Sunny day and 88 degrees in the valley but where I'm heading after work is only in the upper 60s - AWESOME! Yes, the 4th annual Albion Basin Camping trip. Well, it'll be only the 3rd time I've gone. Last year is was over 100 degrees so I took a Pass. But today is absolutely perfect! I leave work at 2pm, make quick trip to Walmart for a new lamp; I left the batteries in the old one and they have gone to acid - yuk! Then it's home to pack, Subway for an early (3:30) supper and off to my campsite #16 for the 3rd time. Love that site because it's right next to the trail from the campground to the Catherine's Pass. I arrive around 4:30 and get my tent setup, I change and start my hike. Still plenty of flowers around but they fading. I'm seeing Paintbrush, Asters, Geraniums etc. I'm also seeing butterflies: Blues, Parnassian, Milbert's Tortoiseshell and Frits. I'm a little surprised because it's so late in the day. Oh, and bees too! It's a be...
Sunny day with a high near 80 today. Heading up to hike Lambs Canyon Rd today to see what butterflies are flying now. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I only saw a few Commas (unknown species). I arrive just before 10am. It's around 60 degrees. Yea, the parking is now clear as is about the 50-75 yards of the road. From there, the snow probably is over 2-3 feet spots. But there are a couple of very small openings in the snow. Right from the start I start seeing CA Tortoiseshells. They are seem to be moving down canyon (i.e., towards my car). I also see a Mourning Cloak resting on one of the snowmobile black covers. The creek is moving very fast (would be interesting in the middle of the afternoon when temps peak) but not flooding. As I head up, there is plenty of elk/moose scat on the road. Pretty quiet bird-wise. Perhaps they are getting drowned out by the sounds of the roaring creek. The landscape varies depending on the directionality of the ...
Sunny/hazy day with temps near 40 degrees - it's a heat wave! But the morning is a chilly 22 degrees when I leave my house around 7:30 heading up to Antelope Island. At this point I'm thinking about hiking the Sentry Trail we'll see what it looks like on the island. It's still in the low 20s as I start across the causeway. It's a frozen landscape and the haze makes it look even colder. Lots of duck this morning near the bridge; the most I've seen in months and yes, there's a single Bald Eagle out on the ice hoping to take advantage. (Who knows perhaps he already has!) On the Island I head south towards the Ranch. There's no bison behind the Visitor's Center and other than a Porcupine across from Frary Peak, it looks like I'm going to get shut-out this morning. I should mention that there is far more snow here than I expected so no Sentry Peak today. As I approach the Ranch, hey, there's a small herd of bison on the west side!! I make my turn...
Comments
Post a Comment