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Tag: independence day weekend

Jackass Pass: Beaver Basin to Dry PeakJackass Pass: Beaver Basin to Dry Peak

Jackass Pass: Beaver Basin to Dry Peak

La Sal Mountains | Saturday, July 4, 2026

After spending Friday morning hiking around Cleveland Gulch in the San Juan Triangle, I returned home later in the afternoon and got a really good night of sleep and then had a nice relaxing morning on Saturday. I was well rested and feeling like I should go on a short day trip up into the La Sal Mountains since I hadn’t been back to that range in over two years and really wanted to get up there again this summer. After checking the smoke forecast earlier in the morning it looked like the smoke was supposed to mostly clear out in the afternoon, so I left home after noon and made my way through Unaweep Canyon to Gateway and then followed the backroads up into Beaver Basin to start the short hike that I had in mind. I had actually planned to hike from Beaver Basin with Jackson and his family in June of last year, but ended up having issues with my Jeep when we arrived and decided it would be best to turn around and head home before we could begin, so I was happy to finally return!

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The Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico TrailThe Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail

The Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail

Friday – Sunday, July 5-7, 2024

After Diane and I spent Independence Day backpacking in the Flat Tops Wilderness, we returned home early Friday afternoon so she could spend the rest of the weekend with a friend visiting from out of town. While at home I took some time to repack my Jeep for a solo trip and then headed south to spend the rest of the weekend in and around the Rico Mountains. Over the past four years I have been hiking to the summits of the peaks found along the Calico Trail, which follows the crest of the western Rico Mountains, and I only had one final named peak left- Landslip Mountain, which I panned to hike on Saturday morning.

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The Rico Mountains & Lizard Head WildernessThe Rico Mountains & Lizard Head Wilderness

The Rico Mountains & Lizard Head Wilderness

Independence Day Weekend | Friday – Sunday, July 1-3, 2022

This year for the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend I decided to head back to the same area I did last year and returned to the Rico Mountains so I could hike to a couple more twelve-thousand foot peaks along the Calico Trail. I left from work on Friday afternoon and made my way south to the San Juan Mountains via the Dallas Divide and Lizard Head Pass. I drove through a bit of rain on and off from Ridgeway until I reached Lizard Head Pass, where I found the mountain-tops hidden in the clouds. After following the headwaters of the Dolores River for a bit, I turned off onto the Taylor Creek Road and drove up onto Taylor Mesa in search of campsite for the night. I found a pretty nice campsite on the ridge between Stoner Creek and Priest Gulch with a great view of the nearby Rico Mountains and the distant La Plata Mountains, but the mosquitoes were pretty terrible! After a colorful sunset I went to bed early so I could get an early start on Saturday morning.

CONTINUE READINGThe Rico Mountains & Lizard Head Wilderness
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