Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Bottom To Top Part 2

With only two days left at Gunnison Lakeside RV Park west of Gunnison Colorado, we decided to explore more of the Cunecati National Recreation which extends along both sides of the Gunnison River where three dams form three reservoirs.  Once again we took US 50 west outside the park which is across from Old Stevens on the map below.  We rode the bike about 15 miles along the northern rim of the canyon carved by the river and across Blue Mesa Reservoir along the southern rim  to the Pine Creek access.  Located here is a small parking area with a vault (pit) toilet, and a trailhead down to the river’s edge.  The trail continues along one side of the river in both directions, but the main part of the trail leads west to the boat dock of the Pine Creek Boat Tour of this part of the river which is designated as Morrow Point Reservoir. (See Bottom to Top, Part 1 blog.)

IMG_6113

We rode the bike halfway down the canyon to the parking lot then took he first part of the trailhead the rest of the way to the canyon floor (see Part 1)  The first part of the trailhead consists of 234 steps down, some made of poured concrete in wooden frames, some of flat-topped stones, some of wood.  Pine Creek rushes alongside the steps and empties into the river at the bottom of the south canyon wall.

We took our time walking along the narrow 1 mile trail between the steps and the boat dock, enjoying the warm sunshine and cool breeze. 

There are many small picnic areas like the one below and a few benches  tucked into the shade at the base of the south wall.

IMG_6633

At one time only the river and the Denver & Rio Grande RR ran along the bottom of the canyon.  As automobiles became a more available and popular way to travel, rail traffic declined, and the  three small towns that depended on it suffered.  Townspeople decided to build dams to create a lake to attract tourists. They moved their towns to higher ground and slowly the river covered the tracks.  The nature trail is the part of the rail bed that wasn’t covered by the rising river.  Just past the dock, the path narrows, and is not maintained.  About 1/4 mile past the dock the trail descended slightly to the river level and water encroached on the path.  We turned around and retraced our steps.

IMG_6637

We stopped often to bend our heads back to see the top of the canyon wall, listen to the water, birdsong, and wind, and to take lots of photos of the beautiful rocks, plentiful butterflies,  and to enjoy the antics of numerous chipmunks

IMG_6641

and ground squirrels,

IMG_6683

and of course, the beautiful views of the river.

IMG_6684

For an hour we were the only people down here, except for a guy fishing.  On our way back we stopped to chat with him

IMG_6685

and with this couple.  He was walking the dog, and she was taking photos.

IMG_6687

On our way back up the steps, we met a couple of young Park Rangers coming down and chatted with them a bit also.

IMG_6704

We made it back to the top of the steps and enjoyed our ride back to the top of the canyon.

IMG_6711

From there on the south rim we could see the north rim road across the canyon.

IMG_6715

We backtracked our route to the rv park and arrived home in time for lunch.

Today Duane played pickleball (I didn’t because I had a mild muscle strain) in the morning.  In the afternoon we started packing up all the junk that seemed to have spread itself out during our two week stay here.

Moving day tomorrow.

Louise and Duane


No comments: