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Meander Canyon: The Colorado River in Canyonlands

Floating from the Potash Boat Ramp to The Loop | Average CFS: 2,660
Thursday – Sunday, September 17-20, 2020

On Thursday morning Diane and I woke up extra early at 3:30am and headed down to Moab where we drove through The Portal on our way to the Potash Boat Ramp and met up with our friends Jackson, Amy and Chris just after sunrise. We were going to be spending the next couple of days on a relaxing float through Meander Canyon on the calm waters of the Colorado River into the heart of Canyonlands National Park. I had such a great time in Labyrinth Canyon two years ago at this same time of the year, so I was really looking forward to another trip similar to that. Although Diane swore that she would never go on another river trip with me after our swift float through Slick Rock Canyon, I managed to talk her into giving it one more try after promising her that this would be all flat water with no rapids! Thankfully, she really enjoyed this trip and I think she will definitely be coming with me on future flat water adventures!

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The Highest Point in Nevada: Boundary Peak

Across the Great Basin and Back | The Loneliest Road (Trip) in America
Thursday & Friday, September 3-4, 2020

After hiking to the top of White Mountain Peak in the morning and then stopping in Bishop for food and gas in the afternoon, it was time for me to head back into Nevada on US Route 6 so I could climb Boundary Peak located at the very northern end of the White Mountains. Since I had hiked Wheeler Peak on Wednesday which is considered the ‘highest peak’ in Nevada, I figured that I might as well climb the ‘highest point’ in Nevada too since I was going to be driving right near it. This would be my third peak in as many days and I was hoping that my legs would be up for it!

Great Basin National Park: Wheeler Peak

Across the Great Basin and Back | The Loneliest Road (Trip) in America
Tuesday & Wednesday, September 1-2, 2020

Last summer I got the idea in my head that I wanted to hike a couple of high peaks in Nevada and California over the Labor Day weekend and started putting together rough plans for a road trip that would take me Across the Great Basin and Back. Although many of my spring trips got cancelled because of COVID-19, I decided I was still going to go on this one since I would be alone and visiting more remote places during the week where I would not come into contact with a lot of other people. I mean, what better place is there to go for social distancing than by taking a road trip along one of the Loneliest Roads in America! For years I’ve wanted to visit Great Basin National Park to climb Wheeler Peak, so that’s where I decided to start this trip. Although many Nevadans consider Wheeler Peak to be the spiritual and symbolic highpoint of the state, the actual highest point in Nevada is Boundary Peak located near the western edge of the state. Whatever the status of the peak, all I knew is that I wanted to visit Great Basin National Park and hike to the summit for the view!

Edge of the Weminuche: Whitehead Peak Loop

Weminuche Wanderings | Thirteeners Around the Deer Park Cirque
Saturday & Sunday, August 29-30, 2020

This weekend I was originally planning to leave right after work on Friday like I usually do, so I could climb three thirteeners along the edge of the Weminuche Wilderness near Silverton on Saturday morning and then head back home in the afternoon so I could prepare for an upcoming trip later in the week. However, after looking at the weather forecast for Saturday and seeing that it was supposed to rain and storm for most of the day, I shuffled my plans around a bit since the weather on Sunday morning was looking like a safer bet for hiking in the San Juan Mountains. Since I was now home on Saturday morning, Diane and I ended up going for a bike ride in the rain along the Colorado River near our home instead. It was one of the coolest days of the summer so far and was a nice way to start the day.

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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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Tag: wildlife

Meander Canyon: The Colorado River in Canyonlands

The Highest Point in Nevada: Boundary Peak

Great Basin National Park: Wheeler Peak

Edge of the Weminuche: Whitehead Peak Loop

Soaking in the Conundrum Hot Springs