“Visitation completely exploded with flocking RVs, compounds and tents,” said David Ochs, the executive director of the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA), a mountain bike club and nonprofit organization. The weekend’s high-volume visitation foreshadowed what would be a record year of adventure travel in Gunnison Valley. It was early May 2020 when we camped in Spring Creek. Eric Phillips AN EXPLOSION OF CAMPING IN 2020 An established campsite at Elk Creek Campground, 16 miles west of Gunnison, in Curecanti National Recreation Area offers bird’s-eye views of Blue Mesa Reservoir. Eric shifted into gear and we powered through the snow. Plan B was to drive up the adjacent Taylor Canyon, which we wagered was chock-full of weekenders, too. After nearly two hours of roaming around, this was the only unclaimed place we could find. We’d already driven to the end of Spring Creek Road, which parallels its namesake river in Gunnison National Forest, 30-plus miles from our doorstep in Crested Butte, Colorado, and back. It’s the only barricade blocking us from a gorgeous and unoccupied dispersed camp spot beneath a ring of towering Douglas fir. A wide, deep untracked layer of snow coats the bumpy, off-camber road we’re about to plow into. We’re all shoulder to shoulder on the bench seat. He pushes in the clutch and shifts into reverse. His sister Carrie and I look at each other with raised eyebrows. “I think we can make it up there,” said my partner Eric, who’s behind the wheel of his ’96 Ford F-150. JAs throngs of unschooled campers stampede over treasured natural resources, an increasing number of national forests are transitioning to designated camping
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |