Dolores River at Big Gypsum Valley

The Big Gypsum Valley is 34 miles east of Dove Creek, CO along Colorado Route 141. It is a BLM area that is north of Disappointment Valley and south of the Paradox Valley.

Thirteen miles northwest along the gravel road there is an access to the Dolores River that is used by rafters. The Gypsum Valley site is 55 river miles downstream from the Bradfield access and 36 serpentine miles upstream of Bedrock. Like the Paradox Valley, the Dolores River flows across the Gypsum Valley rather than down it, exiting one deep canyon and entering another.
 

The floor of the Gypsum Valley is grassland and supports some grazing activity. Along the valley edges there is some Pinon and Juniper forest. On the north side the Wingate, Kayenta, and Navajo sandstone layers are visible sitting on the Chinle layer. There is mining activity on the south side. The last three miles of gravel road becomes more of a dirt road after passing the mining sites.

I stopped at about 12.5 miles below a pinnacle formation that I think is called the Psycho Tower. This is a formation that rock climbers know and there is a trail leading up toward it. There are more climbing sites in the next 2 miles along the dirt road that are similar to the Indian Creek climbing area that is on the way to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. I started hiking down river along the road below the Psycho Tower.

 The road is level and smooth and provides easy walking. In the distance there are some views of the La Sal Mountains. From where I started it is 0.5 miles to the turnoff for the boat launch site. There are three covered picnic table camp sites at the launch site, but otherwise no facilities. The busy season for rafting on the Dolores River is May and June.

There wasn’t any activity here during my visit but the flow appears to be unusually low. I checked the web site info for flow at Bedrock for the time that I hiked and it was 200 cfs. This is too low for rafting and well below the median value of 1070 cfs for the day I visited. The discharge from the McPhee Reservoir has been 75 cfs for the previous week, after spending some time at 500 cfs. The historic average discharge for this time of year is about 1400 cfs.

The area where I started hiking had many cottonwood trees, but downstream from there Tamarisks had taken over. It looked like there has been work to remove the Tamarisks, but there is more work to do.
 

About 2 miles along the route, there is a bridge that crosses the river. After this bridge the Dolores swings around a bend to the left and enters the serpentine area of the Dolores River Canyon Wilderness Study Area. I turned around at the bridge, but the road continues into the Little Gypsum Valley and I could see side roads that visited the opposite side of the river across from the launch site.
 

 While hiking, I was checking the large boulders for petroglyphs. The only panel I found was very close to where I started my hike.

My total hike took 2:15 hours for about 4 miles. It was a 74 F degree late May day and I carried and drank 2 liters of water. I only saw 2 other people during my visit to this area.

Falls Creek Archeological Area

The Falls Creek Archaeological Area is a 1500 acre section of the San Juan National Forest in a hidden valley on the northwest side of Durango in southwest Colorado. The trail head is in the Junction Creek area, reached by a west turn at 25th Street off of Highway 550. After the road name changes to Junction St, there is a north turn on County Road 205. At the north turn, there is a sign pointing out Falls Creek.

This 1500 acre area of the forest preserves archaeological sites from the Ancestral Pueblo Basketmaker period of 1500 to 2500 years ago. The area is divided in half by County Road 205 with the western half closed to all activity including hiking. There is a network of trails open in the eastern half of the area. I started my hike at the interpretive sign, but there are other pullover places along road 205 where hiking or mountain biking could start.

The valley floor is very flat and grassy with impressive cliffs on both sides near the trailhead. After a short distance, there is an option to hike on the east shoulder above the valley floor. At the top of the east shoulder, there are some views into the main Animas Valley area that is north of Durango.
 

The most obvious feature of the closed area is a large alcove in the cliffs above the grassy fields. A sign along the road says there is the Basketmaker Trail going up, but it is only used during special tours. Brief information on the Forest Service web site says there are two rock shelters, but only one is obvious.

Many artifacts from the shelters were found during excavation, but it isn’t mentioned where these artifacts are now. It is mentioned that the rock shelters have pictographs on the back walls.
 

In the north segment of the trail, the route descends steeply from the shoulder down to Falls Creek. The forest along the early segment of trail is mostly Pinon Pines and Junipers with Gambel Oaks. There are a couple of small bridges to cross the creek. In the creek area, there are more Ponderosa Pines and I saw one spruce. I continued a short distance further north into Ponderosa Pine forest and turned around after 1:00 hour of hiking.

The north part of the valley floor area includes a wetlands area. The interpretive sign at the trail head mentions that the Basketmakers grew corn and squash in addition to hunting deer, rabbits, turkeys, and porcupine, and gathering.

While hiking, near the wetlands, I could hear the continuous croaking of frogs, but didn’t see any ducks. There would have been Pinon nuts and acorns to find here. Native grasses and Yucca fibers were used to manufacture baskets, rope, sandals and bags.
 

There is some additional information on the Falls Creek area at the Animas Historical Museum, located nearby at 31st Street and West 2nd Avenue. The Museum is itself an historical site, the old Animas City School built in 1904-05. The school served until 1967. Restoration began in 1978 and is ongoing.
 

The Museum information mentions that the shelters were discovered in 1937. In addition to the two rock shelters, there is a talus slope village site. From the hiking area, one of the shelters is clear, but the second shelter and the talus slope locations are vague.

The sites were excavated by Dr. Earl Morris in 1940. Dr. Morris is also known for work around Mesa Verde and the Ute Mountain Park area. One of the hikes offered at Ute Mountain visits the Morris 3 site.

The people here were identified as from the Basketmaker II era and evidence of house construction was uncovered. The house description sounds like the interpreted early pit houses that are on display on the Mesa Top Tour at Mesa Verde.
 

There are a few artifacts on display at the museum. The people manufactured tools from the local stone and bone resources that are mostly still visible. There were also materials, like obsidian, lignite and shells found that are not locally available and could only have been traded into the area.

These imported materials were often used in making beads and pendants for personal use. These personal artifacts were considered important as giving clues to the spiritual and emotional life of the residents.

My hike from the introductory sign to beyond Falls Creek lasted for 2:00 hours on a 70 F degree early May day. I saw one other hiker and several mountain bikers during my hike.

Dolores River at Bradfield-Lone Dome Recreation Area

The Bradfield Recreation Site is known as the upstream launch point for rafting trips on the lower Dolores River in southwest Colorado. It is located about 5 miles east of Pleasant View, CO and about 12 miles downstream of the McPhee Dolores River Dam.

At the entry point to the Bradfield site, there are some old ranch structures remaining from the big valley ranch era and some fading interpretive signs explaining the ranching history of the area and some facts relating to rafting on the Dolores River. Near the interpretive signs, there is a dirt road leading into the Lone Dome State Wildlife Area that heads upstream for about 2 miles, providing some scenic hiking in this area.
 

This route is probably mostly used by trout fishermen. The road stays close to the canyon side, cutting through the Pinon Pine and Juniper forest. From the dirt road, there are places to turn off and access the river bottom area and the bank. The main forest road that leads to the area below McPhee Dam is visible across the sparkling stream.
 

Besides trout, the Dolores River here provides habitat for River Otters, Beavers, Deer, Elk, Peregrine Falcons, and Turkeys. Bald Eagles can be sighted in the winter months After the construction of the McPhee Dam ensured year round flow in 1988-91, the Colorado Division of Wildlife transplanted 20 Otters to this area.

In mid April 2011, there are signs of a recent forest fire. It looked like most of the large trees survived, the branches showing spring buds despite the scorching on the trunks. About two weeks after the blaze, the burned area is starting to recover with some green grass poking through.
 

At the end of the dirt road, there are some large rocks placed to form a pool, raising the level and diverting some of the flow into a water management project. Along this last segment, there is a small ditch, a flow measuring flume, and some small water control structures. My total hike here took 1:50 hours for about 4 miles. It was a 56 F degree mid April day.

Dolores River Canyon at Bedrock

The turnoff for the Bedrock landing site on the lower Dolores River is at the historic Bedrock Store. Bedrock is in the Paradox Valley along Route 90 in southwest Colorado. This is about 37 miles east of the LaSal Junction that is south of Moab, Utah. At the landing site, there is a 3 mile trail up into the Dolores River Canyon to the junction with LaSal Creek.

I had hoped to visit the Bedrock Store, but in April 2011, the store is closed and has For Sale signs posted. It is about 1 mile of gravel road from the store to the landing site. According to the interpretive sign at the Bradfield Bridge launch site near Pleasant View, CO, Bedrock is 97 river miles downstream.

The nearest upstream launch is in the Big Gypsum Valley, 36 miles through the Dolores River Canyon Wilderness Study Area. The hike follows the Dolores River upstream into the Wilderness Area.
 

At the launch point, there is an interpretive sign providing information on the Dolores River and some camp sites. At the south end of the camp sites, there are several rough roads leading south. It is confusing, but any of these roads can be used to start the hike. After about 20 minutes of hiking, these roads merge and change into a trail.

On the day I hiked, the USGS data for Bedrock indicates that flow was 200 cfs, about average for early April.  The USGS water data web site also has information on water temperature and specific conductance. Flow of 200 cfs is the minimum recommended for canoes and is too low for rafts. The releases from the McPhee Reservoir, about 110 miles upstream were 50 cfs during March and early April as the reservoir is still filling for the irrigation season. The inflow to McPhee at Dolores, CO was 479 cfs on April 6, 2011.

After about 1 mile, the trail turns west. The geologic layers of sandstone that are pointed out in the National Parks are visible here. The massive cliffs of the Wingate are under the Kayenta, Navajo, and Entrada, and sitting on the Chinle layer. The vegetation features Pinon Pines and Junipers, with some large sagebrush fields. The river bottoms area has a lot of Tamarisk. About midway along the trail, I saw a rock wall that looks like a ranching artifact. There was a pile of old tin cans in the vicinity.
 

About 2.5 miles down the trail there is a petroglyph site on several large boulders. The largest panel is close to the trail and easily visible. The same large boulder has a second panel on the back side. I saw other images on two other boulders. I arrived at the petroglyph site after 1:40 hours of hiking.
 

 There is a variety of images and inscriptions here. The oldest date that I could see says 7-25-1930. There are several sets of bear tracks among these images. There is a minor trail to follow to look at the several boulders in the area.

In the upper left corner of the main panel, there appears to be a Barrier style, broad shouldered figure, and an image that resembles the Birthing Scene that is well known near Moab, Utah.
 

At the junction with LaSal Creek, the trail seems to end. The confluence of the clear water of LaSal Creek with the silty Dolores River can be seen at the junction. It took me 2:30 hours to arrive at the junction and I turned around here. My return hike took 1:40 hours for a total hike of 4:10 hours for about 6 miles. I carried and drank 2 liters of water on an early April day. It was 48 F degrees at 10:40 AM and 68 F at 2:50 PM when I finished.

Another hiking opportunity in this area is the Paradox Trail. There is an alternate route of the Paradox Trail along the River Road, leading to the confluence of the Dolores River and the San Miguel River. The Hanging Flume is also in the area.

Gypsum Gap Rockshelter

Gypsum Gap is a pass between the Disappointment Valley and Big Gypsum Valley along Route 141, east of Dove Creek, in southwest Colorado. On the south side of the Gap is a natural rock overhang with several petroglyphs and other inscriptions from the past.

The gravel road turnoff isn’t marked but it is only a short walk from the highway to view the site. There is a good interpretive sign in front of the alcove that provides some information on possible meanings and the importance of these clues to the past. 

There is also information on how the visitor can help preserve these sites. This area is in the canyons and valleys to the east of the lower Dolores River. Despite the dry climate, the lower Dolores area is rich in rugged scenery and this type of site.
 

The evidence found here indicates that the earliest inhabitants may have been here as early as 5500 BC. Later, the Ancestral Pueblos, Utes and Navajo used this site. 

Each of these groups left images among the 11 panels that have been identified.