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Tag: grand mesa

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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Gore Trail Loop & West Fork of Pollock CanyonGore Trail Loop & West Fork of Pollock Canyon

Gore Trail Loop & West Fork of Pollock Canyon

Canyons of the Black Ridge Wilderness | Friday – Sunday, May 2-4, 2025

Since I have another week-long river trip coming up very soon that I need to start getting ready for, I stayed local this weekend and decided to go on a pair of backcountry hikes that are located within the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. These are two hikes that I’ve been thinking about doing for a number of years at this point, but I have never made them a priority to get around to before and figured it was finally time to give them a go! The first hike I wanted to try follows an old 4×4 road that shows up on some maps as the Gore Trail and encircles a mesa located between the heads of Knowles Canyon and Jones Canyon. It looked like this loop was going to be around 16 miles in length, which includes a couple miles on BS Road to close the loop, and since I wanted to get an early start on Saturday morning I headed up to Glade Park later on Friday afternoon and spent the night on the edge of Sieber Canyon.

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Gunnison Gorge: Red Rocks to Gunnison ForksGunnison Gorge: Red Rocks to Gunnison Forks

Gunnison Gorge: Red Rocks to Gunnison Forks

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Friday – Sunday, April 25-27, 2025

After going on a last minute trip into the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness in Utah last weekend, I wanted to stay even closer to home this weekend and thought that this would be a good opportunity for me to return to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Although as of last June I have hiked all of the official trails within Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, there are still quite a few trails and roads in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area that I have not hiked or driven yet, so I figured I could check out a few more of them as I continue to explore the area more thoroughly. I left from work on Friday afternoon and made my way down to the Gunnison Gorge.

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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.

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Short Walks from Rim Rock DriveShort Walks from Rim Rock Drive

Short Walks from Rim Rock Drive

Heart of the World | Wednesday, February 26, 2025

When I left from work this afternoon the clouds over the Grand Valley were looking nice so I made a last minute decision to head up into the Colorado National Monument so I could take some photos from the overlooks and continue working on my Heart of the World project. After driving to Fruita I looped back to Grand Junction via Rim Rock Drive through the park and went for a few walks on short trails from the road including Otto’s Trail, the Coke Ovens Trail and the Ute Garden Interpretive Trail. It was a nice way to spend a couple hours after work as the days continue to get longer.

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