Hikes from our backcountry camping sites at Big Bend National Park

 

This blog entry might be of interest to some hikers, but it is mainly done for us so we can have a record of these hikes. If you are reading this to be polite, thanks, but you have permission to just skip to the photos. Or ignore it all together.

Our first hike was to an old army settlement, which we had been told was in the area. It was established in the 1920s when the border area was pretty wild because of Pancho Villa. All that is left of the settlement is foundations, bricks, and the usual rusty tin cans. After poking around there, we walked a couple of miles up a huge wash, and then back down again. Kind of ordinary hike, but still fun to come across this part of our history.

Our second hike was as out of the ordinary as the first was ordinary. We crossed the desert to a canyon we had spotted, only to realize that the canyon was a popular hiking destination—Ernst Tinaja.

The highlighted area in the next photo shows where the Ernst Tinaja is in the above photo, as well as the old road that goes up the mountain to the right of it.

It was other worldly. Tinaja is Spanish for a large earthen bowl. Ernst is English for somebody named Ernst. You only have to go about a mile up the canyon to get to it. Along the way are these fascinating rock formations, as level and square as could possibly be--but all created by nature. We will show you these from another angle later.

From our campsite, we could see what appeared to be an old road winding high above this canyon, so we thought we would try to find it and take it to the top.

After we left the Ernst Tinaja, we crossed the desert until we got to the road, and found that the remnants of it actually can be seen across the desert. From the top we could see, two miles in the distance, our camper. It is in this photo, although it’s not easy to see. I have highlighted it in the second photo.

 

We were able to walk to the rim of the canyon overlooking the Ernst Tinaja. We peered over VERY carefully.

This day illustrates the fun of hiking in the desert—you can identify spots to go to and get there, usually. You don’t get lost getting off trail as you can easily do in the mountains and forests, which is why we never go off trail in those areas.

The next day we decided we would try for the top of the hills south of the Ernst Tinaja. We have done this kind of thing before, never knowing what to expect. Sometimes the ascent is too steep for us, or the rocks slide too easily. And sometimes we make it to the top.

We were heading toward the saddle above my right shoulder:

Today we made it to the top, finding our own way. It’s so much fun.

 

Vicky at the top, showing the enormous valley on the other side of the hills.

 

After we got to the top, we decided to descend a different way, and found ourselves walking along the north rim of the Ernst Tinaja canyon. We wound our way down the hill, sometimes running into draws that were choked with mesquite and so had to climb other shorter hills to find a different path.

In this photo Vicky is standing above the rock formation that we showed a little bit earlier, the one of the rocks that were almost totally square, like a mason had created it.

We left this campsite after four quiet and beautiful days there, and went to another backcountry site for three more days. Our first hike at the second site was just wandering around in the desert like Moses--we went up hills, through little saddles, down draws, etc. Just explored the area.

The next day we went through Dog Canyon, pretty interesting. The canyon itself is short (.4 mile), and one can walk all of the way through it quite easily (a rarity). On the way we found an old bridge to nowhere. Couldn’t see where the road might have been on either side. The bridge fell because one of the two supports apparently just sunk into the small draw. We would be surprised if it was a CCC structure—didn’t look like it, and their work seemed to be of higher quality.

A hundred yards or so from the bridge we found where old rusty nails go to die. There were some remnants of old planks as well. Love to know the story of those nails—how hundreds of them came to just be left out in the desert. Some were bent, some were straight. The bent ones obviously had been removed from…..something. Maybe they were supposed to have been for the bridge support, but some contractor took a short cut.

Dog Canyon:

 

Our final hike in Big Bend was on Christmas Day, to, of all places, Devil’s Den--a long canyon that cut through the hills above our campsite.

One of the cool aspects of this hike is that I used our GPS to follow our previous route through the desert, and so knew where to cut off of this previous trail to find the draw that went through the canyon. I hope we are never so unwise as to get ourselves into a situation where the GPS is needed for safety reasons, but we did obtain a large measure of confidence in it from this excursion.

While one could walk through Dog Canyon, that would be impossible through the Devil’s Den canyon—it is strewn with large boulders that would require climbing gear. If that weren’t bad enough, it is also choked with mesquite. There was, unexpectedly, a well marked trail along the south rim.

Our rule that needs no explanation when walking along canyon rims: Either look at the canyon or look at where you are walking, but don’t do both at the same time.

We leave Big Bend National Park early tomorrow morning, with having merely whetted our appetites about what this park offers for us. Next year we will return in December and spend a month here.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Backcountry camping at Big Bend National Park

 

After last year’s road trip, we had a huge decision to make. Our brand spanking new F250 pickup was a fantastic vehicle, but as we learned more about what we needed, we realized we had made a mistake. It would have served us well if all we wanted was to drive to busy campgrounds on well-maintained roads, and use it a week here and there throughout the year.

But after one year of using it, we realized we needed something different for hauling the home we live in for over seven months of the year.

And, surprisingly, even though our camper is light by camper standards, and even though we purchased the smallest one Lance sells for 8-foot pickup beds, we had significant difficulties keeping our weight under the limit for the pickup. This was especially true because we traveled with almost everything we would need for that seven months. We also hike and cycle, necessitating carrying lots of equipment.

So, we bit the bullet, realizing we would lose money, and traded the F250 in for a vehicle that was built exactly to our specifications and needs—a 350 Dually.

On our way out of Seattle to start road trip 3 in our Dually we stopped at a CAT scale for a weight measurement. We were, as we suspected, easily under the weight limits for the 350, and we knew from previous experience with carrying similar amounts of food and water, that we would have been several hundred pounds over the weight limit of F250. On our last road trip, we never could, despite our best efforts at times, keep the weight under the limits for the F250.

Now we know we are safer because our axles and tires are rated for our weight, and we know that if we have an accident, we won’t be found to be liable for any damages because we are over the weight limits. We also heard that insurance companies will not pay for damages if one exceeds the weight limits. Yikes!

If we are going to have this life, we have to do it right, and safely. Now we can.

And yesterday our new rig really got to show its stuff. We got to use it in a way that gives us experiences we couldn’t have with most other types of RVs.

Big Bend National Park is a hiker’s paradise. Trails galore. And opportunities for off-trail hiking that are as limitless as is Death Valley or Joshua Tree.

And, the park has a large system of established backcountry camping sites that one can actually check out--reserve. Many of these backcountry sites are accessible only by backpacking, and many others are only accessible by high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles. KA-CHING! THAT’S US.

So, even though our campsite at the Chisos Basin Campground was clearly in the top of campgrounds we have ever stayed at, beautiful and quiet, we wanted to try some of these campsites that were on roads that would be impassible for most RVs.

And, oh boy.

Our first site was five miles off of the main road. To get to it, you travel on a gravel and rocky single-lane road. It took us 30-40 minutes to travel these five miles.

In addition to the additional weight we can carry because of having the Dually, this vehicle was built to be able to handle these kinds of roads. It is four-wheel drive, so this gives us a lot of confidence. We purchased skid plates for the oil pan and transmission, so if the vehicle hits a low place, those aren’t destroyed. We got off-road tires, which means our gas mileage suffers a bit on highways, but the extra plies means we will be less likely to get a puncture if we hit a sharp rock.

It’s wonderful when lots of planning, research, and thought work out.

Thus, here we are this morning, at one of the backcountry camping spots. It is about a mile off of the “main” backcountry road. There is another reserve-able spot about ¼ mile down our “side” road, but if there is anyone there, we wouldn’t know it.

There are no facilities here—no picnic tables, no charcoal grills, no bathrooms, no water, no electricity, no trash cans. Generators are not even allowed at these sites. And neither are dogs! A paradise.

Just us, and the silence of the desert. It is exquisitely peaceful.

Last night, the stars were so bright, so clear. No lights from anywhere to affect their brilliance.

Early this morning rains began. We will have to see what happens to our hike planned for today, but the desert dries quickly, and the rain is light. We will find something to do—we always can.

And the smells from the rain! Strong, sweet smells of desert sage, probably from the mesquite. Almost overpowering. Almost feels like you can get high on the smells.

Our spot:

We continue to learn: before we take this kind of road again, we will tape the lids onto our refrigerated items.

The view from the top of the hill behind our camper:

We love it that our rig allows us to stay in places with full hookups, in RV resorts like in New Orleans, and also out here where we are completely without any facilities. And hard to believe but true, even with the initial investment in equipment, we have calculated that in about 6 years we will be at a break-even point financially—it is much cheaper to live on the road than it is at home. In other words, even with what we have spent now on two campers and three pickups, in about six years we will have saved enough money by living inexpensively on our road trips (including fuel and camping fees), that we will break even.

A better way of saying this: our seven month road trips are a better way of saving our money than putting it into the bank or investing it in the stock market.

Our second backcountry site:

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hike along the Rio Grande

 

This hike leaves from the old Daniels Ranch close to Rio Grande Village. One travels up the hillside in a series of switchbacks, then for about a mile you walk on a high mesa. Then the trail descends to the Rio Grande at a place where there is a natural hot spring. The total hike is 5.5 miles round trip with 1000 feet of elevation gain. The trail is extremely well maintained.

It is one of our top 5 hikes of all time.

The views are so beautiful they will fry your brain.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

1000 Hiking miles in TWO years!!! Window Hike: Big Bend National Park

 

This one goes onto our favorites list. It isn't long or difficult, but goes through spectacular areas.

From our campsite, the well maintained trail is 4.6 miles round trip with 700 feet of elevation gain.

You descend into a draw that follows a stream, dry in most places this time of the year, until it reaches a rocky portion where stairs have been created. The entire trail reflects time and effort. We will have to ask if it was built by the C.C.C., as parts have that look.

We like trails that are either loops or that have an interesting destination. That is one of the best features of most trails in the Cascades--they usually lead to small, beautiful lakes.

This one led to a window in the rock formation where one could see far into the south of the park, and probably into Mexico.

 

 

We brought along a glass of wine to celebrate. I can find any excuse for wine:

 

This was a fitting hike for us to reach our 1000 mile mark for hiking in the past two years.

Unless we were taking road trips we could never have gotten close to this mark--one of reasons we are committed to this life. The health benefits are incredible. In that 1000 miles, we have traveled up 27 miles. Of course, we had to walk down these 27 miles too, which in some respects was more difficult.

To be able to do such a thing has additional meaning to us because both of us have faced serious health issues that we have had to overcome. Vicky had a disk obliterated in her back when her car was rear ended by another car several years ago, requiring surgery where her back had to be broken so a titanium substitute disk could be installed. She was told she would never run again, ride a horse, or dance. She went through so much pain during her recovery. I can't even think about it--pain medicines wouldn't work. I wish I would have been there.

I have had surgeries on both rotator cuffs, plus three major surgeries to rebuild my right foot, necessitating being off my feet for a total of 10 months. Vicky and I were on our way to being cripples if these surgeries had not been successful, and if we had not been committed to working hard after the surgeries to rebuild our bodies.

So these activities, added to the 4000 cycling miles we have accumulated together, plus dancing in places as remote as Death Valley, on the Mississippi River, in Puget Sound, and in the Florida Everglades, make us both extremely grateful for this period of time in our lives, a time we know will be short-lived because of our ages, and because life, being what it is, can throw unpredictable obstacles in front of you at any time.

But now, even if life would be cruel to us, as it has been to too many others, and takes this kind of life away from us, nothing can take away the memories of these adventures, our road trips. Those 1000 miles, plus much more, are already in the books.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Racing through Texas

 

After New Orleans, our destination was Big Bend National Park, in the southwestern part of Texas. Vicky, who does our trip planning, had a somewhat difficult time finding promising places to see in the southern part of Texas on our route there, so we decided we’d just race across the almost 1000 miles from New Orleans to get to it.

Along the way we stayed at two nice Texas State Parks, both of which offered great privacy and clean accommodations. We may return to one of them next year for the hiking at it.

Last night was our first night at Big Bend National Park, one of the least visited National Parks in the country. I can understand why—it is too far away from population centers, and one has to drive hundreds of miles across the least attractive state in the union to get to it. I’m sorry to have to be blunt about it, but with the exception of a few spots, too much of Texas is just not very pretty. I am sure most of it was at one time, but too much of the beauty of the state seems to be gone, as if preserving the beauty was not a priority in comparison with economic development.

And one of the few high point places that the state can point to—the Alamo—is frankly sort of bizarre. The state makes a huge deal out of the Alamo. There is the Alamo-this, and the Alamo-that (Alamo pawn shop, Alamo gas company, etc.).

Why celebrate a colossal military failure, one where the leaders made incredible blunders, and so the people defending the mission died running from it?

Davy Crockett didn’t go to his death there swinging “Old Betsy” as Fess Parker did in the 1950s Walt Disney Davy Crockett series, or being stabbed with a lance and then heroically blowing himself up in the ammunition depot as John Wayne did in The Alamo. Instead, he was captured, tried to make a deal, and was executed. Not that glorious, huh? That’s Texas, though.

For me, the most unreal aspect of this whole Alamo business is that General Santa Anna, a few years after his later defeat in Texas, was invited to New York where he was treated as an honored guest, and during that visit introduced something vital to American culture—chewing gum.

The Alamo should be sponsored by Wrigley, I think. The Wrigley Alamo!

And now, in typical Texas fashion, the place is smack dab in the middle of a city, leaving nothing of the feel of what it was like at the time. Instead of preserving the entire battlefield in a beautiful and realistic way, all that is left is a few of the buildings, right in the heart of downtown San Antonio. What would Davy Crockett think? General Santa Anna would certainly be laughing, all the while blowing bubbles with his chewing gum.

Not only does Texas unfortunately get our vote as the least attractive state we have been through, but even their fast food breakfasts are bad. On one of our two mornings we stopped at a McDonalds, only to be charged $3.29 by a young man, who seemed mad he had to be there, for an egg McOverpricedMuffin. By far the highest price we have seen in the entire U.S. The next day all we could find open was a Subway, where our egg sandwiches were cold and the coffee was so bad we poured it out. How can you mess up coffee? And our "sandwich artists" were so friendly:

Us: "we were glad to find someone open!"

Sandwich artist: blank stare.

Later at Big Bend we ran into a nice young couple from Austin on one of the trails. We described our trip across Texas. The woman asked, knowingly, "so you drove through Houston?" Our answer: "yes, and we can't wait to do that again." She explained that her husband's family was from Houston, and her family was from Dallas, and so family visits ranged from bad to also bad. I told her that if Texas seceded from the union, Washington state would adopt Austin.

When we were on the outskirts about to travel through Houston, Vicky found from our iPad that there was an accident on I-10 and traffic was closed through it.

But wait! There is a bypass!

Nope, Won't work. the closure is before the bypass.

Wait! There is a toll road around Houston that will work!

Yes!

Uh oh. To drive on it you need a pass, which we didn't have and which we couldn't get. There are no cash options, and Texas won't mail a bill to our home. Can you believe that? What an attitude toward out-of-state travelers. Not only that, statements are boldly posted that if you go through an automatic toll booth and don't have a pass, the "closest police unit will be dispatched to investigate!"

Oh crap! That's all we need. To be stopped by a police car in Houston and have to spend even more time there! Plus, being the honest person I am, I would feel compelled to add, while providing my drivers license and proof of insurance, that it must suck to work in the ugliest city in the ugliest state of the union where their high point was a military battle where they got their butts kicked.. After saying that, even mentioning that Vicky used to be a cop probably wouldn't keep us out of jail.

So Vicky furiously looked on line for another route, but couldn't find one. I mean, ALL WE WANT TO DO IS GET OUT OF HOUSTON!!! Is that asking too much?

So we stopped at a gas station/ammo store (for real) and asked the attendant. "Is there another way to the other side of Houston?" Answer: "no, but the person working in the food section will know." Vicky asks the person in the food section who says about the guy at the gas station/ammo store, "ask him, he'll know."

Remember the olden days when you could always stop at a gas station/ammo store and get directions?

So, we try again, with another person. A nice, friendly woman who wanted to help:

Vicky: "is there a way to the other side of Houston. We are going on I-10 but there is a big accident blocking it, and the only other way we can see is on the toll road, and we don't have a pass for it."

Woman: "where are you going? If I know that, maybe I can help you."

Vicky: "we want to get to the west side of Houston so we can continue on I-10

Woman: "but where are you going? I can't help you if I don't know where you are going."

Vicky: "we just want to get to the other side of Houston on I-10, we are going to Big Bend National Park"

Woman: "that's not in Texas."

Vicky: "actually, yes it is."

Woman: "is it?" "Well, then, you take I-10 through Houston."

Vicky: "that's where the accident is."

Woman: "take the toll road."

Vicky: "we can't, don't have a pass, and Texas won't just mail a bill to our home."

Woman: "then take the feeder road."

Vicky: "a feeder road? What's a feeder road?"

Woman: a look at Vicky like she's an alien from Mars

She patiently explained to us uninformed travelers that the "feeder road" runs along side the interstate (it must be the regional term for frontage road).

At least she had a solution, and was very nice, although to get all the way around a city the size of Houston on the frontage roads would take more time than buying a house there and then getting the state of Texas to mail us a toll road pass.

To be fair, she's not the only one in Texas who is unfamiliar with its only two National Parks. The person who worked at the Texas visitor's center, when we asked for information about Guadalupe National Park, said "is that in Texas?" She turned to the other worker there and asked "do you know where that is?" The other worker said "no."

I'll bet they all know how to get to the Alamo, though.

So we now have another possible reason why Big Bend is one of the least frequently visited National Parks--the parks service is trying to keep it a secret from Texans. The parks service probably figures like we do--Texans messed up the beauty of Texas so much that they might mess Big Bend up too. Somebody would probably build a full scale model of the Alamo there or something, or maybe think its a great place for an oil well museum (actually I think there is a museum of oil in Texas--can you believe that? It's at one of the State Parks. And can you believe, danggit, we didn't have time to stop at it?).

It’s too bad more people don’t just close their eyes and drive across Texas to visit Big Bend, because our initial impression is that it is as beautiful as is Zion National Park, which is swamped with visitors. And, for us, an additional positive is that it is a hiker’s paradise—that is what it offers.

We are staying in the Chisos Basin Campground, a place made to order for our camper. To get to it one has to travel up and over a pass that is limited to RVs less than 25 feet in length. We are staying in the tent section, which we are allowed to do if we don’t use a generator.

And it is stunning. All around us are high peaks, with beautiful rock formations. Spectacular.

We have altered our plans and will probably stay here as many days as we can.

 

Posted with Blogsy