Big Bend, Texas

This years big trip was a bit different than my previous two ( MOAB / COLORADO ) being that this time, my buddy wasn't able to make the trip. So instead, I decided it might be a good time to introduce the wife and kids (ages 5 & 7) into a bit of camping and wheeling. So below is the itinerary and a few pics. It was a good time had by all and my wife who previously hated camping, is now a bit of a fan. I call that a win.

October 5th - 10th

Day 1 - Loaded up the truck with provisions, left Seabrook, TX for Pearsall as soon as my kiddos got out of school. Stayed the night at the family hunting ranch. Arrived in Pearsall around 8:30 PM.

Day 2 - Left Pearsall for Big Bend. Fueled up in Marathon and entered the park. After checking in at Panther Junction, we headed for our first campsite, McKinney Springs on Old Ore Road. Old Ore Road is one of the better "off-roading" trails in the park, with the other being Black Gap Road. I wouldn't say that Old Ore is very technical, as I don't believe I had to use 4-wheel drive at all. It's slow moving, due to the rocky terrain, but plenty passable in a full size, stock 4WD. Set up at McKinney Springs and enjoyed the evening with the kids exploring the area.

Day 3 - Had breakfast and packed up camp. My usual camping buddy and I have setting up and breaking down camp down to a science, but seeing that this was my wife's first time, it took a bit longer than usual. We headed out and finished Old Ore Road and made our way SE to Persimmon Gap. Had lunch out near the Rio Grande then packed up and headed to the Persimmon Gap Visitor center. We took showers here, ($2 for 5 min). There is also a laundry mat and fuel here, so after fueling up, we headed for River Road. River road is not very technical, but had great scenery and we actually saw 5 or 6 wild horses on this trail. Continued this path till we came to Mariscal Mine. This was pretty neat and we hiked up to the ruins and did a bit of exploring. The kids enjoyed seeing the old structures learning about the ruins. We left there and began the Jeep "Badge of Honor" trail of Black Gap Road. Really fun road, again, not overly technical, but a good place for a beginner to hone a few skills. Finished Black Gap and headed for our campsite. Due to late planning, the only campsite I could find for the night was Camp De Leon, which is back on Old Ore Road, but luckily it was near the end, so we were able to get there pretty quickly and get camp set up before dark.

Day 4 - Broke camp and headed for Santa Elena Canyon. Took the fun rout of Old Maverick Rd. While it's unpaved, it's very smooth and I probably went a lot faster than is recommended but I couldn't help it. The Kings keep the truck VERY planted on washboard roads even in the turns. I was very pleased with the truck. Had to cross a knee deep creek to get to the canyon trail which thrilled my kids to no end. They felt like real adventurers at this point. We hiked the trail to its end and enjoyed a few good snacks on the rocks of the canyon. Headed back for the truck but this time my kids wanted to swim in the river. The river was moving pretty fast towards the middle, but near the edge wasn't too bad so with me nearby, I let them swim/splash for a bit. Headed back to the truck and headed for our campsite. When I was booking this trip, I booked the last night at the Chisos Basin Campground with my wife in mind. I didn't think (neither did she) that she would enjoy "off-grid" camping as much as she did, so I booked this site in order to give her the traditional campground amenities. As beautiful as the area is, we didn't like the campsite. We prefer the primitive camping as our kids are VERY loud and we got tired of shushing them. Took the kids on an evening hike on the Window Trail and headed back for dinner and bed.

Day 5 - Packed up camp early and Headed back to Pearsall, TX for the night.

Day 6 - Left Pearsall for Seabrook, TX. End Trip.

This was a great trip to bring the family on, though space/room was a constant struggle. I definitely need to look into more storage options for next time. Probably a roof rack, as much as I hate them...

 

nice.


(who slept in the bear locker..?)

 

No one, fortunately. My daughter did lock my boy in there briefly though.

 

“They’re only young about as long as you can stand it.” - Mom

 

Wise words, no doubt.

I feel pretty bad when I lose my patience with them, especially when I'm trying to let them have fun while camping...but not listening is not listening and there was plenty of that to go around. It's always easier to just stay home and stick to your routines, especially with young kids, but my wife and I decided very early on that we weren't going to change what we do, we would always just bring them along and eventually they'll fall in line. It's a bit of a struggle at times, but I think it's wort it.

 

Awesome report. I'm taking the trailer down there week of October 30. Can't wait.

How was the weather?

 

Excellent! This is what "Family/Parenting Win!" looks like

 

Weather was great. Mid 70's in the day, mid 60's at night. My wife said she never broke a sweat the entire time we were there. You'll be good!

 

Nice OP!

I've been a few times, but it's been years. This makes me want to pack up and head back!

 

Tickets still available for Terlingua!

 

We had a blast. I spent the week in Big Bend camping with my son. We had planned a Colorado trip, but the cold front meant it was Big Bend time. We could find a campsite for one night, so we kept moving around the park to get places last minute.

Black Gap Road was fun. A few times, I kept thinking, should I be on this road? I kept pressing on, stacking rocks on occasion. Bigger tires would have been nice, but I made it with a stock Off-Road. Rock sliders and skid plates came in handy.

Old Ore Road. I thought it would be a simple drive. Oh no, the rain had added to washed-out roads. Belly rubbed but didn't high center. Vista views are well worth it.

River Road was closed due to flooding/road damage.

Everything was green out there. In lots of places tight with the brush. Sharp pokey things are not good for paint.

It's hard seeing over the hood. I need to remember to install my Anytime front camera for those roads.

We had great weather and clear skies.




Night Sky (reach your arm out, and look at the back of your hand. Photo is about same area. Longer you look, the more stars appear)

 

Absolutely amazing views. I live about ten hours away from Big Bend. Is it worth the trip?

 

Nice! Glad you had a good time.

To clarify, did you not have any primitive sites booked before arriving?

 

We just got back from a two week road trip and had three days there. Wish I had more. First day in was a late start and we did the road tours and such. On the way out I did about a mile or so of Old Ore. Going solo and it was getting late. We also ran a couple of the roads out to the remote camps on the north side. Second day we went down to Castolon and Santa Elana Canyon. On the way out we ran about 12.5 miles of River Road West out Camp Sierra Chino. I wanted to get to the river gauge station, but we were solo, cutting fresh tracks that far out, and it was getting a muddy with no good winch options. We also new the road was closed somewhere in front of us.

We stayed outside the park north of Terlingua in yurts completely off grid (highly recommended). The dark shy was amazing the one night we didn't have clouds.

10 hours, make the drive. We did it as part of a 5k mile road trip from Virginia. Three other parks and some tourist stuff. And Okla City for the Murrah Building Memorial site. I wish we'd had more time to run some trails. Hindsight being what it is, I would like to have explored the SE trails and mines, but time didn't permit it. I'd go back in heart beat. When I can get two weeks off again...

 

It is worth it. Weather can change, and do not attempt any 4x4 trails if there is a change of rain due to flash flooding. Typically it is dry, high desert, but they had a rainstorm a few weeks ago, so everything was green.

Correct. In the past, you could book sites when arriving. Now all sites are done by reservation. 2/3rds open six months in advance, and 1/3 of the sites open with a two-week window. Hence we found having to pack up and move around as we found a bunch of "one-day" sites all over the place. We lucked out in Cottonwood (right along the Rio Grande) as there was a site for two days. We met another camper, who booked a large area site for ten people, but they all bailed on him. He offered us a place to pitch our tents, which was gracious.

I usually bike pack (all gear on a bicycle), so small and lightweight gear. My Nemo air mattress's firmness depends on air temperature, cools off at night, and is less inflated. Felt some smooth rocks in the morning. The tent is a two-man Big Agnes, but still too small to get in and out of when you need to pee at night. REI still has some stuff on sale, so I'm looking at a large four- or six-man tent. I'm 6'3", and my son is 6'5", so having more space is good.

We have a Dometic DZ75 cooler, plenty of space for the two of us for a week. Typically use about 7 gallons of water per week (two people). Dishwashing is wiping plates with paper towels and damp paper towels and wiping clean—no waste water on the ground (attracts animals). My Walmart cooler (rubber seal) is used for dry storage of apples, granola, etc. Reduces food smell. We packed everything out (nothing into Big Bend trash containers). I use a backpack water bladder and my cycling water bottles. I carry 14 gallons of water (two people) to have plenty of reserves.

Primitive campsites: I can shower using two 750ml water bottles. Navy shower. Get wet (1/2 bottle); lather up; rinse off. This time I didn't use any soap (residue) but just a freshwater rinse that felt wonderful after four days of no showering. No one around for miles. Four days of backcountry and roads and only encountered six other vehicles. Three of which were Tacoma's! Two Jeeps; One four runner. No Honda Civic's this year (I carry tow straps, air compressors, and tire plugs for emergency repairs).

I kept to easy hiking trails, as I'm not quite three months post-knee replacement. Scaling up some steep trails wasn't in the cards for me. Mariscal Mine is worth the visit. Crazy to think how people lived 100 years ago and worked in mines. "Mad as a hatter" was an English phrase, as they used mercury to help form those brims. They hauled out ore, but those bricks contained mercury.

I'm already planning on a February trip out there.

 

Yeah...we booked primitive back country sites, but by the time our trip started, there were no more available sites. That being said, most of the sites were empty the first couple of nights. Kind of annoying, because I wanted to stay in a few better ones than we did. Also, Big Bend brass would benefit from a trip to Colorado to see how they use BLM lands. In CO, you just camp where there's a spot. No need for reservations...this was good because we could just wheel until we were tired and camp wherever. Great for "overlanding". We passed SOOO many good camping spots in Big Bend that would not permit camping. Kind of a waste.

 

It was frustrating in Big Bend, perfect weather for camping. Many of the campgrounds looked empty, but often had 10 PM arrival, and they were gone at 6 AM.

I suspect that also happened at primitive campgrounds. We stopped and had lunch, found a little trash (busted bungee cord and can, cleaned it up, and departed).

At the mine is where I did my impromptu change and shower. My son was hiking above the mines, so I took advantage of zero people around. Stipped, navy shower (no soap, rinse), a fresh set of clothes. Felt wonderful after four days of sweat. I'm near-sided, so I never noticed another silver Tacoma in the distance. Oops.

 

I just have a 2wd. Couldn’t afford the 4x4 when my old car died. Can a 2wd reach many of those scenic areas? I have a tow cable just in case haha

 

What we did on River Road West was pretty much 2WD. There were a couple of muddy spots, but that looked a little soft, so I went 4x4 with some momentum. If your careful, choose you lines in the questionable areas you should be ok. The bigger issue will be clearance. I'm lifted about 4 inches and dragged the bottom in a few places (also in 4WD). There are very few good witching spots for self recovery on that road, so make sure you not solo if you try it. If it's rained, I wouldn't try it in 2WD. It is a riverbed and several.spots would have changed my approach had they been wet.

 

There are a few sketchy spots for 2WD. We need a "Tacoma World" outing to Big Bend, so you have a travel buddy to strap you. Recovery points front and rear (I have a trailer hitch adapter) so you can be pulled up spots. Stock tires and ride height on my Off-Road, but at times I had two wheels off the ground, so was glad to have my electric locker engaged.