Fall Trip to Big Bend

Fall Trip to Big Bend in early October was a solo trip with a mix of the spectacular and subtle. Mariscal Mine and the River Road East are highlighted. October is a great month to explore. The summer rains have come an the extreme temperatures in the desert are beginning to moderate.

Day 1

With a cup of hot fresh coffee and a sense of relief that I was free from my daily toils, I launched out of Houston at 04:30 AM and struck out to the west. The drive was, as always, long but not unpleasant. The weather was good, the traffic light, and my spirits high. I listened to an audiobook called Tyrannosaur Canyon, by Douglas Preston and checked the news occasionally. Finally Fueling up in Sanderson I made the final run to the park.

I quickly set up camp at site # 13 in a nearly empty Basin, which I would have to vacate after 2 nights due to the pending paving exercise.

The afternoon was warm but pleasant. After sundown the air cooled and gave way to a comfortable evening. Later I took a few star pictures and turned in early, weary from the 10 hours behind the glass.

Day 2

The morning was cool – about 51 F and I rose early. Packing a daypack with water, some lunch and my camera I headed out for somewhere new. There is an old ranch road about 1 mile south of the Basin Junction, that leads east to an old stock tank. The road is old and barely discernible as it hooks east for about 500 yds to the old tank. I was going to follow that road, check out the tank and head further east to Water Boy Tinaja. Therefore I parked on a convenient pullover on the Basin Rd, about 50 yds further south and headed out for the day.

The road made the going easy for the first part of my trek, but once I reached the overgrown and dry stock tank, I turned south and everything changed. Typical sotol grassland terrain headed upslope toward my destination. Additionally the going was slow and bloody while I worked my way through the thick brush.

Water Boy Tinaja

After about 1/2 miles I reached the E/W drainage that would lead me to Waterboy Tinaja. As I worked my way through the thick brush, the canyon opened up into a wide, slickrock drainage with signs of water in the form of active seeps and some static pools.

Another easy 1/2 mile led me to my goal.

Much to my surprise I found some modern petroglyphs with a humorous twist.

I sat in the cool down canyon breeze and relaxed for the first time in weeks while listening to the hoarse croak of ravens overhead.

Thinking about the the “scratchy” return trip, I remembered that this canyon lead to the Panther Junction residential area.  I was probably only about 2 miles up canyon from there. As long as there were not any impassable pour offs between me and PJ, I should be able to continue to the ranger station and beg a ride back to the Basin road. The rest of the way was clear and I made PJ in about 1 hr.

While I was waiting for a ride back to my truck, I popped inside and picked up a permit to camp at Paint Gap 4 the next night and Fresno the night after.

A short time later I begged a ride from a Forever Resort employee heading to the Basin.Next I returned to my camp and spent the rest of the afternoon checking out birds, napping, listening to my audiobook and snacking. A bear was seen just above the Window Trail by the campground host, and I turned in early and had a cool comfortable sleep.

Day 3

I awoke after a quiet cool night and broke down my camp in the Basin and prepared to head toward Paint Gap. The plan was to spend the night at PG 4 and check out Painted Hills Spring, Onion Spring and the area around PG 4.

I wasn’t planning on being in the Chisos again. I assumed that my chances of seeing bear or lion were diminished, but much to my surprise and delight, that all changed on the drive down through Green Gulch. About 1/2 mile north of Panther Pass I spied a bear on the west side of the road. As I slowed he quickly crossed over to the east side and darted back in forth in the brush about 10 ft off the road. I stopped for a second but it looked like he wasn’t going to cooperate for a photo. I continued down the hill, and he crossed back over to the west side. It was a smallish bear…about 125 lbs.

Seeing the bear was a good omen, and I looked forward to the rest of the day. I turned off on the Paint Gap road and made my way past PG 1, 2, and 3 before the road changed from relatively good to rough as I drove through the “gap”. This section is about a mile long, rough and narrow. I continued past PG 4 for about another mile and parked at the site of the old Matthews Ranch and Dripping Spring.

I loaded my day pack with food, water and my camera and struck out west toward Painted Hills Spring. The spring is located about 1 mile west of the Matthews Ranch and is reached by traversing semi-open country that is intersected by shallow, but numerous washes.

Painted Hills Spring

Eventually i sighted a stand of cottonwoods that marked the sight of the spring. As I worked my way north to find an easy way to drop into the wash, I kicked up a desert muley, who bounced away out of the wash like a rabbit.

The wash was rocky and sandy, had no surface water, but clearly was recently wet. I rested in the shade of the cottonwoods and soon climbed back out the wash and headed WSW in the direction of Onion Spring. After about another mile of ups and downs along with a few detours, I spotted the cottonwoods that marked the site of Onion Spring. From Onion Spring and from Painted Hills Spring there is a good view to the North of clay hills and badlands bordering Tornillo Creek along the northern border of the park.

Onion Spring marks the site of an old rock house and was wet but not really flowing. The heavy undergrowth surrounding the spring precluded any attempt by me to find out exactly how much water there was. It was extremely overgrown and and attempt to penetrate the thicket was me by a LOT of resistance. Still, it was pleasant in the shade and I wandered around finding little sign of habitation except the ruins of the rock house.

After a while I struck out south toward a cleft in the north side of the Paint Gap Hills that marked the site of Paint Gap Seep. After about 1 mile, the going became very difficult. The washes were narrow and steep and the vegetation became an impenetrable thicket. I reached a point about 200 yds from the “cleft” and decided the effort was rapidly becoming more difficult that the reward. With a talus slope detour as my on viable option of forward progress, Aborting the assault I rested awhile before taking a bearing back to my truck and headed NE. The trip back finally took me to an old E/W running fence line. I followed the posts in a straight line across the rolling terrain and back to the Matthews Ranch.

I jumped in the truck and made the short drive back to PG 4 where I planned to spend the night. After an uneventful afternoon, eating, napping and listening to a few more chapters of one of the many audiobooks I carried along on this trip.

As the sun dropped in the west the coyotes serenaded me as I climbed the hills above my campsite and took in a nice view of the Chisos to south and Sombrero Peak to the north. 

I watched the stars for awhile and slept under a cloudless night. Tomorrow I was off to the River Rd and Mariscal Mine.

Day 4

It was a glorious morning in the desert. Cool and clear and I was awake early to meet the day. Leaving Paint Gap 4, I planned on a shower at RGV, pack in a bit more ice and water and then a drive down the River Rd from the east to Fresno. After I would spend the night and explore Mariscal Mine.

I checked out the Village campground after my shower. It was nearly empty. Finally I headed out about 9:30 and exited the pavement shortly thereafter. The day was clear and windless. The desert opened up in front of me on as I passed the Gravel pit and La Clocha.

After a few wash crossings and about 1 1/4 hrs after leaving the blacktop, I arrived at Fresno BC site. After a short rest and a snack I headed over to Mariscal Mine where I would spend most of the day exploring the ruins.

Mariscal Mine

Talley Mountain watched over me while at the mine and for my stay at Fresno

As I approached the mine, it became clear that this place was alive with activity a long time ago.

Above the mine, the SDC loomed in the east and San Vicente Mtn poked in from the south

The old shafts reminded me of the dangerous work that was carried out here.

The view from the ridge above the mine is vast and empty.

The Sierra Quemada, Elephant Tusk Mountain, and the South Rim are all visible from the ridge above the mine.

The mine buildings are a crumbling monument to those who made a living in this isolated part of the park.

Fresno

I was tired and hot in the climbing afternoon temps. Sso I made my way back to Fresno and spent the last couple of hours before sunset with cooking, cleaning and relaxing in the shade. Sunset was devoid of any clouds but the air cooled and the evening was still and quiet. Later I watched the remaining rays of the sun drop behind ET and the Quemadas and turned in for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow I was heading up the Glenn Spring Rd. Just before sleep I noticed some lights on San Vicente mountain, but nothing more to keep me awake. I slept like a baby in the arms of the desert.

DAY 5

Another early morning wake to a cool and clear morning. No clouds in the sky precluded any inspiring sunrise, but it was still a great morning with the smell of creosote greeting my senses. The sun slowly rose behind the Carmens to the east and lit up ET to the west.

The drive was slow and quiet as the Chisos slowly loomed to the north. After I worked my way east to the junction with the Glenn Springs Rd.

The junction with the GS road leads to a narrow gravel path between a tight plain of creosote. Although it is somewhat like driving through a tunnel, generally the road is good. Eventually I began to parallel Glenn draw. Further the badlands south of the Juniper Canyon road showed themselves to the west.

Glen Spring

Next I stopped briefly at the Glen Springs settlement and browsed a bit.

At this point the draw contained a good quantity of flowing water which audibly bubbled at the bottom of the draw.

Once past Glenn Spring and the junction to the Black Gap Rd, I traversed the roughest section of the GS road. Then crossing the west flank of Chilicotal Mtn. This is a very scenic place and I will return to the GS area in future.

Rice Tank was overgrown and dry but offered good views of the mountains.

I worked my way past the Juniper and Pine Canyon turnoffs. Then back to the blacktop and headed to the Village for a shower and a last night in the park. My River Rd and GS road trips were more of a recon than anything. However I now have a long list of targets for my next trip