So exciting! The adventure has begun! At any beginning (or continuation) of something big there are feelings of nervousness, excitement, and the unknown. Today was certainly that way for me! Last minute packing and cleaning was in order and then boom, out the door! I decided last night that since I was passing 2 parks on the way to my first “new” National Park, I need to stop. Just for a night anyway. So, with that in mind, off I drove to Black Canyon National Park in CO. Beautiful day for a drive, the Crystal River Valley never disappoints! Coolest things about today? No fee to enter or to camp inside the park. Sure, there’s now water, my campsite is mainly covered in snow, and it’ll be in the 20s tonight, but those are just minor details if you’re prepared. This is sure to be a bit of a lonesome solo journey, but I’m excited to interact with people I meet in different parks. The main park road is closed for cross country skiing and snowboarding, but the road is completely snow free... so I went for a 5 mile round trip road hike to Pulpit Rock and took some photos. Not a single other person seen on the road. It would be sweet to camp at the bottom of the Canyon as I’ve done many times before, but all of the routes are north facing meaning there’s quite a bit of snow, which would be dangerous and terrifying, given that the trails are really not trails at all, but steep, scrambling routes. One thing I want to mention: seems like a lot of people skip this park on their road trip Mational Park exploration circuits: Don’t do it!! This place is sweet. Whether you just drive the rim road (come when it’s open, not in winter or early spring), or scramble down to the bottom, Black Canyon of the Gunnison is truly amazing and worth th
