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Category: Biking

Lower Courthouse Wash LoopLower Courthouse Wash Loop

Lower Courthouse Wash Loop

Arches National Park | Moab Area Rock Art XXXVII
Friday & Saturday, February 19-20, 2021

This weekend I wanted to take it a little easier and to be home on Sunday since I’ve been out in the backcountry every weekend this year, and there were a few things I needed to get done around the house. Since I needed to stay closer to home I thought that this would be a good opportunity to finally hike through Lower Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park before the park really starts to get busy in a couple of weeks. Although I’ve hiked into Upper Courthouse Wash a couple of times before, the lower stretch of the canyon had eluded me on two occasions I tried to hike it in the past, which were both about ten years ago now! Both of those times I was turned back by deep water crossings when I was not prepared to get my feet wet, so this time I made sure I came prepared to get wet if I needed to.

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Packrafting the Colorado River: Fruita to LomaPackrafting the Colorado River: Fruita to Loma

Packrafting the Colorado River: Fruita to Loma

Sunday, September 15, 2019

After spending Saturday morning in the mountains near Telluride, I decided to stay closer to home on Sunday so I could try out my brand new packraft on the Colorado River. I was originally planning on buying a new packraft over the winter so that I could take it on some trips that I am tentatively planning for the spring, but I ended up buying it a little early thanks to a Labor Day sale. I ended up picking up a Kokopelli Rogue-Lite since I don’t really plan on running any big rapids with it and wanted one that was pretty light since I’m going to need to carry it in my backpack on occasion. For my first time on the water with it I wanted to do something easy to see how it handles, so I decided to drive to Loma and then ride my bike back to the boat ramp at the Fruita Section of the James M Robb – Colorado River State Park. I would lock my bike up there and then float back to the Loma Boat Ramp where I would get back in my Jeep and then pick my bike back up on the way back home. It worked out well and I had a nice afternoon on the Colorado River!

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Big Dominguez Canyon: Cactus Park to BridgeportBig Dominguez Canyon: Cactus Park to Bridgeport

Big Dominguez Canyon: Cactus Park to Bridgeport

Saturday & Sunday, May 18-19, 2019

This weekend we had some stuff to get done around the house but we still wanted to try and squeeze in a backpacking trip this month, so we decided to head over to the Dominguez – Escalante National Conservation Area for a quick overnighter into Big Dominguez Canyon. While I have hiked into lower Big Dominguez Canyon many times over the years, Diane had never been in this canyon before and wanted to finally check it out. We planned to do a repeat of my very first backpacking trip by starting out in Cactus Park and hiking down the canyon to Bridgeport so it wouldn’t be just another out and back hiking trip, plus I’ve wanted to redo this trip again now that I am much more experienced. After we had returned home from this trip I learned that Saturday was Colorado Public Lands Day, which I had never heard of before, so I guess it was pretty fitting that we actually stayed on public lands in Colorado this weekend instead of heading over into Utah like we usually do at this time of the year!

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The North Rim of the Black CanyonThe North Rim of the Black Canyon

The North Rim of the Black Canyon

Saturday & Sunday, May 19-20, 2018

Since Diane and I went to a concert on Friday night and stayed out later than normal, we decided to stay closer to home this weekend and went on an easy and relaxing overnight camping trip to the North Rim of the Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park. It has been a while since the last time I visited the North Rim and figured it was time to go back, especially since Diane had never been there before. It felt a little weird staying in Colorado for the weekend since I’m used to driving into Utah this time of the year, but with rising temperatures in the desert and the snow melting in the mountains, I’ll probably be staying in Colorado more often now until the fall.

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Glenwood Canyon Recreation TrailGlenwood Canyon Recreation Trail

Glenwood Canyon Recreation Trail

Saturday, March 31, 2018

After spending the last seven weekends hiking and backpacking in Utah, I figured it was finally time to take a break and stay closer to home on the western slope of Colorado this weekend. Since I finally got a hitch-mounted bike rack for my Jeep that will carry both of our bikes this past week, I wanted to give it a try this weekend. We haven’t used our bikes in a while and we would like to change that, so we thought a good way to ease back into it would be by taking a nice scenic ride on the Glenwood Canyon Recreation Trail near Glenwood Springs. While I’ve driven through this canyon countless times, hiked to Hanging Lake a few times, and even floated part of the river a couple of times, I had never taken my bike on the paved trail through the canyon before.

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