| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 2.40 Miles |
217 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.40 Miles | 1 Hour 14 Mns | | 1.95 mph |
| 217 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | While the Bluff River Trail system provides 10 miles of trail from the East end of Bluff to Sand Island Recreation Area, we chose to begin at the BLM trailhead by Sand Island.
From the start to the end of the petroglyphs it is a paved ADA-accessible trail, although well before the end there is a dirt 'foot trail' that splits off toward the river. In lower water conditions it follows along the edge of the San Juan River.
However, due to the 1910 cfs water flow we experienced, likely 90% of the trail was under water. Where it went under water we had a tough time cutting back through the thick brush to get back on the paved trail. At the end of the paved trail we backtracked on the foot trail to see how far before it was under water... barely a few hundred feet.
At the junction of the paved and foot trails we headed into the narrow canyon and up the wood ladder to the top of the Sand Island 'Bench'. From there we wound around the head of the canyon (where it became a narrow slot) and continued East where we had some good views of the San Juan River.
Scanning ahead, the trail would go some distance in flat 'prairie land' before a sharp turn down toward the 'flood plain' part of the trail. With the foreknowledge of the high flow of the San Juan River, who knows if that trail would be covered or not, so we turned around and headed back.
Rather than returning down the ladder into the narrow canyon, we returned along the 'Sand Island Bench' part of the main trail.
Not a very exciting hike, just another short one featuring some petroglyphs, but then again it was just a fall-back on short notice.
Temps were 69-78° |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
