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Independence Monument

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Since I haven’t been able to get out hiking in couple of weeks (plus the temperature was only in the low 90’s, which is slightly cooler than it’s been the last few days), I decided to head out after work for an evening hike in the Colorado National Monument. It’s been a little while since the last time I was in Monument Canyon, so I hiked up that trail to Independence Monument and then explored the upper reaches of Wedding Canyon for a different view of Independence Monument before returning the way I had come. The parking lot at the trailhead was completely empty when I arrived and I would only pass one trail runner shortly before sunset. I had the entire canyon to myself for a few hours which was nice. Enjoy a few photos from the evening!

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Colorado National Monument Western Loop

Colorado National Monument Traverse III
Sunday, March 20, 2016

After our overnight hike along the Black Ridge Loop in the Colorado National Monument last year Diane had mentioned to me that she enjoyed the hike up the Fruita Dugway and wanted to hike it again, so this year I planned a different loop that included the Fruita Dugway, Black Ridge Trail, CCC Trail and then returned down Monument Canyon. It would make a nice 13.5 mile loop on the western side of the Monument. We dropped my Jeep off at the Lower Monument Canyon Trailhead shortly before sunrise and then drove over to the Fruita Dugway Trailhead and started climbing the trail as the sun was coming up for the day. The Fruita Dugway is probably one of my favorite and often overlooked trails in the Colorado National Monument.

Foggy Morning at the Monument

Saturday, April 18, 2015

After a storm moved through western Colorado and left a lot of precipitation behind the past few days it looked like it was going to finally clear this morning, so I woke up early and drove up to the Colorado National Monument shortly before sunrise to take a few photos. I never did get the sunrise that I was hoping for, but the valley below was filled with low clouds and fog which is always fun to watch and photograph.

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Mushroom Rock Trail

Saturday, January 17, 2015

After spending a lazy morning at home we decided head over to the Colorado National Monument in the late afternoon to get some hiking in. Last year when scouting for a connecting trail between Monument Canyon and the Precambrian Bench Trail, we came across a faint trail that went into Monument Canyon below Mushroom Rock that we wanted to explore further. We decided to follow that trail this afternoon to see if it would eventually connected to the main Monument Canyon trail. We started at the White Rocks trailhead and climbed the steep trail into Gold Star Canyon onto the Precambrian Bench and hiked around the point of Monument Mesa under Mushroom Rock. The trail got pretty hard to follow once we were in Monument Canyon, but we managed to keep on track with a few minor detours. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and had to turn around before reaching the end of the trail. We never did find a connection to the main Monument Canyon trail, and we had continued well past the point where the main trail went up a side canyon. We will have to return another time to find out where this trail goes and explore more of the upper reaches of Monument Canyon.

A Little Fog in the Monument

Sunday, December 14, 2014

After spending a rare lazy Saturday at home, I saw there was a little fog hanging around the canyons of the Colorado National Monument this morning and decided to drive up there to take a few photos. I wasn’t able to go very far since the Monument had closed Rim Rock Drive at the Independence Monument Viewpoint, so most of my photos were from that area.

Tag: mushroom rock

Independence Monument

Colorado National Monument Western Loop

Foggy Morning at the Monument

Mushroom Rock Trail

A Little Fog in the Monument