6 May 2018
It was a fast drive from Capitol Reef to Black Canyon of the Gunnison outside of Montrose, Colorado – about 5 hours. I stopped in Grand Junction at the REI store.
Somewhere along the trip, I lost a set of tent pegs for the REI 8 person tent. They were substantial metal pegs and I needed to replace them. I actually put the tent up at Craters of the Moon with spare pegs I use for the smaller tents but I could tell they would not be good for the bigger tent in any wind.
The REI store opened at 11 am and I pulled into the parking lot at 10:50 am. The tent pegs were $1 each and I bought 10. I probably will not put up the big tent but one more time – at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
I pulled into Black Canyon of the Gunnison around 1:35 pm and immediately hit the visitor center. The information ranger at the desk suggested some easy day hikes for me tomorrow and I decided to drive the length of the South Rim Road (7 miles) and pull into all the overlooks. There are 10 along the length of the road.
The first overlook was Pulpit Rock. There is a projection of rocks out into the canyon and you can walk onto the “pulpit”.
This is a pretty amazing canyon. One expert, George Wallace R. Hansen said “no other North American canyon combines the depth, narrowness, sheerness, and somber countenance of Black Canyon.”
Unfortunately, photography does not do it justice. You need stereoscopic vision to appreciate the depth and sheerness of the canyon. As I walked to the edge, I would get a tingling in my feet and a tinge of vertigo. I do that when I’m around high places, but I quickly become accustomed to the feeling. Every time I walked to an observation point, the feeling re-occurred.
It was here I decided I had died and gone to heaven. I photographed more wildflowers in bloom in 1 hour here in the park than I did the last three days in Capitol Reef.
Next observation point is Cross Fissures. You get a good view of some giant splits in the rock from this point. It’s an easy 375 yard walk to the fissures. Each location told you how many yards you had to walk to get to the observation point which was handy for people who were worried about the distance.
From Cross Fissures, it was a short drive to Rock Point.
From there, another short drive to Devil’s Lookout, although I don’t know what the devil was looking out for.
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Next up was Chasm View, another short drive. You get an idea how deep the canyon can be.
One of the more spectacular views was Painted Wall. A sheer cliff was patterned with pegmatite. This molten rock squeezed into fissures in the canyon wall and solidified to form the bands of minerals of mica, feldspar, quartz and garnet (go FSU).
Next up was Cedar Point. Yes, there are a lot of Utah Junipers (not true cedars) on the point but you don’t go to look at the cedars.
Dragon Point was pretty spectacular as you can see below. It had a great view of the Painted Wall.
Sunset Point probably offered the best view of the canyon – its sheer size and depth.
The turn around was High Point. First thing tomorrow is the 2 mile Oak Flat Trail which descends 400 feet into the canyon. I ‘ll also try the 1 1/3 mile to Walker Point from where you will see the canyon at its deepest – 2700 feet.
I also intend to hike the Rock Trip and Take Flat Trail during this trip. I’ll see how I progress as to whether I get them all done.
After hiking, I’ll drive the East Portal road which drops you down to the canyon floor. It has a 16% incline that your vehicle must be able to manage.
Just walking to the observation points today, I clocked 2.3 miles. Remember, if it is 100 yards to a point, it’s 100 yards back. All said and done, it was 4026 yards of hiking.
Tonight is wash night at the Quality Inn and Suites (just OK) and a late dinner.
Hi Fred, something I have been wanting to tell you. BBC radio in the UK has a really popular program called “Book at Bedtime”. YOU are my book at bedtime! I read your latest entry on my Ipad every night, including when we were in London, and if I feel friendly to Chris I also report to him your high and low spots. Thankfully more high than low. You are having a wonderful adventure.
Now we are home and returning to something like a normal life after a sad, nostalgic trip with lovely moments. As often happens after a loss, I got sick and finally gave in and visited the doctor to be treated for my acute bronchitis, I don’t blame the plane or the English climate just the lowered resistance from the death and the funeral and the void in our lives. You are amazing with your trip – a constant in a changing world. love, Jude
I’m glad you gave in and got your bronchitis treated! I hope you are recovering. Thanks for the kind words about the blog. It’s been a blast. The only problem is there are so many parks I’ve visited, I have to go back to my blog to remember the last one I saw. By the way, I renewed the NWS subscription while on the trip. I think I got my final, final notice and so did it online.
We renewed too. First Saturday series again. Yes I’m getting better, thanks. Keep on trucking and keep on writing please. Stay safe, love j
Thinking of you today Fred, we have spent the last two days car shopping with Katie for a good second hand car to take her back to school in Pensacola and today honed in on a Jeep Liberty Sport at a doable price. At least Jeeps have character! She is really happy with it.
I can’t speak for the Jeep Liberty but I see a lot of them on the road and I think the jeep brand is excellent. You see many more of them out west than you do in Florida. I think it’s an excellent purchase for her and will be a fun vehicle!