Today I got off to a late start. Getting up at 10:30 didn’t help and was probably the reason but who knows. I was torn between going for a ride over Cottonwood Pass or for a hike. Since I hadn’t been hiking in some time I decided to go to Thomas Lakes, which are about half way up Mt. Sopris. I had ridden in the area before but never hiked there.
I was taking a gamble as I didn’t start my hike until about 1:30 pm and there was weather on the radar. I started hiking as the thunder rolled in. I was the only person headed up the trail. More than once I was told “Watch those clouds!” Those clouds only produced about 5 minutes of sprinkling just about the time I reached the lakes. The big news of the day was just as the rain started I saw something moving behind a couple of trees. As it cleared the trees and stepped onto the trail, there in front of me was my first bear of the year. It was most likely his/her first year away from it’s mother, as he/she was quite small. The most noticeable thing about him/her was they had a blonde stripe going from the shoulders to tail. Once he/she turned and saw me, they took off like lightening up the hill and out of sight. It’s always a thrill to see some amazing creatures in the wild.
It made my day to see only my second bear in CO. I also saw , a couple of birds, a few chipmunks, squirrels, and a Pika. I attempted some fishing but I only saw some huge salamanders which at first I thought were fish in Thomas Lake. Later when I got home I went fly fishing. The score is Fish 1, Scatman 0.
Scatman
Get out there!
Gorgeous photos! Made me homesick for CO!