August 15, 2007

Blowdowns

White firs knocked over by June 2007 windstorm in the Wet Mountains. M. was traveling outside Colorado when the windstorm of June 6 swept through the Wet Mountains (and the flycatchers' nest).

Here she views a patch of knocked-over white firs in the Wet Mountains weeks after the storm.

This particular ridge is full of older blowdowns. Eventually the aspen fill in around them and the trunks lose their smaller branches, forming gigantic log breastworks in the midst of an aspen grove.

Once when hunting in this area I became a "mite turned around," but regained my sense of place when I remembered that the blown-over trunks usually point northeast like so many compass needles.

2 comments:

mdmnm said...

That's a big one! Great shelter for critters and an absolute joy to negotiate with a full pack!

Chas S. Clifton said...

Yes, and I could not even photograph all of that patch, which was at least two acres in size. More on the effects of the windstorm here.