Press "Enter" to skip to content

Category: Exploring

Triple BridgesTriple Bridges

Triple Bridges

Sunday, November 8, 2015

On Sunday Diane and I stayed close to home and did a little backcountry hiking in the Colorado National Monument. This time we were in search of a little-known set of natural bridges located at the head of a short unnamed side canyon that have no official name, but are collectively known as the Triple Bridges. In recent years a fourth opening has appeared that is becoming the start of a fourth natural bridge (you can see the tiny hole in the photo above that is below the set of two bridges), however at this point I would consider that opening so insignificant that I don’t feel there is currently a need to rename these arches to the ‘Quadruple Bridges’ – but maybe one day!

CONTINUE READINGTriple Bridges
Leave a Comment
Crack CanyonCrack Canyon

Crack Canyon

Saturday, November 7, 2015

On Saturday morning Diane and I left home early and drove west into Utah to go hiking in the desert. Our destination was Crack Canyon in the San Rafael Reef which is not too far away from the much more popular Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley State Park. After getting off the highway and following Temple Mountain Road through the reef, we took the Behind the Reef Road to Crack Canyon and drove down the wash to the Wilderness Study Area boundary. We parked here and started hiking down the canyon. It was a beautiful canyon with interesting tafoni everywhere and a few short sections of narrows. There was nice reflected light bouncing off the canyon walls so I took my time taking plenty of photos along the way. We hiked through the reef until we reached the intersection with the Chute Canyon Trail where we turned around and returned the way we had come. We didn’t see anyone else all afternoon until we were on our way back to the trailhead, and even then we only ran into a family of four and another solo hiker. The high temperature was probably in the low 50’s and it turned out to be a great day for hiking in the canyon!

CONTINUE READINGCrack Canyon
1 Comment
McDonald CreekMcDonald Creek

McDonald Creek

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Our original plan for today was to visit my geocache on Winter Camp Ridge just outside of Arches National Park and then explore a little more of Lost Spring Canyon. We left home later in the morning and made our way into Utah to the Yellow Cat Road, however we were quickly stopped by slippery mud, quicksand and large cutbanks at a crossing of Pinto Wash from the recent heavy rain. Without a good place to winch from in the area, we decided it was best to turn around and come back another time after the area had more time to dry out. It was time to find something else to do.

CONTINUE READINGMcDonald Creek
6 Comments
No Thoroughfare Canyon LoopNo Thoroughfare Canyon Loop

No Thoroughfare Canyon Loop

Saturday, October 24, 2015

This morning I went on a new hike in the Colorado National Monument with Jackson and Chris from work. Our plan was to create a loop that combined parts of the No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail and the Old Gordon Trail while visiting a little-known arch along the way. We would connect the two trails up by hiking up a short side-canyon and then scrambling up a steep gully behind the arch to the rim of the canyon. This route ended up creating a nice seven mile loop through the backcountry and visited Windowpane Arch (No Thoroughfare Window) and the remains of an old cabin. It was a great morning for a hike, minus the excessive humidity we had to deal with.

CONTINUE READINGNo Thoroughfare Canyon Loop
2 Comments
Red Canyon & Wolverine CanyonRed Canyon & Wolverine Canyon

Red Canyon & Wolverine Canyon

Southern Utah Wanderings 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015

After sleeping in until the sun came up on Sunday morning we had a little breakfast and then decided to hike the Red Canyon Trail since the trailhead was located right in the campground. We weren’t sure how long the trail was, but we knew it couldn’t be too long since we could see where the canyon ended. It turned out to be a pretty easy hike that followed an old road then dropped into the wash that emerged from the mouth of Red Canyon. The trail eventually ended in a large amphitheater caved out of the Waterpocket Fold. When we returned to the trailhead we had hiked a bit over six miles according to my GPS. It was a nice morning hike to get warmed up for the day.

CONTINUE READINGRed Canyon & Wolverine Canyon
Leave a Comment