Orient Mine Hike
This is the second time I've hiked to the top of the Orient mine this year. Katie and I came up to the hot springs in early January and I hike this on a cold morning on the fourth. This hike was quite a bit easier this time for a number of reasons, but mostly because it wasn't freezing cold since it was September. However, it did drop into the 40's at night, and since we did this as a sunset hike to see the bats, we were up there until the sun went down and it got really cold.
The hike ended up taking an hour to get up and a half hour to get down, and we stayed at the top for an hour while we waited for the bats to come out. The 4 mile hike was only 761 verticle feet in ascent, but we went on this hike to see the bats, not necessarily get in a difficult hike.
4.34 mi
2.7 hrs
9,319 ft
761 ft
Erupting
I took this photo because this dirt mound looked like an erupting volcano with the bush right on the top of it.
Six Dead
This sign is a little hard to read but it's a plaque in front of one of the mine entrances as a dedication to the six people who were killed during the mine collapse in 1893.
Changing Trees
There were quite a bit of early changing trees.
Orient Mine
This is the location that the mine collapsed in 1893. It's also the location of where a quarter-million Brazilian Free-tail bats take home during the summer.
Setting Sun
Before the bats came out, the sun had to set. With all the smoke in the mountains from all the forest fires, the sun gave an eerily look to it as it set.
Holding the Sun
While we were waiting for the bats to come out we played around a little bit.
Behind the Smoky Mountains
This was about as clear as the mountains ever got on our trip. We couldn't smell the smoke, but you could definitely see it.
Orange Sun
I can't believe that the sun looked like this as it was setting behind the mountains. The glowing orange sphere combined with some streaks through it from clouds makes this look like a fake photo.
Bats
The bats started coming out right around 7pm after the sun fully set behind the mountains.
Following the Ridge
The bats flew out of the cave and flew along the ridge which made the photos turn out well since there was something for perspective.
Thousands in the Sky
The bats were just pouring out of the mine in the thousands. There are a quarter-million of them, so I suppose that to get them all out they have to come out of the mine with a pretty high density.
Flying Far
The bats can fly up to 50 miles in a single night to go eat bugs from all over the San Louis Valley.
