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Kokopelli Loops: Lion’s Loop to Troy Built Loop

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, November 14, 2023

After work this afternoon I returned for the third straight week in a row to the Kokopelli Loops on Mack Ridge so I could hike yet another section of the Kokopelli Trail. This time I started out from the Lions Trailhead between Loma and Mack and followed the Lion’s Loop Trail for about three miles to it’s junction with the Troy Built Trail and then returned the way I had come. This trail followed a bench above the Colorado River in Horsethief Canyon which offered some nice views along the way, especially at sunset. The hike ended up being about 6 miles in length and I returned to my Jeep just as the sun was setting for the day, so I was able to squeeze it all in before darkness set in. Here are a couple photos from the short hike.

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Kokopelli Loops: Wrangler Loop & Mary’s Loop

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, November 7, 2023

After hiking the western ends of Mary’s Loop and the Wrangler Trail last week on Halloween, I returned to the Kokopelli Loops right after work today so I could finish hiking the eastern ends of both of those trails. Even though we just had the Daylight Savings Time change over the weekend and afternoon sunlight would be limited, I figured that this loop would be short enough and I would be able to squeeze it in before sunset. I started my hike near the Kokopelli Trailhead and followed the Wrangler Loop to the point I had hiked to last week and then returned down Mary’s Loop to complete the loop. Even though it was a bit windy this afternoon, the clouds and light were a lot nicer than during my hike last week and I enjoyed the views along the way. In the end, the loop was just over 5.5 miles and I returned to my Jeep shortly before sunset, so the timing was perfect.

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Kokopelli Loops: Mary’s Loop & Wrangler Trail

After Work Adventures: Halloween Edition | Tuesday, October 31, 2023

With the Daylight Savings Time change coming up this weekend, I wanted to get out for one more longer hike after work this week before it really starts getting dark early and I thought it would be a good idea to head on over to the Kokopelli Loop Trails in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area located between Loma and Mack. Although I have hiked and mountain biked about half the trails in this system over the years, there are still some I have not been on before and I thought that completing the rest of them would be a good project to start working on next. I may not finish them this year, but I can always pick up where I left off in the spring. For today’s hike I started at the upper Lion’s Trailhead and followed Mary’s Loop and the Kokopelli Trail east along the Colorado River and Horsethief Bench, then I looped back up and around on the Wrangler Trail which made a nice 7.5 mile loop.

Upper Ute Canyon to Suction Point

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, October 17, 2023

With each and every day quickly getting shorter and shorter at this time of the year, I only have a couple of weeks left where I can possibly squeeze in a few more After Work Adventures, so after work today I headed up into the Colorado National Monument to go on a short hike into upper Ute Canyon. Although I have hiked down through Ute Canyon from the upper trailhead a number of times before, this time I wanted to hiked up the canyon until I reached the large pour-over at Suction Point. It turned out to be a pretty nice place for an evening hike in the Monument.

Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Hard to believe, but I recently realized that it’s been five years since I last headed up onto the Grand Mesa to check out the Fall Colors, which was something I used to do almost every year at the end of September. With that in mind, even though I knew the autumn colors seemed to be running a bit behind this year, I decided to head up onto the Grand Mesa after work today for a short evening visit since it would be my only opportunity this week. Unfortunately, there was also a prescribed burn happening on the Uncompahgre Plateau near Gateway today, so there was a lot of smoke in the air and conditions weren’t ideal for photography, but here are a few of the photos I took this evening.