Sunday, January 13, 2019
After spending Saturday exploring the San Rafael Reef by myself, Diane and I went on a short hike at the western edge of the Colorado National Monument on Sunday afternoon into Kodels Canyon. It has been a few years since I last hiked into Kodels Canyon and Diane had never been here before, so we were looking forward to checking it out. Our hike started on the well-used and snow-packed trails of the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, but as soon as we entered the Monument there had not been as much traffic and we were breaking trail through the snow in some places.
Following the well-used trails of the McInnis Canyons Front Country on our way to Kodels Canyon.
Hiking through the narrow mouth of Kodels Canyon.
Entering the Colorado National Monument.
Breaking trail through the snow to the old mine. There were only a few small animal tracks on this part of the trail.
Visiting the mine in Kodels Canyon that has been gated off by the National Park Service.
Looking back towards Fruita and the Book Cliffs as we climbed higher into the canyon in the late afternoon.
Light and shadows as we left the canyon and headed back to the trailhead.
