Monument Canyon and Wedding Canyon

A beautiful run with a few miles of steeper ascent and descent. It sure is amazing to be right below some cliffs and then come out to a couple of solo spires.

Stay on the trail, following creek-beds usually ends with a ridiculous climb out or a turnaround.

This trail is a little tougher in snow. There is a steep section in the first two miles with a lot of rock.

From the parking area, start up Monument Canyon Trail. Follow the trail over one little rise before it continuously climbs for around a mile with variations of rock, technical spots and packed trail. There are several cliffs rising above the trail on your right as you ascend to the spire. There are trail markers when you get to the split between the Monument Canyon Trail and Wedding Canyon Trail.

Continue on to the left over rolling terrain for the next few miles. The trail will twist and turn, working its way around smaller canyons. At about 3.5 miles in, you'll have seen some of the cooler rock formations there are to see, so this is a good place to turn around and head back to the intersection with Wedding Canyon Trail.

The first 0.5 miles features a nice little descent before getting into the very steep stuff for about another mile. This section of trail features some technical and sketchy areas with loose scree or dirt. The trail begins to undulate again as it continues down to the canyon floor and then winds its way out. The rest of the route features rollers and a few small technical spots to climb out and merge back with the Monument Canyon Trail and the parking lot.

There are lizards and you might see some deer or bighorn sheep.