Owl Gulch: Another new Telluride trail

By D. Dion
Telluride residents love the new Owl Gulch cutoff between the Jud Wiebe Trail and Tomboy Road, but they’re not the only locals who have been frequenting the new trail this summer. Bears have also been making their mark on the hiking route.
The young aspen trees all along the highest switchbacks of the trail are riddled with claw marks. Apparently the bruins woke up hungry after their winter nap and have been digging into the trees’ flesh, which is just beneath their bark. The inside of the tree bark has nutritional value not just for bears, but also for people, which is a good bit of information to have should you find yourself starving out in the woods. Of course, the average hiker doesn’t have nails or an appendage anything like a bear does, so you might also want to remember your Swiss army knife if you plan on getting lost and not bringing enough food.