2022 Fall Trip - Day 14/37 - 9/07/2022

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 - Hike "Dark Canyon Trail", drive from to Carbondale, Colorado to Gunnison, Colorado:

Nice to see what's waiting for outside my hotel window:

Have to say goodbye to Mount Sopris on my way out of town (I was told the haze is from California wildfires):

I LOVE DRIVING ALONGSIDE THESE RIVERS:

So, I got down to my turn for Marble, Colorado:

which is a quiet little town at 7,950 feet:

You then reach Beaver Lake, which is where the pavement ends:

The road got real bad, real fast. I was able to backup into a driveway and turn around. As I said to a guy there "I've got nothing to prove."

So I made my way back out to CO-133 South, and enjoyed the beauty:

It turns out that I have been driving on a Colorado Scenic Byway: West Elk Loop:

Well, keep track - I'm going through a lot of those towns, and driving a lot of those roads!
After McClure Pass (8,755 feet), I stopped for the view:

It looks like Paonia Reservoir has seen better days, although it has been wet in Colorado this year (minimal fires), so I guess this is par for the course:

At the turnoff from CO-133 South, the North Fork Gunnison River looks great:

and there is a wonderful roadside sign/map:

10 minutes later, I'm on a dirt road again:

After crossing Anthracite Creek, you turn towards the trailhead:

Dark Canyon Trail is a beautiful trail. Hey - this bridge is 1/4 mile from the trailhead - Wendy and I can hike here!

The Trail keeps going up alongside Anthracite Creek:

Most reports have people turning around after 2 miles, but I've got nothing else to do (and the Trail Was There), so I hiked a little over 3 miles in, to where Ruby Anthracite Creek joins Anthracite Creek, in the shadow of Prospect Point:

Back at creek-level, I took my selfie:

Going back down:

Part of me is a "trail snob" - I don't like going back down the same trail I just came up - I would rather do a loop. Well, the only reason for that is a loop looks nicer on a map than a simple line up-and-down. The actual experience is that "going down a trail" is a totally different experience than "going up a trail": the sun has changed, highlighting different features, and the sounds are different, and your motion-on-the-trail-itself is totally different. So I guess most of me is not a "trail snob".

(We'll talk about "peak bagging" another day.)

Very cool rocks by the Trail:

I hiked 6.26 miles in 2 hours 53 minutes, finishing at 4:13 PM:

I continued on this road to Crested Butte, with mountains behind me, and Mount Emmons ahead of me:

It will be GREAT driving Wendy down this road next Wednesday!!

I banged the corner in Crested Butte (I'll come through here tomorrow for my hike), and headed south to Gunnison (slightly better planning would have allowed me to stay in Crested Butte, but that's ok). Seeing Mount Crested Butte, and other sights:

I checked into the Days Inn in Gunnison a little after 6 PM:

What a Great Day - Thank You GOD!

Music for today:

I started the day listening to the radio:

Which actually lasted for a couple of hours!

Frank Turner - Be More Kind, 2018 seventh studio album:

Echo & The Bunnymen - Songs To Learn & Sing, 1985 compliation album:

I REALLY LIKE this album - the songs seem to build, getting better and better, peaking with the final track: "Bring on the Dancing Horses"

The Beach Boys - Sounds Of Summer, 2003 greatest hits album:

Ok - I have to share the lyrics to "Surfin' U.S.A." - at least the parts with Place Names:

You'd catch 'em surfin' at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestle
Australia's Narrabeen
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny Way

...

Haggerties and Swamies
Pacific Palisades
San Onofre and Sunset
Redondo Beach L. A.
All over La Jolla
At Wa'imea Bay
_______________

Of course I hear another road-trip calling ...