WEDNESDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2024

(Grand Junction, CO)

I woke earlier than the alarm and, once I was sure Andrew was also awake (if he wasn’t already, he was after I asked him…), I headed downstairs and brought back coffee from the lobby. One look outside the window, backed up by the weather app (2 degrees, feels like -1) and we knew that there was no rush for anything apart from breakfast.

The rain/snow (dependent on elevation) was due to mostly clear by mid morning, leaving occasional showers, so we gradually got ourselves together and headed back to the visitor centre to park and try the Black Ridge trail. Avid readers will know that I research these trails for months, but this was one I hasn’t done much research on, other than asking the Ranger yesterday, and since research this morning. Still, I decided that our planned inner canyon hikes could be too wet and muddy to be fun, so we’d give something else a go. It was a toasty 3.5 degrees when we parked at the trailhead.

The first section climbed very steeply up a gravel service road, which already afforded good views. At this point, about 30 school kids came the other way, obviously today’s class were brought the first quarter mile up the trail. Once past them, however, the trail was quiet and meandered between juniper and pinyon pines. The first section wound around above the canyon that contains the   Alcove Trail we did yesterday. It then climbed up a rocky section before coming out on a gently inclined mesa.

From there the path alternated between steep rocky climbs and gently climbing, wooded sections. There were frequent views across the Grand Valley. It was very sunny, and I kept stopping to remove yet another layer. Most of the way up I was wishing I was wearing shorts, although I knew that it could rain or snow at anytime, so that wouldn’t have been wise. The sun was very strong though.

We climbed past a cliff, and onto a higher plateau. The trail was wet and a bit squishy in a few places, including one place where there were animal tracks. I’ll let you do the research…Mountain lion???

Eventually we came to the White Ridge, a narrower section of trail that formed a riding ridge between two canyons. We stopped there, had some lunch, and then started on the way back.

Soon after we set off there was a brief snow flurry, and we put more clothes back on, but it didn’t amount to much. Across the valley though there was constantly moving bands of rain and snow, and the mountains looked magnificent with snow on the tops.

[Editor’s note: today’s video is here https://vimeo.com/1024978932 .]

Back at the car we finished our flask of tea before driving back to the hotel, where we had coffee and cookies. After a while we decided we’d best go out for dinner, so we went to the Rockslide Brewery and had a nice meal and some beer.

And that’s it for Grand Junction. Tomorrow, we start heading back west.