Tag: Tarryall Mountains

Stranger on the Trail

 

The Tarryall Mountains

He yelled at us to stop, seemingly from out of nowhere. I was startled by the sound, but frightened when I saw the ragged looking man standing only 50 feet to our side, but thankfully across a dry gully. I was leading a group of 9 teenage backpackers down the trail, headed back to our Base Camp facility after a week out in the Lost Creek Wilderness. We’d be back in less than an hour except for whatever was about to happen. The lone man was probably in his 40s, unkempt, and had a Pit Bull by his side.

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Wildfire in the Tarryalls

The Hayman Fire Smoke Plume from the Base Camp Lodge

Lightning streaked across the sky and was followed instantly by an explosion of thunder, telling me that the thunderstorm was somewhere right above. It was unsettling, but there wasn’t time to worry about it. I didn’t see a lightning flash hit the ground but wondered if there was one up there that had one of our names written on it. The wind kept blowing relentlessly, and the constant gusting made the whole situation seem all the more chaotic. But, where’s the rain, I thought? The Tarryall Mountains needed it. A real downpour might put an end to both the Hayman Fire (Colorado’s largest wildfire ever, up to that point), and the smaller thing that was visibly burning on the nearby mountainside.

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A Place Worth Going

Relaxing after a long bushwhack
Soaking in the Backcountry

We called it the “Valley of the Dinosaurs,” mostly because of the humongous rock formations scattered all around. They dominated the remote high valley in Colorado’s Tarryall Mountains with their sheer size. And they breathed a strange sort of life into the area that had convinced me early on that the whole place was somehow on the move. I could never pick out any one thing that caused me to think that—it was more like a general, overwhelming, and deep gut feeling that had me convinced. I was consumed by the place’s pure and simple beauty and sensed the place was more alive than me from the first time I blundered into it. Through the years, I took every opportunity to return. And while the physical cost of getting there was never cheap- without fail, it was always worth it.

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The Tarryall

The Tarryalls from Sand Creek

Tarryall Mountains,
Colorado treasure.
Smack dab in the middle of the state,
And overlooking South Park.

Improbable and majestic granite towers,
Boulders of all sizes,
Alpine tundra,
Bighorn Sheep,
And Bristlecone Pines.

Rambling streams and beaver ponds.
Smoky Quartz and Topaz.
Calypso Orchids,
Old-growth forest,
And a creek that disappears.

Tales of Utes,
The last wild buffalo,
Wolves,
Gunfights,
Walt Whitman on a train,
Homesteaders,
And miners rich with gold.

Bison Peak, McCurdy Mountain,
McCurdy Tower, and McCurdy Park.
X Rock, the Sand Creek Buttress,
Twin Eagles,
And Spruce Grove.

Humongous crystals, albino trout,
Ute Creek, and Bison Pass.
The Hourglass Burn, Lost Park Wilderness,
Brookside-McCurdy Trail,
And the Old Miner’s Cabin.

A wild place with few people,
Plenty of mystery,
And a warm wind that whispers “Tarryall.”

Audio Version:

McCurdy Mountain,
Tarryalls

Looking for Lee

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The Tarryall Mountains

It was an early November Sunday during my slow part of the year. Autumn in Colorado’s Tarryall Mountains is spectacular. In late September, the Aspen trees turn gold, and warm sunny days are interrupted only by winter’s occasional and temporary arrival. But as fall gives way to winter, winter visits become more prolonged and more frequent. Over many years, early November is still a pleasant time to be there, weatherwise, with little to no snowpack and warm days that create almost ideal conditions for mountain biking, hiking, and climbing area peaks. But this particular year, I spent my days occupied with the aftermath of the OWA base camp lodge burning down, not with recreation. Instead of the comforts of my private lodge bedroom and bath, I was sharing an old one-room log cabin with an 18-year-old intern, Lee, and doing little besides cleanup and prep for new construction. On the day in question, I was piddling around the job site doing various chores. Since it was an off day, Lee asked if he could go on a straightforward, leisurely hike toward Bison Peak. I considered that he’d previously participated in several backcountry trips with my outdoor program. And since there was nothing for him to work on that afternoon, it seemed reasonable. And so, I gave him my blessing.

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