I actually toyed with several subtitles for this entry: ‘Lunch by the Lake’ but that seemed too alliterative and too blah. You could sleep on a blog entry titled: ‘Lunch by the Lake’ Then I thought of ‘Luckily I Clipped my Toenails Last Night’ but that seemed too personal and, who wants to read about toenails? Yet, both of these titles are pertinent and describe our day but I finally landed on the title I have above. But, let me start at the beginning.
Yesterday, at the Black Canyon NP, we thought seriously about making a hike into the canyon itself down to the Gunnison River at the bottom. It’s possible, though it’s a downhill scramble and probably more of a slog than a hike. At one point, it’s so steep that they have a chain rigged to pull yourself up the hill. Intriguing, challenging and a claim to bragging rights (though with whom I don’t know), however, tumbling down a muddy rocky slope is not my cup of tea. Nor is fighting gravity by pulling myself up by a chain. In the end, it’s only 1800’ and I had another hike which was a much prettier hike, along a scenic byway and also 1800’ down to Morrow Point Reservoir, right on the lake. How do you think I voted here? Did Gary have a vote? Of course, but he was probably also more intrigued by the Gunnison hike than desirous of doing it.
And, that’s how we chose to hike down to Hermit’s Rest in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The Curecanti is a beautiful area formed around 3 reservoirs built to control the Gunnison and make it more useful both for recreation and for irrigation. The Morrow Reservoir is the middle one and generates most of the power for the dams. It is hemmed in by the sheer walled cliffs of the Gunnison and is difficult to reach. But, we found a way. There is a trail called Hermit’s Rest which starts at the road which circles the reservoir and winds up down at the shore line where there is a campsite with 9 picnic tables and 2-room outhouse. Pretty neat huh?
We drove over from Montrose on US 50 which has a long section of highway construction which held us up a bit but finally we got through, turned off on highway 92 and headed north. A beautiful winding, curvy drive which curls around the Morrow Reservoir, gaining altitude with every mile and winding in and around all the creek beds which feed into the Morrow. We stopped at several scenic views and at one saw these 3 large vultures with their wings spread wide to dry. They held this pose for several minutes. Others were circling overhead.
We finally found the trailhead where we met several others also taking in the views. Here one can not only see the deep blue of the Morrow below but also the steep walls of the cliffs surrounding it and beyond those the rugged, craggy peaks of the San Juan Mountains. I could have sat for ages just taking in that magnificent sight but Big Gar wanted to start our hike. We had awakened at 6:00 but here it was, 10:30 and we were just starting out. We obviously had stopped several times at each viewpoint and had been held up by construction but, we know Colorado and the rains come every afternoon. We had to get our rears in gear or we’d get rained on.
I took this picture from the top of the canyon, 1800’ up. The lake looks pretty close here, doesn’t it? Ha, don't I wish?
The hike is 3 miles long and 1800’down. However, the first 1 1/2 miles drop only 600’ leaving s drop of 1200’ for the last 1 1/2 miles, much steeper. Going down I was glad that I had clipped my toenails the night before, my toes seemed to be squished into the toes of my boots a good part of the time. The trail is a beautiful one and well-maintained. Benches are placed at regular intervals and not only provided a view of the lake below but also provided some needed rest on the way back up the trail. We traveled through two different environments. The top of the trail was short sage bush and other scrub bushes but the bottom was oak and pine. We usually hike in desert climates and hiking in this alpine climate was a real change for us. We saw no animals but did see some signs that deer had passed this way. (or does that look like a Playboy bunny?) Not only did we see some scat but also this print in the trail. Nothing to worry about. I don’t want to see a mountain lion print nor a bear print as I have heard that you can see on this trail.
At the bottom we rested, had lunch by the lake and enjoyed the solitude. We heard nothing else but the wind through the trees, an occasional screech of a bird on high and the rustle of squirrels in the brush.
Hey, here’s a strange structure. I’m thinkin’ it looks pretty nice for a campground a the bottom of a 3-mile trail. Built in Colorado rustic.
We took off our socks and shoes and let our feet rest. But even though we relaxed, we were ever mindful of the grey clouds marching across the sky over the ranges towards us. We felt a few drops, got out our ponchos and put them in an outside pocket on our packs and took off up the hill. The raindrops stopped but that did not mean that we were in the clear. Black clouds were still rolling in. These flowers along the trail sure will appreciate the rain more than we will.
The trail was covered with flowers, yellow, purple and pink. We also noted some small scrub oaks beginning to change color.
And, yes, the bottom half of the trail has 2/3’s of the elevation gain. Oof-da. Am I ever out of shape. But we kept chugging along. Of course, every now and then the chug gave out and we took advantage of the benches.
We finally reached the top, ahead of the rain. Whew. I certainly did not want to hike uphill in ponchos in the rain. The weather at the top was much cooler and the wind had picked up. We were definitely in store for some rain. We could see it coming over the mountain ranges to the south, moving inexorably towards us.
At the top, we met a family setting up lunch. They had hiked a different trail about 10 miles away, had gotten drenched and had come here to eat their lunch. Luckily we had missed all this. We then continued along route 92, curvy, uphill and in and out of all the small creek drainages. Who in the world plans these roads and how in the world do they ever get them constructed? What marvels.
Hey, is that snow up there? I don’t think so since the other peaks in the area do not have the same coating but it sure looks like snow.
Then the rain came with a vengeance. Sheets and sheets came down, followed by dime-sized hail. We saw several muddy run-offs coursing over the roads. Colorado is rocky to begin with and what soil there is can only absorb so much water. With all the rain Colorado has had recently, that limit was passed several days ago and all the water can do now is rush towards the lowest spot. And, then it began to rain harder. We stopped one time since we could hardly see out of our front windshield. But finally it let up and we could continue on home.
We got back about 5:00, just in time for dinner. A long day but a beautiful drive and a neat hike.
I’ve got 1300+ words here. Gary says he could tweet it better: ‘Found a hill, hiked down, came up. Beat the rain.’
6 mi., 1900’
No comments:
Post a Comment