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Tag: grand mesa

Little Book Cliffs: Main Canyon to Cottonwood CanyonLittle Book Cliffs: Main Canyon to Cottonwood Canyon

Little Book Cliffs: Main Canyon to Cottonwood Canyon

Labor Day Weekend | Sunday, September 3, 2023

Last week, after cutting my trip into the High Plateaus of Utah short, I came home on Friday with the intention of heading up into the San Juan Mountains over the weekend, but instead I ended up being lazy and staying home all day Saturday. I didn’t want to stay at home the entire weekend, so on Sunday morning I got up early and headed over to the Little Book Cliffs so I could hike up Main Canyon to it’s junction with Cottonwood Canyon. I had hiked a couple miles up Main Canyon back in 2016, but was turned around by thunderstorms that evening, so I was looking forward to finishing up the rest of the trail this time.

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Triangle Mesa from Cactus ParkTriangle Mesa from Cactus Park

Triangle Mesa from Cactus Park

Dominguez Canyon Wilderness | Sunday, June 18, 2023

After spending Saturday floating through The Chute of Muddy Creek, I was originally planning to spend Sunday morning hiking in the Raggeds Wilderness of the Elk Mountains. However, once I realized that Colorado Highway 133 was still closed before Somerset and didn’t feel like driving the long way around, I cancelled those plans. Instead, I decided to stay closer to home and went for a morning hike to the summit of Triangle Mesa in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness.

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The Colorado River: Blue Heron to LomaThe Colorado River: Blue Heron to Loma

The Colorado River: Blue Heron to Loma

Sunday, May 28, 2023 | Average CFS: 29,670

After spending Saturday on the Dolores River, Jackson and I were looking for something short and local to do on Sunday morning since we were planning to leave later in the afternoon and head over to the San Rafael Swell so we could float The Chute of Muddy Creek on Monday. We eventually settled on floating a shorter stretch of the Colorado River in the Grand Valley from the Blue Heron Boat Ramp in Grand Junction to Loma since this is the only section of the river between Palisade and the Utah state line that I had not been on before and I thought this would probably be a good time to finally check it out. We were both up early on Sunday morning, met up at the Loma boat ramp to drop off Jackson’s car, and then returned to the Blue Heron ramp and were on the river before 8:30am.

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Plateau Creek: Spring Runoff from the Grand MesaPlateau Creek: Spring Runoff from the Grand Mesa

Plateau Creek: Spring Runoff from the Grand Mesa

Fleming Point to Big Wash | Average CFS: 1,385
After Work Adventures | Tuesday, May 23, 2023

While Jackson and I were floating through Little Yampa Canyon a few days ago we were talking about where we wanted to go next and decided that it was finally time for us to paddle down Plateau Creek after work this week. This is a creek that is very close to home that we have wanted to check out for quite a long time, but some years it’s hard to catch enough water to make it happen during the short spring runoff window. This year happens to be one of those rare years where there is enough water up on the Grand Mesa to get on Plateau Creek for an extended period of time and we wanted to take advantage of that opportunity. We left from work, dropped off a car at the mouth of Big Wash, where we planned to take-out, and then drove up the canyon a couple more miles to a put-in just below Fleming Point.

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Return to the High Trail & Opal HillReturn to the High Trail & Opal Hill

Return to the High Trail & Opal Hill

Canyons of the Black Ridge Wilderness | Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Well, just like last year it appears that I’ve been slacking on my After Work Adventures again this spring, but part of the reason for that is the wet weather we had been having around here for a while. To remedy this situation I decided to head out after work this afternoon for a repeat hike of the High Trail in the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness since it’s one I’ve been wanting to get back to for a while now. During the day I almost cancelled the hike since the weather hadn’t been cooperating as it had been raining and snowing off and on, but as I was leaving work I checked the forecast one last time and thought it looked like it might finally be clearing up, so I decided to go for it. This turned out to be a good decision since the weather held out and it was a great evening for a local hike!

CONTINUE READINGReturn to the High Trail & Opal Hill
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