Calico Figure 8 Loop

A recent weekend meant implementing “Plan C” due to the floods (two so-called 100-yr flood events in a week) and a massive hail storm here in Moab.

Right now in Moab

Posted by Mike Coronella on Thursday, June 27, 2024

 

Posted by Mike Coronella on Thursday, June 27, 2024

 

I could not leave Thursday afternoon, and where I planned to start had a closed-off trailhead area due to the same storm system, so I did the “Figure 8 Loop,” connecting places where Joan and I hiked in the past.

The Calico Trail, though a dirtbike trail, makes a worthy ~40-mile backpacking trip when combined with the upper and lower portions and the Priest Gulch Trail.

As with many dirtbike trails, I did not see any dirtbikdirtbikes and even fewer people.

It worked out well, with incredible scenery and wildflowers, and a storm blew in ~1500 feet lower than where I originally had planned to hike.

I could see the storm in the higher San Juans and was thankful for the close treeline when the storm hit my location.

All in all, it was a delightful time spent in the mountains. When my favorite backpacking partner returns from Canada, we have some time planned in the higher peaks, which I also look forward to.

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