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Tag: green river road

Bluejohn Canyon: Rambling Around Robbers Roost III

Friday & Saturday, January 21-22, 2022

After spending last weekend Around The Needles, I decided to head over to the other side of the Green River this weekend to finally explore Bluejohn Canyon, which is a slot canyon I’ve wanted to get into for years. I actually had plans to hike into Bluejohn Canyon twice last year, but the first time I got snowed out and then the second time there were just too many people camped around the trailheads, so I never made it. I figured my best time to get the canyon to myself would be in the middle of the winter, so this weekend seemed like a good opportunity to try. Of course, when it started snowing in Grand Junction on Friday morning I was a little concerned that my plans were going to be thwarted again, but after keeping an eye on the weather all day it looked like much of the snow had most likely missed the Robbers Roost area, so I decided to still give it a go.

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The Good Gallery & Bowknot Bend Overlook

Friday – Sunday, October 22-24, 2021

This weekend I decided to stay just a little bit closer to home than I have the past couple of weekends, and headed over to the west side of the Green River so I could spend some time in the Horseshoe Canyon and Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness areas. I was hoping to check out a large Barrier Canyon Style pictograph panel that I had not been to yet and then hike to an overlook of the Bowknot Bend Saddle from Keg Point. I left right after work on Friday afternoon and headed west into Utah. I stopped for gas in Green River and then followed the Hans Flat Road until it was dark out and found a spot to spend the night. There was a pretty nice sunset during the drive, but I didn’t stop to take any photos this time. I was anticipating it to get a bit cold overnight, but surprisingly it never got down below 50 degrees and was very comfortable. On Saturday morning I was up shortly before sunrise and then made my way over to the starting point for my first hike.

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The Wind Rivers: Green River Lakes & Slide Lake

Headwaters of the Green River | Tuesday – Saturday, August 17-21, 2021

After Diane and I visited the Wind Rivers for the Great American Eclipse in 2017 we decided that we should try to return every other summer to visit somewhere new in the range. Two years ago we came back and hiked to the Cirque of the Towers, so this year I thought it would be a good idea to check out the area around the Green River Lakes and planned a four day backpacking trip for us. Since Canyonlands is the heart of the world to me and I have spent a lot of time exploring along the Green River on the Colorado Plateau, I though it was finally time to visit its headwaters in the Wind Rivers. Lucky for Diane, she had a week off between semesters at school at the same time we try to go in late August, so the timing worked out perfect for us!

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Robbers Roost Canyon

Friday – Saturday, March 2-3, 2018

I left after work on Friday and made my way west into Utah where I stopped in Green River for dinner and fuel. I continued south towards Hanksville in the dark and then took the familiar left turn onto the road to Hans Flat. It had been pretty windy all day and was supposed to stay that way overnight and through Saturday. This meant there were a few sections of the road that were completely covered with sand dunes, so I had to be careful not to hit them going too fast. After I passed the road to Green River and Horseshoe Canyon I came to Robbers Roost Flat and the road that would take me out to Angel Point, where I planned to spend the night and start hiking from in the morning. I’ve driven by this intersection in the road near Burr Pass countless times in the past on my way to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, but I’d never made the right turn before. It was finally time to head in that direction and to start exploring the canyons in this area!

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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.

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