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Arizona Strip: Grand Wash to the Marble Platform

Across the Arizona Strip | Friday – Saturday, May 1-2, 2026

After spending Thursday evening in Las Vegas I was up extra early on Friday morning and ready to leave Nevada for a long, hot and dusty drive across the Arizona Strip. I’ve always wanted to enter the Arizona Strip from the west via Gold Butte National Monument and figured this would be a good time to finally do it. I planned to drive all the way across the Arizona Strip to the Marble Platform on the eastern end which would give me the opportunity to see more of the Plateau Province that I started exploring more thoroughly back in 2024. After topping off my gas tank in Moapa for the long drive ahead, I followed the Virgin River to Whitney Pocket at the southern end of the Virgin Mountains and began my trek eastward.

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The Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison Gorge

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Friday – Saturday, April 24-25, 2026

Since we just drove home from Arizona this past weekend and I’ll be leaving for Las Vegas early on Thursday morning, I thought it would be a good idea to stay closer to home this weekend and hike a few more sections of the trails found within the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, especially since my last trip to the Gunnison Gorge was cut short earlier in the month when I was still battling a bad cold. The weather was calling for rain to begin overnight on Saturday and continue throughout Sunday, so I figured I would just head out after work on Friday for a quick overnighter and come home later on Saturday. I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed a quick dinner in Delta and then decided to go on a few short hikes along the foot of the Uncompahgre Plateau before heading over to find a campsite near the Gunnison Gorge.

Red Rocks – Nighthorse Trail & Sidewinder Loop

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Saturday, April 4, 2026

It’s been a rough week since I’ve been battling a bad cold that started right after our hike down the Ribbon Trail last Sunday. I spent a lot of this past week sleeping and resting when I wasn’t working and didn’t seem to be getting any better. I rarely get sick, but when I do it usually hits me pretty hard. Finally, on Friday I was starting to feel better and thought I would be able to get out for a local hike on Saturday morning to help me get back into the swing of things before we leave for Arizona on Wednesday. I’m just glad that I got sick this past week and not right before or during our upcoming Grand Canyon trip that’s starting next week! I thought I was feeling pretty good when left home bright and early on Saturday morning and made my way over to the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area just outside of Olathe.

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Deep Black: The Gunnison Route

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park | Saturday, May 10, 2025

After hiking all of the trails above the rim in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park I’ve been thinking about finally trying one of the Inner Canyon Wilderness routes down to the Gunnison River which have been on my to-do list for a very long time. Although Diane and I backpacked down Red Rock Canyon almost ten years ago, which is definitely the easiest route into the canyon, I’ve been apprehensive about trying the other routes into the canyon since I’m not really a big fan of steep and loose trails, so I have kept putting off trying them. However, when I noticed that the Park was moving the permit system for the South Rim routes onto Recreation.gov earlier this year, I figured it was finally time to grab a permit to try out the Gunnison Route, which is supposed to be the next easiest route into the canyon.

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Gunnison Gorge: Red Rocks to Gunnison Forks

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Friday – Sunday, April 25-27, 2025

After going on a last minute trip into the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness in Utah last weekend, I wanted to stay even closer to home this weekend and thought that this would be a good opportunity for me to return to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Although as of last June I have hiked all of the official trails within Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, there are still quite a few trails and roads in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area that I have not hiked or driven yet, so I figured I could check out a few more of them as I continue to explore the area more thoroughly. I left from work on Friday afternoon and made my way down to the Gunnison Gorge.

Tag: black canyon

Arizona Strip: Grand Wash to the Marble Platform

The Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison Gorge

Red Rocks – Nighthorse Trail & Sidewinder Loop

Deep Black: The Gunnison Route

Gunnison Gorge: Red Rocks to Gunnison Forks