For one week every fall the whole mountain seems to happen at once — the gold comes on, the bulls go off, and the cattle come down. If there's a best week to be here, it's that one.
By Jim Johnson3 min read
People ask me when the best time to come to the ranch is, and most of the year I tell them it depends on what they're after. But there's one week I'll answer without hesitating.
It's the week in early fall when the aspens turn. The gold doesn't arrive gradually so much as it goes off — one cold snap and the whole south slope of the mountain lights up amber and yellow against the dark timber, and the light gets long and honeyed and unbelievable. And it all seems to happen at once. The bulls are bugling through the rut up high. The fly fishing is in its crisp autumn prime. And down low, it's time to gather the cattle and bring the herd down off the summer grass — the fall cattle drive, the oldest work there is, under the best light of the year.
I'm partial to all the seasons here — there's a case for every one of them — but if you made me pick a single week to show someone what this country is, I'd pick that one. The rut, the gold, and the gather, stacked on top of each other for a few short days before the snow comes and the mountain goes quiet for the winter.
Blink and you miss it. We've learned to stop whatever we're doing and just stand in it for a minute. You should too.
