< PREVIOUS ] [ 2002 Index ] [ Ed Quillen HOME ] [ SEARCH ] [ NEXT >
As may be the case in many municipalities, here it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the chamber of commerce newsletter and local newspaper's editorial page. To wit, earlier this month, both came with advice as to what we should tell outsiders about the drought and its effects on Chaffee County.
After all, our economy relies on tourism, so the concern is understandable: If people read or hear too much about dry streams, empty reservoirs and spreading wildfires in the mountains, they'll go somewhere else for recreation, and we'll all go broke up here.
So as a good citizen of Chaffee County (and a citizen who can't really afford to be more broke than he already is) I'll pass along some of this information.
It is true that the Arkansas River will flow at lower-than-average levels this summer. The latest estimate is 50 percent of normal, down from 65 percent a month ago. Much of that won't come from our vanishing snowpacks, but from the Western Slope, thanks to flow augmentation by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Half of normal is still enough for float trips, and it's quite a bit more than other Colorado rivers, like the Rio Grande and the Dolores, will have this summer.
Another possible tourism information problem is wildfires. In recent years, whenever there was a major fire anywhere in the mountains, even if it was 200 miles and a couple of mountain ranges away from here, local tourism still fell off for the duration.
It is true that when there is a major wildfire, even if it's hundreds of miles away, there is a perceptible local effect. On a normal clear day, I can almost count the rocks on Mt. Harvard, 40 miles away, from my back yard. Whenever there's a big fire somewhere in the Mountain West, the air gets hazy and the mountains aren't as distinct.
That's it. Getting here from Denver might be a problem when there's another big fire in the Stupid Zone along U.S. 285, but that's an entirely different matter.
The chamber newsletter also offered some positive spin
on the drought. For instance, this should be a good year
for fishing on the Arkansas, since it will be easier to
wade, and the brown trout won't have as much current to
fight so they'll be out feeding more. Further, our June
stonefly hatch, which is often unfishable due to high
water, should provide some great early summer
action.
Not being an angler, I can't swear to the accuracy of this, but it did make me think of some other positive drought spin:
· Campfires are banned. Thus nobody gets stuck with the chore of finding, hauling, cutting and splitting wood. No cooking over a fickle flame that chars steaks on the outside while they're still bleeding within. No shifting around the fire for hours trying to evade the eye-stinging smoke that always comes at you, no matter which way the wind seems to be blowing. None of that strange fireside feeling of being roasted on one side while the other grows icicles. No time wasted hauling buckets of water and turning over embers to be sure the fire is out.
Without a campfire, camping is almost pleasant, and this should be stressed.
· Longer access season. In a normal year, many pleasant but elevated places are inaccessible until July on account of immense snowdrifts. This year, many of them are already bare.
This longer season should spread out the flow of visitors, so that if you want to climb a 14er, for instance, you're less likely to encounter the trail-borne hordes that are present on normal summer weekends.
· Better hiking. Not only are the snowdrifts gone at high altitudes, but the reduced runoff means that streams will be easier to cross -- just a jump or a couple of long steps from rock to rock, rather than the bone-chilling fords that always involve inadvertently stepping into some yard-deep hole with the risk of getting carried into the rapids.
· Cheaper four-wheeling. In general, I can handle rocks, ruts and steep grades when I'm in my spewt. But the last time I encountered serious mud, the result was a five-mile walk until we could hitch-hike to Saguache and then enrich that town's economy by spending $175 to get towed out.
When it's really dry, like this year, there's that much less chance of getting sunk to the axles and stuck for a big towing bill.
· Enhanced camping experience, since it's unlikely that rain will force you to stay in the tent during your vacation.
· Improved health. If the creek is dry, then people won't drink from it and catch giardia. And now that Colorado has pretty much banned outdoor smoking in the back-country, we'll have a healthier population.
Granted, this drought isn't pleasant, and it's really tough on farmers and ranchers. But up here in the tourist belt, it shouldn't hurt that much, providing we remember to accentuate the positive.
< PREVIOUS ] [ 2002 Index ] [ Ed Quillen HOME ] [ SEARCH ] [ NEXT >