2012 - February 27th - Rough Canyon & Clarks Hollow, Bangs Canyon Special Recreation Management Area

Rough Canyon is one of my favorites close to Grand Junction.  I was lucky enough to have one of my first experiences with the canyon being during runoff.  That adventure can be seen here.

I have been back to the area twice since, adventures which can be found here and here.  Recently, I read somewhere online that a tributary to Rough Canyon contains a short slot canyon.  I put the trek on hold for a few weeks to let my lower back heal up, but once I was confident that everything was status quo, I hit the trail.

... and it just so happened to be a gorgeous day out as well.  In fact, a storm would be arriving the next day, so this was the warm day before the storm.  As I reached the trail, wave clouds were already hanging in the lee of the Uncompahgre Plateau and the drainage winds from the upper reaches of the valleys were strong. 

Rough Canyon is reached via the Bangs Canyon trailhead.  You can either decent directly into the middle portion of the canyon or take the Tabeguache Trail down to the top of the lower section of the canyon.  I elected to take the latter route. 

As I worked my way down the slickrock expanses of the Tabeguache Trail, I seemed to be on the cusp of sunshine the entire time.  It was like I was tracing the edge of the shadow of the giant wave cloud.  It was nice: not too hot, not too cold. 

Looking west into the upper reaches of Rough and Ladder Canyons.

Sun and sandstone.

My plan was to head back up-canyon once I reached Rough Canyon Falls.  The trip down the Tabeguache Trail went quickly and the breeze accompanying the warmer temperatures actually felt quite nice. 

At the falls, I stopped to snap a picture since the last time I was in the area, I forgot.  It is much more impressive when there is water flowing, but alas, the desert doesn't give up her water easily.

Down Rough Canyon Falls.

Pools above the falls.  Soon they will be filled with canyon tree frogs.

Only a quarter mile upstream, the most impressive fork of the canyon branches off to the west.  I call this the Clarks Fork of Rough Canyon since it is the main drainage into Rough Canyon from Clarks Bench.  I had most of the day to play with, so I dove in.  Based on satellite imagery, I figured the portion of the canyon that I wanted to explore was only a little bit upstream. 

Heading into Clarks Fork of Rough Canyon.

The mid-day sun cast a nice glow into the shadowed recesses of this tight canyon and aside from it being tangled with undergrowth in places, it was rather pleasant.

After a short while, I turned the corner into a wonderful little hollow.  There was a lone Cottonwood Tree standing in its center and a wide ice flow down the middle. At the far end, water trickled down a small waterfall.  Most of the floor of the hollow was uninterrupted stone, making it feel like a large open room. 

"Clarks Hollow"

It didn't really seem to fit the picture that I had in my head of the area, but I was definitely satisfied with the discovery.  I spent a good, long while lingering in the area and taking photos.  I even made a half hearted attempt to climb the waterfall, but it was slippery and there just weren't any good places to put my feet. 

Pool reflecting the canyon above the falls.

Self-portrait.

A moment in the sun.

Above

... and I didn't bring my skates!

It got a little chilly in the shadows as I spent a lot of the time on my belly, trying to get some close-ups of the various inanimate inhabitants.  So, I decided to find a patch of sunshine and sit for a while.  I had a little trail mix and soaked in the atmosphere. 

Amazing light and color.

Since my climbing capabilities didn't lend themselves to allowing me any progress upstream, I headed on back out of this little side canyon.  On the way out, I spotted two juniper berries sitting in a sandy bowl in the slickrock.  They were begging to have their image made.  I think the lines in the sand may have been bird prints, but I'm not certain. 

This is my favorite image from the entire hike. 

Once I returned to the main canyon, I felt a lot warmer.  The sun was out in full force and aside from an occasional gust of wind, the air was fantastic.  The light, too, seemed to make the entire canyon glow, even though it was just past noon.

Compare the image above to the one below, which was taken during runoff. 

The only difference in my return up-canyon than my previous trek was that I wanted to go to the bottom of what I had previously called "black pool falls".  The trail climbs the side of the canyon and joins the wash at the top of the falls, but the pool at the bottom is not along the trail.  I had to slide down into it from along the trail last time, but this time, I wanted to approach it from the bottom directly.  I had tried on my trip during the runoff but was turned back because of water and boulders.  Well, the boulders were still there and relatively impassable, so I thought to start to climb up the east side of the canyon instead and then let myself back down in.  This technique worked, though I wouldn't necessarily call it the "easy way." 

A new path.

When I reached the bottom of the black pool, it was in full sunlight.  That kind of destroyed the mystique.  While there was some ice (and trash) where the pool used to be, it wasn't very impressive.  I thought I might be able to climb up this waterfall too, but I was wrong, so I just took a few pictures.

The not-so-black pool.

Threshold

I ascended the gravelly slope on the west side of the canyon and got back on the trail.  If you've ever read that this part of the trail is slightly "exposed", please note the below photo.  You're looking at the trail.

Now in the upper reaches of the canyon, I was planning another side-trip to the petroglyphs.  Suddenly, I noticed a creature at my feet.  It was a little Canyon Mouse and it was acting strange.  At first, I thought it was sleeping, because it didn't move.  So, I got down on my belly to take a few photos.  When it didn't seem too disturbed by my presence, I used a small stick to gently prod it into moving.  It responded lethargically.  I actually tried to pick it up by the back of the neck like I would have with my hamsters so long ago and that, at least got a reaction out of it.  After that, I left it alone and it slowly wedged itself under a rock.  In retrospect, I shouldn't have touched it, but it's two weeks later now and I don't have the hantavirus, so ... yay!

And then, one last stop at the petroglyphs on my way out.  I try to pretend that they aren't horribly vandalized.

All in all, it was a perfect day for a hike.  The weather was fantastic and though I have been on the trail, I found some new things and saw some new angles. 

Here's a useful map:

Dann.

2012 - February 13th - Hunter Canyon

Mondays have become "Adventure Mondays," which I have to say is pretty awesome.  My friend and co-worker Shannon shares Mondays off of work as well as my spirit for adventure.   Since I was dealing with my back issues the previous week, I had to cancel.  However, after heading out just a few days before for a leisurely hike through Ladder Canyon, I realized that a longer hike was probably okay. 

I was trying to think of some place that didn't have a lot of elevation gain just to take it easy on myself and realized that I wanted to visit Hunter Canyon again.  I had done so previously in October (that post has not been written yet), but thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was eager to show Shannon some of the unique features of this nearby yet remote canyon. 

The canyon is carved by Little Salt Wash into the Book Cliffs, which bound the northern perimeter of the Grand Valley.  It is accessed by 21 Road, which is paved half-way across the desert.  The road actually enters the canyon, which has impressive, towering gates.

I parked at the same place that I had done previously, which is the first crossing of the wash.  Like my previous trip, there was actually water flowing in the wash.  This time, however, there was actually some snow in the shadowy areas.  Precipitation had moved through the area the day before which resulted only in rain in the city, but the Book Cliffs had a nice dusting on them.  And, as it turns out, the canyon also suffered a nice coat.

The first thing we noticed on our hike was the mud.  It was muddy... everywhere.  Even the snow had mud in it.  I'm not talking about mud that is a minor nuisance, I'm talking about mud that you sink into a couple of inches with each step.  It was nearly impossible to avoid the mud.

The farther we went into the canyon, the more snow we found.  Eventually, we found that walking on the frozen wash was a better idea.  In some places, the ice was rather thick.  By this time, the shadows of the canyon had kept most of the previous day's snow (and probably earlier season snow) intact.  With the snow, the going was actually easier.

In one strange moment, we actually observed a spider skittering across the snow.  That was a new one.

One of the most impressive features in Hunter Canyon is the big alcove.  It has been described as "wide enough to drive your truck through."  And in fact, many do.  At one time, I understand that the BLM did plow a road through the canyon, but flash flooding had done quite a number on it, washing it out in several places.  It is no longer considered a navigable road.

Back to the alcove, it doesn't really compare to the incredible Mee Canyon Alcove, but it's definitely the second best that I have seen. 

Approaching the alcove.

The wash was completely frozen inside the alcove, which wasn't too much of a surprise.  I pulled out my tripod to take a few longer exposures while Shannon rested and marveled. 

Ice flows.

Shannon for scale.

Another thing you'll notice inside the alcove is the powerful sulfur smell.  There are many coal seams exposed in the canyon and a lot of gasses escape.  It seems particularly strong in this alcove.  It's so strong, in fact, that your intuition says: "don't stay long"

On our way out, I noticed that a large, recent rockfall (not pictured) is now blocking up the entrance to the canyon.  It would now be quite difficult to take even a high-clearance vehicle all the way through.  

So, we didn't.  We continued up-canyon with intentions of exploring a side-canyon which I find to be quite remarkable.  The sun started to peek out a bit too, which only made the fresh snow on the incredible terrain sparkle even more. 

A towering hoodoo, overlooking the wash.

We also stopped for a few minutes at a place I like to call "Dann's grape-eating station."  It isn't really anything to clever, rather just a place I had stopped on my previous journey to eat a branch of grapes.  I have fond memories of those grapes.  There, I took a few more photos.

Around the next bend, the canyon forks.  We followed the smaller tributary to the east.  I had explored this canyon previously as well and found it to be awesome. 

An eastern fork of Hunter Canyon.

After a short while, we came across another alcove.  This one isn't quite as deep as the big alcove in the main branch of the canyon, but is certainly as scenic.

Looking upstream, into the alcove.

Looking downstream, from the other side.

The lip of the alcove almost touches the other side.  They are literally inches apart.

After navigating the alcove and trying not to fall through the ice, we preceded through what I call the "subway" (pictures below), around a very tight corner to a small waterfall (not pictured).

Well, okay, here's a picture from back in October...

(mobile phone image from October 11th, 2011)

... just picture it frozen over now.  Unlike my previous venture, we were able to walk up to it since the pool was frozen over.

While the waterfall is cool, I think the short, tight canyon leading up to it is the best part of the canyon.  Luckily, I remembered to take a few photos on the way out!

Shannon (I can only assume) marveling at the amazing scenery.

I only fell through the ice once on the way out and since my boots had already become muddy and wet earlier, it wasn't too much of a deal.

Once we returned to the main canyon, we continued exploring upstream for a while.  I wanted to at least go to the next alcove (not pictured).  That's where we turned around.  The upper alcove is actually pretty deep, but cut off from the wash.  The floor of the alcove is probably at least ten feet higher in elevation than the wash.  I'm not sure how long it has been cut off.  It is possible that when they put the road through, that changed the course of the water.

On the way out of the alcove, Shannon easily walked down a snowy slope while I resorted to using my backside as a bobsled.  +1 for me.  I'm not going to lie, it was a lot of fun.

From there, we worked our way back out of the canyon.  Since it was a bit warmer, there was more mud, which was a little annoying and a couple of places that were solid ice were now flowing water and slush.  With the warm, convection was popping along the Book Cliffs which led to occasional snow/grauple showers.  So, it was a little messy, but we made it back, pleased with our adventure.  We then capped off the adventure with some hot soup and cheddar bay biscuits from Red Lobster.  That's what I call a complete adventure.

Oh yeah, we also saw a turkey vulture.  True story.

Dann.