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Drifting Around Indian Creek CountryDrifting Around Indian Creek Country

Drifting Around Indian Creek Country

Friday – Sunday, January 8-10, 2021

After spending the first long weekend of 2021 along Comb Ridge with Diane, I was on my own this weekend since Diane has now started PA school and just had LASIK surgery on Thursday, and needed to rest her eyes for a few days. As many of you are probably aware of by now, the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is one of my absolute favorite places to explore, so earlier in the week when I was deciding which area to go to on my first camping trip of the year, it was an easy decision for me to head that direction. This time I decided to mostly stay out of the heart of the The Needles and planned to spend more time along Indian Creek just outside of the park. I left after work on Friday, topped off my fuel tank in Moab and then finished the drive down along Indian Creek to a familiar campsite I have spent many nights at before. I then spent the rest of the weekend drifting through Indian Creek Country from South Six-Shooter Peak to Davis Canyon with a couple scattered petroglyph panels along the way.

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Below Hatch Point: Indian Creek to Lockhart CanyonBelow Hatch Point: Indian Creek to Lockhart Canyon

Below Hatch Point: Indian Creek to Lockhart Canyon

Friday – Sunday, November 20-22, 2020

After spending a great weekend in the Canyon Rims Recreation Area earlier this month, I thought it was time I returned below the rim of Hatch Point to spend some more time along the Lockhart Basin Road between Indian Creek and Lockhart Canyon. I left after work on Friday and decided to drive through Moab this time instead of going through Gateway. As I expected, traffic was backed up outside of town and it took me about forty minutes to get through town and on my way again. I finished the drive in the dark and found a campsite along the road leading to Lockhart Basin. This is usually one of my go-to places to camp when I’m visiting The Needles, and I have never seen so many people camped in this area before! It was crazy busy!

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Collegiate Peaks in the Clouds: Mount YaleCollegiate Peaks in the Clouds: Mount Yale

Collegiate Peaks in the Clouds: Mount Yale

Sunday, July 28, 2019

After spending Saturday hiking along the Continental Divide near Lake City, it was time for my main objective this weekend to hike my first 14er of the year! I had decided that I was going to give Mount Yale (14,196) in the Sawatch Range a try and found a spot to camp just up the road from the Denny Creek Trailhead on Saturday evening. I was pretty tired when I arrived and was planning on an alpine start, so I fell asleep before the sun even set for the day. Surprising, I actually slept very well overnight which is rare for me on the night before a big climb, so I’m not complaining! I did wake up briefly a few times throughout the night and heard that it was raining out which concerned me a little since there had been no rain in the forecast and I was hoping it wouldn’t impact my hiking plans this morning. I ended up waking up at 3:45am (my alarm was set for 4:00am) and was wide awake and ready to go, so I got up and headed over to the trailhead to start my hike. I was on the trail by 4:30am and hiking in the dark with a little help from my headlamp. I looked up to the sky and saw there were some stars, so I figured that the storms overnight must have already cleared out.

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Heart of the Salt Creek Archeological DistrictHeart of the Salt Creek Archeological District

Heart of the Salt Creek Archeological District

Five Years Later | Return to Salt Creek Canyon
Wednesday – Sunday, April 10-14, 2019

After spending the past couple of years searching for rock art and ancient ruins in Grand Gulch during our annual spring backpacking trip together, this year Dave, Jared and I were really looking forward to getting back into upper Salt Creek Canyon in Canyonlands National Park to see what we had missed on our first visit almost five years ago. I made sure to secure our camping permits earlier this year so we could spend four days exploring the heart of the Salt Creek Archeological District.

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Stone Desert: End of Trails in The NeedlesEnd of Trails in The Needles

Stone Desert: End of Trails in The Needles

Big Spring Canyon – Elephant Canyon Loop
Friday – Sunday, November 30 – December 2, 2018

After looking over the official map for the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park earlier this year, I noticed that I had hiked just about every single trail on it, so I figured it would be a good goal to try and finish hiking them all this year. After hiking a few of those remaining trails earlier in the year, I only had a few segments of trails in the Big Spring Canyon area left, so Diane and I headed down to The Needles this weekend so I could finish them up in one big loop on Saturday.

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