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Tag: uncompahgre plateau

The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition: 250 Years LaterThe Dominguez-Escalante Expedition: 250 Years Later

The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition: 250 Years Later

Pageant in the Wilderness: Following in the Footsteps of Friars Dominguez & Escalante
Saturday – Monday, September 19-21, 2026  (August 27 – September 17, 1776)

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante Expedition through the southwest and I wanted to do a little something special to celebrate the semiquincentennial of this monumental undertaking in my own little way. Although I would have liked to have been able to follow in the footsteps of Dominguez & Escalante (D&E) for the entirety of their route through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona, I just don’t have that kind of free time available to me right now and decided it would be nice to just concentrate on the section of their route that is closest to my home. I planned to pick up their route at the Uncompahgre River in Montrose and then follow in their footsteps as closely as I could over the Grand Mesa and Roan Plateau to the White River, and then finally to the Green River in the Uinta Basin in Utah. I figured that I should be able to cover this part of their route in a weekend, but still, even with this shorter route a weekend would probably be too short for me to see it all and I would be limited on the amount of hiking I would be able to do along the way, sticking mostly to roads that roughly follow their original route.

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Bridgeport Bend and the Gunnison RiverBridgeport Bend and the Gunnison River

Bridgeport Bend and the Gunnison River

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Even though Diane and I were going be leaving early on Sunday morning so we could drive back to Madison, Wisconsin for her second brain surgery in less than a year, I had a little extra time early on Saturday morning to squeeze in one last local hike for a few hours and decided to do some exploring along the Gunnison River near Bridgeport. I left from home in the dark and arrived at the Bridgeport Trailhead just as it was starting to get light enough out to see without a headlamp and started hiking along the railroad tracks about twenty minutes before sunrise. These are a few photos from my morning hike around the Bridgeport Bend of the Gunnison River.

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Crossing Paradox: Sawtooth Ridge to Monogram MesaCrossing Paradox: Sawtooth Ridge to Monogram Mesa

Crossing Paradox: Sawtooth Ridge to Monogram Mesa

Lost in the West End | Friday – Sunday, May 22-24, 2026

After finally taking the time to drive the entire Rimrocker Trail back in 2024 I’ve wanted to return to the West End so I could explore more of the many old mining roads that are found around the Paradox Valley. I figured that the Memorial Day weekend would be a good time to finally do this trip since I was pretty sure this part of the Colorado Plateau would be considerably less busy than some of the more popular areas in the mountains. With temperatures warming up in the high desert and snow in the mountains melting quickly, I’m pretty sure that this will be my last desert trip until the fall as I start concentrating on the rivers and mountains for the next few months. After leaving work on Friday afternoon I drove through Unaweep Canyon to Gateway, topped off my gas tank and then continued up the Dolores River into the heart of the West End.

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The Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison GorgeThe Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison Gorge

The Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison Gorge

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Friday – Saturday, April 24-25, 2026

Since we just drove home from Arizona this past weekend and I’ll be leaving for Las Vegas early on Thursday morning, I thought it would be a good idea to stay closer to home this weekend and hike a few more sections of the trails found within the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, especially since my last trip to the Gunnison Gorge was cut short earlier in the month when I was still battling a bad cold. The weather was calling for rain to begin overnight on Saturday and continue throughout Sunday, so I figured I would just head out after work on Friday for a quick overnighter and come home later on Saturday. I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed a quick dinner in Delta and then decided to go on a few short hikes along the foot of the Uncompahgre Plateau before heading over to find a campsite near the Gunnison Gorge.

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The Ribbon Trail to the Tabeguache TrailThe Ribbon Trail to the Tabeguache Trail

The Ribbon Trail to the Tabeguache Trail

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Although I was initially hoping to get more hiking in this weekend, I wasn’t feeling very well on Friday evening and decided to stay home to get some long overdue work done to my 4Runner on Saturday instead. Then on Sunday morning I thought I was feeling better, so Diane and I headed out early to hike the Ribbon Trail from the top to the bottom and finish up by following Andy’s Loop to the Tabeguache Trailhead. We chose this hike to get in as much elevation descent as we could near home to help us prepare for a hike into the Grand Canyon via the Bright Angel Trail that’s coming up in just over a week. It’s been a while since I last hiked the Ribbon Trail and usually I hike up to Little Park Road at the end, so this was a nice change of pace.

CONTINUE READINGThe Ribbon Trail to the Tabeguache Trail
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