October trip to Uncompahgre Plateau

[kansas]

Experienced backpacker , going to Uncompahgre Plateau in October for probly 5 days. I'm a cheesehead, never been out west in the fall.

Will this area be heavily hunted in October? What kind of weather is common? This seems kind of out of the way, will there be many people there this time of year.

 

[Nick]

I haven't been out there, but October is definitely hunting season. It can also be a really awful time to backpack in the mountains if the weather isn't fantastic. I think @Aldaron did a trip or two out there if he's around.

 

[kansas]

I haven't been out there, but October is definitely hunting season. It can also be a really awful time to backpack in the mountains if the weather isn't fantastic. I think @Aldaron did a trip or two out there if he's around.

We have to go when my friends can get off work. I was hoping this area might be dessert enough that there wasn't much game around.

 

[Nick]

Everything I've seen makes it not look very desert-y. I'd drive further west and hit the real desert. October is prime time out there.

 

[kansas]

Everything I've seen makes it not look very desert-y. I'd drive further west and hit the real desert. October is prime time out there.

We might have to do that. Deer hunting here is nuts buts its only 9 days. I was hoping we wouldn't have to drive so far.

 

[Bob]

The Plateau gets a lot of hunting, not really desert either as it's generally high elevation.... head farther into Utah, like Moab area or southerly towards 4 corners. It's only a few hours more. Drops off at Grand Junction into some nice stuff.

 

[Aldaron]

Sorry, I haven't actually done anything on the Uncompaghre Plateau...I've been up on Uncompaghre Peak. I agree with the others that I would look for somewhere else that time of year. I tend to stick to designated Wilderness areas when in the mountains, and there isn't a wilderness up there. If you're coming real early in October from Kansas, you'll pass a lot of other better mountains before you get to Grand Junction. And if you're coming in late October, you'll find much better desert and canyons if you drive a couple more hours past Grand Junction.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Uncompahgre Plateau is a huge area for hunting...lots of big hunting camps setup along Divide Road up there in the fall.

 

[kansas]

Uncompahgre Plateau is a huge area for hunting...lots of big hunting camps setup along Divide Road up there in the fall.

Was actually thinking of Dominguez Canyon Wilderness. Sorry, I should of said that to start with.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Was actually thinking of Dominguez Canyon Wilderness. Sorry, I should of said that to start with.

You should be OK in Dominguez Canyon, but there is a lot of hunting on top of the plateau.

 

[gnwatts]

I have never hiked the entire canyon in one shot, but I have explored both the upper and lower portions of the canyon.
If you have a 4WD, you can access the canyon at Cactus Park, which is a perfect spot as it lands you in the center of the canyon, a great spot to set up camp and explore. The lower section is accessed by the Bridgeport road at the Gunnison river, with an uninspiring 1 mile hike along railroad tracks until you cross the river and head up Dominguez. Quite a few people in this section hiking to look at the large waterfall (maybe 3 miles from the car), but you will find most do not go beyond the waterfall. If you wanted to hike the whole canyon top to bottom 5 days should be adequate.

 

[kansas]

How bad is that road to Cactus Park? We'll be in a standard rental SUV.

Have you been to any of the Utah canyons? I wonder how Dominguez compares to places like Grand Gulch or the Dark Canyon. In photos I've seen, it appears that the canyons walls are not as steep and pretty broad for the most part.

We're going here cause we like to go to new places and it's a little closer to Wisconsin but I have a couple of people new to the dessert and want it to be spectacular.

 

[BJett]

Dominguez is similar to Utah canyon country with the added bonus of the Precambrian bedrock on the canyon floor. You don't see this very old layer of rock much outside of Westwater Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Makes for cool waterfalls and slides. The valley is wide but there is so much to do and explore...petroglyphs, waterfalls, pools, views...you can't go wrong here, "spectacular" is an appropriate adjective. I've heard of people looping Big/Little Dominguez...sounds epic.

 

[kansas]

Dominguez is similar to Utah canyon country with the added bonus of the Precambrian bedrock on the canyon floor. You don't see this very very old layer of rock much outside of Westwater Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Makes for cool waterfalls and slides. The valley is wide but there is so much to do and explore...petroglyphs, waterfalls, pools, views...you can't go wrong here, "spectacular" is an appropriate adjective. I've heard of people looping Big/Little Dominguez...sounds epic.

Thanks for the info everyone, this has been helpful.

 

[gnwatts]

How bad is that road to Cactus Park? We'll be in a standard rental SUV.

Have you been to any of the Utah canyons? I wonder how Dominguez compares to places like Grand Gulch or the Dark Canyon. In photos I've seen, it appears that the canyons walls are not as steep and pretty broad for the most part.

We're going here cause we like to go to new places and it's a little closer to Wisconsin but I have a couple of people new to the dessert and want it to be spectacular.

The road to Cactus Park is a 4wd only road, and pretty steep in parts.

Grand Gulch and Dark Canyon are much different. Dominguez has a wide outer canyon with a very intimate inner canyon, with numerous water falls, that are perennial. And you will most likely have the place to yourself. My suggestion is to stay off the main trail, and walk along the inner canyon rim or along the creek. It will take longer obviously, but you will have a much more interesting experience. The canyon from the big waterfall (where most day hikers stop and turn around to go back to Bridgeport) at the lower end to Cactus Park will give you many days of exploring just by itself, at least 5 or 6 miles, with spectacular hidden places that you will not see if you stick to the trail.