Back to back trips; backpacking in Black Ridge Canyon Wilderness, Western CO
Colin came up with a long weekend backpacking trip to Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, and the only weekend we could figure out to do it this spring was over Easter weekend. The plan was to hike a 17.5 mile loop that takes you through two canyons, including 5 miles through a slot canyon (narrow canyons carved out of sandstone by water over the millennia; see movie 128 Hours). We would need to carry all of our water (which has generally kept me away from backpacking in this region). We were all packed and ready to go on Friday morning, but a last check with the weather forecast showed a 70 percent chance of rain for the region (you definitely do not want to be in a slot canyon when it rains - think ten foot walls of water coursing down the very narrow canyon). So we did some quick on line research and came up with an alternate trip in far western Colorado.
We backpacked in the McGinnis Canyon Area, and the Black Ridge Canyon Wilderness Area, a 75,000 acre or so BLM wilderness area located just west of Grand Junction, Colorado. This is another area where you need to carry your own water (although we were able to obtain water in a few spots; you just can't count on it); so we were all ready to go.
We got to the trailhead at 4PM, and hiked in to the Knowles Canyon Rim (5.5 miles, although we got lost going in, and ended up hiking about 7.5 miles), where we camped about 50 feet from the canyon rim. We were very impressed with the area - where we camped reminded me of a somewhat smaller version of the east Rim of the main canyon in Zion National Park. From where we were camped we were about 500 feet above the valley floor; the canyon winds its way 14 miles or so to the Colorado River from our location. There was a small flowing stream at the bottom of the canyon, with a fair amount of vegetation.
We had 4 hours of rain our first morning in, but then it cleared out allowing for us to do a great loop day hike, where we ended up going down a side canyon until it ended abruptly about 400 feet above the canyon floor - very dramatic. We actually met a couple from Silverthorne that morning (almost no one goes back in here, so we were both a bit surprised to meet other people; Jennifer and ?? had hiked in this area a few times before, and Jennifer is putting together a list of other good hikes in the area, that we hope to sample in coming years).
Our last full day, we did a day hike down into the canyon and up a mile or so, back up the canyon to our camp before hiking out back to the car. A beautiful canyon country area that is very lightly visited. Another great spring canyon country trip!
We backpacked in the McGinnis Canyon Area, and the Black Ridge Canyon Wilderness Area, a 75,000 acre or so BLM wilderness area located just west of Grand Junction, Colorado. This is another area where you need to carry your own water (although we were able to obtain water in a few spots; you just can't count on it); so we were all ready to go.
We got to the trailhead at 4PM, and hiked in to the Knowles Canyon Rim (5.5 miles, although we got lost going in, and ended up hiking about 7.5 miles), where we camped about 50 feet from the canyon rim. We were very impressed with the area - where we camped reminded me of a somewhat smaller version of the east Rim of the main canyon in Zion National Park. From where we were camped we were about 500 feet above the valley floor; the canyon winds its way 14 miles or so to the Colorado River from our location. There was a small flowing stream at the bottom of the canyon, with a fair amount of vegetation.
We had 4 hours of rain our first morning in, but then it cleared out allowing for us to do a great loop day hike, where we ended up going down a side canyon until it ended abruptly about 400 feet above the canyon floor - very dramatic. We actually met a couple from Silverthorne that morning (almost no one goes back in here, so we were both a bit surprised to meet other people; Jennifer and ?? had hiked in this area a few times before, and Jennifer is putting together a list of other good hikes in the area, that we hope to sample in coming years).
Our last full day, we did a day hike down into the canyon and up a mile or so, back up the canyon to our camp before hiking out back to the car. A beautiful canyon country area that is very lightly visited. Another great spring canyon country trip!
View from our campsite with rain moving in
400 foot drop about ten feet behind Colin
Collecting the morning rainwater for some additional water supply (after filtering)
Colin's "Go PRO" timelapse filming location
Knowles Canyon sunset from campsite
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