The emblem of the National Park Service remains true to its motto "to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources of the park system." In the picture to the right, which ones are the natural ones and which ones are the cultural ones? Let's start with natural- the bison (animals), the tree (vegetation), the mountains (environment), the snow (water, the essence of life). What about the cultural ones? It is the arrowhead. The arrowhead symbolizes the Native people of the land, and the tool they carved from flint, obsidian, and chert.
Every time you enter a national park you are sure to see this emblem. While you are observing the natural resources, you are also observing the cultural ones too. I will have a longer post dedicated to the native tribes that call these parks their ancestral homes- Blackfoot Nation of Glacier National park, Ahwahnee of Yosemite Valley, etc. but for now let's turn to the Ute and Arapaho's of the Rockies.
The Ute were native to the western Rockies while the Arapaho were native to the east. Dr. Ralph Beals' 1935 paper dives in to the specifics of the two tribes. The Arapaho tribe were a Plains Indian tribe- horseman, buffalo hunters, and great warriors. The Ute were from the Great Basin living among buffalo in the valleys and even occupying parts of the desert. The Continental Divide separated more than just animals and vegetation. As such, I have split this post into two.
The West
I arrived at Grand Lake on the westernmost section of the national park. A short hike from the visitor center looked over Grand Lake village and the Shadow Mountain Lake.
With thunderstorms approaching from the Pacific, I found a beautiful trail called the Ohanu Creek Loop trail that took me by several wildflowers that have just started to bloom in the valley! Almost everywhere I turned on this trail, up until I reached the creek purple lupins popped their heads from the tall grass. Meanwhile, snowcapped mountains stood in the distance with grey storm clouds looming ominously behind.
I feel like I'm writing a Virginia Woolfe novel.
After speaking with the park rangers, I came to the conclusion that hiking the Coyote Valley trail was an absolute must-do. This trail carries onlookers through the valley of the Rocky Mountains through several meadows cut by tributaries of the Colorado River. All the while I could see that my time on this trail would be cut short by rain...I was right. A crack of lightning and buckets of rain left me drenched as I ran back to the car!
Of course, I was very fortunate to see a sign for Moose Crossing on the way out to Boulder. Shoutout to Raghu for hosting me at his apartment and Ezra Stiles (for the Moose, of course).
The East
While many park goers headed to Bear Lake early in the morning, I decided to catch up on much needed sleep. A tip of advice to those who don't get to Rocky Mountain early enough before lines start to form...take the northern route past the Sheep Lakes valley (below).
A tip from the park ranger: the Fall River route through Aspenglen gets you past all of the traffic and to some beautiful trails. The one that I picked was the Deer Mountain trail, which gets you up beyond the treeline to some picturesque views. A quick 3 hour round trip hike to the summit of Deer Mountain was an excellent way to round out my trip and see the legendary Rocky Mountains!
