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Re: Anyone going to be in Texas in mid-December?
Submitted by Mike McCrea <mccreapaddler@geemail.com> on 16/Nov/2016 in reply to Anyone going to be in Texas in mid-December? posted by Oci-One Kanubi on 13/Nov/2016
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Richard, I don’t know if you have been to those areas before. I have been to Big Bend 4 times, and Guadalupe twice, and the stretch of I-10 between west Texas and Tucson is mighty familiar.
I was always in Big Bend for paddling trips, but did a little hiking and primitive truck camping.
Gas up in Marathon; there is gas in Rio Grande Village but it is spendy. I carried a 5-gallon Gerry can on the side of the truck and it came in handy. If you are heading in via the north entrance fill any water containers at the Park HQ in Panther Junction; the water in Rio Grande Village is barely potable.
There are, or were, some very nice (fee at the time) primitive car camping sites along the graded dirt road that goes from Rio Grande Village to Hot Springs. The sites are past Hot Springs, including a nice one on a bluff above the river, about 5 good dirt road miles west of RGV if I recall correctly. The High Chisos are pretty cool; pun intended, I had a helluva ice storm there in late November of ‘88.
Guadalupe is a little known treasure. The big draw is McKittrick Canyon, but hiking up the Permian Reef trail to the top of the escarpment should not be missed. If you do that hike take a break half way up at the rocky vee notch at the apex of one switchback. You’ll know the place I mean when you come across it. If it is at all windy have a seat, watch and listen and you may be in for an ornithological treat.
If you are backpacking spend the night atop that escarpment, if only for the unobstructed 100 mile view and night sky.
As you are heading along I-10 in western New Mexico/eastern Arizona I highly recommend a stop in the Chiricahua Mountains. The Nat’l Monument hoodoos are cool, but the best of it is Cave Creek Canyon and the vistas from the free roadside camping in Coronado Nat’l Forest between Portal and Rustler Park.
If your travels take you into southern Utah the Moki Dugway and camping on the edge of Muley Point is as awesome a drive and (free) camping spot as exists in the USA, parked on the slickrock at the edge of a 1000 ft wall, looking out at Navaho Mountain, the San Juan, Monument Valley and the Valley of the Gods. No equally monumental vista exists.
Last thing. If you are doing this on the cheap a copy of the book “Free and Low Cost Campgrounds” (12,000 sites) will pay for itself after a night or two.
Where are you headed after Tucson?
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