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The Gunnison Hike

7/12/2022

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I arrive at the visitor center at 7:30, 30 minutes before opening.  I'm first in line for the few remaining wilderness permits and am soon joined by a couple from Spain and 3 guys from Kansas City.  Soon, a woman opened the door and gave us information about the inner canyon hikes, of which there are three.
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At 8am, the doors opened and I filled out a card with all relevant info, then given an orientation speech which was helpful and advised to take images from a book....
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...which I did as they showed a couple of tricky parts of the route where it would be easy to get off route.  The ranger repeatedly stated there are no trail markings, nothing to guide you but I suspected, if there are as many as 15 people a day hiking the route, it wouldn't be all that difficult to follow.
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I begin with a pleasant walk among trees.  The temperature is in the low 60's at this 8200' elevation.  I'll drop almost 2000' in a little over a mile.
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I had read about this section, having a very, very long chain to assist.
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Yikes, is this steep.  It had plenty of foot holds so wasn't all that bad.
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Some great views as I descend.  I wished I had taken more images but frankly, with the slope being so steep and the footing horrible, there weren't many places I could balance to take an image.
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Note the scree and rock filled slope.  Most of the trail was precarious with very, very loose footing.  Several times I simply dropped on my rear and scooted down or crab walked.  The average grade is 33.4% and when you add in the surface challenge, it's a brutal hike.  However, while I slipped at times, I never fell.
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Nearing the bottom, I get a good look at the bottom of the canyon
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It's a beautiful location with a trail going up and down the river.  Fishing is allowed.
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I always enjoy looking up while so many never have the experience as they look down from the rim overlooks.
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There was even a pit toilet and....
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...a couple of camps sites.  But, this is the rare hike where it's not the destination that brings people, it's to test oneself on the rim to river route.  I did not spend much time at the bottom and began....
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....the slippery and steep ascent.  It took me a 1:15 to go down and a little over an hour to go up.  Glad I did it but I'd never do it gain, lol. On the drive out, Amy....
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...took a picture of this fine wood carving.
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    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

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