Trip
Hiking – Comanche National Grasslands - Picket Wire Canyon
Please join us for an easy/moderate hike in Picket Wire Canyon in the Comanche National Grasslands near La Junta. This is a primitive canyon along the Purgatoire River with colorful canyon walls.
Contacts
- Sat, Dec 14, 2024
- El Pueblo
- Hiking
- Adults
- Easy to Moderate, Easy to Moderate
- Moderate
- Mileage: 8.4 mi
- Elevation Gain: 525 ft
- High Point Elevation: 4,633 ft
- Pace: 1-1/2 to 2 mph
- 2 (5 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
The hike will start at the Withers Canyon/Dinosaur Footprints Trailhead which is southwest of La Junta at approximate lat/lon of 37.65970, -103.57105. Directions can be found on Google Maps. We’ll plan to hike to the Dolores Mission and Cemetery, which is about an 8-mile round trip, with the option to shorten the hike slightly to accommodate the short days of mid-winter. This is an upside-down hike with about 400’ steep elevation loss/gain at beginning/end of the hike. Total elevation gain is 525’
If you would like, bring a camp chair and beverage of your choice for a post-hike libation at the trailhead.
A limited number of dogs will be allowed on this hike. Per the USFS, they would need to be leashed or under voice control.
We will meet at the Southeast corner of Albertson's Parking lot at 1601 Hwy 50, Pueblo, 81008 for a 7:30 am departure. From there we will carpool / caravan for the approximately 2-hour drive to the trailhead. The roads were observed to be in good shape on Sunday and Monday’s storm left only a ¼” of snow in the area, but a high clearance or AWD vehicle is suggested.
Required Equipment
Wear layers to adjust to cooler temperatures in the morning & warmer temps in the afternoon, sturdy shoes 1-1/2 to 2 liters of water along with the other 10 essentials. There could be some snow and ice, so wear appropriate footwear and consider traction and hiking poles for the steep descent.