At Mills Lake.
I learned a lot about elk from Ms. Information yesterday. Thought I’d share some of it with you, whether you’re elk lovers or not. I’ll start off with a really impressive statistic:
Elk antlers grow half an inch to an inch a day! Remember the bull elk in the picture from yesterday? His antlers have been growing since the end of March and already they are huge! They will continue to grow for another month or so, when the blood flow to the antlers stops. Once this happens, the velvet covering will start to fall off. He will rub his antlers against nearby trees to assist the de-velveting. Now he is ready for rutting season.
During rutting season, the bull elk collects his harem. He usually gathers 20 or so cows, but the ranger I talked to yesterday said she has seen a bull with 60 cows! During the rut, the bull has to constantly “look his best” and impress the girls. When it comes down to it, though, it is the cow who chooses the bull, so he can work to impress as much as he wants, but she still may not choose to mate with him. But the trickiest part of mating season is that the cow only goes into estrus once every twenty-one days and only for 12 to 15 hours! This is a lot for the bull to keep track of and it is no surprise that he can lose up to 25% of his body weight during the rutting season. This becomes a problem if winter comes early because he doesn’t get the chance to get the weight back on.
Yesterday we explored the alpine tundra area of the park and we were all amazed at the diversity of plant life. The growing season up there is just about 40 days. That’s how many days are frost-free, on average. The trees are horizontal, not vertical. They grow very close to the ground and never produce cones. That would use up too much of their energy. They just put their new sprouts into the ground and grow sideways.
The flowers on the tundra are incredibly delicate and beautiful. The wind speeds can reach well over 100 miles per hour so the flowers grow very low to the ground. The stems are sometimes so short that the flowers sit on the leaf mat. The root systems of these plants can reach six feet, though, to ensure they get adequate moisture. The roots also anchor them against the wind.
The other incredibly cool fact we learned (and even you, dear reader, will have to agree with me on this) is how to tell the difference between a pine tree and a fir or spruce tree. It’s all in the needles. The needles in a fir or spruce tree grow individually from the branch. The needles in a pine tree, however, are bunched. They meet at the base of the needles in a cluster, or bundle which is attached to the branch.
OK — on to today.
The day started slowly with a few phone calls and emails. We only had one planned hike, so we rolled out of the trailer close to 11:30. Rocky Mountain has a shuttle service, like other popular national parks, so we drove to the park and ride area and got out of the truck ready to board the bus. This is when we realized that I had left Elise’s sneakers back at the trailer. She had asked me to pick them up since her hands were full. I forgot. Back to Shackleton we went. A half an hour later we were back at the park and ride area and finally boarded the bus.
One of the trail signs along the way.
Our trail was from the Glacier Gorge trailhead to Mills Lake. We were not the only ones with this idea. I’m sure that the trail was busier yesterday since it was Sunday, but I can’t believe by much. I noticed an automatic counter on the trail and when we started, the number read 6441. When we got back, the number was 7356.
The trail takes you through the montane ecosystem — pine forests and mountain meadows. There was a slight breeze and I was delighted to watch the quaking aspen trees dance. Eight tenths of a mile into the hike, we arrived at Alberta Falls, full of snowmelt and hurrying down the gorge. We stopped here to eat our lunch since we had gotten such a late start to our day.
Appetites sated with cream cheese bagels, trail cookies, wasabi peas, and a cherry Jolly Rancher for Elise, we rolled on. It was here that we lost 90% of the crowd. Perfect.
The view from Alberta Falls.
Remember that Elise likes to talk and hear stories while she is hiking? Well I was the target today. “Mommy, tell me a story about when you worked at the hotel.” Right away, 85% of the stories that popped into my head were dismissed as inappropriate for young ears. The one I could tell her, though, was the one about The Thief. Quick synopsis: I had a woman try and check into the hotel with a stolen credit card and I had to stall her until the police arrived and then I was subpoenaed to testify at her trial. Elise loved it. Later in the day she wanted me to tell her again. Nothing like a little intrigue and a not-very-smart thief to make the time pass.
Mills Lake is everything you would want a mountain lake to be. Waterfalls tumbling into it, clear water and mountains rising up on all sides. We said hello to a few fly fisherman who were there and then found a few great rocks on the shore on which to sit and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the mosquitos also really liked these rocks, too (or at least, us on the rocks!), and it was just beginning to rain. We stuck it out for a good ten minutes or so, but then it was time to move on.
Bobby enjoys his Cheez-Its by the lake.
Elise has a hairnet over her baseball cap. She got it at the Celestial Seasoning tour and it came in handy today. She put it over her face to keep the mosquitos out.
Our hike back to the trailhead was helped along by a progressive story. Elise started it, Bobby took care of the middle and I brought it to a close. Another quick synopsis: Clarisse loses her Barbie house and all its furniture, male Barbie doll and her wallet with $9.64 in it. She suspects her best friend’s sister, Sally, of taking it all. Turns out it wasn’t Sally, but Ron, the best friend’s cousin, who just wanted to play with it because he thought it was cool.
The rain’s a-comin’!
About five minutes from the trailhead we started to hear some really significant thunder. The storm never reached us but we were glad to get back on the bus, nevertheless.
Today’s wildflowers.
