The plan for the day had been to climb a route on the South Rim (we were thinking Ground Control to Major Tom (5.9, 10p)), but my partner woke up sick. It happens. So I decided to hike down to the Gunnison River. There are a few options for this on the South Rim, but the Gunnison Route starting at the South Rim Visitor Center seemed to be the easiest. This route is upriver (east) of the main climbing in the Black. A permit is required, purchased on rec.gov.

(I had hiked to the Gunnison River before from the North Rim, en route to Russian Arete (5.9+, 8p) and also en route to Moveable Stoned Voyage (5.10+, 9p). But on these occasions, I had merely touched the river rather than made it the destination for the day.)

The hike is quite steep, pretty much directly down the hillside, dropping 1800 feet in 1.5 miles. It took me about 40 minutes to hike down. Where the trail hits the river there is a campsite and an outhouse. From here, I walked along the edge of the river a few hundred feet in both directions. I found a nice flat spot to enjoy for a few hours. I read a book (this is a rare treat), took a nap (an even rarer treat), washed some clothes in the river, and dunked my feet and head in. Then I headed back up, taking 42 minutes to get back to the rim.

I did not see anyone else when I was at the river, although I passed a couple of hikers on the trail on my way up.  I was struck by how peaceful it was down by the river, surrounded by towering walls of gneiss, and listening to the rushing of water and the symphony of birds in the underbrush. All of my previous days in the Black had been focused on climbing up some committing big wall of gneiss, so chilling out by the serene waters of the Gunnison River was a new take on the Black Canyon.

Below are some photos from my hike from the South Rim down to the Gunnison River and back.