Canyon Backpacking with the “Collard Greens” Group: Fishing, Fire-Building & Rockfruit Discoveries in Dominguez Canyon
Written by CI Field Instructor Shawn Heyland. The Collard Greens group from Peak to Peak Charter School set out on our canyon backpacking adventure on Wednesday afternoon from the Dominguez Canyon Trailhead. Our designated route would take us from the confluence of the Gunnison River and the Dominguez Creek up into the canyon, where we would spend the next two days together backpacking through a desert-like canyon environment. Our route was all uphill on average, and the group was up for the challenge. We made good time to a nice lunch spot along the Gunnison River.
A few of the Collard Greens brought fishing equipment and didn’t take long to start casting into the Gunnison while we cleaned up lunch. To our surprise, one of them caught a fish within minutes in the murky spring runoff. Excited to see what was in store for the rest of the day, we hit the trail again and veered into the canyon.
The lower canyon was magical and rich in both nature and natural history. The views were also not too shabby! We quickly found a series of rock shelters and petroglyphs, painting our imaginations with what the canyon might have seen in its past. It seemed as though the canyon had something special for us around every corner of the trail. Animal tracks and scat were found in abundance, telling us just how full of life the canyon was. The miles came easily and went quickly for this strong group of hikers. Fortunately, the terrain was fairly easy to travel through, allowing us to make swift time.
We eventually reached the spot where we had planned to camp for the night, only to find another large group of backpackers already occupying the space. Our worries of finding a campsite were quickly put to rest after doing some scouting and finding an even better location by the creek underneath some large cottonwood trees. The site featured a huge granite slab of rock that made for a perfect camp kitchen. It had a clean place to sit, the sounds of a peaceful creek running nearby, and a flame-resistant surface for building a warm campfire. It was certainly one of the best backcountry camp sites I’ve spent time at.
The Collard Greens wasted no time in getting the camp set up. As tents were being set up under the cottonwoods, other students worked on getting dinner prepped and cooked for the group. We shared a tasty meal of PoCheeCho over some good conversation. There’s something about a fireside chat to finish out an already great day… a day well spent!
After a filling oatmeal breakfast with ALL of the toppings, we hit the trail again with the goal of covering ground and finding another great campsite for the night. Full of curiosity about what lay ahead, we again made great time on the trail as we moved up the canyon. Once again, and by no surprise, we were treated to magnificent views of the canyon walls as we ascended. Our observant group pointed out just how far we had come and how much elevation we had gained within the canyon. Canyon walls were getting noticeably shorter and closer together, hinting at the progress we had made thus far.
We eventually crossed paths with the other two groups of students who were traveling in the opposite direction (Big Blue Booty Bears and Purple Elephants). Students in opposing groups gleefully shared experiences and sights to behold with the other group members as we passed. Fueled by this newfound anticipation, we pressed on to see for ourselves. After walking what felt like the perfect amount of mileage, we came across a drainage that led to another great campsite. Here, we discovered something we hadn’t seen before on the trip so far: pesky flying bugs. Our group decided to get a campfire started early to help clear out our unwelcome flying friends. This worked great and allowed us to then set up camp and prep for dinner in peace.
At this point in the trip, our group was really getting the hang of camp setup, dinner preparation, and cooking, and working together as a team to achieve a common goal. Since we moved with purpose on the trail, we had time to get creative and have fun at the campsite. In doing so, we decided it would be fun to boil our water for dinner over the fire by building a pot-holding system from water-soaked wood. Soon, we were rewarded for our efforts with a delicious curry. Even though we were tired from the day, the campfire chats didn’t let up, and the surrounding area echoed with laughter as we played games by the fire together.
The next morning, we woke up bright and early to reach the end of our trail. We packed up camp and set out on foot. We immediately found a rare but delicious rockfruit by the trail. Being an edible plant that thrives in this type of terrain, we decided to pick the rockfruit to share later that day. At this point, the canyon was slowly turning more and more into a treed forest and less like the deep red rock canyon that we were accustomed to. Having only a few miles left to cover, we soon reached the end of the trail. It was a bittersweet moment. We felt accomplished at completing the trail, but also a little sad that it was over. We had so much fun out there together as a group on our canyon backpacking adventure.
The last part of our big adventure before the drive home was to meet the other groups in a park for a pizza party. Once our bellies were full, each group performed a skit depicting the memorable moments of their trip. Our performance highlighted our group’s use of wag bags (bags to carry out our number twos), the hiking, and some silly moments from the trail. We all left with a newfound appreciation for the area, a skillset for backpacking adventures, and the memories we made together in the Big Dominguez Canyon.
Check out the adventures of the other Peak to Peak Charter School groups, called the “Big Blue Booty Bears” and the “Purple Elephants!
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