Colorado’s aspens are calling, and so are its oaks, willows, cottonwoods and even poison ivies. They’re inviting you and the kids to immerse yourself in the best time of year for hiking. So let’s make all of the season’s hikes “Colorific!”
- Go where there’s color– High country aspens are currently peaking along the drive to the Alpine Garden Loop, (“Best Hikes” #17) in the Mount Evans Recreation Area. So head to the mountains soon. However, aspens planted in public gardens and around homes as low as 6,000′ will begin their color show much later in the season, so you and the kids haven’t missed collecting the trees’ golden coin leaves.
- Aspen White Face– Stop at an aspen tree early in the hike to tell your crew it’s time to put on face paint for the color hunt. Demonstrate by gently rubbing your finger on the tree trunk and applying the white powder to your face or a companion’s. You’ll quickly discover how kids love to finger paint each other and themselves. Your crew will be interested in learning that elk, after giving birth eat the tree’s bark for its aspirin like properties. Also, the powder is rumored to be a mild (SPF 5) sun protection for human skin.
- From now through November, 719 area’s “Best Hikes” 20 through 26 feature oaks in their finest bronze tones with cottonwoods and willows in shades of gold. To learn more about the area’s trees plan your outing to include a visit at the nature centers at each of these trails; Castlewood Canyon State Park (#20), Garden of the Gods Park ( #21), Bear Creek Nature Center (#23), Fountain Creek Nature Center (#24), and the Helen Hunt Visitor Center (#25).
- Fall Color Dress Up– Let your kids dig into their collections of T-shirts, jackets and hats in search of fall colors to wear on the trail. Encourage then to don not just autumn’s reds, oranges, golds and browns, but also the lavenders, pinks, and dark blues of the wildflowers still doing their thing.
- Leaves of Three, Let them Be– Poison ivy dressed in autumn’s finest colors tempts every “pretty leaf” collector. Know that pois
on ivy thrives in areas popular with hikers and that its fall wardrobe is vast; you’ll see the three-leafed plant in pale pink, yellow, gold, bronze and glossy burgundy. Before hiking remind your companions to look first, then count the leaves which are oval in shape and about as long as your thumb, making sure three of them are not attached to one stem.
- Rubbings & Wrappers – Pack paper, crayons, and something firm and flat to make leaf rubbings on. Also, wrap the paper around an aspen tree trunk and use a crayon to highlight the patterns of a bear claw scar or the “eye” shape where a limb once emerged. Back at home your collectors will want to create drawings using their leaves as the shapes for characters
- Leaf Launch – At creek crossings, your kids can send a rainbow of colors downstream by releasing their leaf collection of yellows, pinks, oranges, greens and browns in whatever color stream they choose. Discover what makes a leaf floatable or fast by launching leaves of different shapes and sizes.
- Color Call Out– Take turns being the Color Chief who calls out a color, preferably one that’s not too common on the trail, that each hiker runs to touch. Or, where colorful leaves dot the trail, the Color Chief announces a search for leaves in “Reds & Greens,” or “with three colors,” or “mostly gold” or whatever color combo your companion decides.
- Seedy Sleeves – Loosely wrap a wide strip of tape, sticky side out, around the wrist or ankle of your companions. Tell your child that he/she will be moving through the woods like a coyote, mountain lion, or bear collecting seeds on its fur. At rest stops, examine the collection, deciding which little bit is a seed and how it could be food for a bird, a fish or perhaps become a seedling next spring.
- Close up Views – A magnifying lens is a perfect tool for examining your color collection during lunch stop.
- Vitamins for the Soul– Celebrate the season’s best under the branches of a sun-soaked tree (preferably aspen or cottonwood) dressed in gold. Tell your crew that in the fall, as Joni Mitchell once sang, “sun comes down like butterscotch and sticks to all our senses.” Encourage them to stand tall and let the sun soak in like a vitamin that will keep them warm through winter. Pause to breathe slowly and look up into the branches and sky. Moments like this will also help them remember the Colorfic hikes they had with you.
My next column will describe several ways to preserve these wonderful fall moments outdoors with your kids.
Bella likes face painting her brother James with aspen bark powder.
Fall colors include the full range of hues, including pink with freckles!
