colorado

Gunnison Canyon

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison River National Park was a majestic spectacle of nature’s contrasts: a mountainous landscape that bore the mark of the Gunnison river’s relentless carving, as well as a serene river canyon that offered a refuge of tranquility in a verdant riparian forest.

I was drawn to this awe-inspiring park by its contrast a few years ago and explored its diverse landscapes, where I felt a surge of curiosity at every turn. I wished I had delved deeper into the mysteries of geology as I gazed down from the cliff’s edge at the profound chasm, whose steep walls were adorned by intricate patterns of minerals that had emerged from the rock.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
CO USA

Footsteps to the Past

Every step you take in the sand dunes is a mark of your journey. You may not see where you are going, but you can look back and see where you have been. The wind may erase your footsteps, but it cannot erase your memories. The sand may shift and change, but it cannot change who you are.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
CO, USA


The Rocky Frontier

This was one of the most torturous climbs I had ever done, partly due to the fact that it was a fourteener and I hadn't really acclimatized, and partly because I was climbing up in snow which caused traction issues. I still remember reserving all my stamina for the final push to the summit just so that I could have this panoramic view of this amazing mountainscape. Snow-capped peaks towered above the undulating landscape in all directions on this blue-bird day, the last of a rare weeklong stint of sun in the Rockies

White River National Forest
OR USA

Framing a fourteener

Imagine sitting down inside a warm log cabin nestled a winter wonderland, with a window overlooking distant snow-capped peaks.
This cabin wasn't one of those. It was a decaying remnant of an old mining or hunting cabin: its roofs had long since gone, and one of its sides was already missing.

But the window framing the snow-capped peak was still around, waiting for this composition.

White River National Forest
CO USA

Sparks of Sand

When I photograph sand dunes, I normally seek out patterns in the ripples of the dunes, especially during the golden hours. But this time, I decided to focus on the faint shadow cast by the clouds as a gust of wind whipped up the sand.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde, the third in the trio of National Parks I visited on a trip to Colorado in 2019, is not a traditional National Park that protects places of outstanding natural beauty. Instead it has the best preserved ancestral peublo villages that were carved into sheer cliff faces in the American Southwest. Strategically located away from the bright sunlight where the Puebloans could find water natural seeping between the clefts, these villages are not often visible from above, and accessing it required climbing down narrow footsteps on slippery sandstone walls and shaky ladders. Thankfully, the conveniences of modern technology means that sturdy iron ladders and walkways now provide access for the guided National Park tours that now visit these villages.

Arriving late in the evening after exploring the Rocky mountains along the San Juan Skyway, I was not expecting to find any tickets to the timed tours. But once again, luck was on my side as I managed to snag the last of the tour tickets for the next day. Planning for getting tickets for the tours, which have now re-opened, is highly recommended, as you get to understand the culture of the Pueblo dwellers, and grasp the harsh realities of their everyday life.

Mesa Verde National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - Black Canyon of the Gunnison

From Great Sand Dunes, where I had spent the previous night, I took my time to get to the town of Gunnison, going over scenic byways that followed the headwaters of the Rio Grande (that I visited a few months prior in Big Bend National Park), eventually making it to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This Park had mesmerized me for the longest time with its dramatic nomenclature - named for one the pitch black depths at the bottom of the steepest river canyons in the country. At over 2700 ft deep in places and barely 50 ft wide at the bottom, even pictures can't do justice to the raw jagged terrain of this narrow canyon.

I spent my time viewing the sheer scale of its steep walls from the many viewpoints on the south rim where thoughtfully placed displays explained the history and geology of this park. And even though the river was barely visible from the top, these displays explained how over the eons, the erosive power of water cut through hard schist rock formations, exposing the veins of iron that you see in the above image of the Painted Wall.

Despite its small size, the park is worth a visit, if only to observe and grasp the power of natural forces in carving out a deep scar in the earths crust.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - Great Sand Dunes National Park

I had visited five National Parks in 2018, with three in quick succession during a trip to Colorado. First on the stop was Great Sand Dunes National Park, one of the five National parks where you can find sand dunes, and the only one where the dry desert meets the Rocky mountains. Situated in rain shadow of the snow-capped peaks lay towering golden sand dunes more than 200ft high. From my past experiences spending the night in the dunes, I knew I that spending the night here would provide plenty of opportunities for photography, but first, I had to figure the logistics of doing that - including getting permits.

Having arrived late in the day leading up to the Memorial weekend, which was big for travel here, I was not particularly hopeful on getting a walk-in permit. Thankfully, the stars were on my side, and I had secured the last permit. After that, the next challenge was figuring out where to camp. So I saddled up my pack and walked towards the dunes, with no specific destination in mind. Climbing up sand isn't easy in the best of times, but climbing with a heavy pack with 4l of water and camera gear all under the dry desert heat was immeasurably worse. But once I settled in to an amicable spot, and enjoyed an afternoon siesta, my mood was certainly brighter.

Planning a night in the dunes is harder than a regular backpack, but all those troubles worth it for the serene sunset, beautiful night sky amidst the dunes, and the refreshing feeling of stepping into cold and soft sand.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - Rocky Mountain National Park

It was late May, and yet I felt like I was visiting the my 27th National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, at the wrong time of the year: many of the trails that climbed to the backcountry lakes were still icy, and Trail Ridge Road was just beginning to be opened. And yet, crowds thronged the trails and roadways of this National Park, as well as the nearby town of Estes Park. I came to the park expecting a few moments of peace and solitude in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, and my early spring visit was anything but.

But then I waited until the sun went down, and I wandered down a remote trail far away from the main attractions. And it wasn't until then did the park quieten down enough for me to hear the gurgling brook, the rustling leaves and the soaring winds. Being so close to major urban centers and with such a short visiting season, this gem of the park system attracts dense crowds in the summer months, and can make it challenging to escape into the wilderness, but if you search for the right place, you can find your moment of zen too

Rocky Mountain National Park
CO USA

A National Park Journey - Canyonlands National Park

The next door neighbor to Arches, Canyonlands, is a National Park with a completely different geology. While the park does have a couple of solitary arches, Canyonlands is more known for its jaw-dropping terrain, where birds-eye vistas are meant to be laced with superlatives to describe the vast landscape with towering cliffs rising from the depths of the Colorado river exposing the geological history in its strata.

Hence Canyonlands was an obvious next choice to visit after Arches. Moab, which in those days was a sleepy town geared towards the occasional recreation traveler, proved to be an ideal base to explore both these parks (though I would have preferred to camp under the stars of Canyonlands). And compared with Arches, I was more enthralled by the monumental scale of the landscape in Canyonlands, replete with enough hiking trails and wilderness regions to last a lifetime.

Here is one such view of the vast open and yet geologically rich landscape of Canyonlands during a midsummer day.

Canyonlands National Park
UT USA