Fighting Beetle

The trail continues just above Copper Village shops and views of many condos.

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Then close to 3000 feet climb, with the reward of walking along a ridge with a view of rocky peaks.

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From the heights we can see the Copper Mountain complex below.

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As the trail falls off the ridge we had walked along, that ridge becomes one of those steep rocky un-hikeable peaks like we often admire in the distance.

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Some light rain falls, no big deal.

The path descends down to Gold Hill trail, with evidence of cutting along the path.

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At first it is not obvious why these trees are down. Then we see an almost clear-cut area.

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This must fight beetle infestation. Then the trail has a detour for logging operations.

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The trail crosses CO9 and passes through a high-end trailer park development, similar to Surprise AZ.

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The path gains 1000 feet of elevation and meanders through high forest, with continuing evidence of cutting to defend against beetle.

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Somewhere after the high ridge after Copper Mountain, water sources along the trail are much less common. No frequent stream crossings, no streams from snow-melt. What has changed?

Day 26, 7/13/2014, Sunday
Start 26-218XL in Copper Mountain ski area mile 1207, elevation 10320
End 28-065XX, mile 1230, elevation 10038

Author: Jim, Sagebrush

Jim (trail-name Sagebrush) codes audio software for Windows, Linux, Android, and embedded systems. When not working at sagebrush.com, he enjoys backpacking, which this blog is about.