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The Carbon Corridor: A Few Evenings Around PriceThe Carbon Corridor: A Few Evenings Around Price

The Carbon Corridor: A Few Evenings Around Price

Monday – Thursday, May 6-9, 2024

After spending the weekend in Salt Lake City with Diane, we returned home for a normal day of work on Monday and then I drove back up to Price afterwards since I would be spending the rest of the week attending the annual Utah Geographic Information Council (UGIC) Conference, which was being held in the Carbon Corridor this year. Of course, during my drive to Price I took a detour off of the highway into the very northern reaches of the San Rafael Swell so I could go on a short hike and a scenic drive before continuing on to my hotel for the night. There had been a consistent and strong cold wind blowing all day which made the hiking a bit chilly this evening and it offered a preview of what the weather would have in store for the remainder of the week!

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Utah Rims: Zion Curtain Trail to Point 5482Utah Rims: Zion Curtain Trail to Point 5482

Utah Rims: Zion Curtain Trail to Point 5482

After Work Adventures | Friday, April 19, 2024

Since I was going to be staying closer to home this weekend so Diane and I could go to a concert on Saturday night, I decided to head out after work on Friday for a late afternoon hike on part of the Zion Curtain Trail to a highpoint in the Utah Rims area just west of the state line and Rabbit Valley. After driving west into Utah on the old 6 & 50 Highway, I headed south on a narrow Jeep track to the rim of the mesa above McDonald Creek and then hiked west along the Zion Curtain Trail to Point 5482. I was hoping that the sun might peek out from behind the clouds for to add some nice light to the landscape this evening, but it stayed pretty cloudy throughout my short hike.

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Beyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South DesertBeyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South Desert

Beyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South Desert

Friday – Sunday, April 12-14, 2024

A few months ago I finally did something that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time when I signed up for a Swiftwater Rescue Training class that would be taking place on Monday and Tuesday along the Green River near Swaseys Beach at the mouth of Gray Canyon. Since I needed to be in Green River on Sunday night for the class, I figured this would be a good weekend to spend some quality time wandering around the fringes at the southwestern edge of the San Rafael Swell and into the adjacent Cathedral Valley District of Capitol Reef National Park. It feels like it’s been quite a while since I’ve spent much time out in this desolate area and I was looking forward to returning since there are plenty of new places I’ve wanted to explore with my Jeep and on foot, plus a few others that I’ve wanted to return to.

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Third Flats: Cedar Point Road to Haystack 3 PointThird Flats: Cedar Point Road to Haystack 3 Point

Third Flats: Cedar Point Road to Haystack 3 Point

After Work Adventures | Monday, April 1, 2024

When I left work this afternoon, I headed up into the Third Flats section of the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area so I could get in a short hike to a local highpoint before going home. Since I have pretty much completed hiking all of the Kokopelli Trails near Loma now, I figured this area would be a good place to focus my attention to for my next local trails project, especially since it’s close to town and I have not been on any of the trails in this area before, aside from the one time I drove up the Billings Canyon Jeep Trail back in 2006. I decided to start out by hiking up the Cedar Point Road to Haystack 3 Point while also hiking parts of the Quad Rocker, Easy Rider and Canyon View Trails along the way. There was a lot of stormy weather around the Grand Valley this afternoon which made for some dynamic and dramatic conditions along the way. Here are a couple photos from my short afternoon hike.

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Kokopelli Loops: Moore Fun LoopKokopelli Loops: Moore Fun Loop

Kokopelli Loops: Moore Fun Loop

After Work Adventures | Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Well, I was originally planning to go hiking after work yesterday, but the weather didn’t cooperate with those plans and today was looking no better, but as I was leaving work this afternoon the conditions seemed to be pretty nice for a short hike, so I took my chances and headed back over to the Kokopelli Trails near Loma. I returned to the Lions Trailhead so I could hike a four-mile loop of the upper and lower Moore Fun Trail. Although I have hiked the main Moore Fun Trail from both sides before, I had never hiked the shorter Lower Moore Fun Trail, which was my main objective today. But since it’s only a short trail of less than a mile, I figured it would be nice to combine the upper and lower trails into a loop. Although wet weather had been threatening all day across the valley, it seems that the precipitation had completely missed this area as the trails and roads were completely dry, but I did encounter some sprinkles of rain, flurries of snow and plenty of wind during the hike. Here are a couple of photos from my afternoon jaunt.

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