After Work Adventures | Monday, April 1, 2024
When I left work this afternoon, I headed up into the Third Flats section of the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area so I could get in a short hike to a local highpoint before going home. Since I have pretty much completed hiking all of the Kokopelli Trails near Loma now, I figured this area would be a good place to focus my attention to for my next local trails project, especially since it’s close to town and I have not been on any of the trails in this area before, aside from the one time I drove up the Billings Canyon Jeep Trail back in 2006. I decided to start out by hiking up the Cedar Point Road to Haystack 3 Point while also hiking parts of the Quad Rocker, Easy Rider and Canyon View Trails along the way. There was a lot of stormy weather around the Grand Valley this afternoon which made for some dynamic and dramatic conditions along the way. Here are a couple photos from my short afternoon hike.
Looking down the Canyon View Trail to the Palisade Rim and Grand Mesa.
Hiking up the Quad Rocker Trail.
A view across the Grand Valley to Battlement Mesa.
Although the rain missed me until I was almost back to my Jeep, it sure seemed to be raining elsewhere around the valley.
Looking over the edge of the Colorado National Monument.
This was a colorful section of the ridge I followed to Haystack 3 Point.
A view through the ridge.
The views were nice as I made my way to the top.
Haystack 3 Point
Haystack 3 Point, 1934
A stormy view across the valley as I started my way back down the ridge.
Trail to the Clouds
The Palisade Rim peeking out from below the clouds.
Light on the Book Cliffs.
Headed back down the trail…
Here is one last look at the Grand Mesa below the clouds.
