In an era when global warming threatens to make the hot season even hotter, a lot of Americans are literally heading for the hills. The high country, a place synonymous with Colorado, is projected to once again hover near or even surpass records for state and national forest visitors.
Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the country’s busiest national parks. Last year, more than 4.4 million visitors made the trip to the 415 square mile getaway where they trekked mountainous terrain. The park has 77 peaks that sit 12,000 feet or higher. It also sits at the highest elevation of all the country’s national parks. Of course, RMNP is just one of many easily accessible high country escapes in the state.
Southern Colorado’s Pike-San Isabel National Forest & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands is one more camping and visiting option. It is vast and remarkable, says U.S. Forest Service Ranger Lola Long. “It runs from Elkhart, Kansas, to Salida and on the south from La Veta to Conifer. We are one of the largest forests in Colorado.”
The entire span of the region is approximately three million acres encompassing not only a small portion of the Great Plains but also Colorado’s highest mountain peaks all along the Continental Divide. Fee information for visitors or overnight camping can be found at fs.usda.gov.
Long said that rising gasoline prices might make day-tripping and overnight camping to the state’s park system even more attractive this year. If so, rangers are expecting visitor count to PSINF&CCNG to top a million.
Once in the region, there are “any number of things” visitors can do. There is, of course, camping, but also hiking, fishing, hunting, rafting and skiing in season. “We even have some areas for recreational shooting.” Another thing PSIF&CCNG offers is a slew of wildlife for visitors to enjoy. There’s also a few critters, actually insects, who live there that are not so enjoyable.
While much of the attention on high country insects has focused on ticks that spread Lyme Disease, they’re not the ticks people here to need to be wary of. In fact, as far as Lyme Disease is concerned, Colorado’s parks are home free. There are none. But there are 28 known species of ticks in Colorado that are worth knowing about. But only about five are the ones doctors say are the most troublesome.
The Rocky Mountain Wood tick, American dog tick, Brown Dog tick, Lone Star tick and Soft-bodied ticks are the most dangerous to humans and pets. Each of these ticks will bite—they exist on blood—but not all tick bites are necessarily going to cause infection.
The most dangerous bites come from the American dog tick or Lone Star tick. Each can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which in the most severe cases can be fatal. More often, symptoms will be rash, fever, vomiting, lack of appetite, headache, stomach pain and nausea. Those bitten will all see a rash after a day or so, but a fever soon follows.
To minimize the danger of a tick bite, rangers like Long recommend wearing long sleeves and long pants to minimize bite areas. Long socks pulled up over pant legs is also a good idea. Light colored material also makes it easier to spot an insect that may land on you. It’s recommended to carry repellent. DEET is known to be effective if applied to both clothing and skin. Periodic checks of a tick feeding areas—armpits, ears, legs, waits, belly buttons, back of the knees and hairlines— are also suggested.
Ticks can be removed using tweezers. Pull at them as close to the skin as possible. Uncover Colorado also says, “not to crush the insect as you pull because they may be full of blood… clean and disinfect the area,” too. After removing the insect, try and place it in a plastic bag. In the event you get infected you can show it to a doctor so it can be identified, and the best treatment can be administered.
Because the high country is so vast and removed from the luxuries of civilization like cell phone towers, emergencies are not always responded to quickly and a cell phone is often useless in an emergency, said Long. When responding to emergencies or even trekking in for routine checks, rangers carry satellite phones with them.
Of course, ticks in a forest present an omni-present concern. But, said Long, the high country is the natural habitat for other critters far more familiar to hikers and campers than bugs. Mountain lions and bears, she said, need to be respected. “You need to be aware of your surroundings,” Long warns. For one thing, if you’re camping, “keep your food elevated in case you do get a visitor.” Also, never assume anything about an animal. “Just try and move away from them slowly.”
Fortunately, there have been only a few recorded instances of animal-human interaction that rise above of sighting in recent years. If you respect their environment and habitat, said Long, they’ll also respect you.
