A pine tree grew near the shore of Clear Lake. A canoe rested nearby on the marshy bank. I sat on a rock beside the canoe and could see my future, even that many decades ago. My visit to Michigan's Clear Lake Camp was my first experience being in a forest. I knew I wanted to come back again to smell the soil and daydream among the maze of trees.
Many of us received some good news March 25th. After months of partisan strife, the US House of Representatives joined the Senate approving a bill that offers one of the largest expansions of wilderness protection in 30 years. Setting aside more than two million acres in nine states, the much-awaited bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.
Land to be protected includes Rocky Mountain National Park, California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, Oregon's Mount Hood and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Including 5,000 hiking trails, the bill also expands protection to rivers and other important water resources.
Wilderness areas are where so many of us go to renew, restore and rejoice. It is in the forest or high on a treeless mountain summit where so many of us are able to retune and re-adjust our attitudes and outlook. There's no place in the world like a wilderness. My favorite place is the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.
One of the crown jewels in Colorado, the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area preserves an extensive series of mountains, lakes and hardy open lands. Located in the Arapaho and the Roosevelt National Forests, the IPWA was recognized by Congress in 1978 and added to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
It is called Indian Peaks Wilderness because many of the peaks throughout the area are named for Native American tribes of the west. This wilderness landscape covers nearly 75,000 acres, following the Continental Divide south for some 16 miles. Rocky Mountain National Park borders its northern side. Indian Peaks contains numerous cirque basins with remnant glaciers, acres of fragile alpine tundra, and dozens of lakes. Streams in the wilderness include South and Middle St. Vrain, Boulder, Buchanan, Cascade, and Arapaho Creeks. My husband and I have hiked them all.
Wildlife consists of elk, mule deer (distinguished by their large ears), mountain lions, black bears, bobcat, ptarmigan, and snowshoe rabbit. The fishing at Indian Peaks Wilderness presents an angler's paradise. In the high streams swim native cutthroat and rainbow, brook, and brown trout.
The Indian Peaks Wilderness Area is one of the most frequently visited areas in the Rocky Mountain region. Dogs must be leashed at all times for good reason: Leashed dogs offer less chance of contact with wildlife. In addition, leashed dogs provide a more enjoyable experience for other hikers. (Some people may not want to be eagerly greeted by your affectionate dog.) Some forests allow dogs off leash (depending on the county). However, in the wilderness dogs are required to be on leash at all times, and in national parks no dogs are allowed.
What else distinguishes a wilderness from a national park or national forest?
A designated wilderness area is a place where the imprint of the human audience is substantially unnoticed and (hopefully) remains that way. The lands are protected and valued for their experiential, ecological, historical, scientific resources. There are no roads, for instance, in a wilderness area.
The United States Congress passed the Wilderness Act in 1964, restricting grazing, mining and mechanized vehicles or equipment in these selected wilderness areas in an effort to keep the wilderness wild.
Make a plan to hike into a wilderness area. Even today when visiting the backcountry I get that same gleeful feeling I had so many years ago as a fifth grader contemplating her destiny.
Broomfield City Councilwoman Bette Erickson and her husband, Paul Beaty, are IndianPeaks Wilderness Area backcountry volunteers. To find out how you can be an IPWA volunteer, contact Bette at
bette_erickson@hotmail.com.