Return to The Island

IntrepidXJ

ADVENTR
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
3,479
Sunday, March 15, 2015

On Sunday morning Diane and I headed into the Colorado National Monument for a short and steep sunrise hike. Recently Diane had mentioned to me that she wanted to climb to the top of The Island which is between Monument Canyon and Wedding Canyon. It had been a few years since I was up there and I was definitely interested in hiking it again, especially since we were going to catch a sunrise on the way. We made it to the Lower Monument Canyon Trailhead about 45 minutes before sunrise and were the first vehicle in the parking lot. We started hiking in the dark and followed the rim on the southeast side of The Island over Monument Canyon so we would have a good view as the sun came up.

A little alpenglow on the side of The Island. Look closely and you can see Independence Monument sticking up in the distance.


Island Aplenglow
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A few pink clouds over the Grand Valley behind us. I liked how the pink color was reflecting in the small lakes along the Colorado River.


Island Dawn
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Monument Canyon getting a little light just as the sun was coming up over the Grand Mesa.


Monument Canyon
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Diane takes a break while waiting for me to take a few photos.


Going Up
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Beautiful golden light strikes the sandstone below.


Sunrise from The Island
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Light on the Wall
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Another look back over the valley to the Book Cliffs.


Above the Valley
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

While the view of Independence Monument from the point of The Island is not my favorite, I did like the shadow this time.


Independence Shadow
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Diane rests and enjoys the view after climbing about 1,100 feet in 1.5 miles.


Enjoy the View
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

One last view of the point of The Island. The top of Independence Monument is straight ahead.


The Point
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After resting and taking in the views for a while, we turned around and hiked back down a more direct route. It was a nice way to start our Sunday.

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