North Fork of the Gunnison River to CO 65

Sunday, August 28, 2011

On Sunday I met up with my friend Jackson and his wife Sarah to float a section of the Gunnison River from the North Fork to Colorado Highway 65 near Delta. It’s a pretty easy stretch of the river, which is a good thing since this was my first time in my own boat. Previously I have only ridden along in a larger raft, so this was a good learning experience for me. There were a few tricky sections that helped me work on my boating skills, but nothing dangerous.

Inflating
Inflating

Inflating the boats.

 

Into the River
Into the River

Ready to get on the river.

 

On the Gunnison
On the Gunnison

On the river.

 

Reflection
Reflection

A reflection of Sarah and Jackson in their boat.

 

Besides spending a relaxing day on the river, I also had the goal of finding a rock art site along this stretch of the river. As we started hiking to the site, we noticed there was a group of people working up there. I had heard rumors that there was a group excavating the site, but I figured that no one would be working there on a Sunday. Guess I was wrong! As we approached the group, they welcomed us in and gave us the ‘grand tour.’ Apparently they have been excavating the site for about five years now and were ready to call it quits in the next few days. However, while we were there they managed to find part of a clovis point and decided they would now be staying at least another year. Pretty interesting stuff!

 

Lawhead Gulch Panel
Lawhead Gulch Panel

The largest petroglyph panel at the site.

 

Elk Petroglyph
Elk Petroglyph

A faint elk petroglyph at the site.

 

Excavation
Excavation

Digging and searching…

 

Documentation
Documentation

Documenting their find.

 

Find
Find

One of the arrowheads they found while we were there.

 

Back to the Boats
Back to the Boats

Getting back on the river after visiting the excavation.

 

Lunch on the River
Lunch on the River

 

Sarah & Jackson
Sarah & Jackson

 

Floating the Gunnison
Floating the Gunnison

It was a great day on the river!