Twisted Forest

tagged:

Dixie National Forest




It is unexpected while standing among the aspens and spruce, but right about at the edge of Ashdown Gorge Wilderness the soil changes and conditions are good for Bristlecone Pines. We walk through a break in the thick wall of bright green to find ourselves looking at a bleak landscape of red and tan decorated with the twisted forms that give the trail its name.

Ashdown Gorge Wilderness sign
Walking past the sign with the trail among the trees ahead visible.

rock lined trail
Following the rock lined trail into the bleak landscape.


short and twisted tree
The trees are stunted and twisted by the environment.

The area clearly gets plenty of water. Not only is it surrounded the deep green aspens, but there is a creek running down the middle. The soil must make that water very hard to get to in order to force these trees to let parts die and stay so short.

thin waterfall over a cave
The stream as it falls over a ledge below the trail.

We take the time to look closely at a few things as we climb from the stream.

short pine needles in bundles of five
The needles up close. They come in bundles of five.

close up on some very tiny flowers
The trees are not the only living things. There are also some flowers like this very tiny one.

Unfortunately, we are not all much for walking and even though this trail is very short, we have to turn back before it is finished. My map shows it finishing at the top of the hill up ahead and I wonder what wondrous view awaits those with just a little more enthusiasm and stamina.

another look at the trees and barren land
The trees vary greatly in this area.

mostly dead tree with nearby very green area
This tree has nearly had to give up altogether while close behind it, the trees grow into a wall of thick green.

*photo album*




©2015 Valerie Norton
Posted 27 July 2015
location: Dixie National Forest, Cedar City, UT 84721, USA

Liked this? Interesting? Click the three bars at the top left for the menu to read more or subscribe!


Comments

Post a Comment

follow by email

popular posts:

Jennie Lakes: Belle Canyon and Rowell Meadow

Image
Kings Canyon National Park Sequoia National Forest Giant Sequoia National Monument Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 It was another mild night, but the mosquitoes very nearly vanished early on into it. The sun comes quickly here and the morning golden hour is really quite something. I enjoy it with breakfast and happily the mosquitoes seem to be slow to wake up. Our northerly view from near camp: the morning sun as it hits Ball Dome. Morning over Ranger Lake. We head out to the trail again and wander gently downward, still high above the valley bottom. The air seems a lot clearer today and the snow on the far mountains is much more defined. The snowy distances.
read more »

Lost Coast: Cooskie Creek Route

Image
King Range National Conservation Area, Arcata BLM (purple line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6  |  DAY 7 I looked around at how soaked everything was from the dew and decided I had enough water to cook breakfast right there (well, on a rock under the Douglas fir) while waiting for everything to dry out a little. My windbreak trees became morning shade trees, but they were still blocking some strong gusts most excellently, so I wouldn't want to trade them. Good soggy morning! So I headed out on the faint old road to join a much better road until getting pointed off to the left at a gate. Trail gets really faint there, but it's all much easier to follow on the second pass than it was on the first. A bit sunnier, but most spots aren't much drier than they were. After the short road section, follow near the fence on the faint track. If truly desperate for water and it has rained well recently, there might be a tiny
read more »

Mount Lassic

Image
Six Rivers National Forest ( map link ) Mount Lassic actually has a trail up it, I just didn't know where. It was built (possibly by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, but still official and maintained) but not drawn on a map nor described except that its purpose is to move feet away from the rare lupine that grows over less than 4 acres in the whole world. All but a garden sized plot is on this mountain. I wanted to visit it, but not to stomp across its whole territory. (Also, I made really certain that my shoes were completely purged of any seed before arriving in the area. After Clover Gulch, that was a challenge, but worthy.) I decided to start off on a small trail I found by my parking. It was minimally flagged and marked and probably not the one meant for the public. There's a faint trail just to the left of the smaller tree here where the road drains its water. Weather seemed to be forming over the Lassics, as it had the last few days, but then roam
read more »

If the Map's Wrong, Fix It!

Image
OpenTopoMap (an OpenStreetMap service) showing my GPS track from backpacking in the Flat Tops Wilderness in 2016 . It is zoomed into the busiest entry point where one very excellent and well used trail is missing. The map in question is, of course, OpenStreetMap . While not explicitly setting out to do this, they've created the Wikipedia of maps and you probably use it even if you don't know it. It's on AllTrails and Strava and behind Gaia Topo and MapBuilder on Caltopo. If any of those have an error, you can fix it. There in the lower right hand corner on AllTrails is the attribution and an invitation to change and add to the map. It's not just on the internet. This is also the one electronic map I carry with me, offline , that I know it will cover the place I am. When I need a library, post office, grocery store, gas station, I can search and find it even if I haven't got any usable cell signal. The roads are (generally) there. The buildin
read more »