The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO |
We started our tour on the less developed North Rim. The north side was very quite, had dirt roads, and small, closed ranger station with trail and climbing information on the outside. We decided to take a short three mile out and back hike on the North Vista Trail to Exclamation Point. I liked the name and frankly, it sounded exciting. Turns out, Exclamation Point actually has some of the best inner canyon views in the park, which is trickier to see than you would think.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is so named because the walls are so steep and the canyon is so deep that the sun has a very difficult time making it to the bottom or even hitting the walls, making it look quite dark or even black most of the time. Here are a few stats I found interesting: With an average drop of 34 ft per mile the Gunnison River's path through the canyon is the 5th steepest in North America. At Chasm View the canyon drops 240 ft in a mile. Painted Wall on the north side of the canyon is 2250 ft high making it the highest sheer cliff in Colorado (El Cap in Yosemite is about 3000 ft). The deepest section of the canyon is 2722 ft at Warner Point.
Hiking the North Vista Trail, Black Canyon on the Gunnison National Park
Panoramic View from Exclamation Point, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO |
Fall Colors on the North Vista Trail |
View from Tomichi Point, South Rim, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO |
Keira on the North Rim / Camping on the South Rim / Balanced Rock View
Stay tuned for more. Next up, Telluride.
Check out the earlier posts from this trip:
Fall Road Trip 2011 - California to Colorado
Fall Road Trip 2011 - Part II - Misc. Colorado Including Grand Mesa
There are 27 photos in the slideshow. Click below for the link
Fall Road Trip 2011 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park |
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