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Tag: devils canyon

Surrounding Sids Mountain in the San Rafael SwellSurrounding Sids Mountain in the San Rafael Swell

Surrounding Sids Mountain in the San Rafael Swell

Sids Mountain Wilderness | Friday – Sunday, October 31 – November 2, 2025

Although I was originally hoping to be out hiking in the Canyons of the Escalante with Jared for a long weekend at this time, Diane’s recovery is progressing slowly and I didn’t want to leave her home for an extended period of time just yet, so I figured I would just save the PTO for another time and delay the trip until sometime next year. However, I still wanted to get out hiking a little deeper into the backcountry this weekend and Diane is doing well enough that we were comfortable with her staying home for the weekend- she would be having a few friends stop by to visit her throughout the weekend- so I thought it would be nice to head over to the San Rafael Swell to get in some hiking and exploring around Sids Mountain. It’s been just over a year since my last visit to the Swell and I was looking forward to the return!

CONTINUE READINGSurrounding Sids Mountain in the San Rafael Swell
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Al Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume CreekAl Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume Creek

Al Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume Creek

Fruita Frontcountry | Wednesday, October 29, 2025

I was originally hoping to leave after work today and head over into the Canyons of the Escalante for four days to try and salvage part of my annual Southern Utah Wanderings trip that I missed earlier in the month, but Diane was still having some possible concerning issues with her recovery and I thought it would be best to stay close to home for now. Instead, I ended up going on a hike after work on a few different segments of trails surrounding Al Look Hill within the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area between the Fruita Paleo Area and Flume Creek Canyon. The total hike turned out to be about six miles and consisted mostly of trail segments that I had never hiked before.

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Black Ridge Trail – Rim Rock Drive Hike n’ Bike LoopBlack Ridge Trail - Rim Rock Drive Hike n’ Bike Loop

Black Ridge Trail – Rim Rock Drive Hike n’ Bike Loop

Heart of the World | Sunday, June 1, 2025

While Diane and I were originally planning to beat the heat this weekend by backpacking on top of the Grand Mesa, after driving up onto the Mesa Saturday morning we found that the road to our desired trailhead was still gated and closed so we decided to just return home to take a break and relax instead. Of course, I just couldn’t stay home all weekend, so I decided to head up into the Colorado National Monument very early on Sunday morning so I could continue working on my Heart of the World project by hiking the Black Ridge Trail and then competing a loop by riding my bike back to the trailhead on Rim Rock Drive. Although it seems pretty popular among road bikers, I have never really had the desire to bike any part of Rim Rock Drive before, but I thought it might be fun to try it once. I left home well before sunrise on Sunday morning and dropped my bike off at the Upper Liberty Cap Trailhead before continuing on to the other end of the trail at the Visitor Center to start the hike.

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Fruita Frontcountry: Devils Ridge & Devils CanyonFruita Frontcountry: Devils Ridge & Devils Canyon

Fruita Frontcountry: Devils Ridge & Devils Canyon

After Work Adventures | Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Now that Daylight Savings Time is officially here and it’s staying lighter longer after work I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage and get outside for a hike this afternoon. I decided to head on over to the frontcountry trails found at the mouth of Devils Canyon in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Fruita to hike the Devils Ridge Trail (D7) which I had tried to hike back in August of last year but was turned around by muddy conditions. It turned out to be a nice way to spend a couple of hours after work before heading home for the rest of the evening.

CONTINUE READINGFruita Frontcountry: Devils Ridge & Devils Canyon
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Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2025Nine Mile Canyon 2025

Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2025

Saturday & Sunday, February 8-9, 2025

Although we were hoping to make it back into Nine Mile Canyon late last year, that never ended up happening so I figured it would be nice to get back into the canyon early this year and made plans for a weekend visit just a couple of days before my birthday. At least we didn’t wait another five years to return like the last time! Even though the week leading up to this trip had been unseasonably warm across the Colorado Plateau, a cold front had finally passed through the region on Friday night and dropped temperatures back to normal for this time of the year, and we saw early morning temperatures get down into the teens and single digits, but daytime temperatures were comfortable in the 40’s. Diane and I left home early on Saturday morning and then we spent most of the weekend searching for new petroglyphs in Nine Mile Canyon while also stopping to revisit sites we’ve been to before along the way. Here are some photos from our weekend exploring the world’s longest art gallery.

CONTINUE READINGRock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2025
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