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Tag: ccc trail

Colorado National Monument Western LoopColorado National Monument Western Loop

Colorado National Monument Western Loop

Colorado National Monument Traverse III
Sunday, March 20, 2016

After our overnight hike along the Black Ridge Loop in the Colorado National Monument last year Diane had mentioned to me that she enjoyed the hike up the Fruita Dugway and wanted to hike it again, so this year I planned a different loop that included the Fruita Dugway, Black Ridge Trail, CCC Trail and then returned down Monument Canyon. It would make a nice 13.5 mile loop on the western side of the Monument. We dropped my Jeep off at the Lower Monument Canyon Trailhead shortly before sunrise and then drove over to the Fruita Dugway Trailhead and started climbing the trail as the sun was coming up for the day. The Fruita Dugway is probably one of my favorite and often overlooked trails in the Colorado National Monument.

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Colorado National Monument Traverse IIColorado National Monument Traverse II

Colorado National Monument Traverse II

The Monument from Top to Bottom | Black Ridge Loop
Saturday & Sunday, March 28-29, 2015

After completing a traverse across the face of the Colorado National Monument last year I decided that I wanted to put together a longer loop through the Monument to hike this year. The route I strung together begins at the Kodels Canyon trailhead outside of the Monument near Fruita and climbs up the historic Fruita Dugway trail where it connects with the Black Ridge Trail. The Black Ridge trail is the highest trail in the Colorado National Monument topping out at just over 6,700 feet. Since the trailhead is at about 4,700 feet, this route ascends over 2,000 feet of elevation gain while climbing from the lower part of the Monument to the higher part. After following the Black Ridge Trail to it’s end at the Upper Liberty Cap trailhead we would then follow the entire Liberty Cap trail back down to the Wildwood trailhead. Since this route is about 18 miles in length, I thought it would make a nice overnight backpacking trip so that we could take our time and spend a night in the Monument. I stopped by the Visitor’s Center on Friday and picked up a backcountry camping permit so that we could start the hike bright and early on Saturday morning.

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Otto’s BathtubOtto's Bathtub

Otto’s Bathtub

Easter | Sunday, April 20, 2014

My original plan for Easter Sunday was to hike and explore Sieber Canyon. Unfortunately, a road closed sign across Bs Road changed those plans when I tried to reach the trailhead first thing in the morning. With no backup plan I decided to drive over to the upper Liberty Cap trailhead, since it was not too far away, to finally hike to Otto’s Bathtub on Monument Mesa.

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Black Ridge TrailBlack Ridge Trail

Black Ridge Trail

Sunday, April 15, 2012

After spending the previous day at Rifle Falls with Amanda we decided to spend Sunday morning taking a hike we have wanted to do for a while in in the Colorado National Monument. The last time we had planned to hike the Black Ridge Trail, it snowed, so we cancelled our plans because we feared it would be a muddy and slippery mess in places. Like the previous day, the weather forecast overnight was calling for storms, but luckily the Monument didn’t see any precipitation. The Book Cliffs, on the other hand, were coated with snow as we drove to the Monument.

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