Are you dying to climb Mt. Garfield in the near future? You might want to put that plan on the back burner. I can think of two good reasons NOT to hike Mt. Garfield this week. This reason alone is more than adequate.

After a week of nonstop rain, it looks as though Friday and Saturday will be sunny. That's great. A little sunshine isn't going to solve this problem, though.

In order to hike Mt. Garfield, you have to get to Mt. Garfield. How do you do that? There's a tunnel running under I-70. This tunnel is shaped like a "V" with a deep valley in the middle. As you can imagine, that valley collects water when it rains. The video above was shot after only one day of rain. Imagine what this tunnel looks like after a week of rain.

Unless you own an amphibious vehicle, a submarine or that car James Bond took underwater in The Spy That Loved Me, you're probably not going to make it through the tunnel. Trust me, the water is deeper than it looks.

Waylon Jordan
Waylon Jordan
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There is a second reason why you might want to avoid this hike for a few days. It's still pretty muddy up there. I suspect it will remain muddy for a few days. If you've hiked Western Colorado trails before, then you know hikers are asked to avoid trails in muddy conditions. Hiking when still muddy can cause serious damage to the trails and surrounding vegetation.

Take a break and put hiking Mt. Garfield on the to-do list. I suspect it will still be there in a week or two. Perhaps one of Grand Junction's paved trails is in order for your next hike.

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