a bear bell or other noisemaking device. I have two when I go out solo, and I secure one to each of my hiking poles. The natural motion of the poles makes them loudly ring out.
Avoid using an MP3 player, iPod, or Walkman, especially in tree line.
Leave a detailed plan of where you’ll be hiking with a friend or family member. Include your route, trailhead, what gear you’ll be wearing, and what time you expect to be home. Include emergency phone numbers to contact for the person keeping an eye on you.
Remember to keep your first-aid kit stocked; it goes without saying that you should bring one on every hike.
Stay calm during one-on-one encounters with wild animals. Even if you’re terrified, maintaining a confident demeanor and dominant posture will help in confrontations with predators.
Trees, Plants, Fungi, and Flowers
Alpine Flowers
Alpine flowers are among the most rugged and beautiful in the world. Wildflowers bloom in every hue, often together in a single meadow. Seeing natural bouquets in remote mountain meadows is a treat even for the most macho of hikers. Of the hundreds of purple, red, blue, yellow, pink, and orange flowers, there are a few that stand out. My personal favorite is the whimsical elephant’s head, a pink specimen that grows in watery areas between 8,000 and 11,000 feet. Flowers on the stalk resemble a totem pole of miniature pachyderms, each with a gleefully raised trunk. Mountain columbine, the state flower of Colorado, comes in a variety of shades. Columbine alternates colored stripes (usually light blue, purple, or red) with white petals that spread out like a parasol. Monk’s hood is a popular purple perennial that is a relative of the buttercup. Indian paintbrush is a red or white flower that looks like a tussled thistle. In years of heavy rainfall, the “paintbrush” part of the plant may bloom fiery red. Other flowers of note include lupines, cinquefoils, Parry’s primroses, wild roses, buttercups, spring beauties, larkspurs, white phlox, king’s crowns, and marsh marigolds. A good book to consider if you’d like to learn more about alpine flowers is the budget-friendly Colorado Flowers and Trees by James Kavanagh, published by Waterford Press.
Alpine flowers are tough and beautiful.
One of the best surprises to be found in Colorado’s backcountry are wild berries. Raspberries, blueberries, mountain strawberries, huckleberries, and blackberries are among the treats growing wild. Shrubs that produce such berries usually bloom in late summer, mostly in areas close to a steady water supply. Wild strawberries are a unique and succulent surprise, just edging out wild raspberries as my personal favorite.
Fungus among Us
Wild mushrooms are another mountain delicacy. Unless you are well-versed in mycology, however, never attempt to eat unknown fungus. Many mushrooms are poisonous and can make you very sick. For those who know what they are looking for, keep in mind that many wilderness areas require a permit to gather mushrooms. Permits are usually free and serve as a way for biologists to monitor the growth of certain mushrooms; call the park service ahead of time to find out more.
Areas with high precipitation, such as the central San Juans, host a variety of quirky mushrooms that make colorful decorations along the trail. The poisonous fly agaric is like a mushroom you’d find in a fairy tale, with its bright red dome speckled with white faux barnacles. Shaggy stems are yellow mushrooms that look like they were molded from fluffed custard. Giant boletuses resemble huge ground sponges in color and texture. Those in the know will keep an eye out for tasty morel mushrooms, prized culinary delicacies that proliferate in the wake of forest fires. (Connoisseurs will actually follow wildfires around the country, in hopes of scavenging a harvest of morels.)
If you are interested in learning more about Colorado’s mushrooms, check out the Colorado Mycological Society’s Web page at cmsweb.org. This comprehensive website has information on the different types of fungi and mushrooms growing in Colorado’s mountains.
Notable Shrubs
Hikers have a love/hate relationship with the various mountain willows found in the high country. These are among the toughest plants on Earth and are the only widespread vegetation found in the high arctic regions. On the plus side, many willows color the landscape in autumn with tranquil reds and yellows. Occasionally they work well as emergency handholds, and dense thickets can provide shelter when fast-moving thunderstorms appear out of the blue. Their sturdy roots also help keep soil from being washed off steep slopes. On the negative side, many willows grow more than 6 feet tall and present a veritable obstacle course for bushwhackers. Besides being extremely difficult to navigate through in thick patches, the branches are scratchy, and their dense roots can disguise swampy holes just waiting to swallow your boots. Trying to navigate a willow patch in winter can make the most mild-mannered hiker explode in expletives, especially after postholing for an hour to hike half a mile.
As you ascend higher, you will encounter the group of thick, low-lying shrubs collectively known as the krumholtz, a German word meaning “twisted wood.” The presence of these shrubs denotes the termination of tree line, which can happen anywhere between 10,400 and 12,200 feet in Colorado. Shrubs forming the krumholtz are incredibly tough; they had better be if they hope to withstand the fury of the elements on a daily basis. Versions of subalpine firs, Engelmann spruces, and limber pines are reconfigured in dwarfed proportions to better adapt to their harsh environment. They grow in dense outcrops, usually protected by rocks. Year after year, they endure weeks of subzero temperatures, hurricane-force winds, torrential downpours, and a very brief growing season. Although they may appear lifeless, many of the shrubs you’ll encounter in the krumholtz are hundreds of years old. Be respectful of such wizened elders when you trek in alpine regions.
Topping out the list of high-altitude plants are the tiny alpine avens, a vital food source for resident pikas. Growing in small, dense patches, avens are surrounded by brawny, bright green stalks that resemble little ferns. Yellow or white flowers bloom in the summer and early autumn. Avens have developed amazing alpine adaptations: long taproots grow deep into the scarce alpine soil to suck up fleeting moisture, thick “hairs” protect stems and leaves from wind damage, and red pigmentation is used to filter out powerful ultraviolet rays and to efficiently convert sunlight into heat.
Major Trees
Conifers (trees whose seeds are encased in woody cones) dominate the mountainsides where conditions are favorable to growth. Engelmann spruces, Douglas firs, subalpine firs, and lodgepole pines grow in areas that are cool and have adequate water supplies. Drier regions (usually the sunnier south-facing hills and valleys) are more suited to ponderosa pines. Blue spruces and western hemlocks are other common trees growing between 8,000 and 12,000 feet.
Aspen trees are symbolic of Colorado’s forests. They are deciduous (Latin for “temporary”) trees, meaning they shed their leaves to conserve energy when cold weather arrives. Colorado’s aspen trees are known as quaking or trembling aspens because of the way sunlight plays off their rounded leaves and because of the “shimmery” sound they make when the wind blows. Aspens are members of the willow family. Each stand of trees is actually one living unit, with every tree sharing a common network of roots. Trees that spawn from this network (known as clones, because they share identical genetic markers) live between 80 and 140 years before dying off and letting new trees generate from the root system. These roots go deep enough into the ground to resist the devastating effects of fire and avalanches; this is why you will see aspen stands rebound in areas affected by these phenomena, while other trees take years or decades to repopulate. Modern biologists have proposed the oldest living thing on Earth may be an enormous aspen stand in Utah known as Pando (see
