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The Crest of the Henry Mountains: Mount EllenThe Crest of the Henry Mountains: Mount Ellen

The Crest of the Henry Mountains: Mount Ellen

Henry Mountains Peak Bagging | Friday – Sunday, June 17-19, 2022

After spending the last two weekends on the river, it was time for me to start off my summer season up in the mountains since it’s been getting pretty warm down in the desert. For the past couple of years I have started my mountain season in the La Sal Mountains, but this time I decided to change things up and spend the weekend in the Henry Mountains instead since I haven’t spent any real time in that range for quite some time and I’ve been wanting to get back. This time I invited my friend Jared along, and even though I warned him I would probably be hiking very slow this weekend since I haven’t done much real hiking lately- especially at elevation, he still wanted to come along, so we planned to meet at Wickiup Pass after work on Friday evening.

CONTINUE READINGThe Crest of the Henry Mountains: Mount Ellen
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An Unplanned Visit to Horseshoe CanyonAn Unplanned Visit to Horseshoe Canyon

An Unplanned Visit to Horseshoe Canyon

Friday – Sunday, March 12-14, 2021

This weekend I thought I would stick a little bit closer to home in hopes that I would be able to explore a pair of canyons in the Robbers Roost area that I had not been in before. While I knew there was a chance I would have to change my plans because a storm system was supposed to be moving through the area overnight and into Saturday, I was hoping it would miss this area and I would be able to carry on with my plans as normal. But unfortunately the storm did not miss the Roost and the weather would have other plans for me after all! I left straight from work on Friday afternoon and drove west to Green River so I could top off my fuel tank and then make my way into the Roost to find a spot to spend the night. As I zipped by the Book Cliffs on I-70 the light and clouds were looking pretty nice, but I didn’t bother to stop for any photos this time.

CONTINUE READINGAn Unplanned Visit to Horseshoe Canyon
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Petroglyphs of the Waterpocket FoldPetroglyphs of the Waterpocket Fold

Petroglyphs of the Waterpocket Fold

Southern Utah Wanderings | Backcountry Petroglyphs of Capitol Reef
Monday – Tuesday, October 1-2, 2018

After spending Sunday evening and Monday morning in Salt Lake City it was finally time to start my annual October trip to southern Utah. I planned on starting off the week by searching for some remote and little-known petroglyphs hidden in the backcountry of Capitol Reef National Park with my friend Jared. On our drive back from Salt Lake City, Diane and I stopped at Dennis‘ house in Price to pick up my Jeep. I had left my Jeep there on Saturday morning so we wouldn’t have to drive both of our vehicles all the way to Salt Lake City and I wouldn’t have to go all the way back home to Grand Junction to get it afterwards. From Price Diane headed back home and I made my way over to Torrey where I would be meeting up with Jared who had already been hiking in Capitol Reef all weekend. One nice thing about driving from Price to Torrey was that it finally gave me an opportunity to drive Highway 72 from I-70 to Loa through the eastern edge of Fishlake National Forest.

CONTINUE READINGPetroglyphs of the Waterpocket Fold
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Muddy Creek CountryMuddy Creek Country

Muddy Creek Country

The Grand Gorge of Muddy Creek & Skyline Rim
Friday – Sunday, May 11-13, 2018

This weekend I left after work on Friday and headed down into Muddy Creek Country at the southern end of the San Rafael Swell. I have wanted to hike into the Grand Gorge of Muddy Creek for many years now and decided it was finally time to go do it! As I was driving west into Utah there was a pretty strong headwind which killed my fuel mileage, but since the weather forecast was predicting strong winds all weekend, I was expecting it. I just hoped that the wind gusts wouldn’t interfere with my plans too much. It’s just the typical spring weather on the Colorado Plateau! I made a quick stop in Green River to fill up my tank and then continued up onto the Swell where I planned to spend the night near the old Hidden Splendor Mine.

CONTINUE READINGMuddy Creek Country
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Rambling Around Robbers RoostRambling Around Robber's Roost

Rambling Around Robbers Roost

Maze Memorial Weekend IV | Memorial Day Weekend
Friday – Monday, May 26-29, 2017

After spending the last three Memorial Day Weekends in and around The Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, this year we decided to skip visiting The Maze proper and stayed on top of The Orange Cliffs in Robbers Roost country. As usual, we left home after work on Friday evening and headed west into Utah. We stopped for a quick dinner and to fuel up the Jeep in Green River and then made our way to the Hans Flat Ranger Station to pickup our permit for the weekend. The wind was pretty brutal this evening and it really took a toll on my fuel mileage during the drive. There was a lot of sand blowing across the road to Hans Flat in places, but the sky and light was pretty nice during the drive. It looked like there was a good chance for one nice sunset before the clouds disappeared for the remainder of the weekend.

CONTINUE READINGRambling Around Robbers Roost
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