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Category: Touring

Junes Bottom & Moonshine WashJunes Bottom & Moonshine Wash

Junes Bottom & Moonshine Wash

Edges of the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness | Friday – Sunday, November 21-23, 2025

This weekend I didn’t want to stray too far from home but I also wanted to go somewhere where I knew the roads would be OK since we had a week full of wet stormy weather across the Colorado Plateau, so I decided to return to the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness for the third time this year since there are still a number of hikes I want to do in the area. My main objective was to hike down to Junes Bottom since it’s been on my to-do list for a long time and I have never had the opportunity to stop there while on a river trip through Labyrinth Canyon yet. I left from work on Friday afternoon, got fuel in Green River and then made my way south to the rim above the Trin-Alcove Bend which is where I planned to watch the sunset and then spend the night.

CONTINUE READINGJunes Bottom & Moonshine Wash
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Return to Bryce Canyon National Park & Red CanyonReturn to Bryce Canyon National Park & Red Canyon

Return to Bryce Canyon National Park & Red Canyon

Edges of the Paunsaugunt Plateau | Saturday – Tuesday, November 8-11, 2025

Earlier in the year, well before she even knew she had a meningioma and would need brain surgery in October, Diane told me that she wanted to go to Bryce Canyon National Park sometime this year because she had never been there before and it was the only National Park in Utah that she hadn’t been to yet, so I planned a trip for us to visit the park over the Veterans Day holiday and weekend in early November. Of course, after her surgery in early October and the rough recovery afterwards, I wasn’t sure if we were still going to be able to go on this trip, but as the dates got closer and she continued to slowly get better every day and was no longer under any restrictions, we decided to still go, even if she would only able to visit the overlooks from the rim. Although I had initially planned to go on some longer hikes when I started making plans for this trip earlier in the year, I had no problems toning down those plans so we could experience the park together now. I thought this extended weekend might be a nice getaway for Diane who has spend most of the last month either in the hospital or at home.

CONTINUE READINGReturn to Bryce Canyon National Park & Red Canyon
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Ridge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso CreekRidge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso Creek

Ridge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso Creek

Uncompahgre Wilderness & Fall Colors 2025 | Friday & Saturday, September 26-27, 2025

This weekend I headed up into the Uncompahgre Wilderness near Lake City so I could spend one final weekend hiking in the high country above treeline as my season in the mountains comes to an end. I’ve been wanting to hike more sections of the Ridge Stock Driveway Trail that traverses much of the wilderness from American Flats in the west to the Alpine Plateau in the east, and I thought it would be fun to hike a segment above Nellie Creek, Big Blue Creek and El Paso Creek, which all surround the base of Uncompahgre Peak– the highest point in the San Juan Mountains! I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed a bite to eat in Delta, and then took the Blue Mesa Cutoff over to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison which I followed upstream to Lake City. Although I was hoping to see some fall colors along the way this weekend, I was a bit surprised at just how nice the colors were all around Lake City. I don’t think I’ve ever headed this way in search of fall colors before since my typical go-to spots are around Ouray, Silverton and Crested Butte, but now I think I’m going to have to come back this way again in the future!

CONTINUE READINGRidge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso Creek
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Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2025Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2025

Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2025

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, September 23, 2025

I’m not going to have very much time to chase fall colors this season, so I decided to head up onto the Grand Mesa after work this afternoon to spend a few hours seeing how the colors were coming along so far this year. I’m glad that I did since the colors were almost at peak and looking pretty great just about everywhere I went, including at my favorite overlook at Skyway Point. I also took a chance exploring some new areas that I had never been to before and found some nice patches of colors along the way. It was a nice way to spend a few hours until sunset this evening!

CONTINUE READINGFall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2025
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San Juan River: Sand Island to Mexican HatSan Juan River: Sand Island to Mexican Hat

San Juan River: Sand Island to Mexican Hat

Thursday – Sunday, September 18-21, 2025 | High CFS: 622 – Low CFS: 524

Although I certainly enjoy the early season spring-runoff river trips of summer, I think my favorite time to get out onto a desert river is during low-water at the end of the season in September. I guess I just enjoy the cooler temperatures, relaxing pace, minimal bugs and sandy campsites that are common at this time of the year. So when I realized earlier in the year that I had not been back on the San Juan River since 2019, I knew I wanted to get back on it during September since all of our previous trips have been in May and June. Jackson was also interested in a late season trip and managed to get us a permit for three days on the stretch from Sand Island to Mexican Hat. We were all set to finally float the San Juan River in September and I was looking forward to my final river trip of 2025!

CONTINUE READINGSan Juan River: Sand Island to Mexican Hat
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