STR | SocalTrailRiders.org

lardbutt

This was a week-long trip so the ride report will be a little longer than most. In short, this trip, by going solo, was a highlight of my life. It is usually not a good idea to ride alone, but in this case I would have to say that it was well worth the risks involved.

I went to Big Bend National Park in SW Texas over the Holidays for a little riding/camping/backpacking/relaxing. Been trying to do this trip across the desert there for the last 10 years. Have tried it 3 other times with different people and for a whole list of reasons, was never able to get across the desert un-aided. So this time I decided to do it solo so there would be no blaming anyone but myself if I failed.

Big Bend is an amazing place if you like the great outdoors, lots of elbow room, and high-desert surroundings. Altitude varies from roughly 1,900 feet at the Rio Grande River in the south of the park, to over 7,800 feet in the mountains in the center of the park. This is one of the largest National Parks in the US yet gets the fewest visitors annually of any National Park.

Day one: Set up "base camp" at Rio Grande Village in the SE corner of the park, right on the Rio Grande River (thus the name). Packed the gear for the 2-day 60 mile trip across the desert. Steaks and brews for dinner. YUM! Weather: 28 degrees at night, 65 daytime, bright sunshine all day.

Day two: Drove the truck, loaded with bike and Bob trailer the 70 miles over to Castolon, SW corner of the park. Parked at the little Ranger Station there. Set the rig up and started the journey along the paved road north for the 2 miles until I hit the River Road that goes across the desert back to Rio Grande Village. This is a rarely maintained jeep road that traverses the desert for 60 miles. Everything was going great, weather was a little chilly, mid 40's but the sun was out and not a cloud was in the sky. I could not have been more excited to FINALLY be at the beginning of the trip that had vexed me for so long. Was rolling along just taking it all in, the biggest smile on my face in years, crested a small hill and started down the other side. Not real bumpy but evidently enough that one of my front panniers decided to come loose from the rack. That alone would not have been so bad had it not decided to send it's hooked-end strap into the front spokes. Probably doing 15 mph when the front tire, complete with strap in spokes, came to an abrupt stop. Well, as usually happens when the front tire abruptly stops rolling, any current momentum continues in one form or another. In this case that form was of me fly flying over the bars followed closely by my bike and Bob trailer. As I was flying through the air I was thinking to myself, "well $hit, I guess God really doesn't want me to complete this trip after all...".
I landed on the ground with a tuck and roll but as I was coming to a halt on the ground the bike and Bob trailer decided they liked my landing zone as well and came down right on top of me. I was glad I wasn't hurt from the tumble but now I was PISSED from being landed on. Cussing and spitting dust, I kicked the bike and trailer off of me and sat there a minute just taking in the beautiful day and the lovely breeze, and the sweet smell of the desert. I was on VACATION damn it and I wasn't going to let a little thing like this get me down. That is, until I got up and took a look at my bike. As the rig jack-knifed and landed on me, the bob trailer came around and hit the rear derailleur area hard. It twisted the chain 90 degrees, broke two rings on the cassette, pulled two spokes out of their nipples, and bent the hanger about 45 degrees, not to mention the three spokes up front that were ripped out of their nipples when the pannier hook went after them. I sat back down on the ground and enjoyed a little bit more of the cool breeze and bright sunshine. Ahhh... vacation. This is what life is all about!

I had the usual emergency tools/parts with me but this one was beyond a trail-side fix. So I took the rear derailleur off, took the twisted section of chain out, turned it into a single speed, re-trued the wheels as best I could and rode back out of the the desert and back to my truck with my tail between my legs... Scorecard - Desert: 1 Kevin: 0

As I sat at my truck wondering WTF I was going to be able to do to salvage the trip I remembered that there was a little bike shop/kayak rental/beauty supply and bait shop in a small town about 40 miles away. I also remembered that it was Sunday afternoon at about 1:30 PM...

Drove to the shop, which was open to my amazement, and talked to the woman behind the counter. She told me that she was just the accountant for the shop and didn't know a seatpost from a spoke wrench and that all the mechanics were out for the afternoon on a ride. No worries I told her. I just needed to see if they had any of the parts I needed. I had a spare chain, cassette, and hanger, but no derailleur nor spokes/nipples. She told me just to rumage around back behind the repairs counter to see if they had anything I could use. She also told me to bring my bike in as I was welcome to use one of their repair stands for as long as it took. Oh and by the way, here's a beer, cuz you look like you could use one... (You just gotta love west Texas) Long story short(er) - Two hours later I was back in business!! Everything was fixed and re-trued. It was too late to start over for the day so I just headed back to base camp for food and a couple more cold beers. (Spent a couple hours back at camp with the duct tape and tie wraps making %$^@@ CERTAIN that the panniers were NEVER going to come back off that rack again!)

Day three: Another absolutely perfect day. Drove back over to the starting point and hit the road. No problems, got to the point of the crash yesterday, got off my bike and peed on the ground right where it happened.


Sometimes you gotta spit in the Devil's eye, just to make sure he knows you're still alive...

Rode on the rest of the day, past the Johnson Ranch area where Billy Mitchell and the boys set up one of the first Army Airfields back in the 1920's, later to become what we know today as our modern Air Force. Got to the campsite for the night at the Mariscal Mine at about 3:30pm. Mariscal is an old Mercury mine that was established in the early 1900's. A really cool place to explore as all the old buildings/mine shafts are still there. I camped inside the walls of one of the old miner's huts. It was New Years Eve. The wind was blowing about 40 mph all night and the stars were as beautiful as I had ever seen them. Happy New Years everyone!

Day four: A little colder this morning as the wind had blown in a cold front. Mid 30's to start the day but as I packed up and the sun rose it warmed quickly. Vivid blue skies again. Most of yesterday was uphill so today would be a little shorter, 30 miles instead of 35, and trending downhill. The trail crossed several washes that were deep sand and very hard to cross pulling the trailer. I walked a couple miles total through the deep stuff. Got across the rest of the desert without incident and enjoyed another perfect day on the bike. Got back to base camp and said a little prayer of thanks that I had finally gotten to complete that portion of the trip.
Spaghetti, garlic bread, and beers that night! YUM!
Scorecard - Desert: 1 Kevin: 1 (At this point, I was happy with a draw)

Day 5: Weather was cold this morning, upper 20's and oh yea, where the %$@#$ is my truck!?!? Ahh yes, the truck is now 70 miles away by paved road at Castolon and all I have is my bike. Not to worry. The major mechanical on Day 2 screwed up my schedule a little bit and I had lost a day. So rather than continuing on for three more days on the mtb pulling the Bob trailer back around to where I had parked the truck, I decided on plan B. Ride the paved road back to the truck. The road is called the Ross Maxwell Scenic Highway and it is well-named. It cuts through some of the higher mountain passes in the park and is quite a spectacular ride. From base camp to the beginning of this scenic road is about 50 miles. All of it up. And up, and up. But the payoff is spectacular!!! 20 miles of serious DOWN into Castolon and the truck! I'm not sure I pedaled once that last 20 miles... I was wiped out from the three hard days of riding when I got to the truck but I was so happy to have successfully completed the biking portion of the trip. And tomorrow begins the backpacking part of the trip!! Back to base camp for cheeseburgers, chips, and beers! YUUM!! Packed the backpack for two days of hiking and camping up in the mountains!

Day 6: Weather was again perfect. Mid 40's in the morning, not a cloud in the sky. Drove up to the Basin area of the park to begin the backpack trip up into the mountains. About 8 miles of hiking going from the Basin up to the South Rim. From 5,000 feet up to 7,300 feet. Took about 5 hours to get up there with a stop along the way towards the top to filter water to refill my water bags for the night and tomorrow. Found a good candidate pool of water, still frozen, and broke out the water filter. As I was putting it together the small plastic ring that holds the bottom of the filter on broke into about 5 pieces in my hand. Crap... Thank God for duct tape. 20 minutes and a little cussing later, I had the bottom of the filter cleaned, dried and warmed up enough so the duct tape would stick to it (don't ask how I warmed it up). Wrapped the bejeesus out of it with the duct tape and filtered enough water to get me through tomorrow. Note to self: ALWAYS carry a filter AND water purification tablets!! And duct tape of course...

Made it to the campsite about an hour before dark and set up camp. It was cold up there so I bundled up and started cooking dinner. If you camp alot or are just a gadget weenie like me, you gotta check out the Jetboil stuff at REI. It is the $hit$! Anyhow, made Sweet and Sour Pork in a bag for two. Looked around and noticed that there were not two of us there, so I ate it all myself! Best freeze-dried meal I ever had! Heeheehee. Dessert was another freeze-dried masterpiece called Raspberry Crumble. OMG, it was delicious! A pouch full of raspberries with a packet of oreo cookie crumbs scattered on top. I was really enjoying it until I remembered that I was right in the middle of bear country, sitting on my campsite bear box no less, eating this amazing raspberry dessert that I am certain you could smell for 10 miles all around. I could almost hear the little bear dinner bells ringing as I finished it... Eeek. Well, no bears showed up to help me eat any of it so like the Pork, I ate it all myself. Their loss... Crawled into the tent, put on some tunes on the iPod and thought about how much fun I was having being out there solo doing the stuff I love to do. Slept like a log that night as the tent was tucked down inside a small grove of pine trees and I listened to the wind gently blowing through the pine branches as I fell asleep.

Day 7: Sunrise on the South Rim - This is without a doubt the coolest thing I have ever done or ever seen. Sitting on top of the 3,000 foot cliffs of the South Rim, legs dangling over the edge, looking out over the expanse, down towards and into Mexico watching the sun rise over the Big Bend. One of those experiences that you just can't put into words. Very humbling... (One point - this is a National Park and there are 3,000 foot cliffs everywhere up there to fall off of. Not one sign, not one guard rail, not anything to keep your name off the annual Darwin Awards list, if you are so inclined. If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon, you know that you can't see the view in places because of all the signs, warnings, and guard rails. Just another reason why I think this park is one of the coolest places...)

Watched the sun rise, along with my spirits, and headed back to camp for breakfast. Freeze dried scrambled eggs and bacon. YUM! (not) oh well, at least the portions were good... packed up camp and started hiking back around to the SW trail leading down off the South Rim and back towards the truck. The views from up there are just incredible and on this day visibility was well over 50 miles in all directions. It is hard to take a bad picture up there so I took a few of the more prominant landmarks in the park. Hiked the four hours back to the truck and headed back to base camp. On the way back I decided to just get there, eat some lunch (not freeze dried!) and pack up and hit the road for home. Made it as far as El Paso before I got too tired to drive any more and grabbed a hotel room for the night. Ordered a pizza from Papa John's (again, NOT freeze dried!) and drank the two remaining beers I had left in the cooler from the trip. Fell into bed at about 8PM and slept straight through to the next day.

Day 8: Drive back to San Diego - it is about 750 miles from El Paso to my house. Drove all day and thought about the trip. Again, with the biggest smile on my face. It was the highest of highs and the lowest of lows all in one trip. But that is what makes an adventure an adventure.

After all, if you know you're going to make it before you even set out, what's the point?

Attached Images

	the rig.jpg (329.5 KB, 7 views)
	Mariscal Mine campsite.jpg (298.4 KB, 1 views)
	mule ears.jpg (218.6 KB, 2 views)
	Santa Elana Canyon.jpg (175.9 KB, 1 views)
	South Rim sunrise.jpg (158.0 KB, 1 views)
	cooking gear.jpg (291.7 KB, 3 views)
	Elephant Tusk.jpg (194.6 KB, 2 views)
	west cliff.jpg (228.5 KB, 2 views)
	South Rim sunrise2.jpg (213.0 KB, 3 views)

__________________
Founding Father of the Smelly Cat Rescue League
"I'm dragging my feet as fast as I can!!"

bighit8

Man I am jealous.Looks and sounds like a little bit of heaven.

__________________
DINO BROWN:I am a BIG fan of the G-Spot! You can quote me on that!

ELSHIVA:Hey, what can a girl say? Trust me, that much vibration was NOT enjoyable......

Fired Yo Momma

Thats really cool!!!! I nominate this ride report as a canadidate RR of the year

__________________
And the hangovers hurt more than they used to And corn bread and ice tea took the place of pills and 80 proof
And it seems like none of us do the things quite like we used to do
And nobody wants to get high on the town
And all my rowdy friends have settled down

-Hank Williams Jr.

Rob

I'm extremely jealous! Looks like fun.

Great pics!

53-12

Sounds like an awesome adventure, and looks like some spectatular scenery. Only part of Texas I have ever experienced is the Panhandle, and it sure didnt look like that.

slowSSer

+1 here on this. and it's only mid/late-January!

amazing stuff.

I also liked the fact that you were brave enough to pee on the area that you crashed- a braver man than I.

__________________
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch.
-Orson Welles

http://www.myspace.com/setswim

lmnop

Finally, something beyond the "ordinary" ride report.

Mega props on going it alone!

BrewMaster

Indeed one of the best RR in a long time. I third the nomination for RR of the year. You are great story teller Kevin. Glad you were able to achieve this personal milestone.

What kinda beer were you drinking?

__________________
Above all accomplishments, character matters most.

sheclimbs

I agree, excellent RR. I could see the smile on your face.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Makes me want to do a solo trip.
Your pictures are beautiful too.

__________________
Mountain biking is a life altering experience STJunkie

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. John Muir

MTBMaven

Great story thanks! Any chance we will see you on the February Bikepacking Trip?

__________________
You don't have to be having fun to have fun
CORBA Support your local trail crew
'07 Niner MCR9 - '07 Lemond Zürich - '89 Specialized Sirrus fixed/free

KeepsWhatHappens

I think this raises the bar to a new level for a ride report. Awesome job!

KeepsWhatHappens

el_d00der1n0

Awesome.

I grew up just about 6 hours north of there, and I've never been there. I will hang my head in shame now.

__________________
all your macs are belong to us

stjunkie

Graet RR. After a tough start like that most would have given up. It's amazing that stuff you wouldn't think of eating at home could taste so good out in the middle of nowhere.

Pain Freak

Looks like I'll be doing my "tour" solo this year also. I'm going to go north on a train to Salem Oregon and then ride back down. I've got my BOB and most my camping gear, but still I have a lot of questions....Some days will be camping and some days I'll be breaking out thre credit card. Your story has inspired me to probably camp more though. I hate the cold, but obviously it doesn't bother you. 30's and 40's are about 20 degrees to cold for me.

__________________
"The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew—and live through it." — Doug Bradbury

"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me." — Emo Philips

dirtmistress

Great story!! What a great time!!
Thanks for sharing!

Oh now Mike!!! You know what the pro's say....
"Harden The F**K Up"!!!

http://store.ronniejohns.com/

__________________
http://www.bichonsandbuddies.com/

Shannon; "You see the problem is that God gave men a brain and a penis...but only enough blood to run one at a time".

Pain Freak