Fall is arriving in the high country. The last two weekends have seen the start of fall colors at The Lot and one morning there was frost on the truck. Our work season is rapidly coming to a close.
The weekend of September 3 – 4 Pam and I were doing our clean-up work when Pam spotted this critter making its slow way along the ground under some pine trees. We don’t know what kind of caterpillar this is but it was quite active. (Note: Research shows this caterpillar to be in the cecropia moth family.)
Pine floor caterpillar
Here and there fall colors are beginning to appear. While we are still a couple weeks away from “peak colors” the change is unmistakable.
“Color” starting to show
While we were working we received a visit from another of The Lot’s creatures; this chipmunk paid us a visit.
A “Chippie” stops to figure us out
By the end of the weekend we had pretty good-sized piles of wood for the burn pit and firewood to bring home.
Load of firewood
The following weekend (September 10 – 11) I went up alone to complete the work we had begun. Several loads of junk wood went to the burn pit and a good-size load of firewood was loaded into the trailer and brought home. Next week I have a company event which will keep us home for the weekend and after that there will be only 1 more trip to The Lot before I bring The Box home for the winter.
I did work in an ATV trip on Sunday before I came home. The Wheeler Lake trail turned out to be a real challenge for me; round trip was about 12 miles but the trail had several challenging rock formations to get over or through. Notwithstanding these obstacles and the rugged conditions there were waterfalls and mining history in the area and I enjoyed the trip. It took longer than I had anticipated, though, and I was later getting home than I had planned.
Here are a few photos from the trail which begins at Montgomery Reservoir:
Montgomery Reservoir
Magnolia Mill
Falls near Magnolia Mill
The trail was a result of mining in the area; this shaft near Wheeler Lake is unusual in that it has not been sealed as the state has mandated sealing old mine shafts for safety reasons.
Old mine shaft near Wheeler Lake
There were other signs of past activity; this old cement mixer was used to help build a dam located up the trail from Magnolia Mill.
Old cement mixer used to help build a dam near Magnolia Mill
At the end of the trail is Wheeler Lake at an elevation of 12,200 feet. The Continental Divide is in the background and a nice waterfall drops into the lake from the left (west) side of the bowl.
Jerry at Wheeler Lake
Waterfall from Continental Divide feeds into Wheeler Lake
A very nice trip but it was challenging and tiring as well. A good internet page that has more trail details can be found at Trail Damage and You-Tube videos can be found by searching for Wheeler Lake, Colorado.
I have some video that I’ve not yet had a chance to work on; the wind was blowing pretty hard so the audio will, probably, not be useful. We shall see!
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s $.02
Pam says she does not have a lot to say this time but she is looking forward to viewing the fall colors on The Lot the next time we go there.
Leave a Reply