07/23/01 Driving North Rim Drive:
The magpies were out there squabbling with each other again this morning at 6am. I got on the road by 7am and drove up CO 92 to Black Canyon National Park near Crawford. A bicycle tour/race was going on and they were following the same route. CO 92 follows the Black Canyon for much of its 52 mile length. The tour had put toilets and tents and drinking water and such in the few official scenic turnouts so I was left to pulling off at any little side turnout I could find. There were still some great views along the way.
I got to the Black Canyon National Park North Rim about 10am. Outside the park is BLM land which usually means no shade under a brutal sun. I checked the campground which does have some shade so I will probably go back there for the night.
The goal today was the North Rim Drive which is a dirt road along... the North Rim... Duh! The first stop is the Narrows. A short walk brings you to this deep, narrow gorge, maybe 1000 feet deep and a couple hundred feet wide. Way down at the bottom is the Gunnison River with too many rocks to be doable.
The Balanced Rock is a 15X20 foot rock just hanging there at your level, close to 1000 feet above the canyon floor. It will make a big bang when it lets loose. I don't want to be there when it happens because its only about 10 feet from where you're standing.
The Island is a big 150+X75+ foot rock 50+ feet high in the middle of the canyon floor. It didn't fall from the nearby walls. It looks like it just eroded down that way. If there was enough water, the river couldn't get through the existing channel and would flow around the Island.
Island Peaks appear to be an old channel of the Gunnison River. Several pillars, columns, pinnacles rise up a couple hundred feet, several hundred feet from the current channel. Other erosions have created another canyon behind Black Canyon.
I could distinctly hear the sound of the rapids way down below so I guess they must have been larger than they appeared, maybe class III or IV.
Crews were working on the Kneeling Camel turnout. They had a boom box blasting so I didn't stay long there.
07/24/01 Hiking North Rim Drive (again):
The sky was full of clouds when I got up this morning. I stayed at the North Rim Campground last night. On the way in a coyote crossed right in front of me. Of course I chose a campsite right next to the trail crew with the boom box, They turned out not to be too bad though.
Rather than do the North Vista Trail or the Deadhorse Trail, I chose to walk the North Rim Drive again. There were lots of little tiny turnoffs and lots of views you don't normally see while driving so I thought it would be a good idea. On the way in one deer was grazing along the side of the road and didn't even blink an eye as I passed.
I drove down to the Kneeling Camel turnout, parked the truck and started back. A sign indicates Black Canyon is not the longest canyon, nor the deepest, nor the narrowest nor does it have the steepest walls. But no other canyon combines the elements as the Black Canyon does. It ranges between 1700-2700 feet deep and is 53 miles long but only the most rugged 14 miles are part of the National Park. The Gunnison River has a gradient of 95 feet per mile. Because the water moved so fast, it was able to carve out the canyon with almost perpendicular walls.
The walk along the drive was what I expected. Spectacular views along 50-60 percent of the walk. I took many detours to within 5 feet of the rim for a better look. Even the dark clouds overhead didn't detract from the magnificence of the canyon although it did limit the number of pictures I took.
On the way back I spotted a helicopter with something swinging at the end of a hoist line. I thought maybe it was a bear cub or something that size. Then I saw it again as it headed in the general direction of the campground. I thought maybe it was hauling water in a water bag. Then I saw it heading the other way again and thought maybe it was hauling dirt or gravel or something for trail work somewhere.
I saw what was probably the same deer in about the same place as the other one. This time it didn't waste any time when it saw me on foot and got out of Dodge quick.
A very nice 2-3 hour, 7-8 mile walk at 7700 feet elevation.
07/27/01:
I needed to be back in Utah for a doctor's appointment on the 30th. In the meantime I thought I'd try Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border. On the way out of Black Canyon I spotted a small coyote I'd guess to be less than 6 months old.
Driving up UT 6 towards Price I got stuck behind a bad accident. After a 30 minute wait I turned onto a dirt road others were moving out on. 20 minutes later the clouds rolled in and a lot of lightning started. Eventually I got back on UT 6 and made my way to Springville. Here, glancing off in the distance I saw what I took to be a tornado. It was a long funnel like, crooked tube dropping down from dark clouds behind some hills. I dunno if it was a twister or not... I'm just glad it was off there in the distance and not up close.
The next day I drove up to Bear Lake. To get there I drove through Logan Canyon in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. While a pretty drive, the steep walls and slopes didn't leave much opportunity for free camping although there were lots of 'pay for' campgrounds. Bear Lake is 15 miles long and 5 miles wide. The west shoreline is flat and heavily developed. The east shoreline is all arid mountains and looks like big, steep piles of stone, not particularly attractive. I drove up into Idaho wanting to go all the way around the lake but ran into a state park entrance so the east side isn't a through road.
There was nothing in the area of interest to me so I left. Guess after Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge I'm getting a little picky. I did see a half dozen white pelicans of all things. I saw some in Texas and these in Idaho. I still associate pelicans with salt water.
05/15/02 Driving South Rim Drive:
Drove up from Ouray this morning. Having been on the North Rim last year I wanted the chance to view the South Rim too.
The scenic drive on the South Rim is also about 6 miles long but doesn't follow the canyon as closely as the North Rim does. It does have about 10 turnouts offering the same great views. Some of the turnouts require walks of a couple hundred yards because the road is quite far away from the canyon at times.