Mesa Verde Winter Animal Tracks and Signs Interpretive Hike

The Animal Tracks and Signs Interpretive Hike is part of a series of six special hikes in the 2012-2013 Southwest Colorado Winter Ecology Series offered in the Mesa Verde region. The Animal Tracks Hike was re-offered on February 16, 2013 after bad weather made conditions difficult on the original January 23 date.

The Tracks Hike explored the mountain shrub environment of the 7800 feet elevation Morefield Canyon Campground area. As part of the Mesa Verde effort to attract more winter visitors, 4.8 miles of groomed snow trails have been prepared in the Morefield Campground area.

Other areas of Mesa Verde also have groomed winter trails and the Mesa Verde web site has maps and up to date information on the conditions of these trails. There has been more snow in the 2013 winter than relatively light 2012. (Use the “snowshoe hikes” label to find these other trails.)

Mesa Verde National Park received a grant of $9765 from the Active Trails Program of the National Parks Foundation in 2012 to develop winter snow shoe and ski trails. Part of the funding was used to purchase snow shoes that are available for free loan to anyone interested in winter hiking at the park. They are available at the new Visitor Center and the Chapin Mesa Museum.

The first part of the hike included an introduction to animal tracks and emphasized Gestalt Tracking. Gestalt is a German word for form or shape. It is used in English to refer to a concept of wholeness.

Individual animal tracks in snow might be hard to identify, but the using of  the gestalt approach considers the animals range and habitat for the season, where to the tracks come and go from, what line does it follow (zig zag?). Also consider the size and shape, number of toes, claws, stride and straddle, gait pattern, and other signs like scat and smells. (in the 2012 Winter Ecology Hike there is more information on these details.)

The Morefield Campground area is dominated by Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii), while most of Mesa Verde is Pinon and Juniper forest. At one trail stop there was a short discussion of the purplish Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly, (Hypaurotis crysalus) the state butterfly of Colorado since 1996. This choice was due to the steady lobbying of 4th graders from Wheeling Elementary in Aurora, Colorado (led by teacher Melinda Terry).

This butterfly species depends upon the Gambel oak which is both the favorite roost of adults and usual food source for caterpillars. Eggs are laid singly in late summer on twigs of Gambel oaks or another oak species. The caterpillars emerge in the spring and eat young leaves. Adults feed on tree sap and probably honeydew secreted by other insects rather than on flowers. The species has one flight, usually from mid-June to August.

The winter ecology brochure available at the trail head also has a paragraph on observing insect formed galls on trees and shrubs but doesn't mention any specific insects.

There was also a demonstration of the use of motion activated cameras for the purpose of studying wildlife. Some of the current use of these cameras at Mesa Verde is to study the interaction of feral horses with the native deer and elk. There is a current project in the park concerning what to do about the 100-150 feral horses that range through the park and are trampling some of the remote archaeology sites.

The most common tracks that we saw were coyote and cottontail rabbits. Here, we’re looking at some smaller stride and straddle canine tracks that could be from a fox.

We also saw tracks that we thought could have been a bobcat, and some that might have been a weasel. We didn't see any mule deer tracks as they prefer to move down to less snowy conditions. We spent about 3:00 hours on the entire hike but only covered about 1 mile in slow walking with frequent stops. It was a perfect sunny 25 F degree mid February morning and there were about 16 hikers in the group.

The Visitor Center bookstore has a simple pocket field guide to animal tracks available for $5.95. This guide is for all of North America so the user will have to apply the gestalt principle to use it effectively at Mesa Verde.


Mesa Verde Winter Festival 2013

The first annual Mesa Verde Winter Fun Festival was held on February 23, 2013 in the Morefield Campground area. A main event three-mile fun cross country ski race was held on the Meadow Bliss Trail at 11:00 AM.

During and after the race there was a hands-on primitive skills demonstration including bow and drill fire starting, atlatl usage and yucca cord making. The fire starting demonstration was actually successful. The bow spun the yucca stalk drill on a piece of soft wood and produced smoke and a small coal. Using some easily combustible plant material that looked like Juniper bark, blowing on the coal produced a flame.

The atlatl was a device that increased the leverage for throwing spears or arrows. There was a supply of arrows on hand and a small target range was set up. It takes some practice to get the hang of throwing.

It was a good day for snow shoe hiking on the Morefield Campground Trails. One of the options includes a flagged route from the parking area to the trail head of the Point Lookout Trail. This route cuts across the north side of the campground loops and includes some segments through the groves of Gambel Oak.

Part of this route passes through the amphitheater area. Although this isn't a long distance, it takes extra effort to push through the ungroomed snow. In the evening, there was a planned opportunity for skiing or snow shoeing by the full moon.

Prater Canyon Winter Trail

The Prater Canyon Winter Trail is a new winter sports trail in 2012 at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. The trail is designed as a 4.7 mile lasso loop with trailhead parking at the Montezuma Lookout Point at the 6.2 miles mark on the main park road.

During the 2012 winter season Mesa Verde has groomed the snow is several areas to promote winter sports. The park entrance fee is being waived in January and February to promote more winter visitation.

The Prater Canyon area has not been open for hiking before the 2012 winter season. The two way segment of trail descends gradually and extends for about 1.2 miles before reaching the loop segment near the tunnel. The groomed surface was covered with a couple of inches of fresh snow during my hike.

It took me about 0:35 minutes to arrive at the loop segment on snowshoes. On the late February day that I hiked, it appeared that the groomed part of the loop had been shortened, not extending as far up Prater Canyon as designed. This may have been due to the relatively modest levels of snow in 2012. I hiked two days after 3 inches of snow and there had been 6 inches the previous week. There was plenty of snow when I hiked but the base wasn’t deep.

The terrain along most of the Prater Canyon area has been burned by the Bircher Fire of July 2000. Some of the Douglas Firs survived. I didn't see many animal tracks along this trail. There were a couple of track trails that appeared to be mouse sized and another that was coyote sized.

There is a good view of this trail area from a pullover point on the main park road past the trail head. This view shows the two way segment of trail. The trail makes a turn to the right at the far end of this view.

At the parking area of the Montezuma View Point there are good views toward Sleeping Ute Mountain and west toward the Abajo Mountains. My total hike took 1:50 hours for about 3 miles on a 32 F degree morning.

Knife Edge Trail Winter Views

In the 2012 winter season, the Morefield Campground at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado, is being managed for winter hiking on snowshoes and cross country skiing. The campground is located only a few miles past the main entrance. In the summer season, there are three hiking trails that begin in the vicinity of the campground.

The campground loops and the new Meadow Bliss Trail are being machine groomed. My hike was two days after several inches of new snow in mid February. The parking area and trailhead for winter activities is the Morefield Village area near the gas station.

From the trailhead it is about 1 mile along the campground roads to the relatively level 2 mile round trip Knife Edge Trail. The Knife Edge Trail is part of the old entrance road to the park and provides good views to the north above the Montezuma Valley and the nearby mountain ranges. It took me about 0:30 minutes of snowshoe hiking to arrive at the Knife Edge Trailhead. The trail isn’t groomed.

The snow depth was moderate along the first segment of trail. Hiking past Point Lookout, the wide views open up. Most of the regional mountains are visible. To the north is the San Miguel range, featuring Lone Cone to the west and Dolores Peak to the east. At the No. 8 trail marker the snow on the trail got much deeper and I was sinking in up to my knees.

I was surprised to see some tracks coming from the other direction near trail marker 10. These deep tracks appear to have been made by a deer that was struggling as much as I was. The deer appears to have made its way by lunging along the trail and then returned the way it came.

On the recent ranger led Winter Ecology Hike in this area we didn’t see any deer tracks, and the explanation was that the deer mostly retreat to the lower snow free areas. I turned around at trail marker 12, turned back by the deep snow.

I continued further along the campground road to the Amphitheater parking area and saw a few more deer tracks on the groomed surface. The Amphitheater area provides an elevated view of the campground area.

In the winter season of 2011, I had made it to trail marker 23, which discusses the geology of the area, including the Point Lookout sandstone and the underlying Mancos shale. Most of the trail markers on the Knife Edge Trail discuss the botany of the area.

The trees easy to see in winter are the Pinon Pines and Utah Junipers, the leafless Gambel Oaks and the tall Douglas Firs. My snowshoe hike was on a 32 F degree mid February day and I hiked about 2.5 miles in 1:50 hours.

Meadow Bliss Winter Trail on Snowshoes

The Meadow Bliss Trail is a new winter sports loop trail in the Morefield Campground area of Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.

The trailhead for winter sports is the parking area for the Morefield Campground stores. The beginning of the Meadow Bliss Loop is near the trailhead for the Prater Ridge Trail. It is a 10 or 15 minute walk on the Campground Loop trails to get to the Meadow Bliss Loop.

During the 2012 winter season, Mesa Verde is trying to promote winter visiting by grooming the snow in several road areas for winter sports. In early February, the 2012 season hasn’t so far been a heavy snow year but in the Morefield area the depth is up to the bench level of the picnic tables. The day I hiked was one day after about 3 inches of new snow covered the existing groomed surface.
 

The Meadow Bliss Loop is listed as 2.7 miles and heads south from the Prater Ridge Trailhead along the east facing flank of Prater Ridge. It is a lasso type loop with something of a figure eight formation. I stayed to the right at the loop junction. There was new snow on the trail and the route was easier to see staying to the right.

The Meadow Bliss Loop is actually a trail rather than a road like the Campground loops. It passes though groves of Gamble Oak with views of the cliffs of Prater Ridge. I saw many tracks of what I thought were coyotes.

The far end of the western part of the loop passes close to the main road tunnel. In this area there are a few tall Ponderosa Pines. There aren’t many of these pines visible in Mesa Verde. Mostly we see the Pinon Pines and Douglas Firs.

There is a short segment of trail very close to the main park road, and then the route turns north back toward the trailhead. There is a point where the figure eight comes close together and I cut across, leaving off the more eastern part of the figure eight.

This east segment turns south again and makes another pass close to the main park road. It was difficult to see the east part of the trail in this area and I was ready to return to the trailhead. When I hiked, I think the snow depth was relatively thin in the east segment that I skipped.
 

My total hike took 1:50 hours. I didn’t hike the complete 2.7 mile loop, but probably made up the difference by starting at the main trailhead. It was 24 F degrees at my 9:30 AM start and about 34 F at 11:20 AM.

Mesa Verde Winter Ecology Hike

In 2011 and 2012, Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado is encouraging winter visitors by grooming the snow in some areas for snowshoe hiking and cross country skiing. A new guided hike was offered on January 28, 2012 on Winter Ecology at Mesa Verde.

This hike was offered in the Morefield Campground area where the campground loops are part of the groomed area. The groomed campground loops also provide access to the three Morefield campground trails. Another groomed section is named the Meadow Bliss Trail. The Meadow Bliss Trail is a new route that hasn’t been identified on the park maps before now.

There was no charge for this guided hike and during January and February 2012 admission to the park is free to encourage more public use. The trailhead for winter hiking is near the Morefield Campground stores and gas station.

The first hour of the three hour program was an introduction to tracks and tracking. Tracks by themselves can be difficult to identify but the stride and straddle, or length and width, can give a clue to the size of the animal. A process of elimination led the group to conclude that these tracks might be a coyote. This hike was led by two Mesa Verde Wildlife Management rangers and one of the Interpretive Rangers, so there was a wealth of expertise.

Further on, another similar looking set of tracks was thought to be Bobcat. Bobcat tracks tend to be circular while Coyote are more oval shaped.  Bobcats and Mountain Lions are both at Mesa Verde but aren’t sighted very often. Tracks might be the typical hikers best opportunity to see a sign of them.
 

Part of winter ecology includes the effect of subtle differences in solar radiation. In the Morefield campground area, the differences in the geology and vegetation of north and south facing slopes are visible. The south facing slopes have Pinon Pine and Juniper forest while the cooler north facing slopes have some Douglas Firs. The south facing slopes are also more jumbled in appearance due to the daily effects of freeze and thaw.

Another factor in track identification is the Gait Pattern. Common gaits include walk, trot, gallop, and jump. Gait patterns include diagonal walking like the coyote and bobcat, and bounders like rabbits and squirrels. Mice are an example of gallopers.

The bounder tracks usually have the rear feet tracks in front of the front feet, as the animal moves its rear feet forward for the next leap. Tree dwellers will show both pair of feet parallel while ground dwellers will have one foot more forward.

Toward the end of the hike, there was a demonstration of the use of motion activated cameras to monitor wildlife in a non-invasive way. This unit was capable of day and night images. There was a discussion of how this type of camera shed some light on the interaction of the elk and the feral horses at Mesa Verde. Images were captured that showed how the horses were aggressive toward the elk and drove them away from one of the water sources.

Part of the hike introduction included a demonstration of how casts of tracks are made. At the end of the hike we looked at a sample cast of a deer track. I had noticed that we didn’t see any deer tracks during the hike even though deer are common in Mesa Verde during the warmer parts of the year. The explanation is that the deer prefer the less snowy lower elevation areas and can easily move down during the winter.

The last demonstration was how plants protect themselves. Samples of Rabbitbrush, Sagebrush, Pinon Pine and Douglas Fir were placed in a zip lock bag and made available for the group to sample the scents. The strong scents indicated the presence of compounds that deter animals from browsing on them.

The total program lasted 3:00 hours. It was about 25 F degrees at the 9:00 AM start and about 35 F degrees at the 12:00 PM finish. This hike was advertised as limited to 20 hikers. Snowshoes were available to borrow for those who didn’t have their own.

Cliff Canyon Overlooks

The Cliff Canyon overlooks are south of the famous Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. During the winter season, the six mile Cliff Palace Loop at Mesa Verde is usually closed to vehicles, but can still be hiked or cross country skied. During the busy summer season, most visitors pass quickly by the Cliff Canyon view points after visiting Cliff Palace or heading to Balcony House.

 I snow shoe hiked part of the Cliff Palace Loop in late January. In 2011, the snow has been groomed for easy snow shoe walking and skiing. At the lasso part of the loop, I stayed right and visited the Cliff Palace overlook and the two Cliff Canyon overlooks. It took me about 0:45 minutes to arrive at the Cliff Palace trailhead. In winter, there are also view points of Cliff Palace from Sun Point and Sun Temple on the west side of Cliff Canyon.

The first viewpoint south of Cliff Palace is the Cliff Canyon Overlook. Across the canyon is Sun Point on the Mesa Top Tour, which is one of the best ruins view points in the region, with up to 12 ruins sites visible. To the right is a side view of part of Sunset House. Looking across the canyon, there are three small ruins sites visible. Sun Point Dwelling has only three rooms along a narrow ledge over a 100 foot drop off. To the left of Sun Point Dwelling is Site 634 with 16 rooms and 2 kivas.

Along this segment there are some views up Fewkes Canyon with some side views of Oak Tree House and the Sun Temple. The best views of the several Fewkes Canyon ruins sites are along the Mesa Top Tour.

A short distance further south is a view of the House of Many Windows. The multiple openings are actually doors. The site is thought to have 11 rooms and maybe a kiva. I turned around at the House of Many Windows overlook and returned the way I came. My total snow shoe hike was 2:30 hours for about 4 miles on a 35 F late January day. It had been 4 weeks since 2 feet of snow had fallen and there had been some melting without any additional snow.

Cliff Palace Loop in Winter

The Cliff Palace Loop is the 6 mile loop road that leads to the popular Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours during the summer season at Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado. During the winter the road is closed to vehicles, but has been groomed for cross country skiing and snow shoe hiking. I think this is a new feature for the 2011 winter season.

There is room to park in the vicinity of the closed gate without blocking it. It is about 1.25 miles along the two way road section to the beginning of the loop. Staying to the right leads another 0.25 miles to the Cliff Palace Trailhead where there are overlooking views of the most famous Mesa Verde cliff dwelling site.

The first segment along the trail passes through a forest area that was burned during the forest fires in 2000 and then normal forest borders the trail. The snow shoe hiking was easy on the groomed surface. At the loop, I took the left fork and continued about 0.25 miles to the Soda Canyon Trail. It took me 0.45 minutes to arrive at the Soda Canyon Trailhead.
 

The Soda Canyon Trail is a 1.2 mile round trip to overlooks that offer the only views of Balcony House. The trail wasn’t groomed but the route was mostly easy to follow as a wide lane passing through the Juniper and Pinon Pine forest. I got a little confused at the point where the trail crosses a drainage and then turns south. The snow hiking here was harder, with most of my steps sinking in about six inches.

Balcony House doesn't get much direct sunlight in the winter but does appear to provide shelter from the several feet of snow that the area receives. The view is from a distance, but the famous ladder and some of the features can be spotted from the overlook.
 

I spent 0:55 minutes on the Soda Canyon Trail and my total hike took 2:20 hours on a 28 F degree sunny mid January day. I didn't complete the 6 mile loop, but returned the way I came for a total of about 4.2 miles. No one else was using the trail during my hike.