Fairy Slippers

According to Greek mythology (such as in the Iliad), there was an oceanid nymph named Kalypso who lived in peaceful isolation in a luxurious cave on an island called Ogygia. Named after this nymph, the mysterious and beautiful Calypso Orchid (also known as the fairy slipper or Venus' slipper) prefers solitude and undisturbed sanctuaries within the northern forested regions around the globe. Specific conditions of shade and forest are needed to naturally support the 10cm tall plant whose purple blooms can be a pleasant sporadic sight on hiking trails from in the early summer, yet the plants come to full bloom in nearly twenty years. The rarity of the bloom is the biggest draw for people, since it is considered an endangered species throughout the US and other countries. It is easily disturbed and does not transplant well, mainly owing to its dependence on specific soil fungi and "pollination by deception" with insects.

This was some of the background information I learned from Vic in the car on the way to our hike this morning. This was HD (hike day) number two, and I still have to go with someone else since I don't get officially backcountry trained until the overnight trip next Monday-Tuesday. We headed down towards the southeast corner of the park to the Wild Basin area, and Vic was really excited to see some of the rare orchids that bloom down there for just a few weeks during this time of the year.

The nice thing about hiking with Vic was our pacing. We ended up only doing about eight miles, but it took the same amount of time as the sixteen mile hike Aubrey and I did on Saturday. Let me give you a little background on Vic: He is a retired Texas cop who worked for the Sherrif after retirement before deciding to work seasonally in RMNP. This is his seventh? year in the BCO (Backcountry Office) and he is probably a little over sixty years old altogether. He loves learning about the plants and animals, so I definitely got a botany lesson on our hike! We took time to look up each of the flowers we paced and literally "stopped to smell the roses."

Just a little bit down the trail, we spotted our first Calypso Orchid on the left side (creek side) of the path. I had only seen one of these flowers so far and wasn't really sure what we were looking for and couldn't believe how tiny it was! I could tell how it got its nickname because it really does look like a ballet slipper of sorts. I also realized that if I had been going my normal pace without Vic, I would have walked right past this and the other dozen or so that we saw on the trail throughout the whole day. By opening up my eyes, slowing down, and soaking in the sights around me I was able to see this flower that is extremely rare for most people.

As we continued down after that first sighting, we came to the first backcountry campsite we were inspecting about two miles down the trail. When we reached the tent area, we were astonished to see the remains of a campfire from the night before (campfires are illegal in almost all backcountry sites), trash, a shovel, and CIGARETTE BUTTS when there weren't even any permits written for that site to be used! Let me work backwards here and say that I just don't get the smoking when people are backcountry camping and trying to enjoy the wilderness and fresh air. The other stuff about illegal camping and campfires though drives me crazy too.

Ok, so it's been raining and snowing here and the fire danger is super low right now. That still doesn't make it ok to do whatever these visitors want to do. The rules have been established since WAY before I got here to make sure the park is a safe environment for everyone because it is a park for the people--a National park. Thirty-one years ago, a huge chunk of the area we were hiking was taken out by a wildfire and the evidence is still all around. You can see stripes down the sides of the mountains where the burn was. Granted, there is a lot of regrowth from the Aspen and Lodgepole Pines because fire helps them grow the fastest, but you can still see the scar on the earth.

The fact that people act without giving any regard to their surroundings is starting to make me sad. Misisng out on the Calypso or the marmot that was pretending to be a turtle underneath a rock today or the beauty and amazing sounds of the roaring cascades and waterfalls we passed throughout the day would make me feel like I missed out on the main park experience. This whole day definitely taught me I need to slow down so I don't miss the little things in life.