The posted coordinates take you to a viewing area that overlooks the Cucumber Gulch Fen, an area which contains 52 acres of wetlands that provides vital habitat for the state-endangered boreal toad, moose, elk, deer, mountain lion, beaver, and over forty-seven species of birds.
Note that the preserve is closed from late April to 6 July each year for Moose Calving.
To be able to log this earthcache, answer the following questions:
Observing the Cucumber Gulch Fen, how do you think it was formed?
What keeps it from draining?
What types of development do you see and how do you think it might affect the fen?
Background:
Fens are peat-forming wetlands that take up to 10,000 years to develop. They are formed when glaciers move down a valley, scooping and moving rocks and soil. When the glacier retreats, lakes and swamps are left behind. Fens are often fed by underground springs that rise to the earth’s surface. They are some of the most biologically diverse wetlands in the arid west. These water-saturated soils support high densities of willows, sedges and grasses which serve as food for beavers, moose, muskrats, and nesting habitats for migratory birds. Fens are rare and have been lost to mining, grazing and development. Because the rate of plant growth exceeds that of decomposition, organic soils form very slowly by accumulation of plant debris. Fens in the Rocky 'fountains are believed to develop or accumulate at rates ranging from 4 to 16 inches per thousand years.
Glaciers in the Rocky Mountains advanced and retreated at least 12 times during the Pleistocene, but because each advance tended to overrun or conceal evidence of previous advances or glaciations, only the last two major glaciations left widespread evidence of their extent and imprint on the modern landscape. The Pinedale glaciation, the last major glacial event, took place between about 30 and 12 thousand years ago; the Bull Lake glaciation, the next older glacial event, was active between about 190 and 120 thousand years ago. The glacier that occupied the upper Blue River valley south of Breckenridge was about 8 miles long with its terminal just south of Breckenridge.
Sources:
Detailed Comments of the Proposed Breckenridge Ski Resort Expansion, January, 2001
Mountains, Glaciers and Mines, USGS Circular 1400
Exploring Fens, USFS Publication, April 2022
Please follow the following rules when visiting Cucumber Gulch:
- Dogs, leashed or unleashed, are not allowed into or on trails at any time.
- Access the area through the four designated trailhead portals only.
- Stay on established and signed trails.
- Group sizes are limited to 8 people or less.
- Fishing and camping are not allowed at any time.
- Harvesting, foraging, or picking of any vegetation is prohibited within Cucumber Gulch.
Congratulatioins to PittPack for the FTF!