The Denver Trail Heads

Hey outdoor adventurers,
On this one we’ll enjoy two of what’s widely considered the best of the Escalante Canyons, each on a two-day, one-night backpack, with car-camping before, between and after. Plus, we’ll do the best slot canyon in the area. Plus, campfires and stars every night. Plus, a comfy room at the best hotel in Utah at the end of our journey.
Coyote Gulch: For hikers seeking an adventure in the remote red rock beauty of Utah, Coyote Gulch is a hard-won, bucket-list destination. This 18-mile hiking route winds around soaring sandstone walls, dips in and out of a usually shallow stream, and bypasses a litany of gorgeous red rock waterfalls and towering arches. A sublime experience like no other.
Reflection Canyon: A mostly slick-rock backpack leads to an overlook above twisting s-curves of Lake Powell, and a campsite on a ledge high above. Oh, the solitude.

DATES
April 8-15
Warnings:
1). Utah can be nippy in April. The high will be in the lower 60s and the low in the lower 40s, unless a system moves through or has just, in which case the high could be 50 and the low 35. Be prepared!
2). These are challenging backpacks designed only for those who know how to navigate the Utah backcountry without trails or signs, or the thirst to learn how. And the canyons require class 2 scrambling skills (hands, feet, and sturdiness working in unison).

ITINERARY
WED APR 8– Leave anytime and drive five hours to Green River State Park in Green River, UT
THUR APR 9 – Leave early and travel five hours to the convenience store just past the Hole-in-the-Rock Road (HRR), then enter the HRR and travel 26 miles to the Dry Fork turnoff, then two miles to the Peek-a-Boo TH. Then do Peek-a-Boo and maybe Spooky, then camp nearby or drive 14 miles on HRR to the Sooner Rocks Campground and make camp.
FRI APR 10– Drive HRR back to MM 35 and the Hurricane Wash TH and leave a car, then drive 30 minutes in the other car to Forty Mile Ridge TH, then hike 2.5 miles through Crack-in-The Wall and into Coyote Gulch, then hike six miles and camp.
SAT APR 11- Continue up Coyote Gulch to where cars are parked, retrieve other car at 40 mile ridge entry TH, then drive back to Sooner Rocks campground.
SUN APR 12– Drive 20 miles to HRR MM 60, and backpack eight miles to the Reflection Canyon Overlook and camp.
MON APR 13 - Backpack back 8 miles to the HRR, and then drive 20 miles to Sooner Rocks Campground.
TUE APR 14 - Drive HRR 40 miles to Highway 12, then six hours to the fabulous River Terrace Inn in Green River, on the banks of the ... wait for it ... Green River.
WED APR 15 – Drive 5 hours home.

HOW TO JOIN
Send an email to Ryan : mtnry@aol.com. You CANNOT register at meet-up because I'm recruiting from multiple sources.

Get your ocean fix satiated on this adventure to one of the most enchanting treasures in the Lower 48. On this trip, we scale a 5,000 foot peak that’s only three miles from the Pacific Ocean, the closest such 5,000-foot peak in the U.S. This is one of the steepest gradients from ocean to summit in the contiguous United States. The average gradient from sea level to summit is around 33%, which is steeper than the average gradient to the summit of the California 14er Mount Whitney. BUT we won’t be climbing it from the ocean. We’ll be driving around its backside to within about 1,500 feet of the summit, then taking a trail in thick forest with no views …. until we reach the peak, and (weather permitting) scan the California coast up and down for hundreds of miles. Then we’ll scamper down the trail almost everyone who does the peak walks up, hiking through redwoods, scanning jaw-dropping views of the the coast every minute, eventually landing on the beach, where we’ll camp and enjoy a campfire within yards of the ocean. Then the highlight: a two-day stay in a 6-bedroom mansion in the center of the Monterey Peninsula, from where we can explore beach hiking, take a boat ride, enjoy fab restaurants, drive the iconic 17-Mile Drive ( an enchanting world full of dramatic coastal cliffs, snow-white beaches and mystical forests), and soak up the California vibe more powerful here than anyone else in the state. Oh, and Clint Eastwood lives nearby, so there’s always hope…. for… who knows? Look your best!
DATES:
June 4-10
ITINERARY
THUR June 4 – Fly earliest flight DIA to San Jose, get rental cars, and drive two hours to Jolon, and then two hours on the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road to the 24-site developed Ponderosa Campground (picnic tables and fire-rings) in Los Padres National Forest (we have reservations), and camp.
FRI JUN 5: Drive cars one hour to Cone Peak Road. Start hiking on the road. Two drivers drive cars down to the Kirk Creek Campground, leave one car, and drive back to hikers on Cone Peak Road, then drive everyone to the end of the road. Start hiking again, climbing 1,500 and two miles to the peak. Hike down about seven miles . Camp at Vicente Flat campground.
SAT JUN 6 - Hike down to the backcountry Espinoza Campground and camp.
SUN JUN 7. Hike down to the coast and camp at the Kirk Creek Campground (I grabbed the last two available spots last December). Retrieve the car we left at the entry TH(about a two-hour drive). Camp.
MON JUNE 8 – Become one of the first to enjoy the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) through the reconstructed section that was closed five years ago after a nasty debris slide wiped out a section of the highway Drive one hour to the Monterey Peninsula. Play wherever we want, and then stay in our mansion in the middle of the peninsula. Shower. Get shiny. Take-out dinner? Fine dining?
TUE JUN 9 – Another full day to play and another night in our mansion.
WEDS JUN 10 – Drive to San Jose airport, drop of rental cars, and fly home.
COSTS
Airfare roundtrip Denver/San Jose/Denver: ($350-400)?
Trip fee payable to organizer to cover car rentals, campground fees and mansion rental: $600 (assumes 10 participants)
Your food and extra material pleasures.

WARNINGS
1). The organizer has never done this route, so it will be exploratory and participants will need to be flexible.
2). The wildfire season will be in full-swing, so we need to be careful and flexible if trouble develops.
3). Our route is not on maps or apps, so All-Trails is of limited help. Be prepared to adjust to conditions in the field.
4). Participants must be capable of backpacking 2 nights, six miles per day, 1,500 feet of gain, carrying 25-30 lbs including tent, sleeping bag, and pad, and essentials (water, etc) .
PLANNING MEETING
THUR MAY 28, 6 pm in downtown Denver. Attendance is required.

TO SIGN-UP
I'm recruiting from multiple places, first-come, first-serve. So to secure your place send me an email: mtnry@aol.com. $300 non-refundable down-payment required by 5/1/26.
ryan