Grand Gulch Backpacking Trip, Sept 18-24

Since we were all a bit cold in the evenings on the backpacking trip around Engineer Mountain we decided to head to the desert in Utah and hike Grand Gulch Canyon. It was gorgeous!!

At the trailhead - the "before" photo

Ancient Pueblo handprints

Our campsite the first night

There were no bugs so we were able to use these open floor tent/tarps that are much lighter and cooler than regular tents.

the rock

Excited about the second day

Mid-way through the second day at the top of a dried up waterfall

Crossing the dried stream bed

View from our campsite as the sun was setting

Same photo - just goofing around in Photoshop

Ancient pueblo pictographs at the Green Mask spot, near our campsite

The Green Mask site with various drawings including some indicating "springs"

The Green Mask site with the two headless Basketmaker figures on the left

Taking a siesta during a day hike along a side canyon

View from our campsite

Making pizza

Animal tracks seen on the last day - coyote?

day hike

Canyon walls


Canyon walls -
you can see how the river has wound around and carved out the walls over the years


Canyon walls and blue sky

Ancient corncob from the Pueblo people - ruins in the background

Pueblo ruins

Gorgeous canyon walls

The trip was beautiful! The biggest challenge was having to carry a lot of water in the heat. I seem to have an higher tolerance for heat than most (and conversely a lower tolerance for cold) so the heat didn't bother me much. I hope to go back soon.

Hiking around Engineer Mountain, Sept. 6-9

This semester I am teaching the Block Semester at Fort Lewis. The Block Semester involves students taking 5 classes/15 credits together. The first nine credits are taken in the first half of the semester and allow us to go out on three extended backpacking trips ranging from 4-10 days in length. The format for the three classes - Wilderness Expedition, Adventure Leadership, and Adventure Instruction - allows the students to get hands-on experience planning all aspects of the trips, practicing leadership skills, and teaching their peers. It's a great design, but makes for a very intense semester for them and for the faculty.

The first trip we did was a four day backpacking trip around Engineer Mountain which is between Durango and Silverton, CO. It was a beautiful weekend with perfect sunny, clear weather. The nights were a bit cold, but still nice. The students were awesome and for some of them it was their first backpacking trip!

View of Engineer Mountain

My low point of the whole trip occured in the first five minutes of the hike. I had my small camera with me, a Canon SD750, and the lens jammed as soon as I took it out for a photo. I replaced the battery and was able to get the lens back in, but something was wrong and all the photos turned out blurry. The four here are the best of 'em, but they are a bit out of focus. After the trip I sent the camera back to Canon and even though it was 13 months old (one month out of warranty) they still repaired it for free and I had it back within a week just in time for the third trip.

View of nearby mountains

Hiking towards Jura Knob

Jura Knob in the background

The whole hike was such beautiful, lush green and it looked stunning against the red rocks of Jura Knob. The photos don't quite do it justice. We were planning to hike to the top of Jura Knob, but the group decided against it in favor of a bit more down time. I thought Jura Knob was more stunning than Engineer and I would love to go back and cimb it. It's a fairly simple climb and could even be done in a day.

Working at Fort Lewis College

I started my new job about two weeks ago and tomorrow is the first day of classes. I've been very impressed with Fort Lewis College since I arrived. Everything from the philosophy, the way they treat faculty and staff, the openness and camaraderie between staff, faculty, students, etc. Their vision is to be the best liberal arts school west of the Mississippi and I think they are well on their way. I am glad to be here!

Fort Lewis College sits at the top of a hill above town. Vehicle access to the hill is only from one side. I live at the base of the other side and can walk to work by going up a trail. There is a small little rope tow ski area called Chapman Hill near were the trail is.

Chapman Hill

This photo was taken at the top of Chapman Hill from the edge of campus. I circled the area where my house is. The trail I take goes off the right side of the photo and weaves down. It's a good way to help me get in shape, especially in the mornings hiking up.

View from campus

Another view from campus

Both these two photos I took on my way home from work one day last week. It's a great way to end the day to walk home and see this. The walk is about 15-20 minutes.

View from Hog's Back hike

Yesterday, I went hiking with a new friend Sheryl, another FLC Adventure Education Instructor. We did a town hike, as it's called, since it starts right in town. We climbed up Hog's Back Mountain. It was super cool.

View of Fort Lewis College and Durango taken from Hog's Back Mt.

Sheryl walking/running down Hog's Back

The mountain was pretty steep at the very top and covered in a scree/gravel. Sheryl thought it was easier to just run down, but I'm not quite that sure-footed yet.

We ended the day with a stop at Homeslice Pizza which was very yummy. Classes start tomorrow and next Saturday we do our first 4-day trip with students. Until then...happy trails!

Durango & Silverton Train

Last Saturday Julie and I decided to be real touristy and ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train. Naturally, it goes from Durango to Silverton along the beautiful Animas River, which is about a 3.5 hour trip each way. Fortunatly, a friend told us not to bother going all the way to Silverton so we were let off in the Weminuche Wilderness at Elk Park, about 15 minutes before Silverton. We hiked for a couple hours then flagged the train down as it came back.

At the Station

We opted for an open car so we could take better photos. The train was built in 1880's and was used to transport gold and silver from the San Juan Mountains. The narrow gauge railroad was finished in only 9 months and because of the terrain that was quite a feet. Shortly after it opened they started transporting passengers too, mostly because people were so interested in the incredibly scenery.

Durango Cows

This one is for our Wisconsin friends. Julie took this shot just a few miles north of downtown. The grass color was really that bright - no color editing on this one. There is more grass and greenery here than I expected, especially as you head north or east of Durango. Durango is considered the gateway to the Southwest, so if you go south or west it's more dessert-like.

The shaded left side of the train

We signed up to ride the train the day before so we didn't have much choice in seats. We wanted to sit on the right side, but only left side seats were left. Because you sit on the same side each way and the train turns around in Silverton you get to see the scenery on both sides. However, the right side is better for photo-taking because of where the sun is in the sky in the morning/afternoon. Unfortunately, we were always on the shady side. I was able to sneak over to the other side a bit for photos though.

Coming 'round the mountain

The trip offered amazing views! It was a lot of fun to ooh and aaah over the scenery.

Moon over mountains (see the little white spec)

San Juan Mountains

One of the great views from our hike in Elk Park.

Goodbye train!

Here's Julie as the train pulled away. It was a little eerie to be left in the middle of nowhere by ourselves, but it was also neat that way.

Julie hiking in Elk Park

Me hiking in Elk Park

The sun is very intense up here. I was wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a bandanna under my hat to cover my neck and ears and of course, sunscreen.

Beautiful Colorado!

Julie sitting at Elk Creek

We made the hike pretty leisurely since we didn't want to get too far in and risk missing hte train (wow, that would have been a bummer!). We ate lunch here at Elk Creek. I love this photos of Julie, it might have to go in my office.

Walking the tracks to the trail

The train stop

This was taken as we hiked back to the tracks. The golden yellow comes from a plant that actually looks a bit like corn. The leaves were turning yellow brown and created this golden field.

Playing in the Animas River

As we waited for the train we played in the Animas River. The water was so cold (about 35 degrees F) it took your breath away, even just sticking your feet in. Well, at least that was my experience, but then again I am a Floridian.

The L.L. Bean pose

Julie was taking photos and made me do an L.L. Bean pose. Of course, I was making fun of her for that, but then the photo actually turned out pretty good. What do I know!

Engine 481

The train slowing down to pick us up at Elk Park. To flag down the train you have to wave your hands across your knees. That way they don't think you're just waving to say hi.

Train smoke along the Animas

The train uses 6 tons of coal a day and we got a good portion of it on us. At the end of the day our clothes and belongings were all covered in a layer of soot. When we blew our nose it came out black! I don't know how those guys that work on the train can do it.

The Animas River

I really want to raft this in the spring. It's so beautiful. A friend of mine who lives here kayaked it this year and said it's really fast with non-stop rapids. Makes for a tiring day, especially in a kayak!

Julie leaning out

There were spots were you had to be careful about leaning out. A couple times the train was only a few inches from a rock wall. One of the train guys told us that about a month ago someone was leaning out with a long telescope camera lens and he didn't see a wall coming up. The camera hit the wall and the big lens was smashed to pieces.

Just north of Durango

Riding the train made for a great day, but a long one too. We left around 8am and got back about 6pm. It's one of those things you should do at least once in Durango. I am so glad for the opportunity to live here. It's awesome!