Dillon Pinnacles

When I drive out west to go hiking out where the scenery is really something, (which so far has mostly been in either Utah or Colorado, although Wyoming has tempted me a lot too—and one of these days I'll go even a little further and explore New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California) I always try to find a way to get as far out of the Great Lakes region as possible on the first day so I can take my time and enjoy the western scenery a bit more leisurely the second day of driving.  For instance, on two trips to the Uintas, I've made sure that I got as far as either North Platte or even Ogallala Nebraska, and then went and spent a couple of hours at Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff National Monument, hiking and messing around, before then enjoying scenic drives over the Medicine Bow mountains and the Flaming Gorge area.  (The interstate drive across the red desert isn't nearly as bad as a lot of commuters I talk to claim it is, but interstate drives are never as good as little country roads if leisurely enjoying the scenery is your goal.)  Sadly, my sister-in-law doesn't live in Vernal anymore, so that option isn't really a very good one anymore, but with a different destination and a different route, I have some new opportunities this time around.

If I'm going to start hiking in the Needles district, for instance, then I'll want to spend my second night on the road—right before I hike—in Monticello Utah, I think.  It's closer to the Needles area than Moab.  And that gives me an opportunity to still have the same first day of driving, but then cut through Colorado instead of Wyoming, and drive through Gunnison and some other areas that are quite on the way to where I'm going anyway.

So for my Sunday afternoon stop driving and hike around for a little while pit stop, I'm thinking of the Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison with it's fabulous Dillon Pinnacles rock formation.  There's a four mile round trip trail (although I think it's actually just a point to point that you backtrack on with maybe a little lollipop like loop at the end) and it's not very far out of the way at all, if it is even out of the way.  And, although the season isn't as exciting as if it were summer or fall, I'll also be driving right by Mount Sneffels, which will be fun.

It always helps that I gain two time zones heading west, and also that daylight savings time will have started by the time I'm making this trip, but assuming I get to Ogallala the first day, I've only got 10½ driving hours.  With the extra time zone crossing and plenty of daylight, if I get a nice early start, and have easy like Sunday morning traffic (on Sunday morning) then I should easily have a couple of hours in the early to mid-afternoon to check out the Pinnacles, hike the little trail, and just have a nice drive around the area.

Which is nice.  I actually really like Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock, but I've seen them twice already, and I'd like to see something else this time.

Next time I do southern Utah, which I'm sure I will do because I'm only seeing a fraction of the red rock paradise that I'd like to see, I may even make a couple nights stop in Grand Junction and see Colorado National Monument, camp there, and hike for a couple of days before crossing the border into Utah again.  But for now, this'll be a nice way to get psyched up for the hiking trip while still driving.