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Soaking in the Conundrum Hot Springs

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness
Sunday & Monday, August 16-17, 2020

This weekend Diane and I finally got our chance to visit the Conundrum Hot Springs in the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness, which is something that has been on my to-do list for as long as I can remember. For the longest time I figured this was one trip that I probably would never actually do because of how popular it is and how busy it gets in the summer, and the last thing I wanted to do was hike all the way in to the hot springs only to find out that all the designated campsites were occupied. However, last year the Forest Service finally started to require permits that have to be reserved online in advance to camp near the hot springs, and I knew that this was finally my chance to go! I wanted to try to go last year, but I was out of town the weekend when the permits became available, and by the time I returned back home all of the dates I could go were already booked, so I figured I’d try again this year. This year I was around when the permits became available in the middle of June, and after a frustrating morning trying to secure one on the Recreation.gov website, I did finally manage to get one for this Sunday night.

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Floating the Moab Daily Section of the Colorado River

Professor Valley: Hittle Bottom to Take-Out Beach | Colorado Riverway Recreation Area
Saturday, June 27, 2020 | Average CFS: 5,920

After spending all of last weekend moving into a new house, it was time to get back outdoors and on the river again! A couple weekends ago Jackson, Chris and I were hoping to float the Moab Daily section of the Colorado River through Professor Valley, but the weather and wind prevented us from doing that, so we thought this would be a good weekend to try again since the weather was looking much better. Although I have floated the Moab Daily once before, that was over ten years ago on Labor Day and I was just along for the ride in a friend’s raft, so I was looking forward to doing it in my own inflatable kayak this time.

Grand Canyon of the Sonoran Desert: Aravaipa Canyon

Our First Time Backpacking Among the Saguaros
My 40th Birthday Foray into Arizona and New Mexico
Tuesday – Wednesday, February 11-12, 2020

Today was the part of the trip that I was looking forward to the most since I first started making these plans last year. I have wanted to hike through the perennial waters of Aravaipa Canyon, sometimes referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Sonoran Desert, for a long time and this experience was one of the main reasons I had planned this birthday trip into southeast Arizona in the first place. Back in November I secured an overnight permit for my 40th birthday when they first became available for the date, and chose to start from the more popular West Trailhead since I knew we would most likely be driving Diane’s Edge for the better fuel mileage and comfort on this road trip. For those not familiar, anyone who hikes into the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness requires a permit from the BLM in order to help preserve the wilderness experience of the area. A total of 50 people are allowed per day, from which 20 may enter from the East Trailhead and 30 may enter from the West Trailhead. This can be a popular hike during the busy season, but the middle of February is probably the lowest use season because of the colder water temperatures of the creek. This sounded like the perfect time of the year for us to hike among the saguaros into Aravaipa Canyon!

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White Crack Trail to The Confluence

Friday – Sunday, January 31 – February 2, 2020

After I finished hiking all of the official trails within the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park late last year, it was time for me to turn my attention to other parts of the backcountry that I still wanted to explore in this amazing park. While I’ve seen the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers from both The Needles and The Maze before, I felt that it was finally time for me to see it from the Island in the Sky!

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Ringing In A New Decade: Wedding Canyon Loop

First Day Hikes: Colorado National Monument
Wednesday, January 1, 2020

As per our annual New Years Day tradition, Diane and I went to bed well before midnight on New Years Eve so we could get up early for our first hike of 2020 on the Wedding Canyon Loop in the Colorado National Monument. We arrived at the trailhead shortly before sunrise but the sky was pretty much overcast and we would not see any sunlight during our entire hike. When I checked the weather forecast the night before there was a winter storm that was supposed to move into the area later in the day, but it apparently got here early since it started to snow on us just as soon as we entered the mouth of Wedding Canyon and it continued to snow throughout the rest of our hike. We didn’t mind though, since it was fun to hike through the falling snow and I really liked the way the fresh snow clung to the sandstone boulders and canyon walls. It’s always nice to see a familiar landscape in different conditions. We didn’t run into anyone else on the trail until we were on our way back down Monument Canyon where we passed about a half-dozen hikers coming up the canyon. Hiking this loop trail is always a great way to start a new year no matter what the weather does!

Tag: wildlife

Soaking in the Conundrum Hot Springs

Floating the Moab Daily Section of the Colorado River

Grand Canyon of the Sonoran Desert: Aravaipa Canyon

White Crack Trail to The Confluence

Ringing In A New Decade: Wedding Canyon Loop