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Tag: mcinnis canyons national conservation area

Fruita Dugway: Kodels Canyon to the Black Ridge TrailFruita Dugway: Kodels Canyon to the Black Ridge Trail

Fruita Dugway: Kodels Canyon to the Black Ridge Trail

Heart of the World | Wednesday, November 19, 2025

I was hoping to get out hiking at least once between storm systems this week and finally made a last minute decision to head out to hike up the Fruita Dugway right after work today. Although this may not be an ‘official’ trail within the Colorado National Monument, I still wanted to include it in my Heart of the World project because not only is it a historic route through the area, it’s also probably my favorite hike in all of the Monument. I started the hike from the Kodels Canyon Trailhead, climbed up to the junction with the Black Ridge Trail and then returned mostly the same way. Early on the hike was a bit hot and humid while I was in the sun, but it got a bit chilly when the clouds started to block out the sun. Here are a few photos from my evening hike up and down the Fruita Dugway.

CONTINUE READINGFruita Dugway: Kodels Canyon to the Black Ridge Trail
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Al Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume CreekAl Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume Creek

Al Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume Creek

Fruita Frontcountry | Wednesday, October 29, 2025

I was originally hoping to leave after work today and head over into the Canyons of the Escalante for four days to try and salvage part of my annual Southern Utah Wanderings trip that I missed earlier in the month, but Diane was still having some possible concerning issues with her recovery and I thought it would be best to stay close to home for now. Instead, I ended up going on a hike after work on a few different segments of trails surrounding Al Look Hill within the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area between the Fruita Paleo Area and Flume Creek Canyon. The total hike turned out to be about six miles and consisted mostly of trail segments that I had never hiked before.

CONTINUE READINGAl Look Hill: Fruita Paleo Area to Flume Creek
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Kokopelli Loops: Steve’s Loop & Mary’s LoopKokopelli Loops: Steve's Loop & Mary's Loop

Kokopelli Loops: Steve’s Loop & Mary’s Loop

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, June 3, 2025

This afternoon I returned to the Kokopelli Trails right after work since I hadn’t been back to this area since March of last year and there are only a few short trail segments remaining that I haven’t hiked yet. This time I was going to hike Steve’s Loop because the west end of the loop has been rerouted sometime since my last hike on the trail back in 2016, plus I had never hiked the connector trail from Steve’s to Mary’s Loop. Thankfully it wasn’t quite as warm out today as it has been the last few days and there was a strong wind blowing during most of the hike, especially when I was closer to the river, which helped keep me feeling cool. At the end it turned out to be a nice 6-mile loop that took me about two hours to complete and I didn’t see anyone else on the trails. Here are a few photos I took during the short hike.

CONTINUE READINGKokopelli Loops: Steve’s Loop & Mary’s Loop
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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.

CONTINUE READINGBlack Ridge Trail – Rim Rock Drive Hike n’ Bike Loop
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Flume Creek Canyon LoopFlume Creek Canyon Loop

Flume Creek Canyon Loop

Canyons of the Black Ridge Wilderness | Wednesday, May 7, 2025

While hiking over the Pollock Bench on my way to the West Fork of Pollock Canyon on Sunday morning I noticed a well-used trail below the rim on the west side of Flume Creek Canyon that I had never hiked before and which wasn’t on any of the maps I looked at. After waiting out some wet weather over the past two days I decided to return after work this afternoon so I could check this trail out. I left from the Pollock Bench Trailhead and followed the trail which contoured below the rim on the west side of Flume Creek Canyon until it joined back up with the Flume 1 Trail a couple of miles up the canyon. Then I followed the main trail back along the rim of the narrows until I was able to descend to the Inner Canyon Trail and follow that back to the trailhead. This turned out to make a nice little 5.5 mile loop that I completed in just under two hours before heading home.

CONTINUE READINGFlume Creek Canyon Loop
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