OB SouthWest rendezvous

[Craig M]

Unfortunately I have no knowledge of the areas that would be best suited for our region so hopefully some NM peeps have some good ideas!

Looks like potential in the area north of Santa Fe. I know we drove from Pagosa Prings through Santa Fe on our way home from CO a couple weeks ago and the landscape was sure pretty..

 

[Craig M]

Or how about Big Bend SP / NP? Not sure what options there are for larger groups though..

I think the location decision needs to be made first and foremost..

 

[Jeff Graham]

How about Big Bend Ranch State Park. Looks like this might be a possibility.

4x4 Touring
Visitors with high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles can tackle nearly 70 miles of unmaintained dirt roads in the park. These roads were used for fence building, water line construction, livestock wrangling and mineral prospecting and mining. Download the Roads to Nowhere guide for detailed 4x4 drive descriptions.

I would have to scout out this location. Are we all cool with primitive accommodations?

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/big-bend-ranch/activities

http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4501_0152k.pdf

I think one of the New Mexico National Forests would be a better first choice, but this would make a good backup. Probably not too hot in October.

 

[Jeff Graham]

Anyone in the Big Bend area, or anywhere else, want to scout it out with me. We can make a weekend of it.

 

[Craig M]

How about Big Bend Ranch State Park. Looks like this might be a possibility.

4x4 Touring
Visitors with high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles can tackle nearly 70 miles of unmaintained dirt roads in the park. These roads were used for fence building, water line construction, livestock wrangling and mineral prospecting and mining. Download the Roads to Nowhere guide for detailed 4x4 drive descriptions.

I would have to scout out this location. Are we all cool with primitive accommodations?

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/big-bend-ranch/activities

http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4501_0152k.pdf

I think one of the New Mexico National Forests would be a better first choice, but this would make a good backup. Probably not too hot in October.

Obviously speaking for myself, but I would prefer primitive accomodations! Though I would also understand that with a bigger group, improved campgrounds may be the safest bet.

I also agree with your assessment of NM being the primary target..

 

[Craig M]

Anyone in the Big Bend area, or anywhere else, want to scout it out with me. We can make a weekend of it.

I could probably pull a long weekend but not until around early to mid-September.. Maybe head down Thursday after work and hit a motel or easy campground that night, then spend 2 full days (Fri and Sat) scouting, and head back Sunday. Just let me know if that works for you and we can firm up some plans..

 

[Jeff Graham]

I could probably pull a long weekend but not until around early to mid-September.. Maybe head down Thursday after work and hit a motel or easy campground that night, then spend 2 full days (Fri and Sat) scouting, and head back Sunday. Just let me know if that works for you and we can firm up some plans..

Sounds great. I may head down earlier, just so I can see if it's a viable location for an event. But if it's a good site, our trip can be used to build GPS tracks for Event etc... What do you think? if the site is a no go, we can still use the time to check out other TX locations.

 

[Craig M]

Sounds great. I may head down earlier, just so I can see if it's a viable location for an event. But if it's a good site, our trip can be used to build GPS tracks for Event etc... What do you think? if the site is a no go, we can still use the time to check out other TX locations.

Cool, works for me.. Let me confer with the wife and confirm there are no conflicts and I'll propose a couple of available dates to see which work best for you.

 

[Jeff Graham]

Cool, works for me.. Let me confer with the wife and confirm there are no conflicts and I'll propose a couple of available dates to see which work best for you.

Fantastic, looking forward to it.

 

[Road]

Big Big Bend fan here - just letting you know, this is the hottest and rainiest time down in Big Bend, meaning high temps of 100 all week, flash floods in some of the arroyos, many roads impassable. IF exploring any of the dirt roads in/around Terlingua Ranch (up between the NP and SP off 118 to each side for miles), most of it is private property and they really don't like their roads used when impassable. Fun for some of you, perhaps, though makes it miserable to repair for them. That said, the rangers in the Big Bend Ranch SP--where some of the best and most challenging dirt road trails are--are usually awesome about letting you know what's best to check out, and in checking up on you to be sure you're all okay.

I'm envious you guys might be checking it out for a SW rendezvous.

edit: spelling, structure

 

[Jeff Graham]

Big Big Bend fan here - just letting you know, this is the hottest and rainiest time down in Big Bend, meaning high temps of 100 all week, flash floods in some of the arroyos, many roads impassable. IF exploring any of the dirt roads in/around Terlingua Ranch (up between the NP and SP off 118 to each side for miles), most of it is private property and they really don't like their roads used when impassable. Fun for us, makes it miserable to repair for them. That said, the rangers in the Big Bend Ranch SP--where some of the best and most challenging dirt road trails are--are usually awesome about letting you know what's best to check out, and in checking up on you to be sure you're all okay.

I'm envious you guys might be checking it out for a SW rendezvous.

The event would be held in October. Should be much cooler, don't you think? I'm willing to suffer through the heat, to help ensure we have a good event. I'm a transplant from Orange CO, CA. I don't have a lot of Overlanding experience in the Southwest. Looking forward to scouting out great locations.

 

[Craig M]

Yeah, I definitely expect a little heat still in September.

@Jeff Graham I'm all open for September, so any weekend will work. That said, the weekend of 8/31 - 9/3 would be my choice if it works for you.

If I am seeing it correctly, there isn't a regular campground in the State Park? The dispersed spots and campign have to be too far apart to make for group gatherings. The National Park may be a better bet, as they have a more traditional campground with 60 sites, and shouldn't be too busy in October.. Maybe we can check out both.

 

[Road]

Hey Jeff, Chili, yeah, what they call their 'monsoon' season should be winding down then, and though still some potential strong downpours and dirt road/trail/arroyo flooding will happen, daytime temps will be down--or should be down--a good bit.

I use this site a lot when contemplating runs around the country; this one for the greater South Brewster County (Big Bend) area: http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/terlingua/texas/united-states/ustx2692. There are other similar sites, too, with good avgs for expected weather. Simple google searches for weather/rainfall/temps avgs for any given area can reveal a lot. Might want to search Sky Islands, too, of which the Chisos Mtns in that area is one. I think big Bend NP (over 801,000 acres) is the only NP that has an entire mountain range in-park. You have the super cool Big Bend Ranch SP nearby too, which has more off-road places.

Interestingly, part of what makes the high Chihuahuan desert of Big Bend so dry most of the year, then of a sudden monsoon season, is that it nestles into the NE corner between the mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental ranges (pic below from wikipedia), which keep precipitation from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific at bay most of the year, until later when the weather breaks over and typically causes a lot of rain in a short time. Hence the flash flooding, wicked muddy roads, washed out trails that look like new mini-canyons, etc.



Big Bend typically gets 12" or less of rain in a whole year, with most of it occurring in these few months. Compare that to Austin, which gets around 34"/yr. The people brave enough to make the borderlands of west Texas their home year round depend on that little bit of rain to fill their catchment systems and on their roads to get out and back. The people there, the rain, the intense heat, and the roads all deserve a lot of respect.

The thing for me when dealing with the desert and local populace, especially in places like Brewster/Presidio counties of west Texas (truly some of the most remote and sparsely populated area in the US) is to treat it all with consideration and respect. It will do the same in return, if you're lucky.

Either way, your time there will be memorable.

Dry roads and open skies, brothers. Good luck with your scouting.

Road

 

[Levidale]

I’m up for big bend. I usually go October through may. Let’s set something up. I usually go twice a month in those months.

 

[Levidale]

We usually camp primitive on old ore road and black gap. Haven’t done the state park yet. I heard there is pretty good places there.

 

[Craig M]

Hey Jeff, Chili, yeah, what they call their 'monsoon' season should be winding down then, and though still some potential strong downpours and dirt road/trail/arroyo flooding will happen, daytime temps will be down--or should be down--a good bit.

I use this site a lot when contemplating runs around the country; this one for the greater South Brewster County (Big Bend) area: http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/terlingua/texas/united-states/ustx2692. There are other similar sites, too, with good avgs for expected weather. Simple google searches for weather/rainfall/temps avgs for any given area can reveal a lot. Might want to search Sky Islands, too, of which the Chisos Mtns in that area is one. I think big Bend NP (over 801,000 acres) is the only NP that has an entire mountain range in-park. You have the super cool Big Bend Ranch SP nearby too, which has more off-road places.

Interestingly, part of what makes the high Chihuahuan desert of Big Bend so dry most of the year, then of a sudden monsoon season, is that it nestles into the NE corner between the mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental ranges (pic below from wikipedia), which keep precipitation from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific at bay most of the year, until later when the weather breaks over and typically causes a lot of rain in a short time. Hence the flash flooding, wicked muddy roads, washed out trails that look like new mini-canyons, etc.

View attachment 30200

Big Bend typically gets 12" or less of rain in a whole year, with most of it occurring in these few months. Compare that to Austin, which gets around 34"/yr. The people brave enough to make the borderlands of west Texas their home year round depend on that little bit of rain to fill their catchment systems and on their roads to get out and back. The people there, the rain, the intense heat, and the roads all deserve a lot of respect.

The thing for me when dealing with the desert and local populace, especially in places like Brewster/Presidio counties of west Texas (truly some of the most remote and sparsely populated area in the US) is to treat it all with consideration and respect. It will do the same in return, if you're lucky.

Either way, your time there will be memorable.

Dry roads and open skies, brothers. Good luck with your scouting.

Road

Thanks for all of the info! In your opinion, where would be the best place for say 10 to 20 rigs to camp, preferably within reasonable walking distance? Understand if you don't have an answer but it would certainly help to have some starting points.

 

[Craig M]

We usually camp primitive on old ore road and black gap. Haven’t done the state park yet. I heard there is pretty good places there.

How about the traditional camping area, have you tried that?

I'll be taking the family back for a week later in the year too, which is one of the reasons I'm interested in scouting.

 

[Road]

Thanks for all of the info! In your opinion, where would be the best place for say 10 to 20 rigs to camp, preferably within reasonable walking distance? Understand if you don't have an answer but it would certainly help to have some starting points.

@Chili - I've never really looked at trail sites within the national or state parks there with that large of a group in mind, so don't have a good answer for you. Here's what I do know, though:

A good guy to ask would be Nolan Grogan from Mississippi (wngrog on ExPo) who did some excellent trip reports on both BBNP and BBRSP. Here's a trip report he did on ExPo for a 4 vehicle excursion in Jan 2016: Big Bend NP & SP. He also did a great solo trip thru BBNP that may shed some light on potential group sites. Hope it's cool to share links to other sites here.

He may have better info on larger group vehicle camping sites for you, though definitely stop at the ranger stations and visitor centers for permits and more current, detailed, info. Some stations and centers are closed during the summer, as it's too hot and not their busy season.

If you reach out to him, tell him the guy who mentioned buying land down that way for workshops and base-camp purposes (me), told you about him. His email address is on the front page of his website.

For traditional camping in BBNP, there is Chisos Basin Campground (60 total sites, 26 of which are reservable certain times of year). This campground is at 5400ft, so way cooler than the lower desert.


: Chisos Basin CG, from a father/daughter trip years ago:

For more primitive dirt road camping in the national park, there are around ten sites in a variety of locations. Here's the best page I know of with links to each location for details : Primitive Roadside Camping

If you're staying in the park, check this page for recent Alerts & Conditions

You already have info on the BBRSP roads, I think. They put out a great pamphlet on off-roading in the state park, with excellent info on what to prepare for, what to bring, what to expect, etc.

I've looked into getting land down that way for off-grid home purposes, with the idea of opening it up now and then for small overland groups of the size you're talking about, so it can be used as a base camp/workshop location from which to explore surrounding areas. Then I can also guide, be the 2nd vehicle for people who come down solo and want to explore, etc.

Far more popular spot, but check out Santa Elena Canyon when in the national park:



That's Mexico on the left, US on the right, and the little speck at the edge of the shadow along the Rio Grande is my kid, that's how huge the landscape can be out there. Up the right side is a cool, narrow, walking trail that goes up the cliff overlooking Rio Grande.

Be sure, too, to check out the night skies while down there. Big Bend is an International Dark Sky Place.
You'll be amazed, if you're into star-gazing, at how much more night sky you can see in Big Bend.

Good luck, guys, I'll be watching for trip reports.

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/roadsidecamps.htm

 

[Levidale]

How about the traditional camping area, have you tried that?

I'll be taking the family back for a week later in the year too, which is one of the reasons I'm interested in scouting.

I like to camp away from other people but have camped up in chisos basin it's kinda cramped.

 

[Levidale]

This is off of old ore road I don’t remember which camp site this was. Basin in the back ground