Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: uncompahgre plateau

Ruby – Horsethief Canyons of the Colorado RiverRuby - Horsethief Canyons of the Colorado River

Ruby – Horsethief Canyons of the Colorado River

Canyons of the Black Ridge Wilderness | Average CFS: 3,390
Sunday – Tuesday, August 13-15, 2023

After having a great season on the rivers this spring, I realized that I had not been on a float trip through Ruby – Horsethief since 2016 and was long overdue for a return, so Jackson and I planned a late summer trip down this local stretch of the Colorado River for late August and were able to secure camping permits for two nights. Besides inviting a couple of close friends along, Diane was also going to be joining us on this trip with her Stand-Up Paddleboard, and she was looking forward to getting back on the river when the water was not super high, since neither of us had much fun that day! We all met up at the Loma Boat Ramp on Sunday morning and got the boats rigged while the shuttle was run and then were on the river around 10:30am. It was pretty warm out already and was going to end up being a pretty hot trip!

CONTINUE READINGRuby – Horsethief Canyons of the Colorado River
2 Comments
Fruita Dugway to Historic Trails View & Dinosaur HillFruita Dugway to Historic Trails View & Dinosaur Hill

Fruita Dugway to Historic Trails View & Dinosaur Hill

Colorado National Monument | Saturday, August 12, 2023

Since Diane and I are getting onto the Colorado River tomorrow morning for three days and then leaving to spend the rest of the week in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming right afterwards, I needed to stay close to home today so we could finish preparing and packing for both trips. I still wanted to get out for a short local hike on Saturday morning, so I was up before sunrise and drove over to the edge of the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area to spend a couple hours hiking partway up the Fruita Dugway to the Historic Trails Overlook in the Colorado National Monument. I arrived at the Kodels Canyon Trailhead just outside of Fruita about twenty minutes before sunrise and started hiking up the trail toward Kodels Canyon.

CONTINUE READINGFruita Dugway to Historic Trails View & Dinosaur Hill
Leave a Comment
Triangle Mesa from Cactus ParkTriangle Mesa from Cactus Park

Triangle Mesa from Cactus Park

Dominguez Canyon Wilderness | Sunday, June 18, 2023

After spending Saturday floating through The Chute of Muddy Creek, I was originally planning to spend Sunday morning hiking in the Raggeds Wilderness of the Elk Mountains. However, once I realized that Colorado Highway 133 was still closed before Somerset and didn’t feel like driving the long way around, I cancelled those plans. Instead, I decided to stay closer to home and went for a morning hike to the summit of Triangle Mesa in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness.

CONTINUE READINGTriangle Mesa from Cactus Park
1 Comment
Lower Fisher Creek in Cottonwood CanyonLower Fisher Creek in Cottonwood Canyon

Lower Fisher Creek in Cottonwood Canyon

Sunday, June 11, 2023

This morning I was looking for a shorter hike close to home and thought I would make my way back over to Gateway so I could hike along Fisher Creek into lower Cottonwood Canyon. Hiking into this canyon has been on my to-do list for way too long and my interest was rejuvenated yesterday as I floated past the mouth of Fisher Creek on the Dolores River, so I figured it was finally time to make it happen. I woke up early on Sunday morning and then drove west through Unaweep Canyon to Gateway for the second time this weekend.

CONTINUE READINGLower Fisher Creek in Cottonwood Canyon
2 Comments
The Colorado River: Blue Heron to LomaThe Colorado River: Blue Heron to Loma

The Colorado River: Blue Heron to Loma

Sunday, May 28, 2023 | Average CFS: 29,670

After spending Saturday on the Dolores River, Jackson and I were looking for something short and local to do on Sunday morning since we were planning to leave later in the afternoon and head over to the San Rafael Swell so we could float The Chute of Muddy Creek on Monday. We eventually settled on floating a shorter stretch of the Colorado River in the Grand Valley from the Blue Heron Boat Ramp in Grand Junction to Loma since this is the only section of the river between Palisade and the Utah state line that I had not been on before and I thought this would probably be a good time to finally check it out. We were both up early on Sunday morning, met up at the Loma boat ramp to drop off Jackson’s car, and then returned to the Blue Heron ramp and were on the river before 8:30am.

CONTINUE READINGThe Colorado River: Blue Heron to Loma
5 Comments