James E. Ratzloff's Blog
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
In the months of short days and long nights leading to the winter solstice, I stay closer to home, and don't venture out to backpack like I did all spring and summer with my dogs.
This time of year I assess what kind of year I had, and take pleasure in recalling all the places we went and the adventures I shared with those dogs. I find that stories come easy from my wilderness trips.
I havent told anyone about the time we had last June, when we started out at 10,000 feet a half hour before dark. It was a night of the full moon, and I figured I might just keep going after dark. Around 9:30 the sky started to lighten as the moon came up and I rarely needed my headlamp unless we got into thick trees with long shadows.
As if that wasnt enough adventure, when I came to the top of a ridge, I realized I could avoid the hike into and out of a valley if I just followed this ridgeline to the southwest, which was about the same altitude of a large beaver pond meadow where I planned to camp. Without much thought than that I started off trail along the ridge.
It went ok for a while, then my ridge disappeared and I was faced with climbing up and down a jumble of spruce covered hills. I didn't feel like turning around, but kept going, hoping my plan would still work out. I knew about how much above some rapids my meadow destination was, and I tried to keep the sound of those rapids at a distance that I figured was right.
The trip took longer than I expected. Ben and Maggie were confused, but they faithfully followed behind me, trusting that I knew where I was going. As time went on and we walked through more unfamiliar hills and woods, it was darn sure I didn't have the same trust in myself. I wondered how I could do something so stupid. I thought about finding a pond or a small stream for water, and camping at any level spot, and figure this out in the morning.
Then in a matter of five minutes we came down a hill into the meadow with the lazy stream meandering through the beaver pond. I dropped my pack on the edge of the trees, and walked out to the waters edge. The moon was well up into the sky by now, and I could see that we had come out no more than a couple of hundred yards from where I expected to be, after hiking in the dark, off trail for two hours,through an area I had never been in before.
It might have been luck, or good judgement, in keeping myself positioned right in relation to the sound of the rapids. I know enough though about the risks of hiking alone to not get all inflated with the idea that it was my inner Daniel Boone that kicked in, and so of course it came out right. I was lucky, or watched over, and I hope to hell I have sense enough never to try anything like that again.
It feels very good to have had such a year, backpacking in wilderness areas all over Colorado and Montana and Wyoming. I don't take my good health for granted, and will work hard to keep up my strength all winter, so I can start again next Spring right where I left off this fall.
You won't find me sitting home alone on these dark nights though, especially on weekends. I will be out dancing, holding pretty ladies, feeling their breath in their firm backs, and watching them smile so beautifull as we dance to live music in the Western honky tonks. It is a wild, exciting, passionate life, and I love it, almost as much as I do the wilderness. I expect a story or two will probably come from these solstice nights of celebration as well.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
One thing you learn from wilderness is to be calm, and have a quiet mind. What I mean is there is so much beauty up there, you learn to pay attention, and just take it all in. There is plenty of peace up there. I think it comes from the touch of the Creator on the forests, mountains, and streams. Up there I feel closer to Divinity than I ever have in a church.
I am headed up again on Sunday. I have gone over many possible destinations, but the one I am tending towards is a 11 mile hike up a long valley, from 8,000 feet up to 12,000 feet. It is such an incredible place. I went up there last year in June, and in four days did not see one person in that high valley - just deer, coyote, moose, and elk. I likely will camp in the trees just below treeline, and go up hiking across the alpine plateaus when the weather is good. They already have snow on them.
I am looking forward to it, and expect to have a great time - just me and my dogs, on the trail alone. Every time I go up there I can't help but say a prayer of thanks for these dogs, who are such good companions, and who love the wilderness every bit as much as I do. I also offer a thanks for the health and strength to hike up there, and pray that it continues for many more years. I am realistic about it though. There surely will be a time when I won't be able to carry a heavy pack up to timberline. And knowing that I enjoy it all the more, while I still can.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I kept going further than I had planned, because of the existence of three hunting camps in the lower part of the valley. I normally have this valley all to myself, and I didn't think it would be safe to have my dogs around the hunting camps. (Musket season opened in Colorado last Saturday, Sept 9th).
When I finally stopped to set up camp further up the valley it was well after dark and still raining. I was exhausted and hungry - likely at the beginning stages of hypothermia.
I quickly set up my tent as close as I could get to a tall spruce, hoping it would offer some shelter against the pounding rain. I threw my backpack and gear inside, and covered my sleeping bag with a waterproof lining, so my sopping dogs would not get it wet.
Before bedtime I went down to the stream for water. I was thinking I needed to be careful and try to turn around and examine some landmarks that would show me the way back to camp. There wasn't much, except lots of spruce and lodgepole illuminated by my headlamp.
I started back, and missed the tent. I couldn't believe it - exactly what I didn't want to happen. I wasn't sure which way to go to look for it.
My male border collie appeared in the light in front of me and I told him to go find the tent. A couple of minutes later I saw red eyeshine in the forest, and I followed it. It was Ben, and he was standing right next to the tent.
When I unzipped it, him and Maggie jumped inside, and I followed.
I slept a long, restful night, as did Ben and Maggie. Snowlevel came down to timberline, not far above my campsite. Check out my photos from the trip. It was a good night to be in a warm sleeping bag.
-Jim Ratzloff
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Its been a good summer. Me and the dogs have gotten out a lot. It seems forever since I was hiking to the high country as soon as the snow melted in June, and at times going over or around snow piles. Now in September, we are probably a few weeks away of next winter's first snow.
One of my best trips was down in the San Juans in mid July. We hit it right when the wildflowers were in peak bloom.
I am planning a trip for this Friday evening. We will head up in the afternoon, after a nature program, and stay up for a couple of days. I was thinking today how great it is to go up there with my two dogs. I think the freedom is intensified when you are not leaving anyone home, when noone is waiting for you. The two who love me more than anybody else are heading up with me, in front of me. (my dogs). I can't wait. I think I will start gathering my gear and begin packing tonight.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I love this time of year - I go up to Montana and Wyoming, and wander around in my pickup with my two border collies. I will mix day hikes with some backpack trips. I plan to go up some trails that are considered dangerous because of the grizzly activity.
Its a pretty good life - makes me feel alive. I make sure I am near town on weekends, so I can dance with the ladies at the Cowboy Bar in Jackson and Cassie's in Cody. That also makes me feel alive.
Yeehah.
Protecting my food from large nightime visitors is on my mind this time of year, just before my annual trip to Wyoming and Montana.
Along these lines, please check out my new article on keeping your food safe from bears in the backcountry.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I had a great trip last week to the San Juan Mountains. It was hard - the trail went up 2800 feet in three miles, from 9800 to 12600 feet.
I will write more about this later. For now, check out my photos from this trip.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Tomorrow I am heading down to Southwest Colorado, to climb to a high basin with my border collies. Me and the dogs will camp at around 12,600 feet, in a basin I have heard described as one of the most beautiful places in America.
It goes without saying I am excited about this trip. Check back in about a week to see my photos from it. I will place links to them here, in the blog, rather in my backpacking article.
I am planning to convert the articles to more 'How To' essays of backpacking basics. Here in the blog I will describe my personal backpack trips.
Have a good week. I think I will. I plan to get a good dose of Freedom and Beauty and Mystery as I explore up there during the day, then sit and watch darkness envelope the high peaks and valleys below in the evenings. It does not get better than that.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
When the trail is steep and hard, that is just what it is. I deal with it and keep going. Actually, I make sure I take plenty of rest and food and water stops to keep my energy level up.
When someone else is with you, and they begin whining about how difficult the trail is, it is another thing entirely. I think the conditions of the trail become twice as bad.
I was reminded why I almost never go backpacking with another person.
Amy is my daughter though, and I am the kind of Dad that will put up with an awful lot hoping she will have a memorable and exciting time.
She did. Now that we are back and the memory of the mosquitos and rain and difficult hike are gone, I am sure Amy is
proud of herself for having accomplished such a feat.
I know I have good memories of us checking out the view of the Continental Divide from our campsite, and sitting around the campfire talking.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I have carried my pack on my morning walks so long, it feels odd to be with out it. I have several dumbbells in a stuff sack inside the pack, bringing it up to 37 pounds. This works for me - as long as I get out and walk often. Having two border collies helps me in this. They wake up happy and excited - knowing first thing we do is go out for a walk. I don't have the heart to disappoint them. On the very few times I have done this, they act downright depressed, as if I let them down. (that is how I feel).
Border collies are very smart animals, and they look forward to simple things like walks and dog agility and riding in the truck and going backpacking. They help me keep my life centered on simplicity, enjoying those activities with them. It is a pretty good way to live.
My daughter is going backpacking with me in a week. My article this month is about preparing for our backpack trip. It mentions that if she doesnt train I might end up carring the bulk of our gear. Because of that I am training extra hard. I never have been able to get my daughters to do a whole lot of what I want them to. I probably am too easy on them (too nice a Dad).
And by the way, I discovered that taking dried milk and small shredded what cubes is a great, lightweight breakfast. I preferred the cinammon flavored ones.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
My article this week is sort of personal - and revealing. It kind of implies that I never clean my house - just spend my time out in the backcountry with my dogs whenever I get a chance. That is only true in the summer months, when I don't have any visitors coming.
In my defense I mowed the lawn this week, and I loaded the dishwasher last week. I think the week before that I vacuumed, but I am not sure.
Well there could be worse things than living a cheerfully irresponsible life, free to climb up to experience the beauty and mystery of the high country with a couple of like-minded canine companions.
Like I say in the article, I am not a total recluse. My social life consists of dancing every Saturday night at the country dance hall I have been going to for the last fifteen years. I am pretty excited, because on July 1st our entire state is going smoke free, including bars and restaurants. (Colorado). That means for the next fifteen or twenty years or until I drop dead I can go dancing and not have it be bad for my health.
I don't drink any alcohol, or have any caffeine, ever. I guess my only vice is enjoying the firm feel of those gorgeous Saturday night ladies, and seeing how beautiful they are when they smile. I am not sure that is a vice though - more like good karma.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
The experience of a Lousiana man in Rocky Mountain National Park affirms how cautious and alert to your surroundings you have to be when you hike alone.
Terry Harlon of Shreveport, Lousiana went on a day hike, and kept going when the snow got deep. At some point he lost the trail, and ended up spending 5 days in the backcountry.
When I backpack alone, I try to be cautions and conservative in what I will try. It is important to remember that no one will be coming for you for a long time if you get in trouble (if ever).
What I can't figure out about Harlan though, is when he got lost, why didn't he just backtrack his footprints in the snow back to the trailhead?
Last October I hiked deep into a wilderness, knowing that a big snowstorm was predicted. The snow came as promised, and it was one of the best backcountry trips I have had. I found a rock overhang to camp under, and snow never touched my tent. Me and my dogs constantly went out exploring, then coming back to warm by a fire underneath my rock roof. My truck was the only vehicle at the trailhead when I walked out, meaning me and my border collies had miles and miles of wilderness to just us three. That can only happen in the West. Check out some photographs of this trip.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
We learn from out mistakes. It would be nice to find a way to not make them though, especially when you are in the backcountry and your options are limited. Read my article this week to find about the latest stupid thing I did, and avoid it.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Tonight I will gather my tent and backpack and sleeping bag and drop them all in the living room, along with everything else I don't want to forget. Me and my border collies will be going up alone to a high wilderness, off trail, where I don't expect to see anyone else.
It is all about freedom and wide open spaces and snow and high skies and beauty. Check back next week to see how our trip went. Here are some more thoughts before leaving.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I try to get an early start so I can have my tent set up well before dark. A tent is your home in the backcountry, and goes along way at making your backpack trip successfull. Check out my article this week about selecting a tent site.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
My choices of destinations for going backpacking this weekend are limited, with the snow level at 10,000 feet.
What I would like to find is a dry area with a good view of snow-covered peaks. I may give in though and head up with some snowshoes on - but haven't decided yet.
My articles on trip planning discuss what you go through when getting ready for a backpack trip.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I have come a long ways since I started backpacking frequently. At first I was a little unsettled spending nights alone out in complete quiet and darkness. These are not things we get to be around very much as we grow up, and they take some getting used to.
After many years of going out alone, I consider that country similar to my home, and the silence and darkness of wilderness night are nothing but comforting and healing.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Taking walks with children in nature one of my favorite subjects, to write about and do. The best times I remember from my daughter's childhoods were from when we tromped around down in the woods and meadows of the greenbelt with our dogs. We shared the experience of coming across foxes and lightning bugs and night herons and observed the day-to-day changes in the seasons as they grew up.
A child's imagination and creativity and sense of awe is nutured by contact in nature. Read my article this week for more information about children and nature.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I have camped above timberline quite a few times, and I always worry when storm clouds start building. There are few places to be safe from lightning up out of the trees. Actually, it is hard to find anywhere totally safe in a severe lightning storm. I have stood on ridges and seen lightning hit trees in the center of valleys. In storms like that, you just hope it is not your time, and feel awfully relieved when it moves off to the east (from a Rocky Mountain perspective).
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I went hiking last weekend and came across some early wildflowers in bloom, on the edge of the foothills.
I was happy to be up there, and it made me craving for some time that I could disappear into a wilderness with my two border collies.
As you get older you realize that money can only do so much for you - it surely is overrated. What is important is time, and the health to get out and enjoy how beautiful each day on this earth can be.
That is sort of what my article is about this week, how backpacking can change what you thought was important.
Anyway, her is a picture of a mountain ball cactus from my hike, and here is a sand lily in bloom.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
My article this week is on getting an early start. The pictures from this trip probably do more to establish my point that what I can say about it. On this trip I camped at the Montana trailhead the evening before - had my pack ready, was well rested, and started at dawn the next morning. I had hiked 9 miles uphill by 2:30 pm - which allowed me to rest and wander around that beautiful high country.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I love backpacking gear. I get in a good mood when I start gathering it together to go on a trip. It is my ticket to freedom and relaxation, not to mention the beauty and mystery that is present in wilderness. Check out article on online deals for backpacking gear.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
There is nothing like holding a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate while you watch the sun turn the peaks above you golden with the first light. To get that hot cup in your hands, you need a dependable backpack stove.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Over the next four days I will take another backpack trip, then lead a nature program on Saturday. My program is titled 'Animal Stories and Famous Naturalists.' What we will do is walk along a trail in a gorgeous county park - one with meadows, ponderosa pine forests, and some large rock formations. I will tell share some quote by Rachel Carson, John Muir, John Burroughs, and Enos Mill, and tell a bit about their lives. I will also carry my backpack full of stuffed animals, photos, and toys, for the children that are along. One of my favorite toys to share is that of a Spiked Tail Predator , made by Kenner toys in 1994. It looks so much like a ambush bug, that I figure the designers must have used the ambush bug as a model. I will explain to the children that the ambush bug is a predator, who sits in wait on sunflowers or goldenrods, for a butterfly or a bee to come along. It grabs the butterfly or bee by the leg or proboscis, and quickly stings it. The venom of the ambush bug paralyzes the bee or butterfly, and causes their insides to turn to soup. The ambush bug then drinks the insides.
Kids say 'eewwww', 'grossss', and then 'cool.' The ambush bug is so strange and marvelous, like an alien, that they are likely to remember it, and maybe a spark of wonder will be initiated in them.
But before my program I am off for a couple of days backpacking with the dogs. I am looking forward to getting some more pictures and perhaps a story or two for an upcoming article.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Backpacking and hiking are such good hobbies because by their nature they slow us down, cause us to pay attention to what the day is like. I see that as a fine thing, because then we notice things that have been taken for granted, or perhaps have not seen before. A case in point was one August when I backpacked up to a lake basin on the west side of the Tetons. A rainstorm moved in just as I reached a small lake. I quickly set up the tent and lied down in it with my border collies, thinking I would take a nap before cooking dinner. It had been a gruelling steep hike. A half hour later the tent lightened. I went outside to find the sun had just come out, and had made a perfect rainbow over the lake, only a few hundred yards away.
I like this quote, which is another way of saying what I am trying to:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"
- Author Unknown
Here is a photo I took of the rainbow over the lake, as it lifted away:
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
Was able to get away and do some early season backpacking the last few days. This is the time of year to get out, if you don't care for crowds on the trail. I climbed up a ridge, to 8800 feet, where there was just snow left in the shades of north slopes. It could not have been better - wandering around with my border collies, watching the light change on the forest as the sun set.
Getting out like that away from the noise and speed of my typical day makes me feel like I have found my authentic life again.
Posted by James E. Ratzloff
I have backpacked for many years, and have lots to say about destinations and gear, and the spirit-renewing nature of wilderness travel.