Golden Gate Canyon State Park

I was invited (by whom I do not now remember) to go camping in the state park. It was car-camping and the children were much younger than me, so there was not much for me to do.

Thorodin Mountain

On my many bike rides up Coal Creek Canyon and along the southern stretches of CO 119, I had admired Thorodin Mountain and Tremont Mountain, and thought I could climb one or both. There used to be a fire lookout on top of Thorodin Mountain, so I chose that one first. The day started with a misty rain that calmed to a heavy fog as I climed higher, so I navigated by following the ridge and using my internal compass. All of my hiking was cross-country. 

Aspen in early summer

On the lower slopes of Thorodin Mountain, I stopped in a stand of aspen and recorded the verdure of early summer.

I continued to climb, and after some time came to a level spot on the top of the ridge. As I continued north toward where I expected the fire tower to be, I came upon an extraordinary sight: In front of me was a piece of a tree -- about the size of a 2x4 and ten feet long. The wood was not greyed with age or faded. It must have come to rest there only recently.

A chunk of wood, blown out
of a tree by lightning.

I glanced around and spotted a tree about 20 feet away with a bright scar on its trunk. I quickly came to the conclusion that the tree had been hit by lightning. The jolt had caused water in the trunk to evaporate, blowing a chunk of wood out of its side. I took a photo to record the scene, with the wood shard in the foreground and the "donor" tree in the background. In a twist on the old conundrum, "If a tree gets struck by lightning in a forest, and no people are around to see it ... they are all pretty lucky." Ruling out the lightning bolt itself, you can put a lower bound on the amount of energy released by the tree as it parted with a 10 lb chunk of itself that landed 20 feet away. You can bet it made some sound!

Meadows in the Park

I walked on until I came to the base of the fire tower. I don't think I bothered climbing it, as there would have been no better view from the top. I turned around and headed southwest toward Tremont Mountain. To get there, I had to cross the road that passes through the middle of the park. The fog had lifted a bit my midday, so I was able to locate the road with ease. Perhaps I stopped in at the campsite for lunch. I remember walking along it for some distance to the west, to more easily reach the lower slopes of Tremont Mountain.

Then, it was cross-country hiking again. I don't remember much from my afternoon hike, not even whether I reached the summit. It would have been remarkable, for example, if I'd gotten caught out in the dark or sprained my ankle or whatnot. Often, boring is just fine.