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The Summertime Blues: Hiking the Abajo Mountains

Three Directions in the Blue Mountains | Friday – Sunday, August 5-7, 2022

This past week I had been struggling to decide where I wanted to go this weekend as I continually watched the weather forecasts for the mountains since all of them were calling for a large monsoonal surge to enter Colorado which was supposed to create a lot of rain and thunderstorms throughout the high country of the state. On Thursday I decided to look outside of Colorado to the Abajo Mountains, locally known as the Blue Mountains, which had a much milder weather outlook for the weekend, so that’s where I decided to go. As luck would have it, on Friday all the weather forecasters changed their tune about the stormy weather in Colorado for the weekend, but by then I had already set my mind on heading up into the Abajos, plus it has been a while since I did any hiking in this small laccolithic range, so now I was looking forward to getting back!

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The Abajo Mountains

Southern Utah Wanderings | Fall Colors 2017
Monday, October 2, 2017

After spending the weekend in the northern section of Bears Ears National Monument and Canyonlands National Park, we moved a little further south into the Abajo Mountains (Blue Mountains) so we could get a little peak-bagging in on our trip. Since I’ve hiked the highest peaks in the La Sal Mountains and Henry Mountains, I thought it would be nice to complete the trifecta by reaching the summit of Abajo Peak (11,360), the highest point in the Abajo Mountains. This one is a little easier than the others though, since there is a good road all the way up to the top because of all the towers and antennas up there. Shortly after sunrise we broke down our camp located at the base of the Abajo Mountains and drove up the road to the summit. There were some nice views along the way.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Saturday, November 26, 2016

I’ve wanted to visit Canyon de Chelly National Monument for many years but it never seems to work out for me. In the past I have taken multiple trips where I’ve passed near Canyon de Chelly and hoped to have had time to stop for a visit, but things never worked out and I still haven’t made it there. Even though it was a bit of a drive from Farmington, I decided it was finally time to make it over there on this trip, even if it was only to visit the overlooks from the rim and hike down to the White House Ruins this time (the only trail down into the canyon you can hike without paying for a guide). I will have to return for another visit to spend some time in the canyons with a guide.

Annular Solar Eclipse & The Paria Plateau

Friday – Sunday, May 18-20, 2012

A few months back I managed to get another pair of permits to the Coyote Buttes North area so that Amanda and I could visit The Wave again and explore a few new areas. It turns out that I had picked a great weekend to go without originally realizing it. Our permits were for Saturday May 19th and it just so happens that the Annular Solar Eclipse was going to be happening on Sunday the 20th and some of the best views of this event would be down in the same area. It couldn’t have worked out better! We would visit Coyote Buttes North on Saturday and then stick around for the Solar Eclipse on Sunday with a little extra time to check out Wire Pass.

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The Towers of Hovenweep

Saturday & Sunday, May 15-16, 2010

This last weekend Amanda and I headed south to Hovenweep National Monument and the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. This is an area we have been close to many times before, but had not been to yet. I’m not sure why it took so long, but it was definitely well worth the visit, and I’m looking forward to heading back to explore more in the future!