Black Canyon of the Gunnison

[hmelch]

Howdy all,

Yes, I know, no peaks in Black Canyon of Gunny, but didn't know where else to put this....

For those familiar with the park, if you had one night to camp/day to spend....North Rim or South Rim? Looking to also hike one of the routes down to the River...any good intel on that?

FWIW ...heading to climb Wetterhorn after the park!!!

Cheers!

[TomPierce]

There are a few ways to get down to the river. The ones popular with rock climbers are pretty tough, info can be found over on http://www.mountainproject.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (under Colorado> Gunnison, etc.). Another option, one with which I'm very familiar, is the Pioneer Point Overlook. It has a pretty spectacular overlook of the Canyon and looks right down on Curecanti Needle (yes, there is a peak in the Canyon !). A nice thing about that area is that there's a really great trail down to the river, about 2 miles long, never too steep or hard. FWIW, Curecanti Needle requires a boat to legally access, and is a pretty stiff climb.

Enjoy your trip!

-Tom

[Brian C]

Isn't Curecanti Needle in the Black?

[Brian C]

Geesh! Tom beat me to it.

[IntrepidXJ]

You can try to snag a permit for Red Rock Canyon...the easiest route down to the river.

http://adventr.co/2014/06/red-rock-to-black-canyon/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[vandy]

The Gunnison route to the river is quite fun. It's like doing a 14er in reverse. Poison ivy is indeed present but easily avoidable. That's the only route I have experience with. From what I remember, it gets you access to about a mile of one shoreline... going further would require an inadvisable swim.

[jdorje]

I did the Gunnison Route and spent about 36 hours at the south rim. I suspect the south rim had the better views, since it looks over at the north rim which is bigger and painted. It is also easier to get to and therefore has more people.

Checking out the overlooks is pretty much the main attraction of the park I'd you aren't a rock climber, I'd say. I don't know if hiking down to the river would fit in a single day.

The Gunnison Route itself was rather easy. Park rangers talked it up, since if you got stuck at the bottom it would ruin their day. Take a gps or make very careful note of the route as you descend, since getting lost on the uphill would be a pain. It is 1800 vertical, described as similar to the last 1800 feet of a fourteener. This may be true (there was some class 3, some talus, some scree) but it was also full of oxygen and short. It took me about an hour each way (about as fast as I can climb, so it's an efficient route), plus some time exploring the river at the bottom. Overall it was a bit disappointing (you can't see anything from down there) but well worth the effort.

Edit: a permit was required, but was readily available for the same day.

[cougar]

south rim is a shorter drive off 50 and more accessible, seems to have better views of the north rim which is more rugged and rocky. In a day you could easily do the Gunnison Route or another route down, and all the lookouts along the south rim. It's pretty easy as there is actually a trail, with bits of rock/scree, but it's just not a 'maintained trail' by NPS standards. Took me about an hour each direction, the lower elevation helps (especially after doing a 14er the day before). It could be very hot there in mid summer though, and the north rim routes looked shadier and more interesting. The rangers are very helpful with describing the various routes and they have a brochure of the major ones on both rims. Most of these are just steep gullies. Summitpost has a good write up of them.

Other plus is it seems most all the visitors stay on the rim/overlooks. I had the whole canyon below the rim to myself (only one who had a permit that day) but that was on Mon, Oct 1. Rim drive still had a bunch of traffic.

Be sure to stay for sunrise and sunset.

[Broken Knee]

Does anyone here have experience with any of the descents near Devil's Lookout?

[GK83]

I've been down the Chillumstone gully, I've done a bunch of the gullies in the black and it is one of the ones I don't want to repeat, and that's going up one of the rock climbs, not back up the gully,not sure you could get back up without ascending the fixed rope if you went to the river....I can't think of any of the south rim gullies in the main canyon area that I would want to go back up for that matter....better to go down the SOB on the north rim if you want to get to the river in the inner canyon.