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When Deer Attack

October 13th, 2009

I’ve avoided deer encounters ever since last fall when an overly protective doe attempted to stomp the life out of our beagle. He was standing next to our deck, and had wandered between the deer and her fawn when she attacked him. As I ran down our back stairs, I yelled at the doe just as I would yell at an attacking dog, but that didn’t even phase her. Luckily, Hunter the beagle is small, fast and loud, and we came to his defense quickly, throwing pebbles at the animal until she finally backed off.

A Florissant, CO woman wasn’t quite as lucky. On Monday, 63-year-old Joan Nutt was gored by a buck at the home of her sister on County Road 31 near Florissant. Nutt’s family was familiar with the deer, according to the Colorado Division of Widlife, and said it visited their property often. Nutt called the deer, attempting to pet it, but when it got close, it lowered its head and charged. A passerby helped scare off the buck, but Nutt received cuts and bruises on her hands, upper leg, stomach, hip, elbow and upper arm.

The deer was tranquilized and later euthanized, and its body was sent to a DOW wildlife health lab in Fort Collins.

DOW officials took the opportunity to remind people to remember that wildlife can always pose a threat to humans. If you encounter a deer, give it space. Don’t approach it, and (does this really have to be said?) never, ever pet it.

– Deb Acord

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Sound Off on Plan for Rampart Range

October 12th, 2009

Rampart Range Travel Mangement Study Map

On any given Saturday, the parking lot at Rainbow Falls off Colorado Highway 67 is packed. It’s one of the most popular staging grounds in the area for one of the most popular outdoor sports in the country – motorized recreation.

ATVs and dirt bikes are two of the most popular ways to get into the forest – in some parts of Colorado last year, nearly 50 percent of the people on trails were on some kind of motorized vehicle.

And all that use has taken its toll. That’s why the Pikes Peak District of the U.S. Forest Service is working on a plan to determine which roads and trails are necessary, functional and sustainable in the South Rampart area of the Pike National Forest.

The district published a motor vehicle use map in February and since then, has been gathering comments on the designated roads and trails it includes. Several public meetings have already taken place. I wrote about the past meetings in the Colorado Springs Independent in July and interviewed both motorized fans and those who want more areas closed to motorized travel.

Two more meetings are scheduled this week – 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Woodland Park Middle School, 600 E. Kelly Road, Woodland Park, and 6-8 p.m.Thursday at the Colorado Springs Utilities Leon Young Service Center, 1521 Hancock Expressway.

Those who attend will be able to ask questions about the plan, make suggestions, and see the existing map. For more information, call 636-1602.

– Deb Acord

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Pikes Peak South Slope Redux

September 29th, 2009

In 1999, a series of public meetings to gather input on opening Pikes Peak’s south slope to recreation was attended by eager outdoor enthusiasts. Using input from those meetings, a sweeping master plan for the entire mountain, including the south slope, was completed in 2000.

So why were residents streaming into a hot conference room at the Leon Young Service Center Tuesday night, 10 years later, to discuss the possible opening of the mountain’s south slope? This meeting was organized by Colorado Springs Utilities, the department in charge of the south slope and its collection of seven reservoirs fed by Pikes Peak snowmelt and rainwater.

The original plan was never implemented, resulting in this eerily similar gathering. “Wow. Déjà vu,” said one person attending.

Those who were at this meeting were hesitant to guess when or even if they would ever explore the south slope trails. Some utilities employees believe a 2012 opening could be possible. Others are more pessimistic, remembering the 25-year wait for the opening of the North Slope. And still others recall that disasters such as the terrorist attacks of 9-11 and the Hayman fire of 2002, both of which were used as excuses by CSU to keep the gates locked, could occur.

But still, the overall mood was of subdued optimism. Even though the south slope has never opened, advocates for its expanded use aren’t giving up. A citizen advisory board has been working for several months on the new Colorado Springs Utilities Watershed Access Plan.

Another public meeting is planned for January, 2010. And CSU is still gathering input about how the south slope should be used recreationally. Should there be camping? An overnight hut system? Rock climbing? Fishing? If you missed this meeting, let CSU know your feelings about this hidden treasure by calling 448-4800 or checking on plan updates at csu.org

– Deb Acord

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Kids’ Play

September 28th, 2009

If you’re reading this blog, this probably doesn’t apply to you or your kids. But it’s worth noting anyway. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stopped in Omaha, Neb., today to speak to employees of the National Park Service, and according to the World Herald, he told his audience that kids in America spend about four minutes a day in the outdoors, compared to six hours in front of their computers, televisions and other electronic devices.

I don’t know if this is a real statistic or if Salazar was just making a point, but it’s true (and sad) that the average kid is probably much better at Wii’s Sports Resort (water skiing, basketball, baseball, archery and kayaking all in one!) than he or she is at water skiing, basketball, baseball, archery or kayaking.

What does this mean for future generations of athletes? Salazar told his audience that one of his priorities is getting more of the nation’s children “connected with America’s landscape.” That’s the actual, not the virtual landscape.

Let’s go outside!

– Deb Acord

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Bee Careful

September 18th, 2009

I was just talking with a friend of mine last night about a terrifying mountain bike ride she did recently outside Steamboat Springs. She was riding a rough trail when she was attacked by angry bees. As she tried to brush them off and escape their rage, she hit a hard bump, was knocked head-first off her bike, and fell down a six-foot drop-off, landing in, of course, prickly weeds.

She’s OK, but she said she later heard that bees had attacked others on area trails, and that they are known to be especially angry this time of year. We wondered together if that happens in other places and on other trails.

Then I saw local climber/author Stewart Green’s blog on his climbing page at about.com and his post about bees attacking an Arizona climber last week on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. According to Green, the climber disturbed a hive of Africanized honeybees. He tried to get away but was stranded on a cliff, and by the time he was rescued, he had been stung more than 120 times.

Green says this wasn’t the first time climbers and scramblers were attacked on that same mountain, including a 2004 attack when a climber tried to flee from the bees, fell, and was killed.

The Steamboat bees weren’t the deadly Africanized strain, but it’s still frightening to think about a bee attack on a trail. My friend and I wondered if there was anything she could have done to deter the bees.

The USDA posts some tips on its site. Most are common-sense stuff, and don’t offer any new advice for mountain bikers : “be careful when using machinery that produces sound vibrations or loud noises.”(?)

The only tips that could apply to mountain biking or hiking:

Wear light-colored clothing.
Avoid wearing scents. Don’t even chew gum (which is scented).

– Deb Acord

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Trail Trouble in Colorado

September 14th, 2009

It’s been a tough couple of days on Colorado trails:

A search is on for a Fort Carson soldier and his girlfriend who didn’t return from a Saturday day-hike in the Lost Creek Wilderness. According to KUSA-TV in Denver, the search expanded today (Monday).

The two hikers were reported missing after they headed out on the Goose Creek trailhead. Their car was found in the trailhead parking lot. The search party includes deputies from Jefferson County and Park County; a bloodhound; search and rescue teams from Summit, Arapahoe and Douglas counties; two helicopters from the Civil Air Patrol, and two fixed-wing planes. KUSA reported that about 160 people were searching for the hikers, who weren’t dressed for the weather.

KUSA also reported that on Sunday, two women hiking the Signal Mountain Trail near Comanche Peak Wilderness Area were assaulted by a man wielding a knife. Larimer County deputies are searching the area for the masked assailant, who jumped out from behind some trees and held a knife to the throat of one of the women. The women fought him off with a walking stick.

On Friday, a man’s body was found below the False Keyhole on the Longs Peak Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Park officials said it appeared that the man’s fatal injuries were the result of a significant fall on the north side of the mountain.

– Deb Acord

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Another Bear on the Attack

September 13th, 2009

It’s happened again. A black bear attacked a man in his home Thursday night in Aspen. According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, a man in the Meadowood Drive area off Castle Creek on the west side of town. The DOW reports that the man heard his three dogs parking on the ground floor of his house, and when he went downstairs, he was confronted by a large black bear. The bear struck him, but then escaped through a window the man managed to open. The DOW has set a trap for the bear; if it’s caught, it will be killed. The agency hasn’t released any information yet about what might have attracted the bear to the house.

– Deb Acord

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Drink freely

September 9th, 2009

The outdoor industry had a problem. Consumers were clamoring for BPA-free water bottles. The plastics industry insists BPA doesn’t pose any threats to people but concerns over the possible health risks of bisphenol A, an industrial chemical, aren’t going away, and consumer groups continue to issue warnings.

So companies have come up with solutions. REI had had 28,000 pounds of water bottles that it had pulled off the shelves because of concerns over BPA. Instead of piling them in landfills, REI teamed with Aladdin and created recycled, repurposed eCycle travel mugs.

The mugs, which come in glacier, dusk, pine and mulberry shades, feature a double wall with the repurposed polycarbonate on the outer wall where it has no contact with your beverage. The mug weighs 12 ounces and holds 16 fluid ounces; it costs $14.95.

Water bottle giant Nalgene no longer makes bottles with the industrial chemical and has a complete line of BPA-free products.

Another popular bottle-maker, Sigg, found itself making headlines recently when its CEO revealed that the epoxy liner in the company’s aluminum bottles contained trace amounts of BPA until the company switched to a “BPA-Free EcoCare liner” in August, 2008.

So what kind of water bottles are BPA-free? According to TreeHugger.com, Camelbak and Kor One join Nalgene’s new BPA-free bottles.

– Deb Acord

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