Unnatural shape?

When you see a significantly misshapen tree in the forest, what do you think? Do you wonder how it survived to that age after suffering a significant natural injury? Or do you wonder if somehow a human was the cause of the shape for some unknown reason. Those are the questions that you should ponder at this site.

Maybe you can’t imagine a natural event that could have such an impact on a tree and allow it to survive. There may be several types of natural events, such as a lightning strike, a landslide, an earthquake, or something else that has enough power to overpower the typical natural shape of a Ponderosa pine tree such as this one.

But nearby, about a hundred yards to the southwest of this tree, you can see a fallen tree. It was apparently felled by a strong wind storm within the last few years, and has lost all its needles. But if you observe it now, the main trunk is still several feet off the ground, supported by some sizable dead branches still attached. If you look closely, you can see some new seedlings growing near this downed tree. Imagine that the tree fell in such a way that it impacted such a sapling and bent the sapling parallel to the ground, without doing enough damage to completely break off the sapling due to the support of the branches. The bent sapling would continue to live, and follow its natural drive toward more sunlight. Either a branch would become its new trunk growing upward, or its original trunk would bend over time into an upward path. As the sapling continues to grow, the diameter of its trunk increases, as its circulatory membranes between the bark and the dead heartwood grows larger. You remember seeing growth rings in cut trees? After a few years, the former sapling has a stiff trunk, and yet it grows taller and more stout, but the bend will be permanent. This is another possible natural explanation for the shape of our tree.

In the forests of North America, you can also see trees that are misshapen by humans. Trees have been important for many reasons to human inhabitants of forested areas. In this part of Colorado, the earliest inhabitants, before European settlers arrived in the early 1800s, were several bands of what is now called the Southern Ute tribe. Trees altered by the natives have been studied in the Pikes Peak area, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and other areas near Staunton State Park.

The spiritual aspect of Ute culture includes creation legends, involving the coyote and his older brother the wolf, who are identified as scattering twigs into new areas that became humans. So trees are seen as ancestors, and are revered. All the other species inhabiting the tribe’s homelands were also part of their relationship with nature, and provided clues to this aspect of their lives.

There are several types of altered trees found in this area, and they were altered for different reasons, and some used different types of tree species.

Medicine trees have a section of peeled bark, from which the inner bark may be harvested. It is sweet, somewhat nourishing to humans, and it readily available in spring, when other food sources are less plentiful. But in Ute culture, there is a spiritual aspect of these peeled bark trees, and the harvested bark is used in healing ceremonies, usually under the guidance of a Spiritual Liasion or Medicine Man/Woman. Ponderosa pines were normally used for this purpose, and as long as the peeled area does not cover the entire circumference of the tree, the tree can survive with an evident scar. Example is shown to the left.

Burial Marker trees, made almost exclusively from juniper trees, result when seeds were planted near the burial site of a significant tribe member. Often etching in rocks nearby channel rain or snowmelt to these trees. These trees have been found at almost every Ute encampment or fortification in the area, as well as along significant trails the Utes developed for travel to significant sites. Example is shown in picture below (left).

Message trees, or arborglyphs, had signs carved into the bark of aspen trees. These signs were normally pictures, not using an abstract written character language as we do today. They may tell of a tribal fight that occurred nearby, an important boundary of the tribal land, or a successful hunt when the band was starving. In other areas of North America, some tribes used bent saplings without carving for this purpose, but locally the aspen bark was very easy to carve and served this purpose for the Utes. Examples are shown in picture above (right).

The next type of altered tree is of possible relevance to this bent tree. Prayer trees are trees that are bent as saplings to form a horizontal shape a few feet off the ground. To accomplish this, the trunk was tied off to the ground with a twine made from yucca, and often bears the marking of the twine in the bark. This event was part of a prayer ceremony, and the tribe knew that the shape would endure as the tree grew, and remain holding their prayers for hundreds of years. They believed each new wind at the site would give their prayers new breath. These trees are distinguished from naturally bent trees by the markings that indicate human action to create the shape. The pictures below are two examples of this type of Prayer tree from the area. Given the large percentage of Ponderosa pines in the montane zone of this area, this species was most often used for this type of cultural scarring.

One last type of Prayer tree is called a Prophesy tree, and is formed of tree distinct saplings twisted into a spiral shape around each other. Although this practice to form this spiral shape is known from other tribes in North America, these are apparently very rare in the Ute territory.

After all this background information, and after review of the evidence in this specific case, what is your opinion of the reason for this shape?

Staunton State Park doubts that this particular tree is culturally scarred, but is the result of the natural action similar to what you can observe about a hundred yards to the southwest. There does not appear to be any real evidence in the bark of the tree that it was tied with rope to change its shape.

However, we urge you to be observant when you are in the forest of Colorado, and to help protect any trees which appear to be the result of cultural adaptation by the original inhabitants of this area. For more information, you can review an article on the website of the Pike’s Peak historical society titled Ute Culturally Scarred Trees

If you find a tree that you think may have been culturally modified in the Park, please report it to Park staff.

This cache is located within Staunton State Park, which has one public entrance along S. Elk Creek Road, six miles west of Conifer, about 1.5 miles off U.S. Highway 285. Parking along either side of S. Elk Creek Road and Upper Ranch Road adjacent to the park boundary is prohibited. All vehicles entering the park must have a daily park pass ($8) or a CO state park annual or special pass.

The Park is open year-round, and day use hours at 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. A walk-in campground (up to Ľ mile from parking) is open for public use, and overnight parking is currently permitted only for those staying in the campground. During summer and autumn weekends, the park may reach capacity, and cars are allowed to enter only if a parking space is available. Horse trailers are admitted if space is available for parking trailers. All Park trails are natural surface, some trails are hiker-only, but other trails are multiuse for bicycles and horses also. Information about the park can be found at Staunton State Park website

All visitors must follow park rules and regulations. These include dogs on leash at all times, clean up after pets, travel on developed trails to the extent feasible, leave no trace, respect areas closed for resource management, and be careful around wildlife (especially mountain lions, coyotes, and black bears). Fires are strictly prohibited, except for camp stoves with an on/off switch in the designated campsites and grilles found in the picnic areas. No motorized vehicles are allowed on trails within the Park. An exception is the special tracked chairs that the Park offers to visitors who cannot access selected trails on their own mobility. Pack your own trash out of the back country, and trash receptacles are located near the parking areas. Also, be prepared for changing weather, bring adequate water and footwear, and trails may be snow-covered or icy in winter.

Additional Waypoints

T07ZPG3 - Mason Creek Trailhead
N 39° 29.665 W 105° 22.826
Near Mason Creek parking and restrooms.