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Tag: after work adventures

Red Rocks – Nighthorse Trail to Spikes & Sidewinder

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Wednesday, May 20, 2026

After spending Saturday hiking to the bottom of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, I decided to return again to the Gunnison Gorge this afternoon for only my second After Work Adventure of the year. This time I wanted to continue hiking trails within the National Conservation Area that I had not been on before and went for a 7.5 mile loop that combined the Red Rocks – Nighthorse Trail, Spikes Trail and Sidewinder Trail starting from the end of the Bobcat Road. Here are a few photos from the hike.

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Fruita Frontcountry: Snooks Bottom & Opal Hill Loop

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, April 28, 2026

After leaving work this afternoon I stopped home to pick up Diane and then we headed over to Snooks Bottom along the Colorado River near Fruita so we could go on a short loop hike around the little lake found there and Opal Hill on trails that neither of us had ever been on before. It was quite a bit windier out than we were expecting it to be, but it turned out to be a nice little three mile loop. It’s kind of hard to believe, but this is actually my very first After Work Adventure of the year. I guess I have been really slacking this year! Here are a few photos from our short hike.

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Upper No Thoroughfare Canyon

Heart of the World | Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Well, here it is! This is my last hike in the Colorado National Monument for my Heart of the World project and I managed to finish them all up before the end of the year! To be honest, I did have some time when I could have completed this final hike in November, but I purposely waited until December so I could get in a hike during each month of the year, which wasn’t a goal when I initially started this project back on New Years Day, but it just kind of happened naturally and I decided to stick with it about halfway through the year. I guess that waiting until December was a little too late for this particular hike since the trail was covered with some snow in the shaded areas by now, but I figured that might be the case and brought along my microspikes. As much as I would have liked to have hiked the entire length of No Thoroughfare Canyon for this project, the days are just too short at this time of the year for me to squeeze that kind of hike in after work, plus the only section of an ‘official’ trail in Upper No Thoroughfare Canyon are the switchbacks at the very top, so I figured I would be good just hiking down the trail a few miles and then returning the same way.

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Kodels Canyon & Devils Canyon Rims

Colorado National Monument | Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Last week when I was hiking up the Fruita Dugway in the Colorado National Monument, I noticed a bench just above Kodels Canyon and below Kodels Point that looked like it might be an interesting place to hike, and since I’m always looking for new places to explore close to home I decided to check it out after work today. I started out by hiking up the Fruita Dugway from the Historic Trails Viewpoint along Rim Rock Drive and then left the trail to make my way around the head of Kodels Canyon and across the bench to the rim of Devils Canyon where there was a pretty nice view. All in all, this turned out to be a fun off-trail hike through new terrain and was a good way to spend a few hours after work today.

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Fruita Dugway: Kodels Canyon to the Black Ridge Trail

Heart of the World | Wednesday, November 19, 2025

I was hoping to get out hiking at least once between storm systems this week and finally made a last minute decision to head out to hike up the Fruita Dugway right after work today. Although this may not be an ‘official’ trail within the Colorado National Monument, I still wanted to include it in my Heart of the World project because not only is it a historic route through the area, it’s also probably my favorite hike in all of the Monument. I started the hike from the Kodels Canyon Trailhead, climbed up to the junction with the Black Ridge Trail and then returned mostly the same way. Early on the hike was a bit hot and humid while I was in the sun, but it got a bit chilly when the clouds started to block out the sun. Here are a few photos from my evening hike up and down the Fruita Dugway.

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