IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Saturday & Sunday, April 28-29, 2012

The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO

I’m proud to say that I have finally gone on my very first backpacking trip. I’ve been collecting gear for the past few months and finally scheduled a trip with my friend Jackson and his dad. Since this was my first time, I wanted to keep the trip shorter and closer to home…kind of like a trial run to see how it all went. I’m happy to report that everything went well, and I’m looking forward to my next backpacking trip in the future.

Overall, I think I made some good choices when I was selecting gear over the past few months, but I’m sure I’ll be making some changes here and there to try and get the weight down further. With my pack loaded up with camping gear, food, water and camera gear, I was carrying just under 40lbs (with my camera around my neck, the weight on my back dropped to 35lbs). I’d like to get that number closer to 30lbs in the future, but it’s probably going to take some trial and error.

Since I was looking for a destination close to home and with not too long of a hike, we settled on Big Dominguez Canyon. It’s only about 20 miles from my house and was supposed to be about 7 miles in length. I have day-hiked the canyon from Bridgeport a few times before, but never gone more than a few miles in. This time we would be starting from the Cactus Park trailhead and descending down the canyon to Bridgeport.

After dropping off a truck at Bridgeport on Saturday morning, we loaded up my Jeep and drove up to Cactus Park. We were expecting to be able to drive to the rim of Dominguez Canyon and then hike down into the canyon, but that’s not quite how it worked out. What we found was a pretty new gate across the road about two miles from the canyon. Apparently, when this area became an official wilderness back in 2009, they must have extended the boundaries or removed the cherry-stem for this road and closed it. So, right from the start our planned hike was going to be two miles longer. We got our packs on our backs and started hiking down the closed road.

An old sign indicating the way to Dominguez Canyon found along the old closed road. The Wilderness Study Area sign is a bit outdated since this area is officially a Wilderness now.

Dominguez Canyon Trail by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Jackson and his dad are birders, so they frequently stopped to find and identify birds they heard along the way.

Bird Watching by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When we finally reached the rim, we had a difficult time locating the trail down into the canyon. We ended up walking the rim looking for a way down the wrong way at first and then had to retrace our path and hike the other way. We did finally manage to find the steep route into the canyon, but it ended up adding a few more miles to our hike.

A great view from the rim of the canyon with Triangle Mesa and the Grand Mesa in the distance.

Big Dominguez Canyon & Triangle Mesa by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Jackson’s dad on the rim of the canyon as we tried to figure out the way down.

On the Edge by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Our first descent down to the next bench.

Hiking Down by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Hiking the slickrock as we searched for a way down to the bottom of the canyon.

Slickrock Hiking by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After a few miles of extra hiking we did finally find the steep route into Dominguez Canyon.

Into Dominguez Canyon by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Apparently someone didn’t like the steep and loose trail out of the canyon…

Fool Travel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
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It’s been a while since I visited the arches in Rattlesnake Canyon and I’ve wanted to return to get some better photos. So after work on Tuesday I headed up there for a nice sunset hike. I made this photo of East Rim Arch, which is also known as Akiti Arch and Centennial Arch, shortly before the sun dipped below the horizon. The golden light on the arch was nice, but I sure would have liked a few puffy white clouds in the sky behind it!

Saturday & Sunday, April 21-22, 2012

The Original Trip report on ADVENTR.CO

I was originally supposed to go camping this weekend with Amanda, but at the last minute she was unable to go with me, so I had to figure out something else to do. I sent an email to Marty to see if he was free on the weekend for some hiking on Cedar Mesa, but I figured he already had plans and I would be on my own. To my surprise, he was free and willing to join me. At first he thought he would only be joining me on Saturday, but he ended up camping overnight and exploring with me the whole weekend.

We met up in Blanding at the usual gas station so that we could top off our fuel tanks before driving through Comb Ridge and up onto Cedar Mesa. We made a quick stop at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station so that I could finally grab my Annual Hiking Permit for the year, and then continued on to the Owl Creek Canyon trailhead. I was surprised to see so many vehicles parked here. I guess I am used to hiking the lesser travelled canyons in Cedar Mesa, because I wasn’t expecting the parking area to be packed. Normally I would probably turn around and find somewhere else to go, but I sucked it up and continued on down into Owl Canyon for a short hike.

We stopped and visited the well-preserved set of ruins just in the large alcove along the trail. There were some very interesting and unique ruins here.

Owl Creek Alcove by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

There were also some pictographs painted on the ceiling of the alcove.

Paintings by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Small Room by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at some handprints.

Ceiling Hands by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This ruin was interesting, as one side was constructed using parts of a Juniper Tree, while the rest was stone.

Juniper Tree Granary by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s a view of the other side.

Owl Creek Granary by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This structure was oddly shaped compared to most that I come across, and it had an interesting doorway, too.

Strange Door by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at the doorway from the front.

Front Door by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
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Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO

The clouds in the sky this evening were looking pretty nice, so I decided to drive up to the Monument to hopefully catch a nice colorful sunset. I didn’t get the spectacular sunset I was hoping for, but I did end up with with a few good photos while I was up there.

As I drove up Fruita Canyon I finally got a decent photo of Balance Rock in the late afternoon sun with some clouds. Usually as I drive by the sky is either completely blue, or I miss the direct sunlight on the sandstone.

Balanced Rock by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I’m glad I stopped at Balance Rock this time because I also ran into a large group of Desert Bighorn Sheep with a few babies. I grabbed my long lens and took a few photos before they were out of sight.

Young Bighorn Sheep by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After the bighorn sheep were gone, I got back in my Jeep and decided to hike Otto’s Trail and catch the sunset from that area.

The shadows creep across the canyon floor towards Independence Monument.

Independence Monument View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A view past the sandstone of Monument Canyon and over the Grand Valley towards Mount Garfield and the Book Cliffs. I even caught a bird flying through the photo.

Grand Valley Layers by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The top of the Pipe Organ right in front of me and The Island beyond.

Spire Tops & The Island by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A few nice clouds over Monument Canyon.

Storm Over the Mesa by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

As I walked back to my Jeep in the twilight, I stopped for one last photo of this dead tree’s silhouette.

Dead Tree at Dusk by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

>> Otto’s Trail Sunset Photo Gallery

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO

After spending the previous day at Rifle Falls with Amanda we decided to spend Sunday morning taking a hike we have wanted to do for a while in in the Colorado National Monument. The last time we had planned to hike the Black Rdge Trail, it snowed, so we cancelled our plans because we feared it would be a muddy and slippery mess in places. Like the previous day, the weather forecast overnight was calling for storms, but luckily the Monument didn’t see any precipitation. The Book Cliffs, on the other hand, were coated with snow as we drove to the Monument.

Snow and spotlight on the Book Cliffs as we drove up into the Monument.

Snow on the Book Cliffs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A view down into Fruita Canyon as we drove to the trailhead.

Fruita Canyon by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Scenery at the beginning of the hike as we climbed up the trail.

Rocky Hill by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Parts of the trail follow and old two-track.

Old Two-Track & Clouds by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This old sign was hidden off to the side of the trail. It’s hard to read anymore, but the part I can make out says ‘Stock Drive Way’

Stock Drive by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

There were some nice puffy clouds floating above us for a while.

Puffy Clouds by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

View across the Grand Valley at the snow on the Book Cliffs.

Snow Across the Valley by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A sign marking the CCC Trail junction.

CCC Junction by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The trail crossed a rolling field covered with grass as we near the boundary of the park and cross onto BLM land for a while.

Grassy Field by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I liked the light on the ridge in the distance.

Ridge Light by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A nice view over Devils Canyon. I’ve hiked in that canyon before, but never seen it from above like this.

Devil’s Canyon View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

We had to cross this ‘rock bridge’ that separates two canyons.

Rock Bridge by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

We finished the hike at the end of the trail near the Visitor’s Center.

Black Ridge Trail by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

As we drove along Rim Rock Drive on our way back home, I stopped for one more photo over this fork of Monument Canyon.

Monument Canyon Fork by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

It turned out to be a perfect morning for hiking. It wasn’t too hot or cold, and there were plenty of white puffy clouds in the blue sky with some storm clouds off in the distance. We also got to explore a new area of the Colorado National Monument.

>> Black Ridge Trail Photo Gallery