The weather this past week has been gray and rainy, but once again the mountain gods smiled upon us, and gave us a beautiful sunny morning for our hike. Today we decided to do a hike that has become a favorite, the Onahu trail connecting in a loop to the Green Mountain trail. This is about 7 miles long, but has about a 1000 feet of elevation gain. A good hike to acclimate the body to the altitude, as we are around 9200 feet at the height of this hike. Our next hikes will average 2000 or so feet in elevation.
This hike begins with a walk through a beautiful aspen forest, which we affectionately call Hobbit Woods, as you feel dwarfed on the windy path and it reminds us of the Peter Jackson films. We soon ascend, following the Onahu river, which is rough and wild from the Spring snow melt.
After about 2 miles, we reach another forest, with much different flora -- much healthier, as the evergreens are mostly spruce and fir, which are immune to the deadly beetle. We pass some small unnamed meadows en route.
We climb again after reaching the Onahu bridge, and then descend to Big Meadows. rightly named, as it is a huge expanse with a fairly quiet river running through it. Not many wild flowers yet, but in a week or so, it will be bright yellow and purple. We spotted a heard of elk at the far side of the meadows.
And of course, there is the obligatory photo on the log that traverses the stream running through Big Meadows. In our TV room back home, we have several photos, taken over the years, with all our kids and the Walcott-Rounds family. Here's Michael looking (as usual when he's hiking) very happy.
This hike begins with a walk through a beautiful aspen forest, which we affectionately call Hobbit Woods, as you feel dwarfed on the windy path and it reminds us of the Peter Jackson films. We soon ascend, following the Onahu river, which is rough and wild from the Spring snow melt.
After about 2 miles, we reach another forest, with much different flora -- much healthier, as the evergreens are mostly spruce and fir, which are immune to the deadly beetle. We pass some small unnamed meadows en route.
We climb again after reaching the Onahu bridge, and then descend to Big Meadows. rightly named, as it is a huge expanse with a fairly quiet river running through it. Not many wild flowers yet, but in a week or so, it will be bright yellow and purple. We spotted a heard of elk at the far side of the meadows.
And of course, there is the obligatory photo on the log that traverses the stream running through Big Meadows. In our TV room back home, we have several photos, taken over the years, with all our kids and the Walcott-Rounds family. Here's Michael looking (as usual when he's hiking) very happy.
I love the Hobbit Woods aspens (I hope you sight some hobbits, would be no unlikelier than yard moose)also all the white water, esp. the 16 sec. podcast. It'll be nice to have that to visit any time when you're back east in the humidity.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe and Michael, What an incredible place to be. You llok like you are having a wonderful time. What kind of surgery did Maddie have. Love you both! Pat
ReplyDeletePat,
ReplyDeleteMaddy had ripped a tendon in her right rear leg. About 5 years ago, she did the same thing on the left leg, and it took about a year for her to fully recover. She's 5 years older, and I was worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the hills and steps. I put her on a very aggressive physical therapy routine, and so far so good.
M