Emails, proclamations and hippies

Came into the office Monday and saw Donnie Cook had sent his normal mid-August email. Sunday is the last day to hit the entirety of the Snodgrass Trail as the Allen ranching family will begin using a big portion of the land on the Washington Gulch side for cattle instead of hikers and bikers. As I tell people, the only thing wrong with a Snodgrass bike ride is that the trail doesn’t go on forever and it closes before the fall colors. I love it in there.

For some, the August private property closure for that portion of the trail is a controversial move as part of the trail leading to the acreage is on Forest Service land and the Allens hope people won’t mingle with the cattle which can cause various issues in a ranching operation. Fair. As noted in our summer series on ranching and recreation, the two businesses are not a natural fit, but both are valuable to the character of this place and actively try to work in harmony…so I see no reason to push the issue of Snodgrass access when the Allens are prepping for their fall cattle grazing. Give them some space. 

Speaking of ranching and recreation…I got word that in our ranching and recreation series, we didn’t quite make the right implication when it came to recreators not having to pay to use public lands. As was pointed out to me in an email, “In fact, all hunters and anglers pay for the use. Somehow with the increase in public use (which has primarily been the increase in biking that was also heavily marketed) the fact that hunters and anglers have quietly and respectfully used the public land and in most cases without conflict with ranchers, even leasing many ranches for access and use, has been missed.”  

Fair. We certainly focused on the biking and hiking sectors, so it’s a good point. I’ve said it before and will say it again — having working ranches in the North Valley is a major thing that separates us from other Colorado mountain resort communities. Bikers, hikers, anglers, hunters all seem to appreciate that—some just pay more than others.

Another thing that keeps us unique is that the town is willing to officially celebrate our iconic Mother Rock. The latest celebration will start with an official proclamation designating the last Saturday of September as Pointed Laccolith Day. Spearheaded by David Rothman who was a big part of things like the CB Music Festival and the CB Academy, the proclamation decares the special day as “a celebration of the Valley’s Geological Heritage and of Accuracy in Nomenclature.”

His proclamation delves into the whys of how the town’s namesake peak is not a “crested butte” but a laccolith. One part of the official proclamation states: “WHEREAS, the name ‘Crested Butte’ is therefore not only inaccurate as a description, but an oxymoron, as buttes by definition do not have crests, and was probably dreamed up by people who had not studied rocks, or perhaps had studied rocks but maybe, who knows, downed a couple two-three beers and thought it would be funny; …”

Fair enough. The Crested Butte council will address the proclamation at the September 16 meeting and Rothman is hoping for a community party celebrating Pointed Laccolith Day on September 28.

Got an email note from one of the original warriors who was here at the start of the Red Lady mining fight. He didn’t like being characterized as a hippie. In my July 12 editorial I summarized that the “laid back hippies” living in Crested Butte in the 1970s butted heads with the old-timer mining families over the AMAX plan to take the molybdenum out of Mt. Emmons. I referenced the “hippies” more than once and said they eventually won the battle, and CB officially made the turn from old mining community to tourism economy. 

The offended writer made clear that, “the people that fought AMAX to protect the Red Lady were business owners, homeowners, professionals with advanced degrees, and elected town officials. By 1977 when the mine threat appeared, the real hippies were either gone, or they had a job, home and kids.” 

Fair. I responded that my perception was that those warriors were super smart, focused, counter-mainstream-America types who probably partook of some drugs, sex and rock-and-roll while having a fun time screwing a multi-national mining corporation. We agreed that our definition of hippie might not be the same. Fair again, and I will again thank those super smart and focused warriors for their ingenious and tireless efforts to save a special spot at the end of the road.

Anyway, keep those emails coming and get out on Snodgrass before the sun sets on the coming weekend!

—Mark Reaman