Photo: Lanceleaf Chiming Bells      Courtesy Diana Lynn Rau

 

We have been flirting with Spring weather since early April but Mother Nature had other ideas and we kept returning to winter, not as much in the valleys as in the high country.  The warm sunny days of spring that we normally have are finally here but the nights have still been in the 30’s so the runoff is not yet in earnest. The snow might yet come again in spurts but last only the day and the warm sun will make short work of it.

It seems late but it is time to get the garden going. Don’t forget to protect those tender young plants until they can survive the cooler and even cold nights as well as the midday fierce sun.  Thanks to nature’s bounty, there is water in Grand County and all over Colorado, even where it isn’t supposed to be. More is trickling down from high country, and high country is still loaded. The early purple Pasque flowers and blue Lanceleaf Chiming Bells are everywhere welcoming the sun earlier this week.  On my 7 mile bike ride this morning I spotted red-wing blackbirds on the fences and the resident blue heron perched atop the beaver lodge along the Fraser to Granby Trail west of Tabernash. Then there was the Moose and her young calf just off Mountain Peak Road in Pole Creek Valley. We live in a spectacular County!

The beaver have been creating havoc on the end of the trail near Cty Rd 5221 and your local HTA is busy trying to catch up.  They are trying to bring down the beaver dams enough to channel the water though the culverts and under the bridge to let the ground dry up enough to hold the weight of a machine to lift the bridge to put blocks under it and then more material on the tread to elevate that as well.  Meanwhile be cautious in that area – you may get wet feet!

If you leave a track – please turn back!

Be careful where the trails are still soft.  We are so anxious to get out on those great single tracks but many of the single tracks are not ready for us.  Bike tire tracks and footprints made in wet, soft dirt will last as ruts all summer. They take a ton of work to repair.  Please try to wait until the trails dry out before using them. Most road base areas like the Fraser to Granby Trail are in good shape. Call ahead for trail closures. Areas like the YMCA or Granby Ranch have lots of trails dried out and open.  Call ahead or stop by the recreation offices for more information. The Phases area outside Tabernash just benefited from an incredible work session with the Timberline Lodge and the corridor is now clear, trail cupping has been greatly improved and a beautiful new berm has been built.

If you get into areas that are still impassible, please let HTA know. Go to the Headwaters Trails Alliance Facebook page for more information on the many trails projects happening in the Fraser Valley.  HTA has cooperative efforts going with towns, trails groups, youth groups, county officials and more to help maintain and improve the huge volume of trails in Grand County. HTA can desperately use your help for a day or an afternoon or more. Sign up on the Facebook page or call 970-726-1013 to see where help is needed. HTA works with a limited staff and recently created a student intern position – congratulations to Brendan Droll who just graduated from Middle Park High School June 1.  Brendan plans to attend Montana State in the fall for Environmental Studies.

If you don’t have the time to help on one of the volunteer projects, please plane to support on the the fundraisers like the HTA Bike Pub Crawl  BIKES BEERS AND BLUES on June 28 with two groups riding at 5 and 530pm. Purchase tickets at https://headwaterstrails.org/event-tickets/