Mt. Ida

 I'll call it a 10 mile/3000 feet hike and another mission accomplished. It was meant to be 9.5 mile/2500 feet, but I added at least another mile and several hundred feet of elevation gain by getting off the course. I lost the trail on the way coming down and went down the valley instead of staying on the ridge, turning what was an easy downhill portion into a scramble through the rocky field.

I was on schedule for a change and got to the trailhead at 7:10AM, and was on trail by 7:30. (OK, a little late, but I have an excuse note from the moose on the meadow and that big heard of mule deer that blocked the traffic.) Then I made to the top with almost no stop driven by the exhilaration and cold wind. Soon after the tree line where I briefly stopped to put sunscreen and sunshades on, the wind started to blew and temperature dropped. My finger was getting numb from the cold and I soon started shivering. I should've put on my goretex jacket over the fleece. The weather at the trailhead looked fine, so I didn't. I marched on with the full view of the mountain range to the right. Near the top, I ran out of gas and had to take another brief stop.

At the top, the view of alpine lakes opened up to the left. At a distance on the right was Granby and Grand lakes. It was another 270 degree view of the mountains and valley, well worth the effort getting there. 

The jagged mountains of Sierra are as high as the Rockies. The mountains in RMNP, however, are more portly. That makes them look more massive. Driving the Trail Ridge Road, you have to marble at these massive mountains seemingly spread out in all directions. This road cuts through the Rocky Mountains, thus affording the view of the mountains on both sides of the road. It's a rather long road and pulling out at various vista points and doing short walks will take all day. But it's something everybody should do at least once, like the Rim Drive of Grand Canyon. I'll have to do it again; I was dead tired after Mr. Ida, and I hardly stopped at any of the vista points.

Camping here at Glacier Basin is not that convenient. Not only is it big and crowded -- you can't take a bath here -- it is also in the bear country. Which means you have to shuffle your food and cooking implements between your car and tent every time you cook. On top of it, I have to move to different campsite, twice. In retrospect, a motel room in Estes Park at $60 would've been a more convenient and cost effective option than $30 campsite. If it weren't for the park entry permit, I would've. Turned out, I only needed the permit for Glacier Gorge trail. All others I could enter without the permit before 9AM. Oh well. The view of the mountains from the campsite is nice though, and that makes all the inconveniences worthwhile.

Now that I'm done with Mr. Ida, Sky Pond Via Glacier Gorge lost some of its luster. I may even skip it if I don't recover from Mt. Ida by tomorrow. 

Kremmling

 Now I understand why some homeless people prefer streets over shelter. As hard as it is, you are alive out there. Inside shelter, you are just a homeless person in a cell.

How strange it is that I rather go home when I'm in a motel instead of looking forward for the day like I do when I'm in my tent. Maybe it's got to do with natural light. In a tent, you get tons of it even with the rain fly on. Wake up in wee hours, I'm happy. Waking up in a motel room in the other hand, is just waking up in a strange place. I'll have to admit though. Not knowing where you are going to sleep when you are tired and it's getting dark is not a good feeling.  And that's the true essence of homelessness.

So, the plan got shuffled again to my regret, so far. I skipped Breckenridge after Vail. Two resort towns in a row wasn't an exciting prospect, so I decided to do the Rockies loop instead and sleep in Silverthone hotel for 2 nights. That would also give me a chance to clean up, do the laundry and catch up with photos and blogs before I hit RMNP. What I didn't realize was that Priceline was up to its old resorts trick of listing rooms at a cheap and then charging huge hotel fees. The result was that rooms in Silverthone area was $150, not $60. By the time I found that out it was too late; I was all packed up and I wasn't going to go back and unpack, even if getting back to the campsite through that rough Roaring Creek Road was a synch. Not having the Internet connection has its consequences.

The loop wasn't particularly scenic or exiting either. Nothing compared to the Route 133 to Aspen or San Juan Mountains loop through 145 and US-550. It's rather plain series of towns from Georgetown to Granby. Even Bathoud Pass was rather plain with not much view, unless you are doing the Continental Divide Trail: there were nice long trails on the either side of the trail leading to 13000 feet peaks. The village of Grand Lake was charming enough though, somewhat like  Silverton. But the lake itself was not much to write home about: water was not crystal clear and the lake bottom was mossy.  I guess I expected pristine alpine lake, being near the RMNP and all. I'd prefer nearby Lake Granby with its sandy beaches and bottom.

On the way back I found a relatively cheap hostel style room in Kremmling. At $80 it's still ridiculously expensive for a basement dump with a single shared bathroom. Hospitality businesses are obviously having their day in the sun after enduring the year of COVID. It has a nice communal living room and the backyard though. Too bad I couldn't take advantage of the backyard because my laptop battery broke and I was tethered to a wall socket.

In all, the new plan added one more day in RMNP for Mt. Ida.  It is supposed to have the best view of the park. At 9.3 miles and 2400 feet, it's close to my goal of 10 miles and 3000 feet as well. About the same length as the Glacier Gorge to Sky Pond trail, but little more challenging. Add another short trail, perhaps to Emerald Lake, I'll be doing 3 hikes in RMNP. 

Let's how the grand finale unfolds. If it's a bust, I still have the Great Sand Dunes left to make up for it.

Vail

 Last night was even colder than the night before. My whole tent, not just the laundry on it, was all frosted crisp this morning. I had to finally plug in my electric blanket in the middle of the night. Then the chill come in from the bottom. I'll have to unfurl my Thermarest pad this evening and insulate the cot as well.

All this chill in the morning brought back the memory of early winter days in Korea. There was no indoor plumbing or flush toilet back then and life was much like camping. We'd get up, brush teeth and wash face in cold water. Then our hands would get frozen and we'd come back in the room and put our hands on ondol floor to warm them up. 

I don't have ondol, but I do have an electric blanket. It was a single best decision to carry it in this trip. I would've been plain miserable without it. Oh, and the space blanket. Heat and cold are the biggest enemies of the hobos and I'm defending well against them.

Yesterday's hike on Booth Creek was a struggle. It was only 4.2 miles, so I figured I'd make it in the morning and then comeback to town for lunch. I wasn't on the trail till 12:10. I found that there is no parking at the trailhead when I got there: I was supposed to park in town and take the shuttle. By the time everything were settled, it was past 11, and I figured I'd have lunch first. I hung out in town for 30 minutes after that, and ended up in the 12 Noon bus. When I was done with the trail, it was after 4PM.

Not sure yet if it was the trail or me. But I had to take 3 breaks going up. Compare that to zero stops at Bear Creek in Telluride. Booth Creek was a tougher hike to be fair; it was rockier and there were several steep scrambling. But I struggled so much more, I had to look up the record to see if anything sticks out to account for the discrepancy. I did take a full day rest before Bear Creek. But then, I also took a full day rest before Ouray Perimeter and I struggled there too. Maybe it's the combination of the preemptive rest and the novelty. These trails are not that dopaminergic and therefore more struggle in general. Enough preemptive rest may reduce the struggle. Doesn't that sound familiar? I must be still in the shadow of CFS.

In any case, I'm getting tired of these local trails. They are dime a dozen in California and there is no need to come all the way out here for them. I'm doing it because I'm visiting these resort towns and hiking and then hanging out in town is the thing to do. I'll be all done after Breckenridge and then I'll get my real fix in RMNP. For now, I'm taking a full day rest today.

Aspen

Take the Route 133. Your navigation will send you through I-70 which is faster to Aspen and you may be tempted to follow the quicker route. Resist. Just take 133 and you can thank me later. You will first have to take 92 from the town of Delta though. It's the same town I descended to coming from Grand Mesa. Then switch to 133 in the town of Hotchkiss.

The route 92/133 splits between Grand Mesa and Gunnison Gorge. It follows Gunnison River and then veers to the north to Aspen. The snow-capped mountains running toward Aspen will soon follow you all all the way to Route 82, the final leg to Aspen. Do make a stop at small towns along the way and click away. They are picturesque enough if not quaint. Before you go over the McClure pass, you will see a dirt road that veers to the right up the ridge. It is Ragged Mountain Road. Follow it as far as you can as I did in my low slung Tesla. Then a 180 degree view of snow capped mountains will open up right in front of your eyes. To the left is the Baxter Peak north of Glenwood Springs. On the right are Capitol Peak, Maroon Peak and Mt. Baldy. Behind those peaks is the town of Aspen.

The canyon that I-70 runs through from Glenwood Springs to Hanging Lake is stunning though. So do make side trip to Glenwood Springs and drive along the river for a while. Steve, the young fellow from Raleigh made a trip there and said that there are several hot springs, and hot girls. He was camping across me at Silver Bell campground. He's taking his buddies there. They just finished East-West Maroon loop backpacking for 4 days while Steve was enjoying the hot girls and soaking in hot springs after a hard work will be a treat for them. The river that runs through the canyon seems to be a good place for white water rafting if you don't mind the water being a  little muddy. Make sure to avoid rainy days though; The canyon walls are steep and loose, and therefore prone to landslides that frequently closes I-70.

I got to Aspen in the Evening. It's only 130 miles, but I apparently made too many stops along the way. Late start at 11AM may something has to do with it as well.  I tried to make it to the dispersed camping site at Lincoln Creek, 15 miles from the town of Aspen. I made about a mile up the road before turning around; the dirt road was getting too rough for my Tesla.  There were a half dozen sites at the beginning, but they were all taken. arriving late on Saturday apparently is not good way to secure a camping site.  I have an option of sleeping in the car; I turned around and came back to town. 

This is rather a pretentious town. All Asian foods were fusion catering to the moneyed that are not so discerning for authenticity. Then I found one that servers noodle soup that was 6 miles away. You have to go up the mountain behind Aspen Inn where Tesla superchargers were located and then come to a condo village that is seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The village had a mall and Thai Grub was inside of it. After a plate of noodle and soup I was whole again. I came back to Aspen Inn, made bed, crawled in and had a good sleep.

In the morning I came back to Maroon Bells. The ranger told me the evening before that I could simply self-pay and drive up if I came before 7AM. No reservation necessary. I did the Maroon Lake Scenic Loop and then came back down to the entrance for the campsite before 10AM. Two sites were available just as the ranger told me the evening before, and I took one. The campsite is between the Maroon Creek Road and Maroon Creek and the road certainly is much nicer than the one to Lincoln Creek. The tent site was too far away from the car though. I had to build my kitchen on the camping table. Not as convenient, but it'll do for 2 more days.

I'm cutting Aspen down to 3 days from 5. Other than Maroon Bells hiking, there isn't much to do in Aspen. I could hang out in town, but one afternoon of that will be enough. Which means I'll have 2 spare days before hitting RMNP on the 29th. I can have one more day of rest in Vail/Breckenridge, and still have another day left to do Rocky Mountain Ramble, RD Best Scenic Drive #39. I'll drive from Georgetown to Grand Lake on 28th, sleep in Grand Lake and then go to Glacier Basin campsite. 

So far so good; everything is still working out. Let's cross the fingers for RMNP, the grand finale.

Great Shuffle

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I felt defeated for the first time in this trip. First the Great Sand Dunes plan didn't work out. I only had 25 miles of range eft when I got to Durango instead of 140 miles that I planned. I forgot to take account the usage in Mesa Verde which is 20 miles long just from the entrance to Chapin Mesa. Then I left my hiking polls by the bathroom of Point Lookout. I had to make two trips back to there to retrieve it the next day. The ranger took it and left it at the campground store. 

Which meant that either I spend 6 hours in Durango charging the car or spend one hour and then go to Farmington superchager and add extra 100 miles to the trip. Even then, I still had to contend with charging problem at Great Sand Dunes. Only thing that was available was 6kw J1772 in Alamosa 30 miles from the Dunes. Then it occurred to me that I could do the Million Dollar Highway instead and then go back to Montrose for charging. From there I could take US50 to Salida and then drop down to Great Sand Dunes. Salida/Poncha Springs supercharger was 80 miles away from the Dunes and that would allow me do the Dunes without recharging.

I was going to skip Million Dollar Highway. Million Dollar was named after the amount money spent to build the road, not the scenic value, after all. Now I'm glad I didn't skip it. It is not just scenic; it is comparable to Going to the Sun Road. Maybe not quite as dramatic, but plenty dramatic enough. Everybody should do it. And stop and Silverton for lunch too. 

The road rises to 11,000 feet before coming down to Silverton. On the way, you will see the peaks poking the low cloud and aspen trees tickling the peaks at the base in a wet day, with tiny cars sliding over glistening road underneath all that. I kept stopping and clicking the shutter, and soon I ran out of the battery. 

It was cold in Silverton, probably in the 40s. I told the women at High Noon Hamburger, she shook head and said that was nothing. Being at 10,000 feet must have some effect.

By the time I got back to Montrose, it was well past 4PM. I figured I should sleep in Montrose and then move on in the morning. I'd sleep in a motel if I can find a cheap one. There wasn't one. So I figured I'll just have a Chinese dinner and sleep in the car. The Panda Palace was open for takeout only. I had enough food and takeout doesn't add more if I have to eat in the car. I came back to the charging station, plugged in and ate what I had. It was raining by then and made it a real hassle to make the bed and sleep in the car. I was dead tired and felt homeless by then. I gave up and paid $90 for a dump named Briar Inn run by the only Korean in town. 

8 hours sleep and I'm all refreshed. And my plan is now all reshuffled and nailed. RMNP has been a hard problem to solve which required entry permit which I'll have to scramble to get at 5PM the day before the entry. And there is no guarantee I'll get it. It occurred to me this morning that reserving a campsite, even just for a day, will solve the problem. That'll take care of both lodging and entry permit to enable me do Glacier Gorge to Sky Pond at the minimum. I went to the reservation site, and found a few single day reservation open. I reserved two, one for 29th and the other 31st. That essentially gives me the entry permit for 4 days from 29th to 1st. I'm patting myself on the back for that brilliant maneuver. I'll just have to figure out where to sleep on the gap day. It'll work out, I'm sure. If no campsite opens up, I'll just check in to a motel in Estes Park or Denver.

So that is the impetus of the great shuffle of the plan. The original plan is now all scrambled up to the point that it is no longer recognizable. You go with the flow, what can I say. The Great Sand Dunes is now pushed to the end of the Colorado plan. Salida is the only viable jump-off point for GSD, so I'll have to come back down after Colorado Springs and finish it off.

All in all, it has worked out. Job well done.  I have to check out now, and go to Aspen.

Ouray Perimeter Loop

 

Ouray is a tourist town nestled in San Juan Mountains. It likes to call itself the Switzerland of America. The surrounding mountains, maybe. But the town itself is decidedly American: with its main thoroughfare, the Main Street, lined with restaurants and shops, and the side streets much subdued, it looks more like Keystone or Cold Spring than Bern.

You follow US 550 southward along Uncompaghre river to get there. The visitor center is right at the edge of the town and the Perimeter Loop starts from there. You can dip into hot springs pool right by the visitor center for $18, or $22 if you want the shower, after you are done with the trail. You still have to bring your own towel. It was still too warm when I got there at 3PM, so I skipped it. 

It's a pretty trail. For some reason though, I wasn't as high on it as I was on Black Canyon. And it was a struggle to finish the loop. Sure, it goes up and down for the total elevation gain of 1700 feet over 6 miles. It's not a walk in the park. But the missing wow factor didn't help and perhaps sapped energy. I still did it in 5 hours though; I started out a little after 9 and finished a little after 2.

At any rate, it's another milestone. The last of the 3 milestones in the original plan. It's not much of a milestone anymore though; 6 mile hike is now just another hike, not a milestone. I still would like to get a 10 mile 3000 feet hike under my belt in this trip. There must be one in Colorado somewhere. Maybe the 10 mile Glacier Gorge to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountains will do. But it's still only 1800 feet, not 3000.

Day Off in Montrose

 I could've gone to Ouray. I woke up with some fatigue and ache, but they quickly dissipated after the cup of coffee. Sure, I didn't do much yesterday in terms of distance -- probably about 5 or 6 miles if you add up all vista points to Warner Route. Considering that the top third of Warner Route that I did was about 1000 feet of steep climbing, the recovery is still remarkable. I'm now in a better shape than average healthy people. And that is a remarkable turnaround in a month. In Rush Creek trail, I couldn't do 2 miles. Now, 5-6 miles including a steep climb is "not much".

I'm taking the day off anyway. It's good to pace even for healthy people. The pacing, of course, means different things now. It now means hiking 5+ miles for 2 days in a row and then taking a day off. Before it meant keeping my walking speed to 90 steps/min and taking break every half a mile in a 2 mile walk. 

It's a quite a pleasant morning here. I went into the park for the morning business and then took a short walk around the Rim Trail. It's as if the park is my backyard. Live in a tent, have an NP as your backyard. What's not to like? But it'll be getting to 90F in the afternoon.  I'll finish photos and blogs offline while it's still cool and then perhaps go into the town of Montrose, find an ACed cafe and upload.

Warner Route

 It's the worst trail I've ever been on. It's not even a trail. It is a narrow ravine, a vertical one at that. I pride myself in being sure-footed and I had hiking sticks fully extended to get the best support on such a steep angle. Yet I slid into my butt and almost twisted my knee. That's when I figured I should turn back. An injury would put an end to my trip and whatever was down there wasn't worth risking an injury. I could peak at the river through the tree though, and it was real bummer having to turn back.

The Warner route is good for 3 miles and 3000 feet drop in elevation starting from Warner point. And Warner point is almost a mile from High Point parking lot. I went straight past Warner point to the "saddle", probably another half a mile. Then the trail, I mean the ravine, went straight down the hill at such a steep angle, there were skid marks all over. Apparently I wasn't the only one that slipped and slid. I made it down about a third of way, I reckon. That's when the trail was getting even worse and I started to slide. It was such a struggle, I had to take a few breaks going down. Coming back up, on the other hand, was surprisingly easier than I thought. I kept looking back as I went down and wondering how I was going to make it back up. I made back up with fewer breaks than I took going down. My thighs are now in such a great shape,, I only took 2 breaks coming back to the "saddle". Then I didn't take any break from the "saddle" to all the way to the parking lot. And that was an uphill of 1.5 miles.

I think turning around was the right decision. I'll have to come back some other time and do Gunnison Route instead. Gunnison is not only easier, it also has chains in some sections. It's still rated strenuous and you must attend an orientation to get the permit.

Black Canyon of Gunnison

Here we go again: Gunnison the best national park  that you never heard of. At least I didn't till I was researching for the trip. As soon as you pass the entrance, the Tomochi point will make you go "what the.." The black walls on the other side, the North Rim, vertically drops 2500 feet right in front of your eyes as you pull into the parking lot. Then the spectacle goes all the way to High Point 10 miles into the park past the visitor's center.

There will be at least 2 off days here as I'll be commuting to Ouray and Telluride from here. Evenings are fine though. It's now 7:30PM and the air feels real nice and cool. 

I left Grand Junction this morning. I would've taken US-50 -- yes, the same US-50 that runs by my house in Sacramento -- if I were to come to Montrose directly. But I first had to stop at Grand Mesa which was on the way to Montrose on route 65. I was on my way to Grand Mesa yesterday, and changed my plan when I realized that Grand Mesa was on the way to Montrose. I went to GJ downtown instead and left Grand Mesa for today on the way to Montrose.

I didn't  know what I was going to find there. It wasn't on my plan and I only found out about it the day before while I was looking for things to do in Grand Junction since I was staying there for one extra day. Grand Mesa was on the top of the TripAdvisor's list ahead of Colorado National Monument. And rightfully so. What a view the Land's End afforded. Most of 10 mile long road to Land's End was gravel and I kept saying whatever was out there better be good. Grand Mesa is the world's largest flat mountain with elevation of 11,000 feet. One side of it is an endless praire once you get up there, and the other side a precipitous cliff. You can see the valley below as far as it fades into haze. You are supposed to be able see several fourteeners of San Juan mountains from there. But the haze was so thick, none was visiable. But the grand view of the valley was enough.

It was downhill to Montrose from there. The temperature rose steadily to 95F from the mid 70s as I descended. Then the road climbed back up to Black Canyon where I'll be perched for the next 4 days.

There is something about being outdoors in tent. I was happy in Bryce Canyon, and Monticello, despite some hard hikings. Check into a motel, and then I descend into CFS swamp. The day after I checked in to Econolodge in Grand Junction, my condition went down to 5, barely above the sickness. It's also the second day of the recovery after a hard hike, which tend to be a struggle. But the 2nd day of the recovery doesn't bring me down that low when I'm in the tent. It's as if you let yourself go in the comfort of civilization and then you collapse. Or it could be being in the nature promotes dopamine, the brain inflammation retardent. 

Tomorrow, I'll give Warner Route a shot. It drops 3000 feet over 3 miles; it is a harder route to the river than the popular Gunnison. But the Gunnison permit was sold out by 3PM so I took what's available. It's amazing how fast things sell out when it is free. Apparently everybody wanted the easiest one. Total of 6 miles and 3000 feet is beyond my limit. Rising or dropping that fast takes a lot more toll on you than 3000 feet over 10 miles. I'll give it a try and then turn around if it becomes too much. No "Warner or bust" this time.

Meanwhile, The day seems to be getting shorter: it's getting pitch dark well before 9PM. I didn't realize it was already August 11 well past the summer equinox. But it's still warm here in Montrose. I don't know if I'll survive the temperature in upper 80s in my off days; I may have to find shelter in Montrose somewhere. 

Grand Junction

 Grand Junction worked out well. I'm all restocked and the plan for CO all worked out. I'm well fed, all groomed and well rested too. I'm staying here one more day than I planned though. Yesterday I was struggling, I couldn't get anything done. All I could was lay around and vegetate. It was as if CFS was coming back. But I bounced back today and I'm ready to hit the trails again.

GJ is a good sized city. It seems a lot bigger than the population of 60,000 suggests, with not one, but two Walmart superstores. Downtown looks just like Lodi or Davis. In fact, not only those two cities have similar looking downtown, they have about the same population as well. But GJ seems a lot bigger. Maybe it only seems bigger because GJ is all by itself while Davis or Lodi is close to much bigger Sacramento.

So I spent today finishing up restocking at WIalmart and spent time meandering through Main Street in downtown. I was going to Grand Mesa and then I realized that it is on the way to Montrose; I only need to take Route 65 instead of US50. (Yes, it's same US-50 from Sacramento right next to my house). So I'll do Grand Mesa tomorrow instead, and then Rim Drive of Black Canyon. 

Fresh produce cost more than twice here. A bag of a few tiny discolored romaine costs $3. No whole heads of red/green leaf lettuce. a bulb of garlic $1. But roasted chicken is cheaper at $4. It's not a good place to be a vegetarian.

It's been smogy here. They are blaming it on California fire, but I suspect it's usually smoggy. It's been smoggy in the Canyonlands too and they are usually smoggy no matter what. The valley is surrounded by mountains with winds blowing in from all directions and depositing pollutants there. GJ is not that far from the Canyonlands valley and it is in the arm extending from the valley into the Rockies.

The Colorado Plan

 Blue Mountain has been my home for the past 7 days. It's been so pleasant I could stay here forever. Today has been particularly breezy and pleasant. I've been alternating between sitting under the shade and writing up blogs, and taking naps. When the shade moved over the car, I fixed up my 12V line once and for all, for the last time I hope. I think it is now solid enough not to give me any more trouble. Cross the fingers.

But it's time to move on. I'll have to go to either Grand Junction or Denver to restock and fix up the car. If I can find Korean grocery in GJ, Denver can wait; I can duct-tape the unhinged window and hold up the lift gate with hiking pole. The lift gate no longer holds up when opened. The hydraulic cylinder is caked with the red clay powder of Escalante and the powder must've clogged up the hydraulic mechanism.

I'll pack up tomorrow morning and then sleep in the car by Colorado River tomorrow night after hiking Arches National. It's hot down there. Mary, the gal I met on Park Avenue trail yesterday, said so. But it's only for one night and I can sleep with AC on. The morning after I'll drive to GJ and stay in hotel for 2 nights. There are Walmart and Asian grocery store there, so I could restock and plan out the rest of the trip. If no Korean grocery, I'll drive to Denver, have the car fixed and restock there instead.

I'm getting a bit wistful about leaving here. I hope the cows will remember me.

Island in the Sky, Moab

 There are no cows here. No doe crossing the street with fawns in the tow. After weeks of desolation and solitude, not counting the stops at Blanding for a moment, Moab may as well be the New York City. It's a bustling tourist town lined with motels and restaurants and other conveniences of civilization. 

The first stop was at the Best Western hotel. It's better to use a clean hotel toilet rather than the one at a national park visitor's center. It was an excellent decision; Canyonlands visitor center had rows of compost toilets.  And I can have the car charged while taking care of the morning business. 

Islands in the Sky district of Canyonlands is another 20 miles from Moab, or a mile from Dead Horse Point State Park. I'm skipping Dead Horse; being so close together, it's probably just an outgrowth of Canyonlands rather than something different. There is a nice long hike down to the rim from there, but it's not going to provide a view any different than from White Rim Overlook or Grand View Point. Having to pay $20 for it is not that palatable either. And kkipping it for now will give an execuse to come back for it in the future.

Island in the Sky is a smaller version of Grand Canyon. You drive through the road on the mesa, which is why it is named the "Island in the Sky", stop at various view points, hike short hikes, take photos, and move on to the next view points. The difference is that the drive, being on a mesa, provides views on both sides of the road. One is the canyons of Colorado River and the other of Green River. This two rivers join at Confluence Point in the Needles District and flow down to Arizona to form Grand Canyon. In the "Neck" section, you can view both sides at the same time while driving.

The Grand View Point is at the end of the mesa. It forms promontory akin to Angel's Landing in Zion NP providing 270 degree view of the plateau below and the canyons carved out from it. Toward the West, you can see Maze district beyond Green River. I won't be able to make to Maze district in this trip; you need high clearance four wheel drive to go there. They won't let me go on the White Rim road below Island in the Sky. I told them I did the Hole in the Rock road and the ranger said White Rim road is a lot rougher. I could rent an ATV or Jeep and do the Chicken Corner, White Rim and Maze. But doing that is not too cost efficient. I'll just come back for them, and Dead Horse Point, when I have a high clearance AWD, possibly Ford F150 Lightning EV.

The total hike for the day probably is no more than 5 miles. I could go back to White Rim viewpoint which I missed and add another 2. Or go to Unheaval Dome and add 1.5. I started going back and it occured to me I could do Arches National. It is by Moab on the way back and I could do the rest of it in one day if I take care of the one or two trails near the entrance. I turned back and headed to Arches.

Arches entrance is somewhat unique. The visitor center is located by the highway. All you have to do is make a left turn into it from US 109. Then it climbs from the visitor center immediately winding up in Park Avenue high above the visitor center. 

And, just like that, Arches National stuns you right off the bat. You walk into Park Avenue colossal walls lining the wide gulch will greet you as victorious Roman generals may have been greeted in the monument-lined Capitol. I walked down into the gulch for 2 mile hike to/from the Courthouse Rock. The temperature gauge of my car said it was 105F outside and inside Park Avenue wasn't any cooler. It was 5PM though, and the walls started casting shadow in some sections. The trail seems to go on, but I turned around at the Courthouse Rock and came back.

I went back to Moab where I started this morning, plugged car in, and went for the dinner at a near-by Thai/Pho place; it was getting late and I'll have enough time and energy to take a bath. to cook when I get back at the camp. At $20, it was the most expensive pho noodle I've ever had. But the salty soup hit the spot just right after getting deccicated all day in the sun. Back at camp temperature was at 73F and dropping. I took a quick 1 gal path and the day was over.

Fridge Problem Solved, Finally

It wasn't the fridge. It was the T terminal of the splicer clamp that was loose and was causing all kinds of havoc. I wiggle it, and the voltage fluctuates between 0 and 14. When it is stable, the voltage sometimes drops to 2 as soon as the fridge is turned on, probably because the loose contact created impedance. 

The remaining question is why the fuse blew. It's possible that I blew it while testing it with multimeter. I may have set the dial for amperage while testing the voltage. That would short the circuit and blow the fuse. The fluctuating voltage and the blown fuse made me suspect there was a shortage in the fridge and had ICECO send me a new one. That must cost ICECO about $700. I owe them apology. The only winner in this fiasco is Canyons of Escalante who got a perfectly functioning ICECO fridge for nothing. I left the old one there since ICECO didn't want them back and I didn't have room in my car.

I really have to get a 10 pin connector that hooks right into the Tesla's female. I should've done that at the first place, except that I couldn't find the connector. There is none on Amazon and there was only one online vendor who sells females. And I need a male. I'll check with NAPA automotive store in Monticello if they have one. I doubt it though. If they don't have it, I'll have to rework with the T terminal of splicer somehow, so that it'll be more secure. perhaps I can crimp the receiver to hold the insert more secure. Or bend the tip of the insert so that it'll stay locked in place when plugged in. Then I'll check with Tesla when I get to Denver if they have the 10 pin connector. I have to take the car in to repair the unhinged rear window anyway when I get there.