News
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Colorado Environmental Coalition has planned a slew of activities this fall including guided hikes to encourage people to get outdoors and discover new landscapes.
As part of the hiking series, CEC West Slope community organizer Zachariah Walker has so far led a group hike on Oil Spring Mountain, north of Douglas Pass about 20 miles south of Rangely.
Additional planned hikes lie within either wilderness proposal areas or wilderness study areas.
The Oil Spring Mountain area is rugged terrain that includes meadows, pinyon-juniper forest, large conifers, and a high concentration of black bears, Walker said.
The proposed wilderness is also a mule deer migration route, a winter range area for deer and elk, and home to a number of prehistoric rock art and petrogyphs, some as old as 7,000 years, Walker said.
The group-led hikes are limited to about 10 people. Although hiking experience is required, the CEC hikes are not overly strenuous, Walker said.
“It's more an exploration series than hardcore hiking,” Walker said. “It's to connect with each other and to the land.”
Hikers are asked to come prepared for a day in the wilderness by bringing food, a minimum of two liters of water, sunscreen and rain gear.
The next hike — also a weekend campout along the Dolores River for those who choose —will take place Oct. 1, outside of Gateway.
The Gateway hike and FOND (Friends of the Northern Dolores) Fall Fest Star Party, led by CEC's Dolores River public lands organizer Kate Graham, has become an annual event to introduce people to the Gateway community and landscape.
The camp-out includes Friday and Saturday night stargazing with the Western Colorado Astronomy Club, disc golf Sunday with members of the Grand Valley disc gold club, and a hike Saturday afternoon into Maverick Canyon to see Juanita Arch with members of the Dolores River Coalition.
The Gateway Volunteer Fire Department annual dynamite shoot fundraiser takes place the same weekend, and campers are welcome to go watch, Graham said. Another get-to-know the community event is the Saturday morning breakfast at the community center — a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs — and highly recommended by Graham.
Following breakfast, campers may participate in a volunteer project with the Dolores River Restoration Partnership, a coalition working on tamarisk (an invasive species) removal along the Dolores River.
The fall hiking series also includes a Oct. 15 hike in Hunter Canyon, in the Book Cliffs mountains outside Loma, and South Shale Ridge, in the Book Cliffs outside of DeBeque Nov. 5.
The hikes are free, but an RSVP is required by calling Walker at 243-0002, or online at www.ourcolorado.org.
The Colorado Environmental Coalition has two other non-hiking events planned for October.
Energy analyst Randy Udall and conservation photographer Garth Lenz will give a free presentation Oct. 3 about oil shale and tar sands, and how it can change the landscape. The presentation “Energy in the West” will take place in the Radio Room, 1310 Ute Ave., 7-9 p.m.
Oct. 21 is CEC's “Harvest Hoedown” with Durango bluegrass band Waiting on Trial performing at the Palisade Brewing Company, 200 Peach St., in Palisade. The $18 tickets, a donation to CEC, includes the music and a couple of drinks. Food will be available for purchase.
For more information visit www.ourcolorado.org/hoedown, or call 243-0002.
As part of the hiking series, CEC West Slope community organizer Zachariah Walker has so far led a group hike on Oil Spring Mountain, north of Douglas Pass about 20 miles south of Rangely.
Additional planned hikes lie within either wilderness proposal areas or wilderness study areas.
The Oil Spring Mountain area is rugged terrain that includes meadows, pinyon-juniper forest, large conifers, and a high concentration of black bears, Walker said.
The proposed wilderness is also a mule deer migration route, a winter range area for deer and elk, and home to a number of prehistoric rock art and petrogyphs, some as old as 7,000 years, Walker said.
The group-led hikes are limited to about 10 people. Although hiking experience is required, the CEC hikes are not overly strenuous, Walker said.
“It's more an exploration series than hardcore hiking,” Walker said. “It's to connect with each other and to the land.”
Hikers are asked to come prepared for a day in the wilderness by bringing food, a minimum of two liters of water, sunscreen and rain gear.
The next hike — also a weekend campout along the Dolores River for those who choose —will take place Oct. 1, outside of Gateway.
The Gateway hike and FOND (Friends of the Northern Dolores) Fall Fest Star Party, led by CEC's Dolores River public lands organizer Kate Graham, has become an annual event to introduce people to the Gateway community and landscape.
The camp-out includes Friday and Saturday night stargazing with the Western Colorado Astronomy Club, disc golf Sunday with members of the Grand Valley disc gold club, and a hike Saturday afternoon into Maverick Canyon to see Juanita Arch with members of the Dolores River Coalition.
The Gateway Volunteer Fire Department annual dynamite shoot fundraiser takes place the same weekend, and campers are welcome to go watch, Graham said. Another get-to-know the community event is the Saturday morning breakfast at the community center — a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs — and highly recommended by Graham.
Following breakfast, campers may participate in a volunteer project with the Dolores River Restoration Partnership, a coalition working on tamarisk (an invasive species) removal along the Dolores River.
The fall hiking series also includes a Oct. 15 hike in Hunter Canyon, in the Book Cliffs mountains outside Loma, and South Shale Ridge, in the Book Cliffs outside of DeBeque Nov. 5.
The hikes are free, but an RSVP is required by calling Walker at 243-0002, or online at www.ourcolorado.org.
The Colorado Environmental Coalition has two other non-hiking events planned for October.
Energy analyst Randy Udall and conservation photographer Garth Lenz will give a free presentation Oct. 3 about oil shale and tar sands, and how it can change the landscape. The presentation “Energy in the West” will take place in the Radio Room, 1310 Ute Ave., 7-9 p.m.
Oct. 21 is CEC's “Harvest Hoedown” with Durango bluegrass band Waiting on Trial performing at the Palisade Brewing Company, 200 Peach St., in Palisade. The $18 tickets, a donation to CEC, includes the music and a couple of drinks. Food will be available for purchase.
For more information visit www.ourcolorado.org/hoedown, or call 243-0002.
