Big Bend NP Part 4

 BBNP part 4    

Monday, 2/26/24

It cooled off nicely during the night and it was mid 50s when I woke up. After breakfast I went for a leisurely walk around the campground and did the short nature trail to the Rio Grande River overlook. 

Rio Grande Village Campground and surrounding area from View Point

                                                            "Trail Store"

Along the way I passed at least 10 “illegal” Mexican Trail stores. The Mexican Nationals cross the river and place hand made crafts for sale with a lock box next to the trails located close to the river.

There are signs at the visitor center saying it's illegal to buy these items, but obviously the Park Service and Border patrol turn a blind eye towards it. All they would need to do is sweep everything up a few days in a row and the loss incurred would probably end the operations. I’m glad they don’t, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship on this section of the border. Not only on a local interpersonal relationship, but also higher up. Not to long ago, the Mexican government formed the Maderas Del Carmen Protected Area south of the Rio Grande and that, combined with Big Bend National Park, protects more than two million acres of habitat. That does not include the Big Bend Ranch State Park to the West nor the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area to the North. Now there is a movement to make a large portion of BBNP a designated wilderness.

Rio Grande Village has a store with adjustable temperature showers, 5 minutes for $2, a laundry, fuel and propane fill station. There are RV hookups in an extension of the parking lot for RVs. The Rio Grande Valley Campground, where I stayed, has no hookups, but they have restrooms with flush toilets, dishwashing sinks, water spigots, and trash. Wildlife, in addition to the many birds, include cows from Mexico and a herd of Havalinas.  

                                                                Havalinas

I spent the morning relaxing and getting organized, fueled up at $3.59 at the Rio Grand Village store, and then headed out on River Road to Mariscal Mine. The road is recommended for high clearance 4WD, and it's a 19 mile, 1 1/2 hour drive, one way to the mine. Cinnabar ore was discovered here, circa1900, and refined into Quicksilver or Mercury. The mine had its boom and bust periods until it finally closed in 1943, which was one year before BBNP was formed. The refined Mercury was placed in flasks each weighing 76 pounds. Two flasks, one per side, were loaded onto mules and carried to the rail head at Marfa. The bricks and structure remain fairly intact because everything is contaminated with Mercury and therefore very toxic.

Tuesday, 2/27/24

I hit the road at about 7:15 am, planning a relaxing 289 mile drive to Guadalupe Mt NP (GUMO). I stopped for breakfast in Marathon, then at the Prada Store road art exhibit, had lunch in Van Horn and arrived about 2:30 pm, MDT at GUMO. 

It was 64 degrees with 25 mph winds gusting to 40 mph. The camp host, Nancy, (seriously), stopped by and told me they were expecting gusts up to 70 mph tonight and I could do whatever I needed to do, regarding parking to feel safe. I told her I wasn’t worried, I had been here before with big winds, if need be, I’ll drop the top and sleep curled up on the couch.

I decided to stay out of the wind in Enzo and catch up on my blogging, it wasn't cold but the wind really wasn't pleasant for walking, it was tough enough walking to the restroom.

During the night the wind gusted and rocked Enzo, it reminded me of sleeping on my parent’s boat in RI when I was a kid. By morning, the wind had died, some smoke moved in and the temperature was 38 degrees.

Wednesday, after breakfast, I walked down to the Visitor Center and purchased a paperback novel, probably the first time in over ten years I actually paid for a paperback, but I was finished with the three books I brought with me and I needed another. Then it was back to Enzo to pack my day pack and hike the Devil’s Hall Trail, 4.6 miles round trip. I was back at Enzo at 2pm and it was 38 degrees. There is a 25% chance of snow tonight.

The Devil's Staircase, which leads to The Devil's Hall

                                                                The Devil's Hall

Thursday, I woke to fog, 31 degrees and snow, I closed Enzo, and hit the highway and headed home. The fog eventually cleared and the drive was uneventful.

Overall, it was a great trip. 

At some point I'll post about my plans for Alaska. Short version: Fly into Anchorage, rent an overland camper on a Toyota Tundra, travel for 23 days, fly back to Denver.

Tight Lines and safe travels

Big Bend NP Part 3

 Sunday 2/25/24

It’s been extremely hot down here for this time of year. Temps have reached the high 90s down by the Rio Grande River and high 70s up in the Chisos Basin. The land in between has been mid 80s. Elevation makes all the difference. It does cool at night, I’ve woken to high 40s to mid 50s, so sleeping is not a problem.

With full sun, even high 70s seems intense walking through the desert, so I decided to get an earlier start today. I was packed up and ready to leave Paint Gap 2 at 8:30am. It didn’t happen. My neighbor in Paint Gap 3, which was 100 yds away, walked over and asked if I had cell service. He had a dead battery. I forgot to charge my lithium jump start device, so it didn’t have enough juice to get him going. We jumped in my truck and headed back out towards pavement. I was hoping to run into someone with jumper cables driving in, which we did within a 1/2 mile. Back to the dead truck, setup the jump and viola, it started. It was now close to 10 am by time I got to the pavement and close to 11 am by the time I got to the trailhead for Mule Ears Spring. Best laid plans, right.

                        `        `            The Mule Ears

Mule Ears Springs is a 4 mile round trip with a slight elevation gain, but I managed to consume 1 1/2 liters of water in the 1 1/2 hours it took to do the hike. I don’t seem to tolerate the heat any more, so I decided to skip another hike and drive the 50 miles to Rio Grande Village and take a much needed shower before checking in to my next campsite there. It was 93 degrees at 3pm. 

                                                         My Rio Grande Valley Campsite

I hung out for awhile, using the wifi at the store, then reading in the shade of Enzo with a beer. Finally, I decided to jump in the truck, blast the AC and go for a drive. Since I was driving anyway, I decided I needed a destination. The Restaurant / Bar in Chisos Basin seemed like a good idea. Less than an hour later I was sitting at the bar with a cold draft beer, cheese burger and fries. Life is good if you remain flexible. I got back to my campsite at 8pm and it was a wonderful 72 degrees plus I saw a Coyote and a Fox cross the road on the way back.

Tight Lines and safe travels

Big Bend NP part 2

 Big Bend NP - installment 2

I finally gave up trying to post from the road, and waited until I got home, then of course I got busy, but here we go.

Thursday 2/22/24

After hiking the Pine Canyon Trail, I headed about seven miles back out to pavement. Have I mentioned that everything in BBNP is a long drive, 45 mph is the speed limit on pavement and typically I’m driving 25 - 30 mph on the primitive roads, with some rough spots where I slow to 5 mph or less. The park consists of 1,200 square miles, the state of RI is 1,214 square miles.

Once I am back on the pavement, I head to park HQ at Panther Jct to top off water before driving 7 mies down Grapevine Hills Road, a primitive road, to the trailhead for Balanced Rock. It’s a flat 1.8 mile hike through the desert to reach the quarter mile scramble through some jumbled rocks to reach Balance Rock, so 4 miles round trip. I met an older couple from Holland, who had just left the end of the trail and were hiking down. As per my norm, I chatted them up and discovered that she had a total knee replacement four months ago. She was moving slow but doing it. You GO GIRL !!!

                                                                Balanced Rock

Thursday nite was spent at Paint Gap 2 primitive roadside campsite, uneventful, with an easy meal. 

                                                    Paint Gap 2 Campsite

Friday morning I relaxed and cooked myself a real breakfast before getting a very late start, then heading out to the pavement and the trailhead for Cattail Canyon Trail to Cattail Falls. This trail is no longer publicized by the Park Service. If you ask about it, the staff may say they are not sure which trail you are taking about, it’s not on the park map, which is fine by me until someday I forget how to find it. There are two hikes from the trailhead, one goes to Cattail Falls, the other to Oak Springs and then climbs to the window. Both of these springs are part of the fragile water infrastructure, which is my guess as to the lack of information. The park hasn’t closed access, but the parking lot is 1.5 miles from the original trailhead and there are no signs pointing to the trail. The benefit of this is that I only saw 8 people on the trail and none of them were at the pool of water while I was there. I had a very relaxing half hour lunch sitting on a rock, at the base of the falls, which was only a trickle. 

                                                The pool at the base of Cattail Falls

                                                            Cattail Falls

I have to admit, I’ve been slack hiking most days, only logging 4-6 miles a day, but given the driving distances between some of my favorite hikes, that’s okay, I’ve had relaxing mornings and am usually back in camp by 3 pm to get cleaned up before having a drink, relaxing, then cooking a nice dinner. It’s very peaceful in the primitive sites and I have already finished two of the three books I brought with me.

Saturday 2/24/24

It was 40 degrees when I woke Saturday morning. It was my last day in a primitive site, so I elected to just hang out, big breakfast, short walks on the primitive road, some reading. blogging and some logistic work for my Alaska trip this summer, more on that in a future blog. Cooked sautéed, lemon shrimp with garlic and olive oil angel hair pasta for dinner.

Tight Lines and Safe Travels