The hunters are in the woods now, looking for deer and elk. I meant to bring my blaze orange vest, but forgot. So I hoped that staying on the trail, especially one where I see few deer and fewer hunters, would keep me safe.
There were some boot tracks from the trailhead to the split between Yule Creek and Anthracite Pass. I took the former, and the other person or persons must have taken the latter, as the snow was untracked after that point.
About half way up I started seeing paw prints, probably from a mountain lion (though I'm no tracker). They continued the rest of the way, but I saw no wildlife.
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| the Yule Creek valley |
This is one of my favorite places to go, because it's close to home and the view from this point is hard to match. I call those mountains (two unnamed, and Mt. Justice) the "baby bells" for their similarity to the Maroon Bells, about fifteen or so miles to the east.
