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River of Lost Souls: Rafting the Upper Animas River

The Needleton Section: Needleton Stop to the Tacoma Power Station
Average CFS – Silverton: 290 / Durango: 870
Saturday & Sunday, June 6-7, 2026

Last November during their annual Black Friday sale, Jackson and I had booked a day trip for this Saturday on the Upper Piedra River near Pagosa Springs with Mild to Wild Rafting, but after the dismal winter we’ve had here in the San Juan Mountains there just wasn’t enough water for the trip this year, so last weekend we were contacted by the company to see about switching to the Upper Animas River which thankfully did have enough water, albeit for a brief season anyways. Since the Upper Animas is one of the trips we were planning to do eventually and they gave us such a great deal to switch, we couldn’t say no! As an added bonus, since the only way to reach the put-in at Needleton, other than hiking in, is by train, I would finally be able to ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which is something I’ve wanted to do for over two decades but never really made a priority. So, despite all the last minute changes to our plans, we were both looking forward to our first rafting trip down the River of Lost Souls!

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Ten Years Later: Ouray Perimeter Trail 2026

Ouray Trails | Sunday, May 31, 2026

I recently realized that it has been almost ten years since I last hiked the Ouray Perimeter Trail, and at that time the entire loop was not even fully completed yet. Although I have hiked all the newly created segments since then, I had not hiked the entire loop in one shot again and was interested in finally doing that. Plus, since Ouray is celebrating its 150th birthday this year I though that this would be a great way for me to partake in the sesquicentennial celebration in my own way! So after spending the night just outside of Montrose I was up well before sunrise and made my way into Ouray so I could get an early start hiking the Perimeter Trail around town.

Ouray Trails: Portland Trail & Old Horsethief Trail

Ouray Trails on Memorial Day | Sunday – Monday, May 24-25, 2026

After leaving the Paradox Valley on Sunday afternoon, I went for a scenic drive across the Uncompahgre Plateau to Montrose and then headed south to Ouray so I could start off my summer hiking season in the San Juan Mountains since the snow is melting out early this year. I arrived with plenty of time to get in a late afternoon hike near town, so I started from the Baby Bathtubs Trailhead just below the Amphitheater Campground and planned to hike a loop up the Portland Trail, since it’s one of the few trails near Ouray that I had never hiked before.

Ouray Trails: Silvershield Trail & Oak Creek Trail

San Juan Triangle | Monday – Tuesday, June 23-24, 2025

I wasn’t able to get out hiking on Juneteenth last Thursday like I had hoped since I was trying to figure out what was going on with my Jeep most of last week, so to make up for it I decided to take a day off from work this week and head on down to Ouray to hike a few of the trails closer to town. The weather forecast for Tuesday was looking like the best conditions of the week, so I left after work on Monday and made my way down to Ouray. After a quick stop for dinner in Delta and gas in Montrose, I continued on to the parking lot at the Ouray Hot Springs Pool so I could hike the last segment of the Ouray Perimeter Trail that was not yet built when Diane and I hiked the loop over nine years ago. Although it was a bit warm in Ouray this evening, most of the trail that I hiked this evening was already in the shade and there was a nice breeze.

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Mountains of Minerals: Velocity & Richmond Basins

San Juan Triangle | Friday – Sunday, July 12-14, 2024

After spending Thursday on the Colorado River in Westwater Canyon, I returned to work on Friday and then headed out afterwards to spend the weekend hiking in the San Juan Mountains between Silverton and Ouray. After making my way over Red Mountain Pass on the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton, I followed Cement Creek up into Velocity Basin and went for an evening hike along the shore of the little lake in the basin before finding a nearby campsite and getting to bed not long after sunset. Although hot, dry air has dominated the region for the past couple of weeks, afternoon storms were predicted to make a return this weekend, so I would have to make sure my hikes were planned accordingly by getting early starts.

Tag: canyon creek

River of Lost Souls: Rafting the Upper Animas River

Ten Years Later: Ouray Perimeter Trail 2026

Ouray Trails: Portland Trail & Old Horsethief Trail

Ouray Trails: Silvershield Trail & Oak Creek Trail

Mountains of Minerals: Velocity & Richmond Basins