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Second Attempt: Rock Art of the Book Cliffs IXSecond Attempt: Rock Art of the Book Cliffs IX

Second Attempt: Rock Art of the Book Cliffs IX

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Even though I needed to spend part of today finishing up getting packed and prepared for a week-long river trip down the Canyon of Lodore that I would be leaving for early on Monday, I still wanted to get outside for a couple hours this morning and thought that this would be a good opportunity to return to the Book Cliffs for some further exploring as I checked out a few rock art sites. I had actually tried to explore this part of the Book Cliffs late last month, but was turned back by wet weather and slick muddy roads that day, so I thought I would give it another try today. I woke up early on Sunday morning, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed west into Utah shortly before sunrise. Here are some photos from along the way…

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Early Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2024Early Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2024

Early Fall Colors on the Grand Mesa 2024

After Work Adventures | Thursday, September 19, 2024

I’ve got a very busy couple of weeks coming up with a Canyon of Lodore river trip schedule for next week and right afterwards I will be leaving to spend a week along the Arizona Strip at the beginning of October, so I’m not really going to have any time to chase fall colors in Colorado this year. Even though I know it’s too early for peak fall colors, I thought it would be a good idea to head up onto the Grand Mesa after work this afternoon to see how the colors were coming along since it’s going to be my only chance this season. As I suspected, it was still mostly green out, but there were some scattered patches of nice colors to be found, so it’s wasn’t a total waste of my time. Here are a few photos from my short trip up onto the Grand Mesa this evening.

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Colorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental DivideColorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide

Colorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide

Friday – Sunday, September 6-8, 2024

With the mountain season coming to an end in just a few short weeks and a busy schedule for me later this month, I wanted to make sure that I got out for some more hiking above treeline in the high country this weekend before it was too late. I thought a good way to do that would be by hiking part of the Colorado Trail along the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains starting from the Carson Saddle above Wager Gulch, so that’s where I headed when I left work on Friday afternoon. I didn’t want to deal with the Middle Bridge over Blue Mesa on US 50, so instead I opted to go over Red Mountain Pass into Silverton and then took the Alpine Loop over Cinnamon Pass to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.

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The High Plateaus of Utah: Southern TrekThe High Plateaus of Utah: Southern Trek

The High Plateaus of Utah: Southern Trek

The Plateau Provence: Peaks & Plateaus of the Colorado Plateau, Part IV
Friday – Sunday, August 30 – September 1, 2024

After spending Friday morning visiting a number of rock art sites along the Old Trappers’ Trail in the Book Cliffs, I left the canyon shortly before noon and continued on to Ray’s in Green River where I stopped and had a burger for lunch. Afterwards, I topped off my gas tank and headed west across the San Rafael Swell into the High Plateaus of Utah for the rest of the weekend. After my recent Northern Trek into the the High Plateaus earlier this summer, I’ve been looking forward to getting back out and going on a loop through the southern plateaus including the Table Cliff, Paunsaugunt, and Markagunt, plus making a return to the Sevier Plateau so I could visit a new peak along the way. Now after this weekend I have visited the highpoint of all the major plateaus on the Colorado Plateau in Utah except for the Kaiparowits Plateau, which is next on my list!

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Sylvan Lake: Hardscrabble Mountain to Fulford CaveSylvan Lake: Hardscrabble Mountain to Fulford Cave

Sylvan Lake: Hardscrabble Mountain to Fulford Cave

Wednesday – Friday, August 14-16, 2024

This week I left after work on Wednesday afternoon and headed east on I-70 towards Eagle so I could spend Thursday and Friday attending the annual GIS Colorado Summer Meetup, which was being held at the Sylvan Lake State Park campground this year. I exited from the interstate at Gypsum and followed the road along Gypsum Creek around Hardscrabble Mountain below the edge of the Red Table Mountain as I hoped to take the backroads to Sylvan Lake, but when I was only a few miles away I ran into wet roads that were slick with mud and had to turn back and go around the long way through Eagle. I haven’t had good luck with the slick muddy roads in this area in the past, so I didn’t want to take any chances! Here are some photos from a few days spent at the Elk Run Campground next to Sylvan Lake.

CONTINUE READINGSylvan Lake: Hardscrabble Mountain to Fulford Cave
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