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Tag: waterfalls

Curecanti Trails in the Black Canyon of the GunnisonCurecanti Trails in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Curecanti Trails in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Curecanti National Recreation Area | Saturday, May 13, 2023

After spending last weekend on the Yampa River, Jackson and I had already planned another river trip for this Sunday on the Colorado River near home, so today I wanted to find something a little more local to do. While looking over my maps trying to decide where to go, I eventually settled on hiking a couple of shorter trails in the Curecanti National Recreation Area (NRA) that are all located within the upper end of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Aside from an overnight backpacking trip down the Hermits Rest Trail a couple years ago, I have done no other hiking in the NRA even though I drive through it frequently in the summer. There are really only a handful of trails in Curecanti, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to start hiking them all.

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Moab Winter Weekend 2021Moab Winter Weekend 2021

Moab Winter Weekend 2021

Moab Area Rock Art XXXVIII | Friday & Sunday, December 24 & 26, 2021

It feels like it’s been a while since the last time I spent much time around Moab, especially with it getting busier and busier all the time. Lately it feels like I’m just passing through on my way elsewhere and usually try to avoid the area entirely if I can. However, since it was time to return to Arches National Park for our annual Christmas in Arches visit, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a hotel room in Moab for the holiday weekend and spend some time hiking closer to town. The weather forecast was calling for a pretty wet weekend, and it was raining when we left home early on Friday morning, and had been for most of the night already. There was light on and off rain during the drive, but thankfully the temperature stayed above freezing so there was no ice to deal with. It was actually over 50 degrees out when we reached Moab.

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ABC’s of the Green River: Red Canyon to Browns ParkABC’s of the Green River: Red Canyon to Browns Park

ABC’s of the Green River: Red Canyon to Browns Park

Flaming Gorge Dam to the Swinging Bridge | High CFS: 1,870 – Low CFS: 1,240
Saturday – Tuesday, September 18-21, 2021

The middle and latter part of September is probably my favorite time of the year to go on a nice relaxing river trip. The heat of summer is starting to diminish, but it’s still usually warm enough to go for a swim. The rivers are lower and slower making a more enjoyable trip for those of us who aren’t really into the swift water and big rapids. The low water also means there are a lot of sandbars for camping on, which is my favorite kind of camping. The nights are beginning to to get longer and cooler and most of the bugs are usually gone! What more could you ask for? After spending a few days on the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park last September, this year Jackson, Chris and I decided to follow in the footsteps of John Wesley Powell again and check out the Green River just below the Flaming Gorge Dam from Red Canyon to Browns Park. This segment of the Green River is known as the ‘ABC’ section because it is divided into three different sections; Section A from the Flaming Gorge Dam to Little Hole is about 7 miles, Section B from Little Hole to Indian Crossing is about 8 miles, and Section C from Indian Crossing to Swinging Bridge is about 15 miles- for a total of about 30 miles. We planned to do the whole stretch.

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Spencer Basin to SugarloafSpencer Basin to Sugarloaf

Spencer Basin to Sugarloaf

Friday & Saturday, July 23-24, 2021

This weekend I needed to stay closer to home since Diane and I had another concert to go to on Saturday night and I wanted to be home early enough in the afternoon so I could rest for a little bit first. I was originally trying to find an easier summit close to Ouray since I was a little worried about all the mudslides we’ve been having in the mountains lately, and I really didn’t want to get stuck anywhere and miss out on the concert, but in the end I decided to head over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton so I could hike to the summit of Sugarloaf from Spencer Basin. Here’s a fun fact: There are at least 28 different Sugarloafs in Colorado (including peaks, mountains, rocks, etc…), but the one located above Spencer Basin along the edge of the Weminuche Wilderness is the highest one in the state at 12,754 feet.

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Cedar Breaks: Ashdown Gorge & Rattlesnake CreekCedar Breaks: Ashdown Gorge & Rattlesnake Creek

Cedar Breaks: Ashdown Gorge & Rattlesnake Creek

Ashdown Gorge Wilderness & Cedar Breaks National Monument
Friday – Sunday, June 4-6, 2021

After spending last weekend wandering around the Book Cliffs, it was time to head back into Utah for one more trip before I start spending most of my time in the mountains of Colorado. It was supposed to be another hot and windy weekend across the Colorado Plateau, so I thought this would be a good time to finally hike through Ashdown Gorge near Cedar City. This hike has been on my to-do list for over ten years now, so it was time to finally do it! Last year I had tentatively planned an overnight backpacking trip through Ashdown Gorge in the early summer with Diane and Jared, but thanks again to COVID-19, those plans were cancelled. Since Diane is now too busy with school, it would just be me and Jared going, and since the hike is not too long and mostly downhill we decided to skip the backpacking this time around and just do it as a day hike.

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