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Category: Exploring

Grays & Torreys Peaks

Saturday, July 21, 2012

I left work at 11:00am on Friday, finished loading up the Jeep and made my way east on I-70 to the Front Range. One of my personal goals for the year was to hike to the top of three 14ers, so I decided to try and hike the Grays Peak and Torreys Peak combo to knock two more off of my list. I made it to the Stevens Gulch trailhead around 3:00pm and found a nice campsite nearby. Had I arrived later in the evening, I doubt I would have been able to find a nice campsite right near the trail. There were a few sprinkles of rain in the afternoon, but they only lasted for a short time. I spent much of the evening reading and relaxing. The sky stayed overcast until I went to bed around 9:00pm, so I didn’t even bother taking any photos around sunset.

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The Elusive Horse Canyon

Saturday & Sunday, July 14-15, 2012

I first tried to explore Horse Canyon in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park back in 2008 when I camped at Peekaboo with a few friends. Back then the entrance to the canyon had been washed out pretty good and there was a very deep hole blocking vehicle entry. For the past two years I have been checking the condition of the road so that I could finally get back there to start exploring the area, but both the Salt Creek and Horse Canyon roads have been washed out and closed for that long. I have hiked up Salt Creek Canyon twice during those two years, but Horse Canyon was a bit too long for a day hike. A few weeks ago I finally received word that the National Parks Service had finally reopened the roads in Salt Creek and Horse Canyon, so I quickly made plans to get back. I reserved a campsite at Peekaboo for the weekend and invited Jared and Marty to come along.

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Basin Wildflower Tour

Saturday, July 7, 2012

This weekend we left home on Saturday morning and headed back up into the San Juan Mountains. I had received reports that the wildflowers were in full swing a few weeks early because of our dismal snowpack and dry spring, and I wanted to try and get some photos of them. I have never really set out to specifically photograph wildflowers before, so this would be a learning experience for me. In the end I came home with some decent wildflower photos and I learned a lot in the process. Hopefully next year I can do a little better!

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Uncompahgre Peak

Saturday, June 30, 2012

At 14,309 feet, Uncompahgre Peak is the highest point in the San Juan Mountains and the 6th highest in Colorado. It was also our destination this morning. After work on Friday, Jackson and I loaded up my Jeep and headed south to the San Juan’s. We made a quick stop for dinner in Montrose and then we were soon passing through Ouray and turning off the highway on the rough road following the Uncompahgre River and Mineral Creek.

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