Living on the Earth

by Thomas Cleary photo of Willow Lake and upper valley by Emmy Savage The upcoming series of summer articles will highlight several outdoor attractions in and around Crestone and the SLV (San Luis Valley). This first article will focus on great hikes up the drainages around Crestone. Most can be done as day hikes but others will require an overnight except for the fittest of us. But before I jump into where to go, I would like to say a bit about how to go. The current backcountry and frontcountry ethics are based around the 7 principles of Leave No Trace: 1. Plan ahead and...

Within the past 25 years climate in the northern San Luis Valley has changed significantly. As shown by data herein, rising temperatures and falling precipitation are impacting our snowpack, rainfall, stream flow; and indirectly, groundwater levels, vegetation, and fire danger. This article looks at long-term trends in the above parameters, and what we can expect in the future; warmer, drier, and windier conditions. Temperature’s a risin’ Since 1900 Colorado average temperature has risen 2.5°F, with 2/3 of the rise occurring since 1975. In the SLV mean annual temperature rose 2°F since 1913 (Fig. 1). Roughly 2/3 of this rise occurred rapidly...