It’s been a warm and dry fall and up until a few days ago only about one inch of snow has fallen. That all changed yesterday and today and we have had about 18″ of new snow in the Flagstaff area with more to come. Instead of our NATRA group trail run today some of us went cross-county skiing (but I forgot the camera!). So, here are a few shots from the neighborhood instead.
We recently took a multiday ski backpack trip to a mountain hut in Colorado. Although the snow pack remains below normal across most of the west, there had been enough recent snow in the Colorado mountains to produce good ski conditions — albeit on a thinner than typical snow pack.
It’s always interesting to run across animal tracks in the snow. Although I own a couple of books to identify animal tracks I’ve never been particularly good at it. I can usually distinguish between canine and feline prints but not between, say, mountain lion and lynx or bobcat. Or between coyote and fox.
So we came across this set of tracks that followed a skiers trail up the mountain. The size of the prints was large enough to eliminate bobcat but that still leaves the less common lynx and more common mountain lion. Which was it?
After reading the descriptions — carefully, and a couple of times — I’m still not sure but am leaning slightly towards lynx. We know that there are lynx in this area because there are a number of signs asking for people to report any indications of lynx. But even if we’re wrong, that means these are mountain lion tracks. And they are following the skiers trail. Which was made by us. Exciting, actually!
And, then, there are these tracks higher up the mountain. I didn’t get close enough to see the details because I was more amused by the pattern of the tracks. Sort of suggests the critter was playing around in the snow.
And, finally, a set of tracks I can identify!
It’s that special time of year in northern Arizona. The thunderstorms and cloudy days of the summer rainy season are history and have been replaced with day after day of perfect weather. Warm days. Cool nights. Cloudless skies. Light winds.
And, of course, the leaves are changing colors.
It’s mid-October and the colors have hit their peak at the higher elevations of the Kachina Peaks. Lower down, the colors are quickly approaching their peak. But it won’t last long. All it takes is one windy day or another hard freeze and it will be over for this year.
I took some time early this morning wandering around the aspen along Snowbowl Road and found some groves in full color. Interestingly, a few groves were still green and a few others were already done. But most were hitting that perfect peak.