Overview of route to Gunnison Bm-8199.803.
| Gunnison Bm-8199.803 from
Blue Mesa Reservoir Gunnison Bm-8199.803 |
| Estimated net time | 1-1½ hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties. | ||
| Drinking water | No stable access to running water. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (July 2013). | ||
| Parking | Room for a couple of cars at trail head. | ||
| Start height | 2302 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 210 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 2.2 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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Assuming your starting point is the town Gunnison, on road 50, approximately 250 km (155 mi) west of junction I-25/50 south of Colorado Springs. From the junction between roads 50 and 135 in Gunnison centre drive 20.0 km (12.4 mi) west. This is 5.0 km (3 mi) west of the junction between roads 50 and 149, at the east end of Blue Mesa Reservoir. Turn left onto a gravel road that goes down to the lake and park where a smaller road forks down right, 160 metres from road 50.
Start your hike by walking back up to road 50, cross the road, and find a suitable place to cross the fence. Aim for the south-east top and find a place where the fence below this top is broken. Then turn a little right and climb onto the south-east top. From this top walk north-west to the summit, which is marked by a small cairn.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
We had driven from Colorado Springs in the morning, on our way to Montrose. The intention was to include a hike to two tops a little lower than 4000 metres, but when it started to rain we decided to hang around trail head a little to see if it would stop. But the rain only got heavier, and when a lightning struck very close we decided to get back into the car and continue west.
As we got further west the weather improved considerably, and when I saw potential top a little west of Gunnison we decided to stop and go for a short hike. This proved very nice, and after the hike we went from a swim in Blue Mesa Reservoir, where the water temperature was at least 20°C.
When I studies maps after the hike I wasn't able to find a name for the top we had visited, and hence I've decided to name it based on its area (Gunnison) and its exact height according to the maps (8199.803 feet).