Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Wild Places Around Us...

Dallas With The Wellsville Mountains
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2010 jim otterstrom

This photo was taken from the road my mom lives on, about 100 yards south of her house.

The view is to the east and that's the Wellsville Mountains Wilderness in the background, home to deer, elk, moose, mountain lions, bobcats, and bighorn sheep. The Wellsvilles are also located in a major western flyway for raptors.
The Wellsville Mountains run north to south, between us and Logan, Utah. The two highest peaks are Box Elder Peak at 9,372', and Wellsville Cone at 9,356'. Depending upon the source of your information, the Wellsville Mountains are either the steepest mountain range in the U.S., or one of the steepest. Only 5 miles wide, they rise 5,000 feet from the valley floors surrounding them. There are only 17 miles of trail in the mountains and one of these days I'll be hiking them.

Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness Areas Within Bicycling Distance
Area map courtesy of National Geographic Topo! Click to enlarge

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7 Comments:

Blogger susan said...

It's a magnificent area. Don't forget to pack a lunch :-)

1:12 PM  
Blogger Jim said...

susan-

You sound like you know the area, have you hiked the Wellsvilles?

Even though there are only 17 miles of trails in the nearly 24,000 acre wilderness area I understand there are some very steep climbs with elevation gains of 1,000 feet per mile.

Yes, a big breakfast, pack a hefty lunch, and bring lots of water.

1:28 PM  
Blogger Tabor said...

Before I even read to the bottom of your post I could see you salivating! I always worry about mountain lions. They are my only fear in hiking, because you will never see them as they stalk you.

2:28 PM  
Anonymous Tonya said...

Can't wait to see photos from a hiking trip. All I could think when I saw the mountains was....snowshoeing! :-) I would love to look out my windows at those mountains each day.

4:03 PM  
Blogger susan said...

Ahh, I meant the picture but I have made the mistake of going for walks that turned into hikes on the way home. It can be so hard to find nuts and berries when you need them. Darn squirrels.

8:40 AM  
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