigating the sun-bathed
Arnica, the trail occasionally emerged into meadows where lush shrubs and trees lined small streams. From the meadows, I could see the mountains, providing this easily lost mountain biker with a point of reference. I have no sense of direction so I always imagine the headline "Local mountain biker lost and starves to death within a mile of her home". Imagine how embarrassing that would be! Thank goodness for our towering mountains that keep me vaguely oriented.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXG4ai52E-W5UwOaUrj4QdRhmDgq-D-Fr3nRVJQ30fYpPsWpjRYOA-f4Tt5aGfFD9YiYJSmPAD18kPU8pLQ8YdcK-F-4XcCKlsTGAoWuueRes2nul-scPwJ2bGeEMsLNDpR17iIqtOo4/s280/P6130022.JPG)
I also climbed a few boulder piles to peek at the mountains which never cease to be gorgeous to me.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N9_2rY9Jy-RLqWrB6XsZPqzhsjH8HeBbX6EYTpfDwR4Dguv-1pJ8NPbbxxehpx6-FnV-TsQnn-WncnHpJ-HvKGh54Dc59tyF3XTy4SMXY9_bYrbJpvo1oPoefsKE5M-kD9B3fisq3-0/s280/P6130036.JPG)
Late in the ride, I found a new trail. Woo
hoo, I thought, yet another new trail! But, somehow, it led me back to the trail that I'd taken into the forest. I still don't understand how. Another
reconnaissance mission is needed. Maybe next Saturday. I feel fortunate to live someplace where the forests are so vast that I still get lost in them.
On my way home, I swooped along a west-facing trail with storms rumbling over the oh-so-close Divide. I hammered hard on my pedals to win the race home but stopped for a quick photo when the tumultuous atmosphere tinged the mountain snow rosy. The mountains undergo numerous transformations from minute-to-minute, day-to-day, and season-to-season. They wear so many faces that I never grow weary of gazing at them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaetcA4wLsq2b2uie60DEaLCirdgx8zFXoLlst_yBKKzaQJ9hSl1UPN7CLhohEjqkQaE-FCVElfPAFLdyUwZqb-XM17q1RemSqFAKXEDx7Lb2iTjX4MrcufEvWjrGx27KvCP3Z_cJQms/s280/P6130090.JPG)
I'm so lucky to live here, and I won't forget it.
Love the picture of Arnica1 It is a great herb for healing bruises.
ReplyDeleteI used to love getting lost - "I wonder where this trail goes?" That was back when I was in shape enough to run all day and I didn't have to worry about how I was going to get back. These days making it home is a bit more of a concern!
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