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Dreaming of a Lush, Mountain Meadow

© B. J. Barton

November is a hard time of year for me, with the daylight time growing shorter and the temperature growing colder. In the early part of the month there are still some leaves left on the trees and shrubs. When the first good frost comes, it clings to leaves and branches with an icy kind of beauty. But that doesn't last, and it just seems to hasten the last of the leaves to fall. Then colors are muted to grays and browns, not yet covered by winter snow. This time of year, it helps if I spend some time dreaming of a lush green meadow.

The one I have in mind right now is off the beaten path just outside the northwest edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is at the trailhead that takes you into the Neota Wilderness area and the Never Summer Mountains. This is a subalpine meadow at 10,500 feet, and the dirt road into this area is closed until about the first week of June in most years. When you can get to it early enough, it has the feeling of a place that has been wild and undisturbed for a while. A Snowshoe Hare and Pine Marten may cross the road in front of your car and look at you as if they are surprised to see you there, but as fishermen and photographers and other tourists arrive, they become wary again and are not often seen. More common are the squirrels and deer. It is rumored that a bear wanders through the nearby tent campground at night, but I've never seen it.

The mountains around this area straddle the Continental Divide and are river-makers; headwaters of the Colorado River on the west side, the Cache la Poudre and the Big Thompson River on the east side (both of which flow into the South Platte). These headwaters begin with trickles of water from melting snow banks that gather into boisterous little streams. Some of that melting snow runs down into the meadow and creates wetlands and small ponds, so it is a moist meadow.

For many years, I just took meadows for granted. Here was a meadow and there was a forest. But, then that big question came to mind - Why? The answer I found is that mountain meadows such as this exist where the soil is deep and fine-textured, in places such as old lake beds, flood plains and valley bottoms. This may be where a glacier stopped its forward movement, then melted away leaving a thick layer of fine silt where it came to rest. Trees do not grow well on these soil conditions, but grasses, sedges, forbs, and shrubs such as willows can thrive here. Other clearings in the forest are transitional areas where a fire has burned trees, or where trees have been cut for timber. These areas have the right kind of soil for forest and trees will grow again. Until they do, these clearings let the sunshine in, encouraging the growth of sun-loving plants and providing open habitat for different plants and animals.

Frost on Barberry Leaves

A meadow containing agrostis and panicum

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