Saturday, June 14, 2025
Well, this weekend certainly didn’t go as planned. I was supposed to spend the weekend hiking and camping in the La Sal Mountains with my friend Jackson and his family, but after driving up into Beaver Basin on Saturday afternoon I started to have issues with my Jeep that made us reconsider those plans and turn around to head back home instead. Thankfully, before meeting up with Jackson I had gone on a short hike up the Wildcat Trail in Unaweep Canyon- so the entire weekend wasn’t a complete waste. Since I wasn’t going to be meeting up with Jackson until later in the morning on Saturday, I got up early and drove up to the Unaweep Divide so I could get started on the hike just after sunrise and finish it before the temperature started to warm up.
There was a nice view down West Creek to Thimble Rock as I followed the Wildcat Trail across Unaweep Canyon.
The almost-full moon was hovering just above the rim of Thimble Rock Point.
A view along the cliffs of Thimble Rock Point.
Here’s one last look at the moon above the cliffs just before I hiked into thicker vegetation.
Once I reached the top of the Gill Creek Divide I followed the trail across the plateau until it reached the Hungry Gulch Trail.
Pinus Ponderosa
The hiking was flat and easy across the top of the Uncompahgre Plateau.
The nice light on these two trees caught my attention as I walked by.
After reaching the opposite trailhead on top of the plateau I turned around and headed back down the trail.
Unaweep Canyon
Thimble Rock Point
Looking past a rocky point to Snyder Flats on the other side of the canyon.
The trail was a bit steep and rocky in the switchbacks.
Following the trail back across the canyon.
Wildcat Trail
Snyder Flats Point
West Creek View
After returning to my Jeep I finished driving through Unaweep Canyon to Gateway and then met up with Jackson and his family. From there we drove up John Brown Canyon into the La Sal Mountains and then headed up into Beaver Basin. Once we reached the end of the road in Beaver Basin the engine in my Jeep stopped running and wouldn’t start up again. I disconnected the battery a few times to reset the computer and it would start and run for about 30 seconds or so before dying again. After rolling down the road a little ways I was able to get it started again and we drove back down as quickly as we could while it was still running. I didn’t have any more issues with my Jeep until we were driving back over the Unaweep Divide and it died once more. I think the problem might have something to do with fuel delivery at elevation, but so far I have not been able to figure out the cause…
This is the only photo I stopped to take in Beaver Basin before I started having issues with my Jeep.
