Purgatoire Watershed Ecotour: Exploring our Forest & Alpine Plants

Join us for an exciting day up in the mountains to learn all about our local plants and ecosystems, make some new friends, enjoy some gentle walkabouts, and picnic at what feels like the top of the world! Plus all attendees will be heading home with 4 free new plant ID books for your own walkabout adventures!

We’ll meet at the USDA Service Center office, then head on out the scenic Highway of Legends Byway to take us up into the mountains!

Our first stop will be at the Bar NI Ranch at 8,000 feet elevation to explore our first plant ecosystem – the Ponderosa Pine forest! One of the yummiest smelling ecosystems by far - when you stick your nose into a Ponderosa Pine that amazing smell of vanilla & butterscotch just can’t be beat! We’ll learn to identify some of the cool plants that make their home in this forested environment, and talk a bit about what makes this ecosystem so special.

Then we head on up to Cuchara Pass at 10,000 feet and the John B. Farley Wildflower Overlook! We’ll admire the views, check out the plant life in this beautiful mountain meadow, and learn a bit about the weather/climate measurement systems in place at the top of the watershed!

We’ll weave our way through the forest for our next stop at the USFS Cordova Pass campground just above 11,000 feet, and take a moment to hit the bathrooms and have a snack break (or we’ll eat lunch here, depending on timing).

From here we will head out on a slow and gentle walk through the Subalpine forest to learn more about the plants and trees of this ecosystem. Then we’ll work our way up above the trees into a more alpine environment to what feels like the top of the world at Vista Point for more amazing views and a picnic lunch!

Then we’ll make our way back down checking out more plants along the way and head back!

Please note: This is meant to be a day of slow and gentle exploration, making new friends, and just enjoying the day. The longest walk will be less than 1-mile roundtrip up to Vista Point, which has a gentle elevation gain of about 150 feet. Since we will be at higher elevation, we will be taking it extra slow and gentle and making sure everyone is well hydrated and doing good. Some of us who will be on the trip freely admit that we are completely out of shape and will be walking very slow (and of course being distracted by checking out cool plants along the way). So please join us!

And just bring your own car if you think you may need to leave early, otherwise we will try to carpool!

Bring sun hats and a rain jacket to prepare for all weather opportunities😊

See you there!

And contact Julie Knudson 970-420-1915 amtudWRzb24gfCBwdXJnYXRvaXJlcGFydG5lcnMgISBvcmc= with any questions!

Thank you so much to all attendees for your interest and engagement, and thanks to all of our other generous sponsors and partners, including Bar NI Ranch, NRCS, PRWCD, SPPRCD, USACE, and more!

Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Trinidad.