OCN

Volunteers reporting on community issues in Monument, Palmer Lake, and the surrounding Tri-Lakes area

OCN > trail

trail

On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) – Enjoy being outdoors, but be prepared

By Steve Pate

On a hike up the Palmer Lake Reservoir trail Oct. 22, I took one of my favorite loops, the Ice Cave Creek trail to connect with the Swank trail and then back by the upper reservoir. I found only a few patches of color left, but the pine, fir, and spruce forest was still beautiful.

I encourage those who are able to explore our wonderful outdoor opportunities in the Tri-Lakes area—mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding—but please be prepared from now through April for challenging conditions.

While it was 70 degrees on my hike, the abnormally warm temperatures may cause one to forget to include important items in your pack, especially if you go off the grid in remote areas. Include plenty of water, warm clothing (hat, gloves, and extra clothing), first aid kit, micro-spikes for icy conditions, snacks, and a satellite communication device if you expect to be in remote areas where cell phones do not work.

Being prepared allows you to truly enjoy your surroundings, disconnect from daily hassles, and become part of a natural environment.

I am nearing the end of my ability to hike in difficult conditions and will probably turn this column over to a younger outdoors person. I do intend to continue volunteering with Our Community News and will do what I can to occasionally contribute. One thing that I intend to continue to follow is the investigation of Tim Watkins’s murder. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has renewed efforts to solve this awful crime from September 2017. Again, as we suggested in OCN last month, if you have any information that might help with the investigation, please contact Jennifer Bucholtz, criminal investigator with the Sheriff’s Office, at 719-520-7227.

Above: Upper Palmer Lake Reservoir, Oct. 22. Photo by Steve Pate.

Steve Pate may be contacted at stevepate@ocn.me.

Other Trail articles

On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) – Prescribed burn promotes forest health

By Steve Pate

Above: Wildland firefighters gear up for the test fire. Photo by Steve Pate.

The Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) Pikes Peak Ranger District, with support from local fire, police, and emergency responders, began a three-day process of prescribed burns in the Monument Preserve on June 12.

Above: Test fire before the prescribed burn Photo by Steve Pate.

A “test fire” was lit just north of Mount Herman Road. A test fire is a small fire that firefighters light to evaluate fire behavior before igniting prescribed fires. The conditions were deemed ideal and prescribed burns were conducted in three areas of the Monument Fire Center in the Monument Preserve: Memorial Grove, Monument Rock, and the Mount Herman Trailhead. The prescribed fires treated about 1,000 acres of forest lands with low-intensity fire to limit the impact of smoke to the community.

Above: View of the prescribed burn from Woodmoor. Photo by Dawn Lervik.

The prescribed fire, a low-to-moderate-intensity burn, reduced available fuels and the risk of catastrophic fire in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) when fire suppression efforts would be less likely to succeed. Additional objectives of this prescribed fire were to reduce the amount of Gambel oak brush and promote the growth of ponderosa pine forest.

Above: View from Jackson Creek. Photo by Natalie Barszcz.

During a press briefing before the test fire, Dawn Sanchez, fire prevention technician with the PSICC, said 149 wildland firefighters were also being briefed on procedures for the upcoming test fire and prescribed burns. Sanchez explained how the low-intensity fires would stunt the regrowth of scrub oak in areas where the Forest Service conducted wildfire mitigation last year.

Above: Results near Monument Rock. Photo by Steve Pate

While some may become upset with smoke and the immediate after-effects of prescribed burns, Randy Phillips of the local hiking community who has lived adjacent to Pike National Forest for nearly four decades said the Berry Fire that roared through this area below and up Mount Herman, leaving only scrub oak in place of what was a thick and deep forest, is a major reason the Forest Service has masticated the area and are now prescribing a burn. “I get nervous … however, that nervousness pales to experiencing April 21, 1989, and the days that followed. It’s important to keep things in perspective,” Phillips said.

Above: The burn reduced surface fuel loads by reducing pine needles, leaves, and small branches, decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Photo by Chris Jeub.

As was the case last year when PSICC did wildfire mitigation over a wide area in Monument Preserve, the hiking and biking trails in the area appeared “ruined,” but this year were nearly recovered with new growth. The same will be true of the prescribed burns—ugly for a few weeks or months but healthier as the areas recover and again a pleasure to hike or ride in.

Right: Wildland firefighters protected a Ute “prayer tree” in the Monument Preserve. Photo by Steve Pate.

Steve Pate may be reached at StevePate@OCN.me

Other On The Trail articles

On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) –  Palmer Lake bridge dedication ceremony

By Steve Pate

As reported in the May issue of OCN, the Palmer Lake Parks and Trails Commission (PLP&T) partnered with U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) senior cadet engineering students to design and build a bridge across Monument Creek into the Elephant Rock property trail system. On May 6, that bridge was officially dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Reid Wiecks, PLP&T chair, thanked the cadets and their professor, Dr. Brad Wambeke, who, after a U.S. Army career, taught at West Point and now the USAFA for their work to design and build the bridge. Wambeke said that normally a senior capstone engineering project would just involve the design and engineering work on paper. This project gave the cadets the experience of implementing their design.

Palmer Lake Mayor Glant Havenar also made remarks, thanking the USAFA cadets and Wambeke, then she and a cadet cut the ribbon to officially open the bridge.

Kevin Magner, a key PLP&T commissioner, said that volunteers would partner with the Mile High Youth Corps to develop the new loop trail through the Elephant Rock property in June.

Steve Pate can be contacted at stevepate@ocn.me

Above: Gene Kalesti, lead volunteer, Dr. Brad Wambeke, and senior USAFA cadets. Photo by Steve Pate

Other On the Trail columns

On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) – Cadets build bridge over Monument Creek

By Steve Pate

A crew of senior cadet engineering students from the U.S Air Force Academy (USAFA) have been working during their 2023-24 final year at the academy to design and build a bridge across Monument Creek to connect a newly improved section of the Creekside Trail to the Elephant Rock property area (not the Elephant Rock near Ben Lomand).

During their final semester, the cadets made multiple trips to the site for measurements and design and prepared proposals to the Palmer Lake Parks and Trails commission (PLP&T) who selected the proposal they believed would best meet the needs of the community and satisfy Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

The bridge links a trail from the Palmer Lake Glen area to and through the Elephant Rock property west of Highway 105 to allow residents and visitors to hike and bike from Palmer Lake through the scenic area.

The senior cadets, led by retired U.S. Army Col. Dr. Brad Wambeke, professor of Engineering at the USAFA, designed the bridge using logs from the Upper Palmer Lake Reservoir left from wildfire mitigation work by the USFS last year. The logs were hauled from the upper reservoir by the Palmer Lake Fire Department and milled, pre-drilled and coated at the USAFA before being used at the construction site.

Only the cost of materials, about $15,000 of a $17,000 budgeted by the PLP&T, was paid for from funds generated by the parking kiosk at the Reservoirs Trailhead. All the design and construction work was done as a learning experience for the senior cadets as their capstone project before graduation and moving on to their initial assignments in the U.S. Air Force.

The project involved a great deal of coordination between volunteers on the PLP&T, including Project Lead Gene Kalesti, Commissioners Kevin Magner and Reid Wiecks and Professor Wambeke.

A cadet team returned to the construction site April 19 to put finishing touches on their work. A dedication ceremony will be held on May 6 at 10 a.m.

The USAFA will build two additional bridges along the trail system to improve access by bikes as well as hikers as an educational project for senior cadet engineering students over the coming year or two.

Steve Pate can be contacted at stevepate@ocn.me.

Above: Cadets building bridge, April 13. Photo by Steve Pate.
Above: Cadet team finishing bridge work, April 19. Photo by Steve Pate.

Other On the Trial columns

On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) – Mount Herman “Leap”

By Steve Pate

Occasionally I saw the term, “grid day,” mentioned by Randy Phillips on social media. I was not sure what this meant until I learned that Phillips intended to summit Mount Herman on Feb. 29 to complete his grid—summitting Mount Herman on every calendar day of the year. This meant that he had the chance to complete his “grid” only every four years when a Leap Year rolled around.

Hiking up Mount Herman on February 29, 2024.
Above: Group photo on Broken Ankle Trail to Mount Herman. Photo by Randy Phillips. 

So, on Thursday, Feb. 29 (Leap Day), Phillips and 24 supporters ascended Mount Herman via the Broken Ankle Trail and celebrated Phillips’s completion of his goal on all 366 calendar days.

Steve Pate can be contacted at stevepate@ocn.me

Other On the Trail articles