Press "Enter" to skip to content

ADVENTR.co Posts

Phantom Ranch: The Bottom of the Grand CanyonPhantom Ranch: The Bottom of the Grand Canyon

Phantom Ranch: The Bottom of the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park | Saturday – Wednesday, January 31 – February 4, 2026

Just about a year ago I was able to secure reservations for a three night stay in a cabin at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, which Diane and I were looking forward to. We had both thoroughly enjoyed our very first visit to Phantom Ranch just over two years ago, so when the opportunity came up to return- we jumped at it! After making the reservations our initial plans were to spend a few relaxing days at the bottom of the Grand Canyon together while also taking a day to hike up the North Kaibab Trail to Ribbon Falls while we were down there. Of course, little did we know at that time that the Dragon Bravo Fire would decimate the North Rim and close the North Kaibab Trail or that Diane would later find out that she had a meningioma that would require surgery in October. Even after surgery we still had hopes that Diane would be able to go on this trip, but after some setbacks that delayed her Radiation Therapy to mid-January, she would not be finishing up the therapy until later in February and unfortunately would not be able to join me on this trip.

CONTINUE READINGPhantom Ranch: The Bottom of the Grand Canyon
2 Comments
Roaming The Reef: Ernie Point to Eardley CanyonRoaming The Reef: Ernie Point to Eardley Canyon

Roaming The Reef: Ernie Point to Eardley Canyon

Canyons of the San Rafael Reef IV | Saturday & Sunday, January 24-25, 2026

While I was initially just planning on just returning to the landscape surrounding Moab again this weekend like I typically do at this time of the year, as I was watching the winter storm unfold on Friday afternoon I saw that Moab was getting some rain and snow while the weather seemed to be completely missing the area around the San Rafael Reef, so I changed gears and decided to head over that way early on Saturday morning instead. Since I was looking to get in some decent elevation gain this weekend, I thought I might try hiking up to the Ernie Benchmark which is one of the highest points along the top of the San Rafael Reef. The drive to Green River early on Saturday morning was a bit slow with plenty of fog, snow and ice- but shortly after passing through Crescent Junction the snow and fog disappeared and the roads were dry for the remainder of the way. After topping off my gas tank in Green River I continued on to the base of the San Rafael Reef near the mouth of Ernie Canyon and prepared to start the hike. I had planned to start hiking from near the old drilling derrick, but apparently that road has now been closed since I was here last January and I would now need to hike a little further than I was expecting.

CONTINUE READINGRoaming The Reef: Ernie Point to Eardley Canyon
4 Comments
Comb Ridge and the Borderlands of the Bears EarsComb Ridge and the Borderlands of the Bears Ears

Comb Ridge and the Borderlands of the Bears Ears

Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country IV | Saturday – Monday, January 17-19, 2026

While I was originally hoping to take Diane out to the Pahranagat Valley over this extended holiday weekend, we found ourselves needing to stay closer to home for the time being, but I still wanted to go somewhere where Diane would be able to join me. She has recently started Radiation Therapy and is still not allowed to do much hiking, but after a little bit of thought I figured we could return to Comb Ridge and the surrounding country to go on some shorter and easier hikes in the area. This would also give us the opportunity to return to the Bluff International Balloon Festival since we haven’t been back to the event since 2014, which was shortly after we first started dating and I believe it was also our very first weekend trip away together! These are some photos of what we saw this weekend.

CONTINUE READINGComb Ridge and the Borderlands of the Bears Ears
7 Comments
From the Colorado River to the Gold Bar RimFrom the Colorado River to the Gold Bar Rim

From the Colorado River to the Gold Bar Rim

Moab Meanderings | Saturday & Sunday, January 10-11, 2026

This weekend I returned to the sandstone landscape surrounding Moab so I could explore some of the area between the Colorado River and the Gold Bar Rim centered around Culvert Canyon, which is also known as Cameltoe Canyon. I wanted to get in some decent elevation gain during my hike on Saturday since I am hopefully going to be hiking into a very deep canyon again in just a couple of weeks, so I thought it might be interesting to hike from the Colorado River all the way to the top of the Gold Bar Rim by following the Jeep Arch Trail and then some other rugged 4X4 routes found in the vicinity. I left home bright and early on Saturday morning and made my way over to the Culvert Canyon Trailhead to start the hike!

CONTINUE READINGFrom the Colorado River to the Gold Bar Rim
1 Comment
Above the Clouds on the Island in the SkyAbove the Clouds on the Island in the Sky

Above the Clouds on the Island in the Sky

Island in the Sky | Sunday, January 4, 2026

After finishing up my hike in Hunter Canyon early on Sunday morning and then driving back out of Kane Springs Canyon I was just about ready to head back home, but then I thought it might be interesting to drive up onto the Island in the Sky to see if I could get above the clouds that I had been hiking beneath all weekend, so that’s where I headed instead. When I first made it into Canyonlands National Park it seemed like the low clouds on the Colorado River side of the park had mostly subsided already, except closer to Moab where I had just been hiking, but thankfully there were still plenty to be found on the Green River side! These are a few photos I took along the way as I stopped at many of the overlooks this afternoon.

CONTINUE READINGAbove the Clouds on the Island in the Sky
12 Comments