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Blaine Basin

Saturday & Sunday, July 9-10, 2016

Since Diane and I won’t be able to get back into the outdoors for the rest of the month I wanted to do a quick and easy overnight backpacking trip in the mountains this weekend. I was looking for something close to home that wouldn’t be crowded and thought that Blaine Basin in the Sneffels Range of the San Juan Mountains would be a good option. We left home later than usual on Saturday morning and arrived at the Blue Lakes Trailhead around 11am. I was blown away by how many vehicles were at the trailhead! It was crazy! There were cars lined up and down the road pulled over any place they could find to park. At this point I was second guessing the trip because I wasn’t convinced that all of these people were headed to the Blue Lakes?

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Escalante Canyon and the Uncompahgre Plateau

Sunday, June 26, 2016

It’s been many years since the last time I visited Escalante Canyon and I figured it was time to go back for another drive through the canyon. The last time I was there it wasn’t yet designated as part of the Dominguez – Escalante National Conservation Area and I was curious what changes, if any, had taken place since that occurred. I also just wanted to go for a nice scenic drive not far from home, and this loop fit the bill.

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Ouray Trails: Sutton Mine Trail

Sunday, June 12, 2016

June is that time of year when the desert starts getting too hot for me and I start looking towards the mountains. After hiking Professor Creek on Saturday, I thought it would be nice to drive down to Ouray on Sunday for my first mountain hike of the season. Diane had school work to get done on Sunday so I would be on my own this time. I decided to start with an easier hike and chose the Sutton Mine Trail which is just outside of town and only about 4.5 miles round trip with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain. While this trail is called the Sutton Mine Trail, the main trail does not actually climb up to the Sutton Mine and instead ends at the Neosho Mine. If you’ve ever driven over Red Mountain Pass between Ouray and Silverton, you might have noticed a building with an ‘Antiques’ sign on it near the Bear Creek bridge. That is the final destination of this trail and is part of the Neosho Mine.

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Divide Road on the Uncompahgre Plateau

Fall Colors 2015
Thursday, October 15, 2015

I decided to head up onto the Uncompahgre Plateau after work this evening to see if there were any fall colors left. I ended up taking Divide Road all the way to Uncompahgre Butte (9,679), which I quickly summited while I was there, before turning around and driving back home for the night. While most of the aspen trees had dropped their leaves, there were still a few small groves left that were holding on to their color for a little bit longer. It was a nice way to spend a few hours after work.

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Red Mountain Colors

Fall Colors 2015 | Saturday, September 26, 2015

As usual, I spent the last weekend in September on my annual fall colors trip to photograph the changing of the seasons in the high country of Colorado. Instead of going away for the whole weekend, this time I just headed out on a day trip to the San Juan Mountains. From reports I had seen online, plus my trip last weekend, it appeared that the Red Mountain Pass area was changing colors nicely at this time, so that’s where I decided to go. Unfortunately, Diane wasn’t feeling well this weekend, so she ended up staying home today.

Tag: uncompahgre national forest

Blaine Basin

Escalante Canyon and the Uncompahgre Plateau

Ouray Trails: Sutton Mine Trail

Divide Road on the Uncompahgre Plateau

Red Mountain Colors