Buffalo Creek – Before heading out Sunday on a joint adventure, the nine members of the Crump and Larsen families first went over the checklist.
Saws? Check. Hatchets? Check. Snow boots, heavy coats, gloves, stocking caps and sleds? Check.
OK, time to go find a couple of Christmas trees.
“We’ve always gone to The Home Depot or the grocery store before,” Dora Larsen said.
On Sunday, the Larsens and the Crumps instead hiked into a pine and fir forest covered in about 6 inches of snow near Buffalo Creek and cut their own.
The Crumps – dad Bill, mom Ann, 10-year-old Daniel and 8-year-old Amy – have cut their own Christmas tree for the past four years. But the Larsens – dad David, mom Dora, 11-year-old Matthew, 9-year-old Jacob and 7-year-old Joshua – moved to Colorado about six months ago from Southern California. Dora said they had barely even seen snow in about two years and have never cut their own tree before.
“The idea,” said Ann Crump, offering some advice, “is not to hike to the bottom of the hill and then pick one. We did that the first year.”
Sunday was the second day people could cut their own tree at five locations in the Front Range. Jane Leche, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Forest Service, estimated that about 13,000 trees in Front Range forests would find themselves holding ornaments and garland by the time the cutting period ends, on Sunday.
The program has proved so popular that permits – at a cost of $10 a tree – are already sold out for the Buffalo Creek site, the nearest to Denver. Leche said the Forest Service also sees other benefits from the program.
“We look at it as a forest- health thing, as well as providing a recreation experience for people,” Leche said. “Pulling out smaller trees reduces fire risk.”
After about a quarter-mile tromp into the forest – along with detours to find good sledding spots – the Crumps and the Larsens settled on two good-sized Douglas firs to take home. The kids took turns chopping at them with hatchets until they were out of breath and the trees began to lean. Then, with a quick crack, the dads pushed the trees over into the snow.
“It’s fun to find your own tree,” Ann Crump said later. “They never look very good, but that’s fine. You always think the next year you’ll find a better one.”
Dora Larsen, though, was tickled with her tree. “I’ve never had a tree with pine cones,” she said.
Soon the dads set to cutting off the bottom few feet and trimming the branches. The kids returned to sledding.
And, when the trees and assorted boughs were ready to be hauled home, the parents called to their children, who were off playing in the woods, out of sight but not out of earshot.
“Are we leaving already?” came the reply.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
Bundle up and get your saw
While permits for the Buffalo Creek tree-cutting area are sold out, there are still four sites in the area where people can cut their own Christmas trees.
All four sites require tire chains or a four-wheel-drive vehicle to access. You ll need a $10 permit per tree, with a limit of five permits per person. The cutting sites are open from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.daily until Sunday.
The available sites are:
- Rampart Range Road cutting area, near Pikes Peak. Get permits at the Pikes Peak ranger station,
601 S. Weber St. in Colorado Springs, or on weekends in the parking lot of Woodland Park Middle
School. - Fraser cutting area, near Winter Park. Get permits at the Sulphur ranger station, 9 Ten Mile Drive in Granby, at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce or at the cutting site during open hours.
- Red Feather Lakes cutting area, northwest of Fort Collins. Get permits at the Canyon Lakes ranger
station, 2150 Centre Ave., Building E, in Fort Collins, or at the cutting site on weekends during open
hours. - South Park cutting area, near Fairplay. Get permits at the South Park Ranger Station, 320 S. U.S. 285 in
Fairplay, or by mail. For more information, call 303-275-5350 or go to www.fs.fed.us/r2.
