Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

June 15

At the end of our trip to Crested Butte in June, we took a day trip to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

With all the trips we’ve taken to the western slope of Colorado, it’s pretty amazing that this is the first time we managed to make it to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Previous trips were either too cold and snowy, or too rushed to make it. We made sure to carve out time specifically to go on this trip.

After working the week leading up to the day, I was ready to get out and do something. Sure, we’d stopped at Monarch on the way in to town, and we took that drive up to Taylor Reservoir, and I’d taken a couple of short hikes from the cabin, but I needed more.

Jeez, can I sound more needy?

Departure

Anyway, we headed out just before 9:00 am, stopping at the City Market in Gunnison to top off the gas tank before heading west on highway 50. We passed through town and before long, we found ourselves alongside the Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest body of water fully contained within the state of Colorado. The lake spans 20 miles and the highway runs right alongside it pretty much the whole way.

As we continued on alongside the lake, traffic began to slow. We had seen electronic message signs on the way warning of slow or stopped traffic and road closures west of Gunnison, so this was to be expected.

Soon, we found ourselves at a full stop. We had reached the beginning of a long stretch of the highway that was down to a single bidirectional lane with stop signals at each end.

We were pinned between two semi trucks. Shortly after stopping, the drivers of the trucks ahead of and behind us got out of their rigs and started stretching and walking around. Seems they knew we were going to be there a while.

Sure enough, the minutes ticked by. Five minutes. Ten Minutes. Twenty minutes. Then, after we’d been at a dead stop for almost half an hour, the opposing traffic finally started passing us. We waited for a while as cars and trucks flew by, then, eventually, it was our turn.

Traffic started moving through the construction zone. The official website for the project declares that the work zone is only 4 miles, but it sure seemed like it was longer than that.

We did experience one additional stoppage in the middle of the work zone. I’m not sure why we stopped, but we did. We sat for a few more minutes then started on again.

Once we got through the construction, we flew the rest of the way to the park.

Arrival

We pulled through the gate at the south rim right at 11:00 then made our way up toward the visitor’s center. Before we arrived though, we found a small pullout where a couple of short trails spurred off. We parked and took a short walk around. I was still in flip-flops so I couldn’t do much, but was able to see the canyon and take some pictures.

We headed back to the car and made the short remainder of drive to the visitor’s center. I changed into my hiking boots and we went in. We did some shopping then headed out to another overlook behind the building. I took some more pictures then we headed back up to make the drive into the park.

We passed by the entrance gate where I showed our America the Beautiful pass then continued on, pulling out at the first few stops we came across. We hiked to the overlooks at the ends of these trails, then, at one of them, we sat at a picnic table and had our lunches.

After we were done eating, we continued on. At each hike, Christy and I would head out to see what we could see, and Brandy would wait for us in the car.

The Big Hike

We eventually found ourselves at the Warner Point trailhead at the end of the road into the park. Christy and I got out, strapped our packs on and headed out on the trail.

AllTrails has this hike listed as a moderate 1.5 mile out and back trail with 423 feet of elevation gain. Now, this is a hike that, a couple of years ago, I would have absolutely crushed. A mile and a half, 423 feet of elevation gain? Even at 8,300 feet this is something I had done innumerable times.

But, apparently, I was out of practice.

This hike kicked. My. Ass.

There were a ton of ups and downs the whole way out, steps, gradual inclines and declines… I had to stop about a bazillion times. I mean, just look at this elevation profile:

At the end of the trail though, at Warner Point… well, I’ll just let the picture speak for me:

It was an absolutely breathtaking view. Christy and I were absolutely awestruck with the majesty we were witnessing, and we were there alone. Not a single other person to disrupt our reverence.

We marveled for a bit, took some pictures then began the arduous journey back. The return trip was just as difficult as the out trek. Again, I had to stop many, many, many times, but eventually, a little over an hour after we’d set out, we made it back to the car, just as the afternoon’s monsoon started dumping on us.

The Return

We started heading back down the mountain, stopping once more at the visitor’s center before getting on the highway, anticipating the slow-down at the big construction zone. As we approached the closure of the second lane on the highway, we saw a massive line of cars, BUT, the front of the line was starting to move. It looked like we’d made it just in time to get though the work zone without a long stop. We did have to stop until the movement finally made its way to the back of the line where we waited, but the drive back to the cabin was much shorter than the drive to the park.

When we got back, Christy and I returned to the hot tub with Brandy in tow this time. We soaked for our prescribed hour, headed back to the cabin, lit a fire and had some drinks before calling it a night.

Conclusion

This was the sixth National Park I’ve visited and, so far, my favorite. We didn’t really get a chance to do much at Mesa Verde or Grand Teton so I can’t really judge them except by what I saw from the car. Some day I plan on revisiting and seeing them properly.

As far as Gunnison though, I do want to go back again and visit the north rim. There are promises of more trails from that side and I would love to see how they differ from the trails on the south side.

I was blown away by what I saw on this trip and the pictures on my Photo Diary page will do absolutely no justice to seeing the views in person. I highly recommend getting out and seeing these sights yourself if you’re able.

I have one more report (to include two short trips) to write up before my report on our next actual exciting outing. Stay tuned for all of those as I have a renewed vigor for writing again.

See you soon!

-Phil