Big Bend National Park: A week in the wilderness

[Ash]

EDIT: Video Here... http://www.vimeo.com/17231150


Houston to Big Bend National Park (and back again)

[This Report co-insides with Bryans which is here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49050]

After weeks and weeks of gear purchase and preparation, our day of departure approached with worrying rapidity. This was our first ‘major' trip for Holly and I, neither of us having any camping or overlanding experience whatsoever. Expedition Portal proved invaluable for gear and vendor selection with Sierra Expeditions, TRDParts4U, BajaRack, American Toyota and craigslist (amongst many others) all getting a workout.

The itinerary? Well, the idea was to spend 9 days away from Houston headed West to Big Bend National Park. The kicker was our two extra passengers – Holly's parents were flying in to stay with us for a month.

The final week saw parcel after parcel arriving each day, and our nights spent trialing, test packing, cooking and preparing meals. When Thursday night finally rolled around and we headed off to the airport to pick up the (future) in-laws we were both pretty exhausted but we felt we had done everything we needed to get done.

After a shortened day at work on Friday we shot home and loaded up the Land Cruiser and hit the road just in time for peak hour traffic… All went smoothly though and after a few detours on the San Antonia expressways we checked in at a budget hotel for the night. 3.5 hours done. 7 hours to go. After a ‘lovely' continental breakfast it was on the road again. Albeit for 10 minutes as we called in Academy sports for a few clothing essentials that they in-laws hadn't brought with them (they had been traveling for over a month in England and as such had packed pretty light). I picked up a couple of Columbia fishing shirts – these proved to be brilliant as they are cool and dry fast.

We decided to take the southern route to Big Bend, heading through Del Rio and Sanderson before a left turn at Marathon. On the way, we went through a US Boarder Patrol stop but sailed through no problem (thanks for the heads up on the passports Bryan!). The drive from Del Rio to Marathon is quite pretty for Texas, with plenty of large canyons and waterways to cross.

The Land Cruiser laden with gear. We stopped West of Del Rio to check out the Pecos River from the US 90 bridge.

You start to get a taste of the offerings Big Bend may have as you approach Sanderson and the terrain shifts from rolling hills to slightly more abrupt butts and juts. Mile after mile of lonely highway, with only empty train tracks to keep us company took us all the way through to Marathon, our final fuel stop and the last leg of the journey to the Park.

From Marathon you take US 385 South. This is where the scenery really starts to get interesting. Limestone ridgelines protrude from weathered hills and look remarkably like a Stegosaurus' armour plates at times. Other features include a mile of uniformly folded cream color limestone looking like a perfect sinusoidal wave across the landscape.

A spiny ridgeline off US385 south to Big Bend

An hour after departing Marathon we enter the park proper. A quick stop at the ranger station to pay the park fees and get some advice, we hit the road again heading for the Rio Grande village and our liaison with Bryan and Angela in the Xterra and Mike in the 4runner. What struck us, once we set off from the station was just how vast the park is – it would another 45 minutes of driving (at 45pmh) just to get to the Village! Anyhow – a long days driving saw us arrive to very warm campsite right on the US Mexican border.

We made it! First things first: Beers and snacks before we contemplate setting up camp.

Bryan, Angela and Mike roll in soon after from a day on Big Bends gravel roads. We catch up, tent up, beer up and cook up feeling good to finally be here.

The next day saw us driving the trails on Big Bends ‘toughest' roads. Damn it was hot, but also very very special to see this part of the park. The Park is known for the Chisos Mountains, but it is the contrast between these sky islands and the surrounding desert and rivers which make Big Bend truly unique. From a stark, desolate, dry and dangerous desert floor to a green semi alpine environment in the mountains. We loved the drive around the base of the mountains as it gives you some perspective of the abrupt and forceful uplift of the protruding intrusive igneous upwellings.

A few narrow sections that required a careful approach on the Black Gap Road

Navigating one of the many washouts along the trial. They didn't represent a problem to our vehicles but reaffirmed the ‘high clearance' status of the road. As usual, these things look much tamer in the photos…

Arrival at the Black Gap pass. A culvert in the hillside and the crux of the trail. As you can see, most of the gap has been cemented over, leaving only the step as the challenging part of the Gap (or so we thought).

Bryan leading the pack up the step.

Toyota's follow suit.

Interestingly the trail just after the step got quite tight and required some careful driving to avoid some rocks on the low side of the ditch.

Oh f*@k. Slee Sliders probably on order soon…

 

[Ash]

After conquering the ‘Gap' we continued on the trail before taking a detour to the Mariscal Mines:

Abandoned since the 1940s, and isolated by its remote location in the middle of Big Bend National Park, the Mariscal Mine is the best preserved mercury mining site in the state of Texas, and is a listed historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. (http://www.nps.gov/bibe/historyculture/mariscalmine.htm)

Turning off the Black Gap road toward to mines.

West Tejas Desert.

We drove up to the car park which left a short (5 min) hike up to mine site. To have worked here in the early 20th century in this environment would have been incredibly harsh. Not to mention the ensuing mercury poisoning…

Looking down from behind the main processing facilities

Abandoned rubble that is unsafe to handle due to the very high residual mercury content. Don't touch if you would like children…

We climbed to the top of the hill and were rewarded with more great views. This is Elephant Tusk peak.

Just like a bought one.

From here it was a bumpy hour or more back to camp at the Rio Grande Village. It was a long day in hot weather but one I won't forget for a long time. Sunday night saw our last night together as Bryan, Angela and Mike were taking off the next morning to head back to Houston, whilst we would stay for the week. To say Sunday night was ‘interesting' is an understatement. When you are camping right on the border, with just 100 feet of water separating you from illegal activity, and pick-up trucks drive silently into the campsite after dark with canoes on the roof you know something is going on! Flashlight signaling across the river gave the game away... No one bothered us though, as expected whatever went down, these folks are not interested in disturbing Park visitors, and will try to avoid any contact.

 

[Ash]

Monday morning – here we say goodbye and head out on our own. We planned to spend the remainder of our trip up in the mountains as it was too hot at the Village campsite. The Rio Grande is at ~1900ft and you climb up to over ~5400ft to reach the Chisos Basin which affords a nice drop in daytime temperature making the park that much more bearable in the summer time.

We checked out a bird walk in the making before leaving the Rio Grande campsite

On the way to the Chisos campsite we called into the Boquillos Canyon

Looking south to the dramatic mountains across the border.

Near the Boquillos canyon lookout

A short hike from the car park takes you into the canyon proper:

The canyon is in the far southeast corner of the park along road 118, past the Rio Grande campsite and a turn-off leading to an unofficial border crossing to the village of Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico. The approach is quite dramatic - the high, layered cliffs around the river are topped by huge, angular mountains on the Mexican side of the river, part of the Maderas Del Carmen Protected Area. At the end of the road, a well-used 0.7 mile path leads up and over a stony ridge, though a sandy area with thick bamboo then out onto a pebble beach at riverside. Gaunt cliffs tower above, and close in downstream. A distinctive feature on the Texas side is a large sand drift half way up the cliffs, formed by the prevailing winds blowing sand from the desert into the mouth of the canyon. (http://www.americansouthwest.net/texas/big_bend/boquillas_canyon.html)

Boquillos Canyon is also where Victor, the singing Mexican serenades you from across the river. His voice is beautiful and before you know it he has rowed across the river in this little boat to offer you some trinkets.
Of course we didn't buy anything. That would be illegal.

From here we skirted the mountains driving north back to Panther Junction and then to the Chisos Basin entrance.

The Basin is magnificent. The dramatic geology, the wildlife, the cooler temperatures! All make for a truly memorable experience. We camped here for 5 nights and definitely could have stayed much much longer. There are so many hikes to explore and books to read just lazing around the campsite. At this time of year (Labor day) and staying midweek, we almost had the place to ourselves. It is easy to see how it would become a nightmare though in peak periods. The peace and quiet would quickly evaporate as the campsites are very close.

Our site. Loved it.

Casa Grande in the background. Holly and I made an attempt to climb it. The ‘trail' is not on any maps or signposted but we meet a couple of guys who had done it earlier that week. The ‘trail' is off the Old Mine Trail and is a serious undertaking. Allow 3 hours up, with a lot of scrambling and some grade 4 sections. We headed up too late in the day so turned around mid way at the saddle. Maybe next trip…

Pictures taken along the Casa Grande route.

Next day we hiked the Window Trail, which was quite hot as you are out of the wind for most of the walk.

Above the Window Trail looking over the same view The view from the Window itself limited.

Wildlife was abound in the Basin – here is a selection of fauna that I managed to capture:

No bears or lions unfortunately but we heard many stories from folks we met on the hikes of encounters.

 

[Ash]

Holly and I decided to hike the South Rim and overnight it to catch a sunrise and a sunset. We had a great recommendation from a friend that this was a must do when in the Chisos. He wasn't wrong. The rim at these times of the day was just incredible. It was a 3 hour slog up but well worth it. We camped on the Southwest Rim before hiking down the Boot Canyon Trail the next morning to meet up with Holly's Father where we ascended Emory Peak (7832ft).

The hike up to the Southwest Rim wasn't easy as you climb a long way and gain a lot of elevation in a short period of time. What did surprise us was the diversity along the trail. We hiked through pretty barren areas, then into quiet grass filled meadows before encountering a semi alpine environment with pines and alpine flowers. What amazed me was the juxtaposition of a spiny cactus growing in the shadow of an alpine pine! What a weird and wonderful place. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here:

The hike to the Emory trail head was pretty long, and by the time we reached the peak itself we were getting fairly tired. But the view made it all worthwhile. Looking down on Chisos Basin:

The South Rim overnight trail with Emory Peak thrown in for good measure was a hike we won't forget. I highly recommend it. (Don't forget you'll need to get an overnight pass from the ranger station in the Chisos Basin to book a campsite).

While in the Park, we also took the opportunity to drive out of the Basin and southwest to the Santa Elena Canyon. The route to the canyon affords numerous opportunities for short side trips and hikes and lookout points. The Canyon itself is much larger than the Boquillos Canyon, but sadly no signing Victor to serenade us here. As forewarned in the guide book we had, the river was running fairly high so had to ford it before resuming the trail. The trail zig zags its way up before following the river upstream into the canyon proper. You slowly descend to the canyon floor where the flora is incredibly lush and green and walls are exceptionally high. Now, this is no Grand Canyon, but it is very special none the less.

On the drive back to the Chisos Basin we took the time to take some landscape shots:

Saturday morning we packed up and drove out. What a wonderful experience, something never to forget and very special to share it. If had to describe Big Bend National Park in one word, it would be: Contrast.
Hope you enjoyed the trip report. We will be back.

Ash and Holly.

 

[Corey]

Very beautiful pictures Ash.
I see that new tank getting used too.

Looks like you had a great time.

 

[suntinez]

Wow you have a wonderful eye for pics, these are gorgeous! I esp liked the cloud ones and the rocks/buildings.

Really enjoyed reading this, thanks.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Finally, pictures and info that truly make me want to go to Big Bend. I thank you for that.

And for this:

2010 Sexiest ExPo picture. :victory:

 

[KSJeep]

Excellent report and great pics, Thanks.

 

[FJLED]

Great trip report and photos. I tried to layout a trip from Houston to Big Bend earlier this year, but it fell through. Hopefully next year.

 

[Witchdoctor Oz]

Ash,

Thanks for the great images & a top trip report.

Looks like i need to get back to the USA.

Cheers
David

 

[achampagne]

Great report, great photos!, I have done this trip and want to back all the time. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rot Box]

Incredible photography! :Wow1: Thanks for sharing.

 

[Moody]

Contrast=Awesome.

Beautiful area. Need to go there sometime...I am a sucker for the desert.

 

[FreeManDan]

Great post ash, you shutter bug:sombrero: I went to Big Bend right after I came back from Iraq, it was refreshing as Iraq is quite flat. Not Texas rolling hills flat, more like the world is flat mentality kinda flat. One thing the national park lacks is dedicated mountain bike trails, the state park has them, and it's where I plan to spend new years, and maybe a day hike up emory.
The first time I went I was with 2 geologists, it was painful, I did appreciate the knowledge they had of the area, but I don't ever want to hear about rocks again!

I went up emory with 500 calories, a GPS, 100oz of water, and 20oz of gatorade...came back down 5 hours later with no fluids or food on my person, hungry as a horse, and needed to pee:costumed-smiley-007

 

[scarysharkface]

Love it!