it was mom’s idea, she read about it and one of her friends completed it, so she wanted to try it. the hike was only 2miles, 1 mile down and 1 mile back up. maybe a little longer than that, the trail was in designated wilderness area and you had to have a permit to hike it, only 15 people are allowed on the trail each day and we were lucky to get a permit. it took us 2 and half hours to get down to the gunnison river at the bottom of the canyon. mom and dad went down on their butts many places as it was steep and rocky. we stayed at the bottom for about 30 minutes and got some pictures. then started on our way back up. we ran into 2 or 3 couple who were in their 60’s but appeared to be in good shape, and a few younger people as well. it took us 4 to 4and a half hours to get back up the trail. we had to stop and take a break every couple of minutes. what i would do is get ahead of mom and dad and then stop and take a break until they caught up to me. my mouth got so dry on the way up and i was almost dehydrated, the park ranger advised us to take 4liters of water per person but we only had 3 liters shared between 3 people. after completing the trail i decided i could do it with 2liters of water in the weather we experienced. i was so relieved when i completed the trail, i was paranoid we wouldn’t get in before nightfall and we would get lost on the trail as it was unmarked trail. the trail was self rescue, which means the park rangers dont come looking for you for 24 hours, if you don’t turn in your permit within 24 hours they will send someone down looking for you.
we did the trail on sunday, and my legs were sore until friday.
i didn’t see very much wildlife, only a chipmunk, a little lizard, and a couple birds.
Sounds like it was hard but fun.
yeah it was the most difficult thing we did, but the highlight of the trip. i felt a real feeling of accomplishment after completing the trail and ate like a king for dinner that night as i was very hungry haha.
I used to hike a lot. The hardest I have been on was at Hanging Rock in NC. They’ve since added steps down the mountain.
Sounds like a great challenge. I’m sure it’s very beautiful there as well.
yeah it has it’s beauty once you get to western colorado there is lot of scenic routes, i get a little nervous driving through the mountain passes with steep drop offs but for sure lots of scenery out west. we also went to mesa verde national park and saw native american cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. pretty much the only thing i havent seen in colorado is maroon bells and fort collins, i go there all the time since my sister lives there. but i told mom and dad i am not going west of the mississippi river for at least 5 years, but am going to explore the great lakes region and northeast instead for a few years, in the summer when it’s nice weather.
Sounds like a genuine adventure. You have a new story to tell!
No doubt Colorado is such a beautiful place. I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen tons of pictures. It looks like Heaven.
I used to love hiking and canoe camping. Algonquin Park is a beautiful place for that, you can launch your canoe and disappear for weeks in the wilderness. Somewhere I have pictures of an otter “attacking” our canoe. I guess we crossed into its territory. It’s a photographer’s Paradise
Hope you enjoy all your future Adventures!
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