Saturday, May 17, 2008

Gunnison Gorge

Chukar Trail
The Gunnison Gorge
These were just a few pretty cactus we saw on our way in.
Here's Cali just after we got to the trail head and started off.

When we got to the Gunnison Cali didn't waste time on fishing. The river was very high so we didn't have much area to fish and it was difficult, but we tried. We only fished for about a half hour. Cali had a bite, but no fish. It is "gold medal" trout water, we just didn't have the time and it was too high.


Here is another shot. There are some class 3-4 rapids in the background. It was very peaceful down there, we were the only ones. It was a 1.1 mile hike one way that took about 30 minutes. It was about 570 elevation change.

On our way back. This part of the trail was in a little canyon. We wanted to leave early because the drive was very technical and I didn't want to do it in the dark.

A picture of the Escape on our way back. This small road was 7 miles to the trailhead and it took 45 minutes one way. 3 of that 7 miles took about 30 minutes. This was one of the few areas I could actually get out and get a pic. The road was very rough. The Escape did well, but only if driven right. I had to strattle big trenches and squeeze around some serious boulders while going down steep grades along ledges. Cali was a little nervous. A couple times I got nervous, just because it got pretty bad, and if it got any worse it woud have been a bugger backing up.


One last shot. Again, this was the good part of the road. :)
Overall a great trip. I want to do it again, when we have more time and the river is down a bit. I'd love to catch some of those big browns.