Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a small and little-known national park, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in vistas that could render an auctioneer speechless. The Gunnison River carves out a canyon through the middle of this little park, and the Black Canyon is extrordinarily narrow and deep. It is not as deep as, say, the Grand Canyon, but is far and away steeper. There are quite a few overlooks on the canyon rim from which you can look straight down a directly vertical drop to the river 2000 feet below. There are also hiking trails, including extremely adventuresome ones that lead into the canyon and down to the river.
I stayed in Crawford, CO, near the North Rim of the canyon. The South Rim is only a few dozen yards away from the north as the crow flies, but an hour and half by car. The North Rim is less visited. It has a smaller ranger station, and while both rims have an incredible scenic drive, the South Rim’s is paved and the North Rim’s is a dirt road. Crawford, a town of about 300 people, 3 restaurants, one gas station, and no traffic lights, is an incredibly beautiful town. Here are two views out of the lodge made entirely of logs that I stayed in:
Wow! What a neat place hidden away in the rockies. Discovering places like this is a nice side benefit to taking these trips. My favorite thing in Crawford was a biker bar and grill (I believe it was called some deliberate misspelling of "Scooters and Shooters") with a whole bunch of gourmet hamburgers on its menu. I think my favorite had sauteed jalapenos, blue cheese, caramelized onions, and raspberry chipotle sauce. It's not what I expected from a little bar in a tiny town!
Here's a view of the canyon and all of its insane juts and angles from an overlook:
Here is another overlook. The Gunnison River is wider than it looks - perhaps 40-50 feet. Here I am looking straight down a vertical drop of 2000 feet, straight to the river. (From behind a railing.) Note the sheer cliff face across the way with its dark rocks and streaks of grey and red. Did Jackson Pollock paint it?
North Vista Trail
This moderate hike starts at the west end of the North Rim's scenic drive. The trail winds through the forest near the canyon rim, providing several overlooks. At about a mile and a half in, the trail takes you by Exclamation Point, which may be the best single view in the park system. I jokingly thought to myself as I neared Exclamation Point "I wonder if I'll exclaim something when I see it? Of course I won't. I'm alone." The view from Exclamation Point is one of the most shocking things you will ever see, and proved me wrong. When I walked out to the spot and the view opened up before me, I said, out loud, “holy s**t” in a reverent whisper involuntarily. Exclamation Point:
As neat as the photo looks, it doesn't compare to being there. From Exclamation Point, you are looking straight into the canyon, which must bend just underneath your feet. Instead of looking across like the other overlooks along the rim drive, this one has you looking straight up the river, and you can see forever through the narrow, dark, craggy canyon. Impossibly far below, the Gunnison River runs, coming straight at you. The canyon’s dark walls seemed to absorb the sunlight, yet somehow it still glinted off the river itself. The vantage point made me feel as if I were hovering over the canyon in a helicopter, or looking out an airplane window at just the right time. The view looks utterly impossible.
Continuing past Exclamation Point, for the next two miles the North Vista Trail climbs a little to the top of Green Mountain (which is, in fact, just a little hill) from which you can view some of the canyon from above.
It’s certainly neat, but after Exclamation Point, you’re a little numb. From the top of Green Mountain, just above the trees, I was able to see a lightning storm brewing off in the distance. Hoping it didn’t come my way, I quickly got out my rain jacket and descended, heading back to the trailhead. The thunder got louder and closer while I was still far away from the trailhead, so I braced for a miserable rainstorm. However, the storm dropped hail on me instead – little hail pebbles the size of large sand grains clattered on the hood of my jacket while thunder shouted all around, and then the storm was gone. That was an odd experience: it was a little chilly on the ground, but certainly not near freezing (it was May). It must have been much colder in the clouds. North Vista is an amazing hike: if you're anywhere near the area, at least take the easy, 3-mile roundtrip hike to Exclamation Point. Continuing to Green Mountain isn't much harder (though it goes a little uphill) but extends the hike to 7 miles.
Long Draw / Long Gulch / Devil's Slide
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP has seven inner canyon routes – unmaintained trails leading from the rim down to the river. They are the only ways into the canyon, as the terrain is far too steep to allow any roads in. Three of those routes descend from the North Rim. Of those three, the S.O.B. Draw is supposed to be the easiest, Slide Draw the toughest (nearly everywhere that mentions it says something along the lines of “extremely steep and dangerous”), and Long Draw somewhere in between. I settled on Long Draw (AKA Devil’s Slide), and after turning in the backcountry permit, gave it a shot. You know a trail is going to be good when it has the name of a supernatural being (angel, devil, fairy, etc.) in it. Perhaps to discourage the unprepared, the inner canyon routes aren’t marked in any obvious way. Long Draw had a short set of directions to reach: Park by this overlook, walk 1/4 mile east on the road, walk through the trees at the bend in the road. There I saw the sign announcing the start of the path.
"Long Gulch"? Weren't two alternate names enough? The path was overgrown and covered with loose rocks as well as plenty of poison ivy. I had to be very careful with footing and nimbly dodge the towering poison ivy plants. Long Draw is in a narrow side canyon which leads down into the main canyon, so once you get started you’re surrounded by canyon walls and cannot possibly get lost. The path travelled sharply downhill and soon the vegetation thinned and I could see my goal, the river, impossibly far below. This route is only a mile down and a mile back up, but it’s not what you could properly call a hike. You scramble over loose rocks the whole way. It drops 1800 feet in a mile, and if you do the math, that’s more than a 30% grade! So, nothing happens quickly. I found myself scouting the best route, often zigzagging from side to side of the canyon for the best footing and to avoid poison ivy. Partway down, I came to a ledge I had to drop off, perhaps 6-8 feet. The route description had warned me about this, and I wanted to make absolutely certain I could climb back up because there was no other way! I wasn’t sure at first, but I spotted two ways that looked easy enough to clamber back up, and slid down one of them. The lower half of the route had less in the way of vegetation, just nothing but loose scree to carefully pick my way down. What a cruel trail, making the river visible almost at the very start, but then taking so long to reach! To my great surprise, the river, as I neared it, seemed to be getting larger rather than closer. The sheerness of the canyon plays tricks with your depth perception, and I was surprised to approach the Gunnison River and see that it was in fact much wider than I had thought – maybe 40 feet across! The river is one of the fastest in the country, flowing quickly and steeply downhill, which is part of the reason the canyon is so distinctive. The water eroded the walls very quickly (as geologic time goes), not giving the top of the canyon time to erode back away from the bottom. Long Draw drops you in the narrowest part of the river, and the views upwards to the close-together canyon rims is nearly as incredible as looking down from above! The canyon walls are impossibly high, sheer, and black from the river’s bank.
The furious Gunnison River:
A neat shot from the banks of the river:
I briefly had the unpleasant impression of having fallen into a huge toaster. Looking back up the draw, I could see almost to the top, but knew it would be a significant climb to get back out.
I began climbing back out slowly but steadily. I would eye a landmark a reasonable distance up the trail, then rest when I reached it, then repeat the process. I was pleasantly surprised that the ascent, while it certainly got me breathing hard, was in some ways easier than the descent. I could use my hands more. The footing seemed easier when I was not constantly trying to avoid tumbling forward. I reached the ledge and was able to scramble back up, and after that was home free to scramble on up to the top of the draw and back to the road. The 2 mile trek had taken nearly four hours! This is one of the very few hikes I have taken on which I did not see a single other person. Don't let the short distance of this hike fool you. It's a lot more difficult than the distance makes it look! If you do this hike, don't skip filling out the backcountry permit. The hike is dangerous and (at least when I was there) deserted. If you twist an ankle or can't clamber back up the ledge, you are in trouble. But, having said that, this is a very cool adventure. Give it a shot!
After driving on the North Rim's dirt roads, my previously black car looks like this:
On the way home out of Crawford, the highway narrowed to one lane to accommodate this:
Yes, actual cowboys driving cattle along the highway!