An elk in early spring at Avalanche Creek.

Avalanche Creek Road in the Crystal Valley traverses severe winter habitat for bighorn sheep and elk, but visitors to this wintertime destination should count themselves lucky to see either of those species.

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An iRON soil moisture monitor on Independence Pass. (Karin Teague photo)

While this winter’s snowpack, or relative lack thereof, garners all the headlines, the depth of the snow is only half of the story when it comes to water availability in 2021. What’s beneath the ground’s surface, hidden from view, will play an important role in everything from how much water winds up in rivers and reservoirs, to how the wildfire season shapes up.

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Behind locked gates and closure signs, hidden in dense oak brush and muffled by deepening snow, Sky Mountain Park is busy – not with the throngs of mountain bikers, hikers and runners who cruise its trails during the summer months, but with wildlife.

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