JohnTheLuck's Adventures Thread

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 20:

Start point: Spokane WA
End point: Ephrata WA

Driving distance: km
Hiking distance: 1 km

Again, we got up in the smoke. So we decided to leave Spokane to continue west, hoping to leave the forest fire zone.

Our first destination of the day was the Roosevelt Lake National Recreation Area located around a reservoir at Grand Coulee Dam. While traveling on the eastern shore, we stopped at the St. Paul Mission, located on the trail that travelers used during the portage to bypass the Kettle Falls.

We then took the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway to a pass at over 5500 feet. This road passes near the Camp Growden Heritage Site, an important Civilian Conservation Corps camp, established during the Great Depression by President Roosevelt to use the young workforce to build trails, roads, views , and stimulate the economy and get the country out of the crisis.

We then arrived at Grand Coulee Dam on Columbia River which formed Roosevelt Lake. It is mistakenly advertised as the most powerful hydroelectric plant in North America with its two plants producing 6800 MW. Let me correct that La Grande Complex with its two plants LG-2 and LG-2A produces 7700 MW. Sorry!!! Anyway, it is an extremely grand realization.

At the Visitor Center in Grand Coulee Dam, we watched a film about the tormented geological history of the region. For a long time, geologists thought that the canyons of the Columbia River and the surrounding area had been created by the slow action of erosion. A more cataclysmic theory was issued in 1930 and defended by its author for more than 30 years before it was accepted by all. At the end of the last glaciation period, melting produced enormous amounts of water and some rivers were obstructed by glaciers. The water has accumulated in huge lakes with an estimated water volume of more than 500 cubic miles. The dike formed by the glacier yielded and an immense wave broke over this region of Washington for probably only 48 hours, digging the thick layer of basalt created by previous volcanic activity. The water has dug canyons, left reliefs in waves in the form of parallel hills.

We followed a part of the Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway circulating in the passage formed by this immense wave. The road is lined with high basalt cliffs and multiple lakes formed in depressions.

Still on the Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway, we joined the Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park. At this location, the huge wave swept down the valley and created a fall of 3.5 miles wide falling over 400 feet high, more than 4 times the width of the Niagara Falls.

This road is fantastic and we may come back tomorrow if the weather clears up. We are still undecided from day to day because of the smoke. We had planned several hikes that we did not go through because of it.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 21:

Start point: Ephrata WA
End point: Mt Vernon WA

Driving distance: 419 km
Hiking distance: 1 km

It feels like the Groundhog Day movie... more smoke at dawn. Still, we continued our quest for blue skies in a westerly direction.

Following the theme from yesterday, we crossed regions that had been affected by floods during the glacier era. Thus we saw hills all in a regular alignment, like the wavelets at the bottom of a stream flowing rapidly, but on a larger scale. We also saw huge rocks being torn from the cliffs and transported by the waves into the lower plains.

We then arrived very close to North Cascade National Park. Despite the presence of the smoke, we still enjoyed the beauty of the landscapes, with high mountains and vertiginous cliffs. The road then made long laces.

A little further, we joined the starting point of our long hike of the day. Again, we abandoned this hike because of the thick smoke as we would not have seen the scenery and the air quality was rated poor.

Continuing, we entered North Cascade National Park. We stopped at different points of view.

A little further, another point of view, the Diablo Lake Overlook, allowed us to see the reservoir formed by the Diablo Dam. With a lot of imagination, you can guess the dam off in the smoke ...

We made a slight detour to see the Diablo Dam. To our surprised, we found that we could drive over the dam itself.

We were fortunate enough when we realized a door of a spillway was open, letting out a torrent of water. Occasionally, the dams are opened to clean the sediments that accumulate in the valleys below when the current is no longer strong enough to carry it away.

Further on the river, another small dam, The Gorge Dam, offers short trails and a suspension bridge over the river.

We are in Mt Vernon north of Seattle in Washington for the night. Tomorrow we will make a final attempt to see Mt. Baker and make a popular hike. If we come back empty-handed, it's a safe bet that we will move to Plan B and bow to the stubborn smoke.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 22:

Start point: Mt. Vernon WA
End point: Bellingham WA

Distance driving: 231 km
Distance hiking: 8.1 km

Well, by now you should now know the lament of the smoke. Let's move on.

Our only destination of the day was the Heather Meadows area in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, at the foot of the invisible Mt Baker. This area offers a number of the most beautiful trails, normally. As it is about 5500 feet high, we hoped to get rid of the smoke, at least to be able to breathe in peace.

To begin, we walked the Table Mountain Trail leading to the plateau at the top of this mountain. The trail passes close to several small lakes with beautiful photo opportunities. Normally, this place should be a great place to see Mt Baker. But not today.

From the beginning, the trail climbs the slope of the Table Mountain, which sometimes has a rather steep slope with some steep sections. We enjoyed our walking poles.

Once on the top of the slope, a relatively flat and very rocky landscape awaited us. Fortunately, the trail skirted the southern part a little wooded. We crossed several pretty sections irrigated by the waters of the melting snow still present. Numerous varieties of flowers scattered the rather austere landscape.

Our intention was to go to the end of Table Mountain and get down by a passage I had identified on Google Maps and some sites. Unfortunately, after many attempts, we had to resolve to retrace our steps. On the other hand, this allowed us to see beautiful little lakes on the snow below, the remains of a glacier once undoubtedly. Rocks polished by the passage to this one testified.

On the way back, we saw the parking lot in the distance, a good candidate for the thread 5th gen in Scenic Places.

After a short break, we traveled another trail, the Artist Point Trail leading to the top of a small hill to see the northern section of the park towards Canada. Nothing to see again. On the other hand, this trail offered a beautiful view of Table Mountain we just hiked.

Finally, we went to the Heather Meadows Visitor Center to see pictures of what we should have seen. Nearby, we walked a very short path overlooking a valley with lakes. As in several other places on this massif, columns of basalt were visible.

Tomorrow, we will consult various websites to determine if the smoke conditions have improved in the region. If so, then we will again go to Mt Baker-Snoqualmie NF to go on another trail.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 23:

Start point: Bellingham WA
End point: Bellingham WA

Distance driven: 207 km
Distance hiked: 0 km

We have traveled 13300 km so far during the trip. We are almost at the extreme west of the United States, very close to Canada. We saw an unforgettable solar eclipse in good company, we saw magnificent landscapes, visited historic landmarks, and hiked some beautiful hiking trails.

However, since our shortened stay in the Glacier National Park area, we tried to find a little clean air and blue sky. We had to abandon the idea of hiking a lot of trails.

Today, an ultimate attempt to see Mt Baker once again ended in dismal failure as the mist was so thick that the visibility was only about 40 feet and we had to follow around the parking lot of Heather Meadows in order to find the exit. Rain, drizzle, and fog were all part of the game. We took only three pictures...

This is it, after returning to the hotel in the early afternoon, we took the opportunity to draw up plan B, that is to say to find the blue sky and smoke-free (at least, we hope). We are temporarily abandoning our established itinerary to move to northern Utah for a few days before returning to the planned itinerary in about ten days.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 24:

Start point: Bellingham WA
End point: Twin Falls ID

Distance driving: 1136 km
Distance hiking: 0 km

We left Bellingham under a cloudy sky, but before the fall of precipitation. We have only traveled on interstates and crossing the states of Washington, Oregon, and part of Idaho. We are in Twin Falls for at least the next couple of days. Zero picture taken.

Currently, southern Idaho appears to be practically smoke-free as the winds move northward. maybe our bet will pay off. We will see tomorrow.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 25:

Start point: Twin Falls ID
End point: Twin Falls ID

Distance driven: 486 km
Distance hiked: 4.4 km


Ah it does feel good; despite the fact that we got up in Twin Falls under a cloudy sky, they dissipated quickly to make way for a beautiful blue sky, and practically smoke-free. Finally.

So we decided to travel a part of a loop to the north that we had originally allocated two days. To begin, we headed north on the Sawtooth Scenic Byway from Shoshone.

On this route, our first destination was a short off-road detour leading to a long system of lava tubes from ancient volcanoes, near the tourist attraction "Shoshone Indian Ice Caves". We had identified this location through Google Map but were not sure of the state of the original road going there.

We managed to reach our planned point for a hike to the lava tube, about a kilometer across a rugged rocky formed by lava flows.

A little further north on Sawtooth Scenic Byway, we stopped at the Black Magic Canyon, carved by the Big Wood River. The river, when the valves of the reservoir Black Magic are open for irrigation, digs the volcanic rock forming original forms. Unfortunately, the water was pouring on our arrival, which often happens between April and October. So we had to content ourselves with looking at her from the shore rather than hiking on the dried-up bed as we had hoped.

Continuing on Sawtooth Scenic Byway, we traveled along the old route of the railway that once made possible the development of many mines and small towns. Although the railway is no longer in operation, some bridges spanning rivers still exist.

Leaving Sawtooth Scenic Byway at Ketchum City, we cut the northern part of the loop that we originally planned and took the Sun Valley Road leading up to the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway further east. The Sun Valley Road passes through the Sawtooth National Forest to the Challis National Forest. This road is very beautiful and reveals the beauty of these two forests.

Driving south on Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway, we stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument, preserving volcanic landscapes whose most recent eruptions date back only two thousand years ago. During our first visit a few years ago, we were unable to stop at the majority of the points of interest because of road work. Today, we took the opportunity to explore a few short trails.

Tomorrow, we should stay near Twin Falls to visit a few interesting places.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 26:

Start point: Twin Falls ID
End point: Twin Falls ID

Distance driven: 253 km
Distance hiked: 3 km

As planned, we explored the surroundings of twin Falls, Idaho, to take a break of long distance driving.

Our first destination of the day was the Malad Gorge State Park, located around a deep gorge dug by the Malad River. A beautiful waterfall is located directly under the I-84 in a narrower part.

The park offers several views of the gorge along a road running alongside it. Further, the gorge widens and the river flows with slight waterfalls.

Still further, hydroelectric installations were erected, diverting some of the water in a canal to a power station located further downstream.

Then we headed for Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument preserving one of the richest fossil site dating back 4 million years or younger. No dinosaurs here, but rather mammals as the place was at that time a large lake. Today, the Snake River passes close by. In addition, the Oregon Trail used by the pioneers on their way to Oregon passes through this park.

The Visitor Center presents some discoveries made in the park, including the skeleton of an ancestor of modern horses. Surprisingly, remember that the Europeans brought horses from Europe because they did not exist in America. Scientists have established that the skeletons found at Hagerman are the ancestors of the current Asian horses and that they would have populated Asia by migrating from America through the Bering Strait. The horses would have disappeared from America during the last ice age. The Spanish settlement of horses in America was like closing the loop!

Then we went to the Minodoka National Historic Site, a captivity site of more than 9000 people of Japanese origin during the Second World War. Fearing that the Japanese of origin would commit acts of sabotage or espionage during the war against Japan, the US government had ordered more than 120,000 of them to be placed in camps under guard, under rather precarious conditions.

Back along the Snake River, we stopped at the Twin Falls Power Plant. The plant did not seem to be functioning and the surplus water of the reservoir overflowed in a beautiful fall, contrasting with the arid environment.

Back in Twin Falls, still on the Snake River, the Shoshones Falls nicknamed the "Niagara Falls of the West" were virtually dry because the flow rate was only 415 cubic feet per second whereas it can reach 20,000 at spring when the snow melts. These falls are higher than Niagara Falls.

Finally, we took a short walk on the beautiful trail along La Snake River close to the city's Visitor Center and the bridge over the Snake River.

Tomorrow we leave Twin Falls and Idaho to go to Salt Lake City, passing through a place we barely touched on a previous trip when we had a problem with our vehicle.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 27:

Start point: Twin Falls ID
End point: North Salt Lake UT

Distance driven: 438 km
Distance hiked : 4.9 km

Today, we left Twin Falls in Idaho again under a clear, smoke-free sky. We made our way to the south of the state towards a destination which we had scarcely touched upon during a previous voyage. In fact in the past, we visited two parks named City of Rocks, and both times we had a tire puncture. Having to fix this problem, we had shortened our stay.

City of Rocks National Reserve protects a large number of granite formations forming a fairy tale landscape, with its sharp peaks with evocative names, but also because the California Trail, borrowed by the pioneers in the direction of California, passed in these places. Today, City of Rocks is a popular destination for campers and also for climbers who find challenges to match their abilities.

After viewing a short video at the Visitor Center in Almo, we started the Automobile Tour, forming a loop and allowing to see the main attractions of the park.

One of the first points was the Geological Loop Trail to access Circle Creek Overlook. Different stations explain the creation of City of Rocks and the different formations that compose it. In summary, magma pushed upward to the surface of the earth's crust but without forming a volcano. The magma solidified after infiltrating into another type of rock. Erosion has exposed the solidified magma and sculpted the current landscape.

Some remains of human occupation still exist, including the Circle Creek Ranch built in 1909.

Some monoliths still retain the traces of the pioneers on the California Trail, including those on the Register Rock.

Further on the Automobile Tour, we crossed the Twin Sisters, two monoliths formed of rocks of different origins.

As we passed close to Morning Glory Spire, a climber was just reaching the summit.

We then hiked Creekside Towers Trail, a winding trail between different monoliths in an area accessible to climbers. A spectacular view overlooked the valley.

Another monolith.

Another nearby short trail led to Window Arch.

When we left City of Rocks, we took gravel roads in the area where we had a puncture. The tires of the 4Runner being much more resistant, we passed the test successfully, ending the spell that haunted us !!!

We are in North Salt Lake in the northern suburbs of Salt Lake City for a few days. Tomorrow we have an appointment for a surprise on the 4Runner.
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[Ray Dunakin]

Cool place, and great pics!

 

[Boyds4Runner]

Great Trip, Great Pictures!
I'm enjoying the narrative as well...I'm getting an education out of it!
Safe Travels!

 

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 28:

Start point: North Salt Lake UT
End point: North Salt Lake UT

Distance driver: 138 km
Distance hiked: km

The morning was devoted exclusively to the 4Runner. We had set up an appointment at Equipt Expedition Outfitters in Salt Lake City for the installation of an Eezi-Awn K9 2.2m roof rack. This should allow us to clear a little inside the vehicle during our future trips.

Then we went to Mark Miller Toyota in Slat Lake City near the city center to make an oil change and a tire swap, as we have done so far nearly 15,750 km since we left Montreal. What a great experience; they offer oil change and tire rotation without appointments. The work was done in a really short time and very well done.

Then, after a light meal, we headed a little randomly to the mountains southeast of Salt Lake City to take a look at the famous ski resorts. The road climbs into a long valley as the vegetation gradually passes through desert areas, then temperate with hardwoods and then coniferous before reaching the tundra. All in 30 minutes!

Fortunately, we had chosen a place very close to the starting point of a trail which we originally intended to travel at the beginning of the voyage but which we had dismissed. When we started the journey, threatening clouds appeared over the mountains and we even received a few drops. The Cecret Lake Trail (yes, with a C) climbs up a cooler valley to Cecret Lake. The short path is very pretty and crosses areas of rock polished by glaciers.

As we reached the lake, the sky cleared completely, to our delight as it was only 18C and with the wind it was a little chilly. The very small lake is surrounded by beautiful rocks tinted with red, probably caused by the presence of copper very abundant in the region.

Tomorrow we will have to deal with the weather which seems a bit uncertain due to the passage of a vigorous cold front. We will decide what to do tomorrow morning.
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[smallfry]

Tomorrow we will have to deal with the weather which seems a bit uncertain due to the passage of a vigorous cold front. We will decide what to do tomorrow morning.
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If you need something and haven't done it yet you can try and run Skyline Drive between Bountiful and Farmington and up to the weather station. The main road should be fine but some of the side trails will get muddy if it rains.

The national history museum in Salt Lake is pretty neat to check out or the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium if you want to take it easy.

 

[JohnTheLuck]

If you need something and haven't done it yet you can try and run Skyline Drive between Bountiful and Farmington and up to the weather station. The main road should be fine but some of the side trails will get muddy if it rains.

The national history museum in Salt Lake is pretty neat to check out or the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium if you want to take it easy.

Thanks for your suggestions! Seems a really nice road.

 

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 29:

Start point: North Salt Lake UT
End point: North Salt Lake UT

Distance driven: 229 km
Distance hiked: 7.5 km

We stayed in the Salt Lake City area today. We decided to hike the Sunset Peak Trail in the mountains, accessible by the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road. Concrete casting work for a new ski run forced us from the same point of origin as the Cecret Lake trail that we traveled yesterday.

The sky was cloudy with strong winds. Although we left the hotel with a temperature of 21C, it was only 12C when we started our walk.

The trail regularly climbs the mountain to reach Catherine Pass, then Sunset Pass, then finally Sunset Peak. It offers stunning views, especially along the edge near Sunset Peak.

From the summit of Sunset Peak, the view was breathtaking, with many water tanks visible in the Brighton valley. But how cold it was with the strong winds rising from the valley.

From the summit, Sunset Pass and Catherine Pass farther away were plainly visible.

On the way back, we improvised a bit in order to make the most of the view in altitude. So we took another trail from Catherine Pass and climbed to another peak in the direction of Cecret Lake to see it.

When we started hiking, a helicopter was shuttling between the valley and tower bases for the future ski lift. The second trail led us directly to the top of the ski lift where we were able to appreciate closely the delicate work of the pilot.

To make a change, we went down the path leading to the top of the ski lift.

Inspired by the landscapes around the town of Brighton seen from Sunset Peak, we drove in the 4Runner into a nearby valley, Big Cottonwood Canyon Road. Although the landscapes are more wooded, we were amazed to see the concentration of ski areas and the countless condo nearby. We then crossed the cities of Brighton, Park City, to reach East Canyon Road once traveled by the Pony Express mail service, and finally Emigration Canyon Road traveled the infamous Donner-Reed party.

Tomorrow, the 4Runner should see a lot of dirt, among other.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 30:

Start point: North Salt Lake UT
End point: North Salt Lake UT

Distance driven: 699 km
Distance hiked: 0 km

The weather forecast proved to be right, as we got up with strong winds and sustained showers. As the precipitations were supposed to continue throughout the day, we headed to the far west of Utah, with much more favorable forecasts.

Our first destination of the day was the Bonneville Salt Flat Speedway, a track on the former Bonneville Lake which is a privileged place for setting speed records. Unfortunately, today was racing day and we would have had to pay to get to the site in addition to the congestion. We turned around and instead made a short stop on the side of the access road for a small forced pose!

We then traveled the Silver Island Mountain National Back Country Byway, a gravel road forming a loop. This former island while Bonneville Lake still contained water, offers beautiful scenery with colorful mountains.

This very remote and isolated place has seen some human activities, including some tungsten mines, with traces of gold and silver, but in very small quantity.

In some places it was possible to discern a horizontal line in the relief of the mountains, formed as the waves on the waters of Bonneville Lake had eroded the rock.

The road runs along the base of the mountains on the southern part of the island, whereas it is much further away on the northern part.

At the end of the island is the Donner Pass, named after the group of explorers in 1846. While the California Trail made a long detour from the north in order to bypass the Great Salt Lake, the Donner-Reed Party followed the directions to the Cutoff Hastlings which was to save a lot of time. They encountered difficulties in the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City and then mired in the soft sands around Great Salt Lake. Having gone a long way behind, they were stuck in the winter of 1846-1847 in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Having no food, a large number of them died and the survivors had to practice cannibalism to survive.

Having completed the loop around Silver Island Mountain, we headed for the mythical Pony Express Trail National Back Country Byway. This route follows the route established in 1860 to carry mail between the east and west of the country. Riders traveled the distance in 7 to 10 days, galloping between the 300 stations located approximately every 10-12 miles. The rider changed horse at each station for a more rested. A rider thus made some stops, before returning to his station of departure, relaying the mail to another rider. The service was only operational for 18 months, when the telegraph wire became available, instantly rendering the service outdated.

The original Pony Express trail is indicated by landmarks visible along the Pony Express Trail National Back Country Byway. Traces of the passage of riders, or of subsequent travelers, are still visible even after 150 years.

The locations of the relay stations are either indicated by historical landmarks. The ruins of some of them are still visible. At other sites, ancient dwellings of the same period dot the landscape.

The riders had to contend with many reliefs, ranging from the humid plains to the mountains. In addition, they faced the dangers of traveling alone and the ambushes of looters or Indians. But the real unknown heroes were the station guardians, which were like sitting duck lacking the ability to escape danger as the riders had.

Tomorrow we should be staying in the vicinity of Salt Lake City. We will have to plan the next 5 or 6 days before resuming the itinerary established before departure.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 31:

Start point: North Salt Lake UT
End point: North Salt Lake UT

Distance driven: 191 km
Distance hiked: 5 km

As the weather was fine again, we followed the recommendation of [MENTION=10182]smallfry[/MENTION] who kindly recommended Skyline Drive, a road in the mountains just north of Slat Lake City, connecting between Bountiful and Farmington. Thank you so much for this suggestion, this road is awesome. As the name suggests, it follows the summit of the mountain range and offers panoramic views at all corners.

After reaching the top portion of the drive, we made a small side trip to a nearby peak. As warned by smallfry, there was a few muddy spots, but this only increased the fun!!!

Once back on the main road, the view was always clear to see what was coming ahead: more awesome views.

As we approached the end of the part at the top, the road going up to a weather station appeared very inviting.

As we descended, we encountered a small oasis of greenery around small ponds, probably a corner well-frequented by deers and antelopes, but not this week because many archery hunters were present on the mountain for the hunt season.

Going back up to the weather station, the scenery was still as beautiful. The following picture is misleading, because the road does not rise towards the sky but descends towards the valley!

As expected, we were not allowed to reach the meteo station, the road being blocked by a fence. The view was spectacular, but it was only 5 C and the wind was extremely cold. On the way down, we took advantage of the fact that there was not much crowd to take a small pose. And above all, no question that I park on the edge of the precipice ...

After a late dinner, we returned to Antelope Island State Park. Recent rains had slightly altered the marshes near the access road and small green shoots decorated the area. Moreover, a beautiful phenomenon of thermal inversion was visible on the horizon, while a band of earth seemed to float in the sky.

One of my wife's pleasures in this place is to walk on the long beach, populated by an immense quantity of tiny flies, which slightly depart from our path as we advance, without ever touching us. The number of flies being so high that the sound of their wings beating in flight collectively is very perceptible.

We walked along the beach to a rocky point advancing into Great Salt Lake. We then climbed up the rocks to reach a footpath a little higher up. At this point, the rocks are formed of aggregate, and eroded by rain and wind.

Finally, we went to a view overlooking the beach that we had just walked.

Back at the hotel, we briefly set out the itinerary for the next few days until we resumed the original route. We will therefore turn slightly south to meet my wife need to see and walk over reddish rock ...
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 32:

Start point: North Salt Lake UT
End point : Clifton CO

Distance driven: 593 km
Distance hiked: 9 km

We left the Salt Lake City area under a cloudy sky. The goal of the day was to get to Moab Utah for the day and then head to Clifton in western Colorado.

In Moab, we hiked the Gold Bar Arch Trail or Jeep Arch Trail or your personal preferences. This trail is located on the edge of Arches National Park that we have visited time and time again. We were not prepared as usual and as the directions were not very clear, we had a doubt going on another trail. We started on a bad track, but we realized it quickly.

In the beginning, the path gradually ascended a canyon surrounded by large orange cliffs and in the bottom of which flowed the rest of the rains of the previous day.

In several places, dry streams lead to ridges that would form superb falls during precipitation.

as we climbed up the canyon, the landscapes opened up beyond the cliffs and the La-Sal Mountains and the Behind the Rocks, with its multiple parallel rocky ridges, named fins.

Continuing our walk, we met a lady who was walking down the path. We inquired as to whether the trail led to the arch in question, but she did not really know. At the turn of a ridge, the arch finally unveiled, putting an end to our doubts.

The trail forms a loop and we followed a false path before returning to the arch and realizing that the trail continued through the arch itself. A little further on the loop, the name of the arch became evident.

Near the junction of the loop, a tall spire was showing the way. This is probably the remains of an old arch who collapsed hundred years ago.

Towards the end of the trail, we had a superb view of the Colorado River sneaking into the cliffs that it dug with time.

In order to avoid wandering as at the beginning of the trail, we followed another route that led to a pipeline for a dry creek and which passed under a railway track. As we arrived at the tunnel, we had confirmation that this was the right direction!

I couldn't resist laying on the ground to take this one, to end a superb day in an amazing area. We love so much Moab!

After the hike, we had to stop at Pasta Jays in Moab, a classic place for us and one of our favorite restaurant.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 33:

Start point: Clifton CO
End point: Clifton CO

Distance driven: 150 km
Distance hiked: 8 km

We had another great day with a blue sky and only a few clouds in the late afternoon and a temperature around 24 C. What to ask for better!

As we did not have a clear plan, seeing the indication of the Bureau of Land Management for the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, we stopped to get information. We often walked through Grand Junction to Colorado but never really wanted to visit. This time will be different.

To get to the place the Ranger told us, we had to go through the Colorado National Monument. The panoramic route is very inviting with its multiple points of view on beautiful rock formations in orange cliffs.

At about halfway on the Rim Rock Drive, we joined the road to reach to the Rattlesnake Canyon Trailhead in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. The narrow road, slipping between the trees and shrubs, is rather rocky in places. On the other hand it offers splendid landscapes and is far enough away that we did not meet anyone of the day.

As we approached the trailhead, our destination appeared at the top of Rattlesnake Canyon, a rocky line containing a host of natural arches, visible in the middle on the right in the next photo.

We were somewhat confused by the direction of the trail that we thought was a loop. Arrived at the top of the first arch, we search for a way to reach a trail visible at the bottom. After a while we capitulated and we continued onto the trail on the top of the cliff. The view was still very nice and we could often get very close and even go to the arch itself.

When we reached the end of the plateau, we try again to find the way down. There was a place where you could see footprints, but the descent looked pretty perilous down and we chose to stay wisely on the top.

Later on the loop on top of the plateau, we crossed the place where the footpath of the bottom joins that of the top. As we had already traveled a lot of distance and time was running out, we decided to return wisely to our starting point. One day, we will definitely return to complete it.

On the way back we again stopped at the Colorado National Monument as the sunshine quietly towards the horizon tinged the cliffs in a sharper tone.

While we were near the park exit, a group of bighorn sheeps grazed quietly on a rocky peak on the side of the road.

Tomorrow we will go to another area of ​​McInnis Canyons NCA. On the program, another hike and a panoramic road.
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[Ray Dunakin]

Great pics and scenery!

FYI, those are bighorn sheep. Mountain goats are shaggy and white.

 

[JohnTheLuck]

Great pics and scenery!

FYI, those are bighorn sheep. Mountain goats are shaggy and white.

Oups! We don't have any of these near my home town, so I trust you on this!!! Corrected. Thanks.