August 24, 2024

I had not planned to stop here. I did not want to leave.

Toward the end of a great drive from Las Vegas to Fort Collins, during which I wandered about all five national parks in Utah, I had three to four hours to burn before making the final push east to visit my daughter and her wife. Looking at the map, it seemed I could make a brief stop at a national park I knew nothing about: Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

It did not take long to figure out I would return. There is a river down there I did not have time to visit.

Nothing here is flat. There are no established trails down to the floor of the canyon. Near the visitor center, I saw a sign for the Oak Flat trail. It is only 1.6 miles. Flat, short, no problem, right? The trail may be named Oak Flat, but it is nothing but steep, and as I would learn later, it is the only strenuous official trail. As I did not orient myself or have a map, I turned back after what seemed like too long descending into the canyon. It was raining lightly and getting myself lost or hurt at the bottom of a steep trail was not on the agenda for this trip. I climbed back up and limited myself to more typical roadside views for the remainder of my all too brief visit.