Today I went to Grand Mesa and specifically the Mesa Lake area. This is about 45 miles from the hotel in Grand Junction but it is at 10,000 feet so winter and much different. There was at least four feet of snow and 25 degrees when I arrived. At the end of the hike it was 35 and went up to 65 when I went down into Palisade. I was snow shoeing as I didn't have room for my x country skis on this trip. The snow was great and the woods are open so it would be a great area to ski. I went on the West Bench Trail. There are many trails in this area. The West Bench Trail goes to the top of the lift at Powderhorn Ski Area. Nice woods trail that also goes around a few lakes that are currently frozen and buried in snow. Amazing that you can be skiing in deep snow so close to warm dry hiking like I have been doing around Grand Junction. There were a few summer houses early on that were buried in snow. I saw one other person on the trail.
When I got down to Palisade it was 65 and I went on the Palisade Rim trail. I did the short loop. Another area with a lot more to explore some day. The Colorado River was right near the trailhead.
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