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Gunnison NF South — Almont/Pitkin Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

Gunnison NF South — Almont/Pitkin

8,000–11,000 ft · CO🚗 Directions

Drier than north Gunnison but still productive. Good oyster habitat along creek bottoms. Hawk's wing and king bolete on ridges above 9,500 ft.

Trees:Engelmann Spruce Aspen Douglas Fir

Permit Info →

Updated Aug 27, 4:02 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Tier A with a caveat: you're riding the edge.** Soil temps at 47°F are consistently 3–8° below species minima across the board, and zero days in the past week have hit threshold—this is the hard constraint holding everything to "moderate" viability despite adequate moisture (0.20 VWC). The breadth of viable species (boletes, russulas, milk caps, corals) tells you the ecosystem is primed and the moisture trigger is met, but fruiting bodies won't flush until soil warms another 3–5°F. Desiccation risk is moderate, not severe, so you're not fighting evaporative stress yet. Watch for a warm spell in the next 48–72 hours; even 2–3 days of soil temps consistently above 50°F could break the logjam across the bolete guild. The high-elevation aspect here means daytime warming during clear skies can push soil temps up faster than you'd expect at 8K–11K ft. **Hot tip:** Focus your scouting on south-facing slopes with dark soil and duff in direct sun—they'll warm 4–6° faster than the shadier north aspects and may already be in the sweet zone for early flushes of hedgehog and king boletes.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential80/100

✅Moisture

❌Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(14)

Almont Camp Site

developed

USFS~0.5 mi from centerUSD10 / Night/night

Reserve →

Almont Campground - Gunnison RD

developed

USFS~0.5 mi from centerFee required/night

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Fore

Reserve →

Almont

developed

USFS8,000 ft~1.1 mi from center$16/night

10 sites

Near the confluence of East and Taylor rivers. Good oyster habitat along creeks.

vault toiletfire ringpicnic table

Open May–Oct

Granite Tent Campground - Gunnison RD

developed

USFS~6.8 mi from centerFee required/night

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Fore

Reserve →

Granite Tent Campground

developed

USFS~6.9 mi from center

Reserve →

ONE MILE

developed

USFS~7.2 mi from center

Reserve →

One Mile Campground - Gunnison RD

developed

USFS~7.3 mi from centerFee required/night

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Fore

Reserve →

North Bank Campground - Gunnison RD

developed

USFS~7.4 mi from centerFee required/night

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Fore

Reserve →

North Bank Campground

developed

USFS~7.4 mi from center

Reserve →

One Mile Campground

developed

USFS~7.4 mi from center

Reserve →

Rosy Lane Campground - Gunnison RD

developed

USFS~7.9 mi from centerFee required/night

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Fore

Reserve →

Rosy Lane Campground

developed

USFS~7.9 mi from center

Reserve →

Spring Creek Campground - Gunnison RD

developed

USFS~8.2 mi from centerFee required/night

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Fore

Reserve →

Spring Creek Campground

developed

USFS~8.2 mi from center

Reserve →

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.