2012 - May 22nd - Grand Mesa: Falls on Whitewater Creek, Lands End

While researching area waterfalls, I discovered an image supposedly taken of a plunge waterfall on the edge of Grand Mesa.  I had often heard rumors of a significant fall on the Mesa somewhere but had never found any information online.  I decided to comb the satellite imagery on Google Earth and see if I could find it.  Sure enough, I did.

It actually kind of bothered me that I hadn't noticed this before.  After all, I spend a lot of time on Google Earth, pouring over the terrain looking for interesting places to visit.

I had that evening off and without anything better to do than sit at home, pouring over Google Earth, I figured I ought to pay this waterfall a visit.  It was late May when runoff is normally in its prime, so I figured I'd get a good show out of the falls.  They also didn't seem all that difficult to get to.  I had been on a road less than two miles from the falls and there was also sign of a 4x4 road almost to its top.

Normally, one would use Highway 65 to reach the top of the Mesa, but I decided to take Lands End Road, which had recently opened for the season.  Lands End Road is quite the engineering marvel, hewn into the vertical basalt cliffs of the Mesa, built back in the '30s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

I figured to be on top of the Mesa about a half hour before sunset and to the falls around sunset with a plan to stay until the light held out. 

When I got to the top, the view was fantastic.  It had been somewhat windy which put some dust into the atmosphere.  The haze really contrasted the different terrain in the late evening light. 

From Lands End, out over the Book Cliffs and beyond.

I didn't linger on the edge.  Instead, I made my way to the falls.  The trail off of the main road was a little rough.  It was mostly dry, dusty earth but was occasionally encumbered by chunks of basalt.  Once the road reached the edge of a group of trees, it began to descend and become a bit more rough.

I decided to stow my vehicle in a little pullout and save it from the rocky path ahead, especially since I was so close to the top of the falls.

After a few minutes of walking, I reached the creek and followed it to the edge.  I was disappointed with the amount of water that was flowing.  It had been a dry winter and though I had visited the top of the mesa three weeks later in the year a year prior and found three feet of snow almost everywhere, there was almost no snow to be found except a couple of icy patches deep in the shaded trees.

I looked out over the edge of the falls which were not in plunge-mode due to the low flow.  The wind was picking up the water and spraying me in the face, which was nice, I guess.

I crossed the creek and continued northwest along the ledge so I could have a look at the falls, which had carved a cleft in the cliff over the years.  The color of the rocks, moss & lichens was fantastic but the falls were quite disappointing.  I sat in a small perch for a while and captured images while the light began to fade. 

Falls on Whitewater Creek

A closer look

Pretty skies

More pretty skies

A longer exposure

Overview

With foreground

Eventually, it started to get dark, so I returned to the top of the falls.  This turned out to be a good idea as I found a couple of good frames. I also had to try hard not to get my camera wet as I was getting sufficiently misted.

Top of the falls

Eventually, it was time to head home.  I started hiking back to my vehicle and sort of got lost.  Apparently, there was more than one road and the one I was following was not the one I came in on.  Once I reached the open space beyond the trees, I was able to reorient myself, but snapped a picture of the valley first.

Lights of the Grand Valley below.

Once in the vehicle, I returned to Lands End and captured the rest of the light on this windy night.

Grand Junction blow and a windy tree!

No tree, with the edge of the Mesa in view.

Existing clouds drifted and uncovered the crescent moon.  The earthshine on the dark side was incredible! 

And then Venus showed her face!

The wide shot

Close up

Lands End Observatory and the sky.

Despite the lack of a decent waterfall, it was an amazingly beautiful and relaxing night. 

Dann

2011 - July 20th - Family Vacation Day 2 - Cascade Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park

 July is a "sweeps" month.  In the television industry, that translates to "no vacations"... even though July is largely regarded as the "throw-away" sweeps. 

My extended family (on my mom's side) gets together biannually for a big vacation.  We've done this since I can remember, visiting places from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to Lake Tahoe, California to Oglebay, West Virginia to Depot Bay, Oregon and many places in Montana.  For the last two trips, we've gathered at the Snow Mountain Ranch near Tabernash, Colorado. 

I was concerned that I would be unable to make this trip as it was in sweeps and while I didn't ask for any time off, I realized I would be able to attend a couple of days on my normal days off.  If we weren't gathering in Colorado, it probably wouldn't have happened! 

This is just one of several adventures we took on vacation.  See the rest here:   
http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2012/08/2011-july-19th-family-vacation-day-1.html (Foggy Night)
http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2012/10/2011-july-19th-family-vacation-day-1.html
(Columbine Lake)
http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2012/10/2011-july-19th-family-vaaction-day-1.html (Falls on Pole Creek)

We were off again early on the second day.  This time, I wanted to check out Cascade Falls near Grand Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Joining me was my Uncle Scott, cousins Brad, Brian, Ashley and Chase.  I had visited this area of the park before, twice hiking the Adams Falls area, one of which I talk about here: http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2009/08/2009-family-reunion-day-three-august.html

The trail to Cascade Falls is a relatively popular one and we had a bit of trouble finding a parking spot but eventually, we were off.  Colorado had experienced an almost historic late-season snowpack, so despite the fact that it was mid July, the rivers and streams were still swollen with meltwater. North Inlet Creek, which the trail paralleled was no exception.  The creek looked more like a river and had no discernible bank.  It simply disappeared into the thick grass of the open meadows.  In stretch, the creek actually encroached upon the trail itself which required a detour. 

North Inlet Creek

After a while, the trail climbs slowly away from the meandering creek.  Into the timber, a small bridge crosses a small stream which I found to be quite photogenic.  

The trail continues on in the timber, climbing well away from but still paralleling the creek.  It's just over three miles to the falls which we found to be more of a cascade than anything else.  In fact, it was difficult to find a vantage point where you could see the "falls" in their entirety.

I busied myself for a while taking pictures, trying to get as many angles as possible.

And then my attention turned to smaller objects.

Everyone was ready to leave at a certain point and I was still running around looking for things to capture images of.  Eventually, they all started to leave so I followed.

On the trail

I picked up the rear almost all the way back and just when I had caught up, I found my idyllic little stream again.  I took a few more minutes to image it.

My favorite shot of the day. 

I caught up to everyone again where the creek had flooded the trail.  They were fishing or were otherwise occupied, so I sat down on a rock, took my shoes and socks off and dangled my legs into the crystal-clear, cool water, sitting in the sunshine for fifteen minutes or so. 

Finally, everyone was ready to head back, so we left together.  A half mile down the road, it was realized that someone forgot something, so if I recall correctly, Chase went back to get it.  We were the last to arrive back at the cars.

Here's a useful map:  (total elevation gain of about 400ft)

 From the trailhead, we met a couple other relatives including my dad at the Grand Lake Brewery. 

Afterward, I left separately and met Erik & Amanda Burns in Granby for a beer and a visit.  Then, it was back to the lodge to hang out with my family for a while longer before I hit the road back to Grand Junction.  The visit was short, but I feel like I made good use of my time!

Sunset

Dann.

2011 - July 19th - Family Vacation Day 1 - Falls On Pole Creek

July is a "sweeps" month.  In the television industry, that translates to "no vacations"... even though July is largely regarded as the "throw-away" sweeps. 

My extended family (on my mom's side) gets together biannually for a big vacation.  We've done this since I can remember, visiting places from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to Lake Tahoe, California to Oglebay, West Virginia to Depot Bay, Oregon and many places in Montana.  For the last two trips, we've gathered at the Snow Mountain Ranch near Tabernash, Colorado. 

I was concerned that I would be unable to make this trip as it was in sweeps and while I didn't ask for any time off, I realized I would be able to attend a couple of days on my normal days off.  If we weren't gathering in Colorado, it probably wouldn't have happened! 

Intro is from previous entries of 2011's family vacation.
See them here:
http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2012/08/2011-july-19th-family-vacation-day-1.html
http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2012/10/2011-july-19th-family-vacation-day-1.html

Despite already having been on a decent hike earlier in the day, I was ready for more.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted to spend as much time with my family as possible, so I tried to maximize my time by heading out for my next hike after dark.

There was a 20 foot tall waterfall outside of the boundaries of the Snow Mountain Ranch that I had visited before.  (See account here: http://blog.bigskyconvection.com/2009/08/2009-family-reunion-day-one-august-5th.html )  I wanted to try something a bit different this time by visiting in the dark of night and using light to paint the falls.

After recruiting the company of my cousin Chase, we were off for the falls at just before 11PM.  The trailhead was only a couple of miles from our lodge and exists on a county road.  At the trailhead, we set off, me with my headlamp and Chase with a flashlight.

There was a sign that warned of large mammals, specifically black bear, moose and mountain lion which were known to be in the area.  That was comforting.

The moon wasn't up yet, so as soon as we were in the timber, it was pitch black out with only the light we were casting and the babble of the nearby stream to keep us company.  It became unnerving quickly.  Whether rational or not, my hackles were up.  We spoke loudly and I clanked the metal legs of my tripod together as we walked as to not surprise any large mammals proficient in biting or trampling.

The trail to the falls is a hair over a mile long with a 400 foot, gradual elevation gain.  We arrived after twenty minutes or so and I sent to work trying to make images. 

My shoes were still wet from the hike earlier in the day, so I had no qualms with standing midstream to get the shots I wanted.  They came out ghostly and I was relatively pleased... though having a stronger light source would have probably done the scene more justice.

We both posed for portraits before heading back.

Finally, while heading back, I could see the moon beginning to appear on the horizon through the trees.  We never did see any wildlife, but it sure felt like there were eyes on us most of the time!  ... and I'm certainly glad I didn't go alone!

Here's a useful map:

Dann.

2012 - April 2nd - East Fork Pollock Canyon, McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area/Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness

About a month prior to this day, I had visited the West Fork of Pollock Canyon.  On that trip, I though I might have time to explore the east fork as well, but it didn't work out.  So, it remained on my list of desired destinations.

On this particular April morning, a Monday if I'm not mistaken, I enlisted the company of my co-worker Shannon for an adventure into the east fork... promising the possibility of a waterfall.  If you'll recall (as detailed in my post for the west fork), faulting in the area has exposed the hard, Precambrian era stone.  While the water that only occasionally flows through these canyons has an exceptional ability to erode the attendant sandstones and shales, it seems to have a difficulty with the Precambrian stone.  It is that reason, in combination with the vertical depth of the faulting that causes natural drops in the canyons where they cross the fault. There are exposures of the Precambrian stone in many area canyons and these are the locations that I have found waterfalls; several, in fact. 

So, we hit the trail by late morning on this particular "Adventure Monday"... that's what we call it when we head out for an expedition on a Monday since we share(d) Mondays off.  On a previous adventure on the Pollock Bench (detailed here), I had explained to her about the fun of climbing in and out of Pollock Canyon.  This would be the day to show her in person! 

We made good time, though I was slightly annoyed with the cloudcover.  It's always cloudy in Pollock Canyon, apparently.  Route-finding into the canyon was easy and fun and soon we were on the canyon bottom and headed for the east fork. 

To my disappointment, there wasn't any water in the wash.  Once in the east fork, however, we did find a couple of muddy pools... but that was it.

On a great bend in the canyon, we discovered an alcove high up on the canyon wall and speculated that we might be able to climb into it.  The sandstone seemed manageable, so we began to ascend.  It was a little more steep than we had initially thought, however, and soon we found ourselves at a level where we could no longer proceed. 

Shannon sat down for a while and I decided to hike along at the same elevation on the slickrock wall to see if there was another way up.  I snapped the following picture after I realized I wouldn't be able to safely get any higher.  I think it's a good example of how steep the stone was!

Shannon or Spider Man?

We gave up trying to climb and hit headed back down into the wash, our destination still upstream.  Soon, we caught sight of a Precambrian stone wall up-canyon.

I noticed soon that there was a small amount of water trickling along in the wash as well, which was promising... but not near enough to have any sort of waterfall.  As we approached, it became obvious that there was a little notch in the wall that the water had carved or at least used as the path of least resistance.  It was like a short slot canyon which opened up to a little hollow.  Water trickled down the far side of the hollow at what would be the waterfall if the flow was higher.

Into the hollow.

Looking up the "trickles"

A little wider shot.

We decided to take a bit of a rest here and have a snack.  I enjoyed some tropical trail mix and ad libbed a little tune about it.  Then, I tried to take some creative photos with relatively mixed results.

We also took each other's picture at the pool.  Not sure where mine went, but here's Shannon for scale...

No scale!  What's the scale?  Nobody knows!

After hanging out there for a while, we headed back.  Walking along the wash, Shannon was suddenly startled by something to our left.  It turned out to be an abandoned shepherd's cabin!  I'm not sure how we missed it the first time by... I had actually noticed an old fenceline nearby which was on the edge of a relatively clear park above the wash. 

We decided to explore the little cabin and its contents.

Old trash heap.

Old stove.

Some sort of animal trap.

Shelf contents.

This was my favorite image from the day.  

 

The area had been historically utilized for sheep farming, though it is no longer and is now a conservation area.  There is a similar cabin in Devils Canyon ... which I talk about in this post from 2011.

A muddy obstacle course on the way out of the East Fork

Shannon vs. the mud trap

Flowers back up on the Pollock Bench.

The rest of the hike was uneventful.  We made our way out of the canyon, back up on to the bench and to the car.  There may have been a stop for lunch at Wendy's on the way out in Fruita... but that's not too exciting and I'm beginning to wonder why I even included it can't stop typingggg.  Alright, I'm done. 

Here's a useful map:

At 8.8 miles round-trip, the hike was a little on the long side, but the terrain wasn't *too* difficult.  It would have been nice to have some sunshine to work with, but it did a pretty good job of staying behind the clouds.  I would love to be in the area during a strong runoff or during a flash flood to see what the falls are really capable of.

Dann.