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Tag: uncompahgre plateau

The Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico TrailThe Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail

The Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail

Friday – Sunday, July 5-7, 2024

After Diane and I spent Independence Day backpacking in the Flat Tops Wilderness, we returned home early Friday afternoon so she could spend the rest of the weekend with a friend visiting from out of town. While at home I took some time to repack my Jeep for a solo trip and then headed south to spend the rest of the weekend in and around the Rico Mountains. Over the past four years I have been hiking to the summits of the peaks found along the Calico Trail, which follows the crest of the western Rico Mountains, and I only had one final named peak left- Landslip Mountain, which I panned to hike on Saturday morning.

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Third Flats: Twist-N-Shout & Second ThoughtsThird Flats: Twist-N-Shout & Second Thoughts

Third Flats: Twist-N-Shout & Second Thoughts

After Work Adventures | Monday, July 1, 2024

I was originally planning to head up Lands End Road onto the Grand Mesa after work today so I could hike a section of the Palisade Plunge Trail, but as I was driving southeast on US 50 I saw some lightning in the direction I was headed and thought it would be best to turn around and come back another time when the weather was better. Instead, I returned to town and headed over to the Third Flats area of the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area where I hiked a short loop combining the Twist-N-Shout and Second Thoughts trails together. The temperature was in the low 90’s today, but it was cloudy enough with a nice breeze which helped keep the temperature comfortable enough for me. There were even a couple sprinkles of rain at times. Here are a couple photos from the short hike.

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( ЯR ) The Rimrocker Trail: Montrose to MoabThe Rimrocker Trail: Montrose to Moab

( ЯR ) The Rimrocker Trail: Montrose to Moab

Getting Lost in the West End: Across the Uncompahgre Plateau & La Sal Mountains
Friday – Sunday, June 7-9, 2024

After having an amazing time on the river in Cataract Canyon last weekend, I wanted to take it easy and stay a bit closer to home this weekend. With warmer temperatures in the valleys and still too much snow in the high country for me, I thought this might be a great opportunity to finally take a scenic weekend drive across the Uncompahgre Plateau and La Sal Mountains from Montrose to Moab on the Rimrocker Trail, while also taking the time to stop for a few short hikes and side trips along the way. The Rimrocker Trail was created in 2016 by linking up existing roads in this remote area of Western Colorado, many of which I have already driven over the past twenty years, especially while I was working on mapping out a 4X4 route of the Tabeguache Trail and Paradox Trail. But even though I have already driven many of these roads before, it’s been a long time and I really don’t remember very much about them, so I was looking forward to the refresher on this 160 mile route. So after spending Friday evening in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, I drove across the Uncompahgre River Valley and found a campsite near Temple Park and the beginning of the Rimrocker Trail so I could get an early start on Saturday morning.

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Third Flats Road & Art Cook’s ViewThird Flats Road & Art Cook's View

Third Flats Road & Art Cook’s View

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Just like last week, I headed over to the Third Flats area after work this afternoon so I could hike a new trail to a highpoint on Horse Mesa, and also just like last week, I ended up changing those plans because of threatening storms in the area. After leaving work and driving up Little Park Road into the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area, I drove down the Third Flats Road all the way to the Gunnison River near the mouth of Billings Canyon and was hoping to hike up to the top of Horse Point from there. However, there were rainstorms in the area and the final section of the road down to the Gunnison River was cut through clay and I didn’t want to chance getting stuck down there if it rained, so I drove back up the road a little ways and hiked the Art Cook’s View Trail instead. I’ll have to come back for Horse Point another time.

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Third Flats: Saddle Up & Pony Tail to Horse MesaThird Flats: Saddle Up & Pony Tail to Horse Mesa

Third Flats: Saddle Up & Pony Tail to Horse Mesa

After Work Adventures | Tuesday & Wednesday, May 14 & 15, 2024

On Tuesday afternoon I left work with the intention of hiking a pair of trails in the Third Flats area to the highpoint of Horse Mesa. Although there were storms in the area, it seemed like they were going to miss the Grand Valley so I didn’t worry too much about them at the time. I drove up Little Park Road into the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area and then followed the Billings Canyon Road to the start of the Saddle Up Trail and started hiking. However, as soon as I made it a short distance up the trail the storm I wasn’t initially worried about moved into the area with strong gusts of wind and rain, so after looking at the weather radar map again I decided it would be best to turn around and come back the following day. Normally, a little rain wouldn’t scare me off from a hike, but I had driven across a lot of clay areas on the road to reach the trailhead and was a little worried about how slick those sections could get if they got wet.

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