Michael Joseph Oswald - Your Guide to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Your Guide to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, First Edition (electronic)

ISBN: 978-1-62128-026-2

Published by: Stone Road Press

Author/Cartographer/Photographer/Designer: Michael Joseph Oswald

Editor: Derek Pankratz

Copyright 2012 Stone Road Press, LLC, Whitelaw, Wisconsin. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without written permission of the Publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Stone Road Press; c/o Michael Oswald; 4927 Stone Road; Whitelaw, WI 54247.

The entire work, Your Guide to the National Parks is available in paperback and electronic versions. Content that appears in print may not be available electronically.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-62128-000-2

Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN): 2012934277

Printed in the United States of America

E-Book ISBN: 978-1-62128-065-1

Corrections/Contact

This guide book has been researched and written with the greatest attention to detail in order to provide you with the most accurate and pertinent information. Unfortunately, travel informationespecially pricingis subject to change and inadvertent errors and omissions do occur. Should you encounter a change, error, or omission while using this guide book, wed like to hear about it. (If you found a wonderful place, trail, or activity not mentioned, wed love to hear about that too.) Please contact us by sending an e-mail to . Your contributions will help make future editions better than the last.

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Disclaimer

Your safety is important to us. If any activity is beyond your ability or threatened by forces outside your control, do not attempt it. The maps in this book, although accurate and to scale, are not intended for hiking. Serious hikers should purchase a detailed, waterproof, topographical map. It is also suggested that you write or call in advance to confirm information when it matters most.

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison - Introduction

A look into the Black Canyon of the Gunnisons depths

Western Colorados Black Canyon of the Gunnison has been a source of frustration, irrigation, and recreation for more than a century. Its 2,200 foot walls of gray gneiss and schist rise precipitously from the raucous waters of the Gunnison River; walls so deep and narrow sunlight only penetrates their depths at midday, leaving the canyon constantly enveloped in its own shadow. Its an ominous setting, accentuated by the angry river carving through the canyons floor at a rate of one inch every 100 years. When the river is running, it tears through the canyon with reckless abandon, dropping 96 feet every mile. The Gunnison River loses more elevation in 48 miles than the Mississippi River does in 1,500. This is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Impassable to explorers. Incorrigible to settlers. Incredible to recreational visitors.

Fur traders and Utes undoubtedly witnessed the Black Canyon, but none were foolish enough to call such a foreboding location home. An expedition led by Captain John W. Gunnison in 1849 and Hayden Expedition (of 1871), both declared the canyon impassable. Only a railway company, driven by the almighty dollar, had the courage to attempt passage and settlement in the midst of these mighty walls. In 1881, the Denver and Rio Grande railroad successfully reached the small town of Gunnison from Denver. They proceeded to punch their way through the canyon, building what would be called the Scenic Line of the World. Construction cost $165,000 per mile in 1882. The last mile of track took an entire year to construct, but they persevered through the deaths of several immigrant laborers to successfully push on to Salt Lake City. For nearly a decade it served as the main route for transcontinental travel, but the combination of a new route through Glenwood Springs and the canyons frequent bouts of inclement weather and rock slides led to a decrease in popularity of the Scenic Line of the World. It was finally abandoned in 1955.

By the 1890s, settlers of Uncompahgre Valley began to take a serious look at the Gunnison River as a source of water for irrigation . It required new expeditions into the Black Canyon to analyze the feasibility of blasting a diversion tunnel through its walls of rock and in 1901 Abraham Lincoln Fellows , a hydrologist and Yale graduate, attempted to hike, swim, and float on a rubber mattress through the canyon. Accompanied by William Torrence, together they were the first to run the canyon, covering a distance of 33 miles in 9 days. They also declared that irrigation was possible. Construction followed thanks to funding from Theodore Roosevelts National Reclamation Act of 1902 , and a 5.8-mile, 11-foot-by-12-foot diversion tunnel was built, providing much needed water to an arid farm valley.

In 1916, Emery Kolb , a noted oarsman who owned a photography studio on the rim of the Grand Canyon with his brother, attempted the first recreational trip through the Black Canyon. Years of paddling the Colorado River had left him wanting more and he set his sights on something wilder: the Gunnison. It took five attempts, several boats, canoes, and supplies, but he eventually completed the journey to Delta Bridge.

Today, a park protects the deepest and most spectacular 12 miles of the 48 mile long canyon. A campground and visitor center sit where a railway town once thrived. Water still pours through a diversion tunnel. And thousands of visitors come to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison each year in pursuit of adventure just like Emery Kolb.

Hiking/Backpacking (BLCA)

Black Canyon is too often a drive-in and drive-out attraction. Visitors should spend at least a few hours hiking trails, if not a few days going off-trail into the wilderness or inner canyon.

A number of short and easy hikes are located along South and North Rim Roads. Rim Rock Trail begins at South Rim Campground and follows the rim north to Tomichi Point, Gunnison Point, and the Visitor Center. From the Visitor Center you can continue hiking on Oak Flat Loop , which provides spectacular views of the canyon as you descend slightly below the rim. After looping back to the visitor center its possible to return to the campground via Uplands Trail , which veers away from the canyon on the opposite side of South Rim Road. There are a series of overlooks accessible by short hikes in between the Visitor Center and High Point. Pulpit Rock provides a nice long view of the Gunnison River as it rambles beneath the canyon walls. Chasm and Painted Wall Views are exceptional viewpoints. At Chasm View youre standing above the rivers steepest grade, where turbulent water drops some 240 feet over a 2-mile stretch. Painted Wall View gives onlookers the opportunity to photograph Colorados tallest cliff, standing more than twice the height of the Empire State Building. Its name comes from pink veins of igneous pegmatite rock that interrupt the layers of gneiss and schist.