Monday, October 17, 2011
Living in Grand Junction, I see Mount Garfield towering above the Grand Valley almost every day. Every now and then I think to myself that I should finally hike up to the summit, but since I usually seem to spend most of my time exploring Southern Utah, I always put it off. Finally, I decided to stop putting it off and set a date to hike it before the days got too short this year. My friend Jackson was supposed to join me on this hike, but he got sick and ended up not going, so I did the hike alone. Right after work I headed straight to the trailhead and got started on the climb. I managed to summit just before sunset and made it back down to the Jeep just before I would have needed to get out my headlamp. It certainly was a climb, but it was also a nice hike that’s close to home.
A warning at the beginning of the trail. This sign is actually wrong, the hike is shorter than 2 miles. There is a lot of quick elevation gain on this trail.
Mount Garfield Trail by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The start of the climbing.
The Beginning by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The trail continues to climb this ridge quickly.
Follow the Ridge by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Looking back towards the Grand Mesa.
The Mesa by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The view back down to the trailhead.
Trail Below by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A nice view over Palisade as I climb higher.
Palisade View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The trail does level off a few times. It’s a nice break from the constant climbing.
Flat Trail by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Boulder Field by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Looking Back by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The trail follows the base of the cliff here.
Along the Cliff by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
View of the Book Cliffs west of Mount Garfield.
Book Cliffs West by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The view of the summit of Mount Garfield. There is sometimes an American Flag flying here, but not this time.
Mount Garfield Summit by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
View of the Grand Mesa over Palisade from the top.
Palisade by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
I was treated to the orange glow from the sunset on the Book Cliffs as I started the hike back down from the summit and I finished up in the last of the twilight.
I-70 Sunset by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr