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Tag: abajo mountains

La Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire LookoutLa Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout

La Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout

Overlooking the Four Corners | Friday – Sunday, June 12-14, 2026

A few weeks ago I was able to reserve a night at the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout Tower when the reservation system was moved over to Recreation.gov without very much notice. Diane was not able to come with me on my previous visit to the Fire Tower and I have wanted to take her back ever since, so we planned an extended weekend in the La Plata Mountains around this stay. It’s kind of hard to believe that it has been almost six years since my last visit to the La Platas, so I was definitely overdue for a return! We left home early on Friday morning and took the San Juan Skyway over Lizard Head Pass to Rico and then followed the Dolores River to Hillside Drive which we turned up and followed to the end. From the end of the road we hiked up the Hillside Connector Trail and Grindstone Trail until we reached the Highline Trail, which is part of The Colorado Trail, and then followed it across the top of Indian Trail Ridge.

CONTINUE READINGLa Plata Mountains and the Jersey Jim Fire Lookout
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The Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of StoneThe Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of Stone

The Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of Stone

Canyonlands National Park | Friday – Sunday, March 6-8, 2026

Since I’ve already spent some time in both the Island in the Sky and The Maze districts of Canyonlands National Park this year, I figured this weekend would be the perfect opportunity for me to get back into The Needles so I could knock out all three districts by early March. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been an entire year since I was last in The Needles when Diane and I went backpacking into Chesler Park last March, so I was itching to get back! This time I didn’t really have any set destinations in mind when I left from work on Friday afternoon, I just knew that I wanted to wander off trail across some sandstone benches and through some canyons to see what I could find along the way. I was wanting to make it to the park before sunset since there had been winter storms across the Colorado Plateau all day and I was hoping to catch the storm clearing out at sunset.

CONTINUE READINGThe Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of Stone
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Standing Up Country: Chimney Rock & The MazeStanding Up Country: Chimney Rock & The Maze

Standing Up Country: Chimney Rock & The Maze

Lost in The Maze IV | Thursday – Sunday, February 26 – March 1, 2026

After taking Jackson on his first trip into The Maze about two years ago he told me that he was interested in hiking to the Harvest Scene at some point and we started thinking about plans for a future trip into the area. Although I have hiked to the Harvest Scene quite a few times before, I was interested in revisiting the loop from Chimney Rock again since that was my very first hike in The Maze and I didn’t remember it very well- plus, I wanted to hike it in the opposite direction so we would be on the Petes Mesa Route in the early morning. Last year after Jackson bought a new 4Runner Trailhunter we tentatively started making plans to drive out to Chimney Rock in late February so he could see what his new vehicle could do. At the time we initially started planning the trip I still had my Jeep and figured we could just head out there together over a long weekend since I have driven that road many times before, but then I ended up trading in my Rubicon for a 4Runner and figured that this would now be a good opportunity to see how my new vehicle would handle the road out to the Land of Standing Rocks, too.

CONTINUE READINGStanding Up Country: Chimney Rock & The Maze
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Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country IIBorderlands of the Bears Ears Country II

Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country II

Friday – Sunday, November 22-24, 2024

This weekend I met up with a friend so we could explore some new places surrounding Bears Ears National Monument, although we did end up making our way up onto the edges of Cedar Mesa for a couple of short hikes, too. I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed dinner at Milt’s in Moab before they close for the winter, and then continued on towards Blanding where I stopped for an evening photo over Recapture Reservoir before finding a campsite just outside of town and getting to bed early. Then early on Saturday morning I met up with my friend in Blanding and we headed out into the Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country for the rest of the weekend. These are some photos of what we saw.

CONTINUE READINGBorderlands of the Bears Ears Country II
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La Sal Mountains: Warner Lake to Gold KnobLa Sal Mountains: Warner Lake to Gold Knob

La Sal Mountains: Warner Lake to Gold Knob

Juneteenth | Tuesday – Wednesday, June 18-19, 2024

Surprisingly, it’s been almost three years since my last visit to the La Sal Mountains near Moab and I’ve definitely been overdue for a return since I still have a couple of peaks left in the range to hike. Since I had Wednesday off for Juneteenth, I left from work on Tuesday afternoon and headed up to the Warner Lake Campground so I could start getting my lungs and legs ready for the mountain hiking season with an easier hike up to the summit of Gold Knob in the morning. After arriving at the campground I went for a short loop hike nearby and then returned to watch the sunset from Warner Lake before getting to bed early.

CONTINUE READINGLa Sal Mountains: Warner Lake to Gold Knob
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