Tworoose Pass Trail

Heading up toward Tworoose Pass (no idea what the name means) provides magnificent views of Big Ridge (yep, that meaning is pretty obvious) and Lake Fork drainage.

A spring-fed trough provided a nice drink for Mischief.  He's not getting ridden much this year, but he gets his exercise by following Coco and Boss.

We came to quite a bit of snow in a Ponderosa Pine forest just over 10,000 ft.  Fortunately, critter traffic created a snow-free lane that worked perfectly for us.  We saw quite a few deer and elk on the way up, so plenty of wildlife is going through these woods.

At the edge of the big meadow, we had a nice view of Duck Mountain (another strange name, related to the Duck Lake located in the valley below).

Mischief made his buddies jealous when he enjoyed the freedom of a roll.

Before he got up, he used his back hoof to scratch his itchy jaw.

He's looking a little dirty here.  But that roll sure did feel good.

By the time we reached Baum Lake, the trail was getting muddy.  One side of the lake was rimmed with frost and snow.

When we took a granola bar break.  Mischief wanted to share.  

Then Coco wanted some, too.

Mischief is moving his lips hoping to get one more taste.
Daisy would have wanted a bite, but she had to stay home.  We thought the ride would be too long and hot for her, with not enough water holes.

Tworoose Pass Trail

This scenic Utah trailhead is close to home

Starting at 8500 feet, we ride along a rocky trail lined with serviceberry,

with plenty of balsamroot and Indian paintbrush in bloom,

These unknown yellow flowers set off the view.

Cliff-rose are also in bloom. 

Much of the trail is shaded by aspen, dressed in spring green.

A forest service sign points out the Tworoose Pass trail.

When we reach 10,500, we can gaze across a mile-long meadow toward the base of Duck Peak (11,500 ft) .  

A deep snowdrift still remains where spruce shades the ground. 

Miniature bluebells bloom in the high meadow. 

This bittercress is also tiny, but perfect, and blooming profusely in the sub-alpine terrain.

TwoRoose Pass

In this sign, Tworoose is mispelled, or else the map spelling is wrong.  Hard to know.

On the way up, Steve stops to take photos while Boss grabs a snack.

We see a blue butterfly and a fly both attracted to moist dirt,

and a white butterfly on a flower.

A woodpecker looks down from an aspen branch.

Sometimes Mischief is slow on the hills.  Steve and Boss wait impatiently...

As we approach the snowline, a herd of elk come into view.  We see them in this meadow every spring at about this time.

The elk don't hang around to get acquainted.

After the herd scatters, Boss and Steve continue across the meadow.  Snow stops us from reaching TwoRoose Pass.  We'll come back in a month when the snow is melted.

Into the High Country

We ride into the high country on a trail leading to Tworoose Pass. 

We go through open country,

and aspen forests,

passing a few giant spruce.

At 10,300 feet, we reach snow.

We trudge through about 50 yards of snow, some of it 2-3 feet deep, to a wet meadow on the other side.  Elk tend to hang out in meadows near the snow line.  They like to graze on the first shoots of tender spring grass.

Yes, there they are! 

Eventually, the elk see us. 

Daisy wants to play, but they don't stay around to oblige.

Baum to the Spirits

The skies were mostly blue on a recent ride to Baum Lake (just off of the Tworoose Pass Trail, the scene of our recent Wrong Way Janie disorientation debacle).  The lake was frozen.  Breaking the thick ice to give Daisy and the horses a chance to drink was a challenge.

We managed to ride 19 miles and almost 4000 feet elevation gain and loss without misplacing anyone! 

This was November 10th at 10,500 feet.  As you can see, no snow.  Everyone seems to be looking a different direction, taking in a different view. 

Not too shabby, any way you look.

For a peek at skies from all over the world, click here.

Wrong Way Janie

Anticipating the return of cold weather and some serious snow, we've been riding in the high country as often as possible.  Last Saturday, we rode on the Tworoose Pass trail, traveling up a ridge to the east of Rock Creek. 

The above photo looks to the west toward Big Ridge, another of our favorite rides.

We had a small snag in plans when Steve and Boss galloped ahead into this aspen and spruce maze...

...and disappeared. 

Mischief and I saw only one path, which happened to be the wrong one!  We trotted onward for at least half a mile before our mistake became apparent.  By that time, Steve and Boss had gone back looking for us.  Oops. 

Whenever I hollered, Mischief whinnied, as if to insist he could call a lot louder than I could.  True enough.   Still, in deep timber, sound doesn't go very far.  I was feeling a little lonely, and Mischief was a little worried about bears.  An hour or more later, we managed to reunite with Steve and Boss, our big, brave protectors.

Unfortunately, Steve had been following Daisy for most of that time, assuming she had her nose to the ground tracking me. 

Bad on Daisy.  She was apparently tracking elk! (You can see a couple of elk in the center of the above photo.)

This little adventure illustrates the enormous size of the country we ride in.   Never fear, though, we both had our GPS's and could have followed the trackback to the trailer, even if we hadn't found each other before then.

For more views of faraway lands and skies, click here.