Two Search And Rescue Incidents Conducted In Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members responded to two separate incidents on Sunday, June 28th.

At 9:30 a.m. rangers were notified by cell phone that Chris LeGault, 48, from Lyons, Colorado, had taken a reported 50 foot fall while backcountry skiing on Sundance Mountain. LeGault had landed in rocks suffering numerous injuries. Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue personnel reached him at 11:45 a.m. They performed a technical evacuation lowering LeGault through snow, rocks and dense brush eventually reaching Old Fall River Road at 7:30 p.m. He was taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center. Twenty personnel were involved in this rescue. Park search and rescue team members were assisted by two members of Douglas County Search and Rescue.

At noon, park rangers were notified by cell phone that Jesse Keller, 24, from Fort Collins, Colorado, had taken a reported 150 foot tumbling fall down The Homestretch on the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak. Rangers were able to speak with Keller and he indicated he had suffered injuries but would attempt to continue down on his own. Rangers left the Longs Peak Trailhead with the intent to assist Keller on the way down. Their efforts were hampered by severe weather and lightning. Rangers reached Keller at 8:30 p.m. at the Keyhole. They assisted him through The Boulder Field and spent the night in the Boulder Field with him. At 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning Fuller was flown by Lifeguard One to Medical Center of the Rockies. Park Search and Rescue Team members reached the trailhead at 11:00 a.m. yesterday morning where they were assisted by four members of Larimer County Search and Rescue.



Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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Exotic Weed Pull Event Scheduled For Saturday In Rocky

On Saturday June 27, join Rocky Mountain National Park staff and Estes Land Stewardship Association (ELSA) from 8 a.m. to noon to help pull exotic plants and learn more about noxious weeds. Meet at the corner of High Drive and Columbine Drive to sign in and test your skills in weed identification. Tools and water will be provided. Last year almost thirty people participated to tackle, dig, and pull noxious weeds!

One of the many challenges land managers face is the threat that invasive exotic plants or noxious weeds present. Invasive exotic plants can upset natural processes and often use that "strategy" to spread. Exotic weeds are not native to the area they are invading. As a result, they frequently have few effective predators, competitors, parasites, or diseases. They can spread across a landscape quickly and replace native species that have important functions in the ecosystem.

Exotic weeds upset natural processes in a variety of ways. Some are poisonous if consumed by wildlife. Some release compounds into the soil to prevent the seeds of other plants from germinating. Some produce such thick aggregations of plants, they shade out native plants. This can disrupt other native species such as butterflies and other pollinators.

For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park please contact the park's Information Office at (970) 586-1206.



Jeff
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Higher Prices and Limited Access Coming to a Park Near You

Perhaps the title to this blog might be construed as being highly provocative, but reality tells me that many of the trends I'm seeing are already pointing in these directions. Please note that I'm in no way advocating for either of these as possible solutions to perceived problems, but rather simply pointing out where I believe our national parks are headed.

The perceived problem among many within and outside of our national park system is that our parks and recreational areas have become overcrowded. One only has to look at the almost constant gridlock in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains, or the over-crowded parking at the Bear Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain, or the congestion on Yellowstone's roads throughout the summer, to see that the pundits and park managers may have a point. As further evidence, you may also recall that our national parks saw record breaking crowds in 2014.

As a result of many factors, including increased visitation, almost every major national park has raised entrance fees over the last several months. Other parks and national forest lands, such as the Great Smoky Mountains, have instituted, or have increased backcountry camping fees.

This past May Glacier National Park announced a public comment period for a series of alternatives they're proposing to manage the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor. Included among those proposals to manage congestion on the road are to "utilize a timed entry system or reservation system during peak season" and "require day hike permits on some trails during peak season".

It's pretty clear to me that the wheels are already in motion for raising fees and limiting access to high traffic areas.

What prompted this blog posting was an interview I heard the other night on the nationally syndicated John Batchelor Show. The host interviewed Terry Anderson from the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, who has put forth several possible solutions to overcrowding in our parks and recreational areas. The 10 minute segment starts at roughly the 19:25 mark in this podcast if you wish to listen to the interview. You can also read the original article, which sparked the interview, as published in the Montana Standard.



Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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5 Tips on Solo Hiking

Have you ever considered solo hiking? If so, you may want to consider these five tips from Backpacker Magazine before hitting the trail:








Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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Gov. Hickenlooper Announces Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Map Initiative

Last week Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper outlined significant next steps in the Colorado Beautiful initiative to both link outdoor spaces and connect more people to those places.

Hickenlooper also announced Colorado would build the most comprehensive outdoor recreation map ever created in the state, to include all trails, open spaces, parks and protected lands, with publication planned in 2016.

He also announced that the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, in coordination with Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), nonprofit organizations and state agencies, would by 2016 identify the 16 most important trail gaps, missing trail segments and un-built trails across the state and elevate them to priority projects.

“Colorado Beautiful, we believe, is not only about connecting our parks, trails and scenic lands, but about connecting people to the outdoor delights that set Colorado apart as a special place,” Hickenlooper said. “It’s important to bring our newest generations outside, away from electronic distractions and into the splendor of our waterways, forests, wildlife, grasslands, mountains and canyons.”

Hickenlooper outlined the steps in comments at The Outdoors Summit in downtown Denver where leaders in outdoor recreation, youth programs, health and urban planning gathered to focus on efforts to get Coloradans, particularly children, teens and minority youth, to develop deeper connections with the natural environment that sets Colorado apart as a special place.

Hickenlooper noted that these steps will move the state toward a key, unifying vision underlying the Colorado Beautiful initiative: That within one generation, every Coloradan will live within a 10 minute walk of a park, trail or open space area.

The creation of a comprehensive trail and recreational lands map is already underway, as dozens of local governments and organizations have already responded to a state call for data. The map project will mark a major step forward as even navigating various trails in the Denver metro area often requires a piecemeal approach with maps from different jurisdictions.

Identification of the 16 highest priority trail projects is also already in its early stages as some mapping of critical gaps has begun as part of the Colorado Beautiful initiative. On-the-ground work to move these projects forward would begin next year.

These specific steps are the first of several anticipated as part of the Colorado Beautiful initiative, first announced by Hickenlooper in his 2015 State of the State address.



Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
Grand Teton Hiking
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