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Knocking Around Kane Springs Canyon

Moab Meanderings in the Fog | Saturday & Sunday, January 3-4, 2026

For the first weekend in 2026 I returned to Moab so I could spend a little time hiking and exploring around Kane Springs Canyon. Of course, similarly to last weekend I was stuck with overcast conditions again, except this time I was mostly in or under a layer of low clouds and fog. After leaving home early on Saturday morning it was a slower than usual drive to Moab since I had to drive through a thick layer of fog pretty much the entire way with the temperatures hovering around freezing. It was still foggy out when I reached the mouth of Kane Spring Canyon, so instead of going on my first hike right away I decided to continue up the canyon to Hurrah Pass to see if I could get above the fog for some photos at sunrise. This turned out to be a really good choice since I was able to get out of the fog for a little bit, until it finally enveloped the pass. Then I returned to the Amasa Back Trailhead and started hiking with hopes that the fog would burn off soon.

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Moab Meanderings: Grandstaff Canyon & Sand Flats

Sand Flats Recreation Area II | Saturday & Sunday, December 27-28, 2025

Well, this is it- my final Trip Report of 2025! For this final weekend of the year I returned to the landscape surrounding Moab so I could spend my time hiking and exploring Grandstaff Canyon. While I vaguely recall hiking the popular trail from the mouth of Grandstaff Canyon to Morning Glory Bridge way back in 2010 with my friend Jackson when the canyon was known by a more racially insensitive name, for some reason I do not have any photos or even a Trip Report from that day, which is very unusual for me, so I planned to re-hike that trail early on Sunday morning to refresh my memory and take a few photos along the way. Since I would be doing that on Sunday I figured that it would be interesting to spend Saturday exploring other parts of Grandstaff Canyon so I could get a better overview of the area, and that’s what I set out to do when I left home bright and early on Saturday morning and made my way over to the Sand Flats Recreation Area.

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Christmas in Arches 2025

Arches National Park | Wednesday & Thursday, December 24-25, 2025

Christmas is here again, which means that it’s time to return to Arches National Park for our annual Christmas tradition. Although Diane is still not supposed to do much hiking right now, she wanted to join me for some easier hikes in the park since she missed out on the past two years because of work, so we planned to spend the holiday hiking some of the easy and popular trails in the park that we usually pass right by. After getting out of work early on Christmas Eve, I stopped home to pick up Diane and we made our way over to Arches around noon. While we have enjoyed hiking in mild temperatures on Christmas a few times in the past, I don’t think we have ever experienced 60 degree temperatures (pushing close to 70 on Christmas Eve) like we did this year. It sure didn’t feel very much like Christmas this time!

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White Rim Trail: Mineral Bottom to Candlestick Camp

Island in the Sky | Friday – Sunday, December 5-7, 2025

Although it’s been over three years since the last time I visited the Island in the Sky District within Canyonlands National Park, it certainly has not been for a lack of trying. Over the past few years I have booked the Candlestick Camp on the White Rim at least two or three different times since it’s the only campsite along the White Rim Trail that I have not stayed at before, but each time the weather or ice on the switchbacks of the Mineral Bottom Road made me change those plans. Over the summer I decided to try again and booked the campsite for the first weekend in December with hopes that the weather would cooperate this time, and then I invited my friend Jackson along so he could get his first taste of the White Rim with his new 4Runner. As the weekend neared there was a winter storm system that impacted the areas around Grand Junction and Moab so we weren’t sure what the road situation was going to be like when we reached the top of the switchbacks above Mineral Bottom, but after leaving work on Friday and making our way out there we were happy to find that this area had not been impacted and the switchbacks were clear and dry- so down we went!

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Below the Bears Ears: Thanksgiving Weekend 2025

Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 15 | Thursday – Sunday, November 27-30, 2025

Back before Diane even knew she had a meningioma and would be having surgery in October we were hoping to return to the Dinétah in New Mexico this Thanksgiving, but with everything going on lately we switched gears and decided to return to the Bears Ears region instead since it’s a bit closer to home and a more important place to us. Up until about two weeks ago Diane was still planning to join me this holiday weekend and we were planning to stick to easier hikes like we had done at Bryce Canyon National Park earlier this month, but unfortunately she has had some setbacks with her recovery and is not allowed to do any hiking right now, so she would be spending Thanksgiving with a friend while I spent the extended holiday weekend below the Bears Ears on my own since I was really feeling the pull to get back down there one last time before the year was over. I’m really hoping that Diane will be able to get over these setbacks and can get back out hiking again soon.

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Tag: arches

Knocking Around Kane Springs Canyon

Moab Meanderings: Grandstaff Canyon & Sand Flats

Christmas in Arches 2025

White Rim Trail: Mineral Bottom to Candlestick Camp

Below the Bears Ears: Thanksgiving Weekend 2025