The best boat is Steamboat!

After a great time in Vail with my friends Paul and Becca I made my way to Steamboat Springs Colorado. Steamboat was one of my Colorado bucket list locations. Being a Colorado native there are lots of iconic mountain locations that I have not yet seen. In a matter of a couple of weeks I was able to check off Crested Butte, Vail, and now Steamboat! When I arrived in Steamboat it was hot! It was 94 degrees in town and you could tell it was really dry. I made my way up the Buffalo Pass road and after what seemed like hours (probably only 45 minutes) of bumpy rough steep dirt road and many occupied campsites I came across one of my best sites to date! When I arrived I knew I was going to stay for at least a week. I ended up staying 7 days that included 3 mountain bike rides, and a 2 day fishing/backpacking trip on the Continental Divide

My first adventure was riding the CDT to Fish Creek Falls Trail then taking the fork to Steamboat resort and ride a flow trail down.

Round lake off the Wyoming Trail (CDT)

Sweeping views over Steamboat Resort

This was the 3rd moose I saw this day. I spotted two more next to a small lake on the Divide earlier in the day.

This was my biggest ride of the year. 6k of climbing. I ran out of water on the Spring Creek trail and got rained on for about 2 hours.

The next day it was time to refuel with a big breakfast. I have gotten really good at making omelette and love making sweet potato has browns.

My next ride was a double diamond black trail called Grouse Ridge. It was very steep with lots of rollers with alternate lines. It was fun but lived up to the double diamond rating IMHO.

After descending the grouse ridge trail I hopped on the Flash of Gold Trail that was a freshly built climb with tons of switch backs that made for mellow elevation.

This section with aspens and ferns was a real treat. It was my first time seeing this time of fauna in Colorado.

Here is a grouse at the top of the Flash of Gold Trail. The next ride was descending down Flash of Gold trail then connecting to the BTR descent. This was also an excellent combination of trail in the area.

So after a couple of days resting up from the bike riding. I had planned a 2 day 1 night backpacking trip along the CDT to Luna lake.

After a 2 mile road climb (felt like 5 minles) I connected to the CDT to head north….

Beautiful looking day to start!

Steamboat was very pretty with lots of wild flowers even for how dry it was.

I had attained the ridge and was crusing along the Continental Divide.

Great trail on rolling terrain.

Here is Luna lake. I had the whole lake to myself and the fish were biting like crazy! Just about every cast I was getting a bite. Most were small brookies.

Luna lake was very pretty.

I perched my tarp overlooking the lake and was treated to this gorgeous sunset.

After some fishing and a nights rest I trekked back on the CDT. I got rained on again but this time was for about 4 hours. I kept a brisk pace and was able to dry off once I got back to my van.

Vail with Friends!

There is amazing free camping off of the top of Vail Pass. I love this picture of Paul and Becca AKA: Pubecca) on the blanket in the grass. Makes me feel like a hippie. 

 After my time in Crested Butte I got a call from my friends Paul and Becca to meet them at Vail to ride the Two Elks trail.

Views of the Gore Range off in the distance. We took the Bowmans Shortcut route to the Two Elks trail.

Paul getting his shred on. The upper part of the Two Elks trail was open and fast!

The Colorado Indian Paint Brush is my favorite flower to photograph.

Becca soaking in the views on the Two Elks Trail. We lucked out with great weather this day.

The end of the trail was  a techy exposed canyon next to this stream before you finished in the town of Minturn.

The next day Paul and Becca went to Vail resort to ride with a friend and I took a backcountry route to meet them at Vail resort from out camp.

The route took me to over 11k feet and to the top of the Mongolia Bowl. I have never skied Vail so it was cool to see this iconic skiing area.

After this ride we got some fried chicken in west Vail at a place called Yellow Belly that makes fantastic gluten free chicken.

Back on the road! – Crested Butte Vanlife

So after a month of housesitting in Colorado Springs it  was time to get back on the road! After my tour in the desert I had planned a tour loosely following the Continental Divide from Colorado To Glacier National Park in Montana. Here is my van parked on the crest of the Continental Divide on highway 50 next to Monarch Ski Resort. It seems like every time I cross this pass I stop at the parking lot at the top and make lunch.

My first destination was Crested Butte. I have been riding mountain bikes in Colorado my whole life and have never ridden in the iconic Crested Butte trails. When I first got to town I rode Strand Trail which was a great introduction to what the riding is like in the CB area.

It was hard to find the good free campsites in Crested Butte. I felt lucky to find this neat little spot tucked into the aspens with a good view.

After riding the short Strand trail the day prior I was ready to tackle one of the more difficult high elevation routes in the area. This time it was the Teocalli Loop that was 11.3 miles and 2,100 feet of climbing. I must of have had an off day because I bonked on the climb of this ride and ended up not enjoying the wicked fast technical descent. That’s how it goes when you are riding consistently. You are just not going to feel strong every time. Especially when your ride goes above 11,000 feet.

There were some amazing views on the ridge of the Teocalli trail that made this ride very worth it.

I made a litte friend on the trail until he started chewing on my frame bag to get himself a snack.  This is a yellow belly marmot.

Mmmmmm my favorite meal….. Breakfast!!!!

So after taking a rest day it was time to ride the trail that Crested Butte is famous for. The 401 trail!. Here I am completing the road climb to the top of Schofield Pass. I thought the massive amount of stickers covering this National Forest sign indicating the top of the pass was interesting.

The singletrack climb to the top of the 401 trail went by quick and was much easier than the Teocalli trail climb. I was feeling strong and fast for this unbelievably beautiful ride!!!!

“I was promised wild flowers up to my handlebars but instead they were over my helmet.”

I was very impressed with the 401 trail. It lived up to the hype and could very well be one of the best mountain bike rides of all time. Zipping through the wildflowers at high speed with breathtaking alpine views of the surrounding peaks. I felt exhilarated after finishing this ride.

After finishing the 401 trail there was a little creek by the trail head. I decided to toss a line in and caught this little sucker! It was

Gothic Colorado

After finishing up my rides in Crested Butte it was time to move on. My next destination is Vail Colorado to meet up with some friends, but on the way I stopped for a nights stay in Gunnison for a quick nights stay at Hartman Rocks.

Mountain Biking in Eagle Colorado Videos

Pool and Ice Rink Flow Trail

Dirt Drifter Downhill Trail

My camp at the top of the Dirt Drifter Trail Head. The road to get up here was a bit rough, steep, narrow, but I made it in my 2wd minivan!

Some of the best dirt around. The town of Eagle really takes care of their trails. 

Grilled shrimp, golden beet noodles, and cucumber salad.

Capitol Reef National Park

After 10 days I parted ways with the Escalante National Monument area I made a quick stop in in Capitol Reef National Park on my way back to Colorado. I did a quick afternoon hike up to Cassiday Arch and checkd out some petroglyphs.  I don’t feel like captioning all the photos but it was good to check out another National Park. This one made for 4 National Parks visited in a 2 month time span. 

Backpacking Coyote Gulch – Glen Canyon Recreation Area

After I arrived to the town of Escalante and got resupplied, I picked up a hitchhiker that had just finished hiking the Boulder Mail Trail by the name of Chris. Chris was super cool and we quickly became friends. Chris writes science fiction books and has a turquoise blue converted van. He recommended this backpacking trip in Coyote Gulch that was absolutely epic! With my new lifestyle I was able to quickly shift gears and get in another desert backpacking trip.

Every day I camped off of the Hole in the Rock Road I was greeted with views of the the Grand Staircase in the Escalante National Monument.  After staring at it for awhile it really looked like a staircase and began to appreciate it subtle beauty.

Illustrated map from the Non Technical Colorado Plateau Hiking Guide.  This guide was both highly informative and wacky! It proved to be invaluable for my time in Escalante. I originally bought the guide a few years back because I was interested in hiking Knowles/Mee canyon loop in the Colorado National Monument outside of Grand Junction. I never did use it for that hike but was able to use if for several hikes in  Escalante.

Here is the start of the trail into Coyote Gulch.

One of my favorite parts of this hike was the contract in climates. The first 3 miles or so were completely dry.

After a while you cross the Coyote Gulch stream that is fed by a spring. The canyon quickly becomes saturated with foliage.

There were lots of frogs and tadpoles….

As I made my way down the canyon the cliff walls became more dramatic.

Often I think how dorky self timer shots are. Setting up your camera, tring to time the shot to make it look like you are hiking. The back to retrieve the camera. It becomes time consuming but lately it seems like all I have it time.

This is the highlight of the entire hike, the Jacob Hamblin Arch! You should click on this one and view it full size. The picture does not do the view justice. I felt the massive undercut was more impressive than the arch. It had a cathedral feel that was out of this world.

Some very brief narrows in Coyote Gulch near the natural bridge. This hike is a get your feet wet kind of hike. It was just a matter of time before you were wading through the water.

The Coyote Natural bridge.

As I made my way down the last third of the canyon I crossed several waterfalls. I failed to find the easy way around and dropped my pack and jumped down into the sand. On the hike back out I found the easy way.

Here is a natural shower coming off of the cliff side. I should have taken a moment to enjoy the shower more. Especially when showers come few and far between living on the road in a van.

This is the end of Coyote Gulch just before you reach the Escalante River connection of Lake Powell.

There was a bypass around a final waterfall crossing at the very end of the canyon. It was the end of the day and I was tired and brain fried and the route options I was finding around the waterfall looked sketchy.

Searching for a way around the final waterfall led me to a view of Stephens Arch. It was big!

After a failed attempt to hike around the waterfall I decide to look for a camp. I recalled a flat spot along the cliff side and made my way back to find it. If you are doing this hike it is very clearly stated that you need to pack out your own poop. I was not happy about it but wanted to comply. When I went to set up my camp I was greeted to somebody’s poorly covered poop and TP! Grrrrr, so I move down the cliff side to another flat spot and what do I see??? More poorly covered poop and TP. Not only are these people not packing out your poop and TP like you are supposed to, they do a half ass job covering it up so nobody can enjoy this spot. Now I was mad!!

I cleaned up the nasty mess the best I could and eventually decided to set up at the spot in the photo above that was literally on the edge of the waterfall.  Although it was not very safe (don’t roll around at night) it was tp and poop free.

Rise and shine. I cowboy camped this night and will never forget the mega sized daddy long leg spiders crawling around me that I saw when I decided to turn on my head lamp at 2:00am for some reason.

I had enough food to hike for one more day. I wanted to make it to where the Escalante River and Lake Powell met then hike up Stephens Canyon. I was less then a mile away, but trufully I was not feeling this hike. It was a very popular hike and did not offer the seclusion that I normally enjoy on my backpacking trip. It seemed like every corner I turned was some young couple taking selfies. Plus I was still mad about the unburied  poo by my campsite. So I pack up and b line it back to my van all they way through the canyon with just a short stop for lunch. I hiked 16 miles in just under 6 hours.

On they way back I came across a small heard of deer. I normally do not get excited about deer but it was neet to see them living in the desert canyon.

On my hike back I caught some really good light at Coyote Natrual Bridge and got this excellent picture. My favorite from the hike.

It was nice that this canyon was packed with cool shade and trees along the creek. It was amazing that this small spring feed creek made such a massive impact forming the large sandstone features of Coyote Gulch.

A small slot section with the echoing sound of water falling inside.

This is where I camped the night prior to the hike and the night after I got back. Not the most beautiful but loved to convenience of camping right at the trail head which seemed perfectly legit to do. This hike was spectacular but a bit to crowded and popular for my liking. If I were to do this hike again I would start near the end of the canyon and make my way to Stephens Canyon which is much less popular.

Hiking Peekaboo, Spooky, and Brimstone Slot Canyons – Escalante UT

Peekaboo, Spooky, and Brimstone Slot Canyons are some of the narrowest in the Escalante – Grand Staircase National Monument. If you are ever in the area this is a must do hike. This day was one of the best on my spring desert adventure and will be an experience and location that I will  never forget.

After my backpacking trip at Little Death Hollow I made my way back to the town of Escalante to resupply and shower. Along the way I drove the highly scenic Highway 12 between the town of Boulder Utah and Escalante. You drive along an exposed hog back with 360 degree views. I have never seen so much slick rock before. Down below is another backpacking route called the Boulder Mail Trail which is an old burro trail used to deliver mail between the towns of Boulder and Escalante.

So I camped about a mile away from the trailhead and my only visitors weere a couple of cows. I decided to take my mountain bike up the rough 4×4 road to the trail head. The Hole in the Rock road to reach this spot was a bitch to drive. It was 30+ miles of sandy washboard road. It was maintained but felt like it was trying to rattle my whole van apart.

Peekaboo starts off with this triple arch. Thanks Google for stylizing my photo.

I love the layers and depth in this photo.

 I was smiling the whole time. I felt so connected to the rock and would run my hands down the sides of the canyon and feel the textures as I walk by.

Spaces so narrow I had to remove my pack. Suck in your gut Jay!

After hiking Peekaboo slot canyon for about 20 minutes I exited the narrow part and came to a wash. I decided to make my way to the next drainage that Spooky was in. It was sunny and 90 degrees at least.

I found some shade under a bush and ate my lunch while listining to my head phones. I remeber feeling really connected to the desert this day.

I 

One of the choke points in Spooky. It took a bit to figure out how to get through many of them. I enjoyed the challenge.

Spooky was really narrow……

and lived up to its Spooky name….Cue the haunted house sound track now!

After hiking through Spooky I made my way over to the Brimstone slot canyon. It was a side hike about 2 miles away where Peekaboo and Spooky can be done as a loop. Brimstone was my favorite slot to explore and since it was a couple miles away I had the whole canyon to myself.

Large boulders caught up in the narrow part of the canyon on your way to Brimstone.

It took awhile for Brimstone to start to narrow. I loved the sandy floor of this slot canyon.

As you make your way down the canyon the lighting begins to do magical things.

Brimstone gets narrower and narrower….

Until you can’t  go any further. This was the furthest I could make it. You can see the branch blocking they way. I felt like if I tried to proceed I would have put my self at risk of getting stuck. I am pretty skinny these days but not that skinny.

This sections reminded me of a subway terminal.

I took a seat and spent some time enjoying the magical slot. The wind was blowing very strong outside but I was sheltered from it down below.. Dust from the wind storm above would slowly drop specks of dust that would twinkle in the light as they descended their way to the sandy floor.

Natures art. Reminds me of the inner ear.

I really had a great time hiking these slot canyons. I was at the peak of my adventure and was really feeling this hike.

This video shows how windy it was. 30 mph gusts all day long.  I remember right after I took this video my hat blew off and tumbled about 20 yards down the canyon before I could grab it. Hiking the slots was a good choice as it protected me from the elements.

I made my out of the canyon floor, hopped on my bike, and coasted down the 1.5 mile jeep road down to my van.

My camp spots at the trail heads were working out great. They were not the most secluded but offered tons of convenience and plenty of beauty.

Backpacking Little Death Hollow/Wolverine Canyon Videos

This video covers the start of the hike and the slot canyon in Little Death Hollow. 
Part 2 This video shows off my campsite along the Escalante river, Wolverine Canyon, and the Petrified Forest. 

Desert Backpacking at Little Death Hollow

So for many years I’ve been dreaming about this location that my good friend Nick had told me about. It’s located deep in the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument and finally had a chance to check it out on my road trip. It was the best adventure so far!  I found an amazing car camping locations along with a overnight backpacking trip down little death Hollow to the Escalante River and back up Wolverine Canyon. It was such a joy and I feel very lucky to be able to experience an adventure like this. .

After my trip to Bryce Canyon I made my way to Escalante and did a resupply. After resupplying in the town of Escalante I made my way to The Little Death Hollow Trailhead. and found an amazing campsite for my van with this view just a mile away from the trailhead.

Upon getting there in the evening I took a quick hike to explore the area. If you take a look you can see my van off in the distance.

Starting the day right with some hash browns scrambled eggs and bacon. Got to get fueled up for the backpacking trip!

So I started off at about midday and was greeted to some footpath down the wide part of the canyon.

The guidebook I’ve been using had mentioned petroglyphs near the start of the trail on a big boulder. After inspecting a couple Boulders I found what I was looking for. If you ever plan on hiking this area be sure to get this book Non-Technical Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau

Along the way I was greeted with a couple neat little arches off to the left side of the canyon.

And after about a mile or so down the canyon it starts to narrow up. It’s a cool feeling to hike down and know that eventually this canyon is going to turn into a narrow slot.

I thought this tiger striping on the side of the cliff always pretty neat!

And here I am starting to enter the tights slot area of Little Death Hollow Canyon. I was looking forward to getting into the narrow part of the canyon to cool off.

Eventually the slots led to some pools. The pools were in the deep parts of the slot and we’re only about 20 – 30 ft long .  It was a little out of my comfort zone jumping into  water pools but I quickly got used to it. Especially on this very hot day

Slot canyons are so photogenic.

Here I am exiting the slot canyon area making my way down towards Horse Canyon and eventually to my campsite at the Escalante River.

I had one of the most amazing camp spots located right off the Escalante River at the end of Horse Canyon. I had my own private sandy beach and a cool Escalante River to cool of in.

After a good night’s rest the next day I headed up Horse canyon to connect with Wolverine Canyon. There was water in Horse Canyon but it was alkaline and I avoided drinking it. The water from the Escalante River was much better.

Impressive rock walls were surrounding me 360°.

I believe this type of rock is called wingate sandstone.

A little ways down Horse Canyon near the exit of Little Death Hollow I found this old cabin. After inspecting, it was pretty gross.

There actually was a dirt road section going up Horse canyon after the the Little Death Hollow exit and before the start of Wolveriene. It was about a mile long and went by quickly.

So here I am in Wolverine Canyon. Wolverine Canyon had its own personality. Although there wasn’t a slot in this canyon at did narrow up nicely and was very scenic.

This was the narrowest part of Wolverine Canyon.

Wolverine Canyon also has a couple large undercuts like this one. Much more spectacular in person.

As I make my way higher up Wolverine Canyon the heat really turned up. It was at least 95 degrees with no shade.

Near the exit of Wolverine Canyon there’s a very impressive petrified forest. I just recently visited Petrified Forest National Park and felt these petrified logs were more impressive.

Check out my video of Wolverine Canyon and the petrified forest. 

Video of my trip to the Petrified Forest National Park.

So after finishing up the hike I treated myself with some all natural hot dogs and grass fed burgers topped with kimchi. Along with an extra large salad and a side of grilled mini peppers.

A little mini canyon next to where I car camped post hike.

Here’s a cool shot of a neat little car camping spot I found outside of the Little Death Hollow trailhead.
Sunsets! I live for the sunsets! What a great trip to this area and definitely will put it on my radar to go back. Studying the Colorado Plateau hiking guide there is so much more to explore in the Escalante area. .