"Thunder Thighs" and "Hooligan Hikers" - Defiance 6.20.11

[R11]

At one point, we were pretty sure we saw some Ents!

IMG_6893_4_1.JPG

Two or three years ago I think there was an owl either nesting or attempting to nest in your "Ent" tree. As I came around the bend with the tree in sight uphill the owl came gliding down out of the Ent toward me, and landed in a tree right above where I watched it for a minute before continuing on. When I caught up to a young couple right at the beginning of the switchback section ahead and mentioned it to them they said the owl did the same thing when they went by. I figured it was likely trying to draw attention from the "nest tree" maybe. No sign of it in the years since. It looked like either a spotted or barred owl. Due to it's somewhat aggressive behavior I would guess it was probably a spotted?

Thank you for the great trip report!I hike The BIG D last year and I am planning on leading a hike this Sat, July 2nd and have a couple of questions to ask of you
The snow going down the Defiance trail (west side o mtn) was it, slushy, deep....were traction devices needed?
and
Going Up Starvation trail ( I myself had planned on doing the hike this way too)....according to (this) groups topo map, you can take the first split heading up the mtn to the right( the first big "Y" quite a ways up the trail.... and miss a huge amount of those ''lovely'' switch backs. is this right?

I guess that was more than two ??'s but I would really appreciate what info you can give me!

thank you so much...Like2hikeLeea

That split trail seems to be an artifact from older times, as there doesn't seem to be any clear trails taking off in that direction these days. I've kept an eye out for it a number of times and have never seen any sign of it anyway...


ron

[Bosterson]

The snow going down the Defiance trail (west side o mtn) was it, slushy, deep....were traction devices needed?
and
Going Up Starvation trail ( I myself had planned on doing the hike this way too)....according to (this) groups topo map, you can take the first split heading up the mtn to the right( the first big "Y" quite a ways up the trail.... and miss a huge amount of those ''lovely'' switch backs. is this right?

I've never seen that trail, and have met other people who also don't think it exists anymore. The only trail in that area obviously goes around the bluff to the left.

As for snow, I was on Defiance on the 17th and again on the 21st, and no traction devices are needed. There is no snow until after the Mitchell-Defiance trail junction, and it's mostly tiny patches, until the trail gets lost under a snowbank near the top. At this point you turn right and go straight uphill in a very obvious track, and end up on the road, which is mostly snow-covered (but melting fast!) - you follow this to the top. In between the first and second times I was up there this month, the snow had melted back from the summit to near the last bend in the road. I would guess there's even less snow up there now.

[Don Nelsen]

The snow going down the Defiance trail (west side o mtn) was it, slushy, deep....were traction devices needed?
and
Going Up Starvation trail ( I myself had planned on doing the hike this way too)....according to (this) groups topo map, you can take the first split heading up the mtn to the right( the first big "Y" quite a ways up the trail.... and miss a huge amount of those ''lovely'' switch backs. is this right?

I've never seen that trail, and have met other people who also don't think it exists anymore. The only trail in that area obviously goes around the bluff to the left.

I've noticed that trail on the USGS map too and have looked for it from both ends. There is a pretty good game trail leading off into the woods where the map says the lower end is but I'm sure it's just a game trail and it ends in a short way. I've gone all over the area where the map says the top is and found nothing but game trails - and a lot of them, at that. I've come to the conclusion that it never was there and the map is simply wrong.

dn

[Like2hikeLeea]

Thank you All for your responses, Much appreciated!
Happy trails....

[R11]

At one point, we were pretty sure we saw some Ents!

IMG_6893_4_1.JPG

Two or three years ago I think there was an owl either nesting or attempting to nest in your "Ent" tree. As I came around the bend with the tree in sight uphill the owl came gliding down out of the Ent toward me, and landed in a tree right above where I watched it for a minute before continuing on. When I caught up to a young couple right at the beginning of the switchback section ahead and mentioned it to them they said the owl did the same thing when they went by. I figured it was likely trying to draw attention from the "nest tree" maybe. No sign of it in the years since. It looked like either a spotted or barred owl. Due to it's somewhat aggressive behavior I would guess it was probably a spotted?

Ooops, brain freeze! Meant to say it was probably a Barred Owl due to it's behavior....


ron

[Thunder Thigh 3]

Two or three years ago I think there was an owl either nesting or attempting to nest in your "Ent" tree. As I came around the bend with the tree in sight uphill the owl came gliding down out of the Ent toward me, and landed in a tree right above where I watched it for a minute before continuing on.

Unfortunately, we saw no owls. But a barred owl would have been fun (and appropriate for an Ent, I think)!

The snow going down the Defiance trail (west side o mtn) was it, slushy, deep....were traction devices needed?
Going Up Starvation trail ( I myself had planned on doing the hike this way too)....according to (this) groups topo map, you can take the first split heading up the mtn to the right( the first big "Y" quite a ways up the trail.... and miss a huge amount of those ''lovely'' switch backs. is this right?

Leea, I know you already got a bunch of answers, but snow was no problem when we were up there - in fact it was pretty hard packed with it being such an overcast day. No traction needed. And I'm sure a ton of the snow is gone now. Actually, I had more traction problems (in light trail shoes) coming down the defiance trail. The steep sections were dry, and bits of gravel and debris acted like marbles under my feet. But my shoes have a pretty bland sole. Regarding Starvation trail - yep, the map is wrong. That 'y' just isn't there. We were watching for it, and the trail definitely went around to the left/east of the butte. We kept waiting and waiting for that intersection, as it was one of our goals (make it to that point and we can stop, rest up, hydrate, have lunch) - made for a long slog when we kept expecting a junction. But the switchback section wasn't too bad. Really quite beautiful, but we had nice cool weather for it, too.

You might want some bug repellent. The biting flies were just starting to get annoying when we were up there. I'm sure a nice sunny day will bring them out big time.

Anyway, I hope you have a great trip!

[Waffle Stomper]

Great trip report and pics. Thanks for sharing.