A cool but sunny morning, destined to be a warm midday, and for some reason dog and I headed up to the eastern ridge—and kept right on going. I didn’t bring a lot of water, but I guessed (correctly) that there’d be snow up there, so Jack had plenty of water. Even thought of continuing up to Grandeur Peak again, but we’re two years older now, and both have semi-creaky joints.
So we stopped at about 7,500 feet.
But what an accomplishment. We both felt it. We also felt a few aches and pains—but there was scenery, there were smells, there were birds and deer and distances.
Hell of a hike. Dog’s been snoozin’, and I had to take an ibuprofen.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 7:56 a.m., sun time, I hiked about 2,500 feet up a mountain.
1. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 2. American Robin* 3. Rock Pigeon* 4. House Finch** 5. Spotted Towhee 6. Pine Siskin** 7. Northern Flicker* (v) 8. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 9. Chukar 10. Townsend’s Solitaire 11. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12. Common Raven 13. Song Sparrow* (v)
Elsewhere
14. House Sparrow (v) 15. California Quail 16. Lesser Goldfinch 17. Eurasian Collared-dove (v) 18. European Starling
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
A warmer, dryer morning of a soon-to-be a somewhat hot day. Seventy degrees (F) seems alarmingly warm for the season here—and it’s gonna get into the 80s this weekend (so they say).
Cloudless skies, birds about—including a solitaire and a pair of Mourning Doves. Heard another kinglet in the same junipers as yesterday’s. (Same bird?)
Really looking forward to what tomorrow has in store.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 8:10 a.m. (9:10 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay** 2. House Finch* 3. Black-billed Magpie** (v) 6. American Robin* 5. Townsend’s Solitaire 6. Rock Pigeon 7. Eurasian Collared-dove** 8. Northern Flicker** 9. Pine Siskin (v) 10. Spotted Towhee 11. Black-capped Chickadee 12. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13. Mourning Dove
Elsewhere
14. House Sparrow (v) 15. Song Sparrow 16. Lesser Goldfinch 17. California Quail
Mammals
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also Elsewhere **Voice only Elsewhere
Something changed overnight. The planet had another rotation, and because of its revolution around the sun, the photoperiod lengthened slightly. And a butterfly showed up this afternoon. A deer appeared in front of the house, ambling toward town. And the birds went just a little bit spring-crazy.
Scrub-jays looking for places to cache things. A Steller’s Jay in the junipers. Two solitaires up along the deer trails, but just one deer. First red-tail in a while. A random raven. Four mammals. At home, a pair quail this morning, and an eagle this afternoon. Temps on the rise.
Sproing!
Grandeur Peak Area List At 8:06 a.m. (9:06 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Northern Flicker 2. House Finch* 3. Dark-eyed Junco 4. Rock Pigeon* 5. Black-capped Chickadee 6. Pine Siskin (v) 7. American Robin* 8. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 9. Red-tailed Hawk 10. Black-billed Magpie 11. Spotted Towhee** 12. Steller’s Jay 13. Townsend’s Solitaire 14. Common Raven
Elsewhere
15. House Sparrow (v) 16. Lesser Goldfinch 17. California Quail 18. Eurasian Collared-dove (v) 19. Canada Goose 20. European Starling 21. Golden Eagle 22. Mourning Dove (v)
Mammals
Red Squirrel (v) Mule Deer Mountain Cottontail Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also Elsewhere **Voice only Elsewhere
