05 October 2008

Nature Walk

Last week's walk in the park - Big Horn National Forest again, the Meadowlark Lake area. It's on the back side of the Big Horn Mountains, another 30 miles or so from my last hike.

Up the meadow...



Across the stream...


And into the woods...

My objective was an area of forest that suffered a burn a few years back. I could follow a cross country ski trail for a ways, or after a bit, strike off on my own through the woods with my trusty topo map and a general idea of where I was headed.


Of course I chose the 'wing it' method of navigation. After much tramping over hill and dale, including a rest under a tree where an irate squirrel chucked pine cones down on me, I sighted my objective in the distance.



Downed trees everywhere, interlaced with lots of deer and elk sign. I decided to make my way to the top of the ridge. Slow going, between the burnt, broken trees and scattering of rock.




View from partway up the ridge. That tan patch in the distance? The meadow I started out from. About 1200 foot difference in elevation, from 8000 to 9200 feet.



I did the by guess by golly method of returning, eyeballed from the top of the ridge, consulted my topo map, and plunged into the woods. The path turned out to be a tad more difficult. I ended up following a deer trail or two...



Damn deer led me to a boulder field... but I persevered, and soon found a tiny stream, and followed it down, until I reached the bigger stream...



With fish in it! Some nice sized trout, and lots of little ones. I thought of pulling a Man vs. Wild and try and scoop them out with my hands, but, the water was cold, and I didn't have my fishing license with me... that's my story, and it has nothing to do with the deceptive depth of the water compared to the height of my waterproof hiking boots...



A last glimpse as I reach where I stashed my car.

Oh yeah, and the lake in Meadowlark Lake?


Here you go...

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6 comments:

Carla said...

That looks like a rough route through the woods....

Constance Brewer said...

Not rough as much as... athletic? *g* Damn deer can just bounce over the trees, where I had to clamber.

Gabriele Campbell said...

See? You have trees, you only need to go looking for them. :)

Constance Brewer said...

But Gabriele, I had to drive over 100 miles to go find them... although it was more exciting than the four trees in my front yard, I must admit.

kc heath said...

awesome photos, not only the Nature, but the artist who saw, and the camera. What kind of camera do you have? And how do you get such clear pics? Have the pics I take are blurry even on Automatic. [of course that could be a problem with my eyes :)

Constance Brewer said...

I just use a Canon digital. Not as nice as my Nikon, but it does the job. I just flip the setting to landscape, brace myself, and click away. All those years of art school come down to this... pretty nature pics. *g*