Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: camp

Bears Ears to Hovenweep and Canyons of the AncientsBears Ears to Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients

Bears Ears to Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients

Alternate Plans: Back on the Four Corners Circuit | Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 6
Friday & Saturday, May 20-21, 2022

This upcoming week Diane was going to be out of school and was looking forward to getting away for her Spring Break, so for the past few months I had been planning a week-long trip for us to visit the Jemez Mountains and Bandelier National Monument near Santa Fe. Unfortunately, the large Cerro Pelado Wildfire ended up closing both Bandelier National Monument and the Santa Fe National Forest before our trip, so I was forced to come up with Alternate Plans for the week and decided to return to the Four Corners area. Hopefully we will be able to reschedule a trip to the Jemez Mountains another time in the future since we were both looking forward to it!

CONTINUE READINGBears Ears to Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients
Leave a Comment
Petroglyphs of the Petrified ForestPetroglyphs of the Petrified Forest

Petroglyphs of the Petrified Forest

A Return to Petrified Forest National Park
Sunday & Monday, May 16-17, 2021

After an amazing Saturday checking out the ruins and rock art of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park we were now planning on spending the next two days digging deeper into the backcountry of Petrified Forest National Park. We had such a great time exploring the Petrified Forest last February that we couldn’t wait to get back for some more! Of course, we would have preferred to come back earlier in the year when it’s a bit cooler out and less crowded, but this would probably be our only opportunity this year, so we jumped at it. Since the park does not open until 8:00am we had time for breakfast in Holbrook before heading to the southern entrance of the park and arrived just a few minutes before they opened for the day.

CONTINUE READINGPetroglyphs of the Petrified Forest
3 Comments
Grand Gulch: Kane Gulch to Bullet CanyonGrand Gulch: Kane Gulch to Bullet Canyon

Grand Gulch: Kane Gulch to Bullet Canyon

Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 4
Wednesday – Sunday, March 31 – April 4, 2021

Last spring Jared, Dave and I had made plans and obtained a permit to backpack on the Navajo Nation for the first time, but because the pandemic shut a lot of things down at the time, we were forced to cancel those plans. Since the Navajo Nation was still closed to visitors this spring we had to find something else to do for our annual spring backpacking trip this year. After discussing a number of different options over the winter, we finally settled on backpacking the popular loop through Grand Gulch from Kane Gulch to Bullet Canyon. Dave and I have both hiked this stretch of the canyon before, but Jared had not, and it was the last section of Grand Gulch he had not been through yet, so we wanted to make sure he got a chance to see it before it got even busier and harder to get permits. Besides, even though Diane and I had hiked this loop back in 2015, I was sure we missed quite a bit and was looking forward to getting back and spending a little more time in this section!

CONTINUE READINGGrand Gulch: Kane Gulch to Bullet Canyon
3 Comments
Trail of the Ancients: Our First Bikepacking ExperienceTrail of the Ancients: Our First Bikepacking Experience

Trail of the Ancients: Our First Bikepacking Experience

In-Between Cedar Mesa & The San Juan River
Friday – Sunday, March 19-21, 2021

This bikepacking trip has been a long time coming for us. Over the past couple of years Diane and I have talked about and planned this bikepacking trip for the early spring but something has always come up or the weather didn’t cooperate with our plans. This year we were determined to finally make this trip happen, especially since we both got new mountain bikes that we like riding and Diane had biked the White Rim Trail for her birthday in October. Diane has been pretty busy with school since the beginning of the year, but she finally had a Friday off and wanted to get away for a three day weekend, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to go on our very first bikepacking trip together, and we were looking forward to it!

CONTINUE READINGTrail of the Ancients: Our First Bikepacking Experience
2 Comments
The Canyons of Trachyte Creek IIThe Canyons of Trachyte Creek II

The Canyons of Trachyte Creek II

Trail Canyon to Lake Powell | Friday – Sunday, March 5-7, 2021

I’ve got a few upcoming backpacking trips planned starting in just a couple of weeks and I thought it would be a good idea to get out on my first backpacking trip of the year so I could get back into the swing of things, especially since I realized that I have not been on a backpacking trip since early October! Last March Diane and I went on an overnight backpacking trip along Trachyte Creek at this time of the year that we enjoyed, so I thought it would be nice to return there again so I could explore a few more of the side canyons in the area. Since Diane wouldn’t be able to join me this time I invited my friend Jackson along. We haven’t gone backpacking together in quite some time, so when I asked him about joining me on this trip he was definitely up for it!

CONTINUE READINGThe Canyons of Trachyte Creek II
1 Comment