lonehiker
01-25-2018, 08:43
Just completed the following in Big Bend NP:
Day 1: Start at Homer Wilson Ranch. Dodson trail to Smoky Creek Trail. Follow Smoky Creek Trail to cut-off (east) for the off-trail route to Fisk Canyon. Followed Fisk Canyon to just south of Dominguez Spring on the Dominguez Spring trail. Water: The upper springs in Smoky Creet trail were dry. Just prior to cut-off there was a spring below the trail that had decent water. Five springs within Fisk Canyon. Two of them would be very difficult to get any significant water from them. Two of the remaining 3 would be adequate (but slow fill). Dog Spring was trickling so was a very good source for water. Probably was able to scoop a liter in a bit less than a minute.
Day 2: Followed Dominguez Spring trail for about 1/3 of its length then cut off-trail through the Chiahuahuan desert towards Talley CS (on the Rio Grande). A "V" notch in a Mexican mountain range was landmark. Hit Mariscal Rim trail TH and hiked up this trail for about 4(?) miles. Water: no water on this section until the Rio Grande. I actually skipped going to the river to save time as my intent was to get water at Solis Landing the next morning. I passed near to Y Spring but did not investigate to see if water was available.
Day 3: Followed Mariscal Rim until junction with Cross Canyon trail. Followed this trail over to Solis Landing. Road-walk for appx. 7 miles to the Mariscal Mine area. From mine area cut cross-country to the Elephant Tusk trail. Went up trail about 1.5 miles. Water: Rio Grande at Solis Landing. Two vehicles stopped during road-walk and offered water.
Day 4: Continued up Elephant Tusk Trail. Eventually lost the actually marked trail probably about 1 mile from the Dodson. Simply cut north until connecting with the Dodson. Followed the Dodson to the Juniper Canyon trail and followed this trail for about 2 miles. Water: I didn't drop down to a couple of springs to investigate if they had water but Elf(?) spring was a fantastic source of water. Several deep (6" or so) pools. A couple of other springs were adequate for water but unsure of names. When I was unsure of route on the Elephant Tusk trail I cut up a drainage initially and discovered a spring. Am still researching to discover name of spring. Dodson spring also had water but was algae covered. I did not go further up to see if better pools.
Day 5: Followed Juniper Canyon trail and connected with the Chisos network of trail. Hiked all of the Rim trails etc. Continued on the Pinnacles trail to the visitor Center. Water: Water cache at Juniper Canyon trailhead and Boot Canyon had numerous springs (with thin film of ice).
Mileage per day were appx. 1 - 15, 2 - 18, 3 - 18, 4 - 16, 5 - 16. I figure about 83-84 total mileage. With only about 11 hours of good light and very slow off-trail hiking, it was pretty much all day hiking to get in these miles.
If anyone is interested in more detailed information about the water feel free to PM me and I will try to get specific names for the springs that I actually passed. I saved their locations in gps and need to download and compare to other reference material to verify names. Also, if you want more detailed information about the route I can give more detail as well. I had also done a trip to the same area in November hiking a slightly different route (i.e. I went over Jacks Pass instead of Fisk Canyon and I hiked the spine of the Mariscal mountains instead of the road-walk to the mine).
This is a very difficult route (I would almost say grueling) and is only for people that have good navigational skills. Once you leave the Dodson, the "trails" are only marked with cairns (often overgrown) so be prepared for this. The intentional off-trail sections were actually easier to negotiate than attempting to follow cairn marked trails. Except for sections within the Chisos, the Dodson, and the Mariscal Rim you will not encounter any other people.
On both trips to this area I took capacity to carry 6 liters of water. If I should ever attempt to hike from the Chisos to the Rio Grande again, I would up this to at least 7 if not 8 liters. If I were to stay just within the Chisos/Sierra Quamada, I would stay with 6 liters. The difference is crossing that desert floor. Even though the forecast was for low 70's (I don't know actual temp) it is just oppressive heat.
Day 1: Start at Homer Wilson Ranch. Dodson trail to Smoky Creek Trail. Follow Smoky Creek Trail to cut-off (east) for the off-trail route to Fisk Canyon. Followed Fisk Canyon to just south of Dominguez Spring on the Dominguez Spring trail. Water: The upper springs in Smoky Creet trail were dry. Just prior to cut-off there was a spring below the trail that had decent water. Five springs within Fisk Canyon. Two of them would be very difficult to get any significant water from them. Two of the remaining 3 would be adequate (but slow fill). Dog Spring was trickling so was a very good source for water. Probably was able to scoop a liter in a bit less than a minute.
Day 2: Followed Dominguez Spring trail for about 1/3 of its length then cut off-trail through the Chiahuahuan desert towards Talley CS (on the Rio Grande). A "V" notch in a Mexican mountain range was landmark. Hit Mariscal Rim trail TH and hiked up this trail for about 4(?) miles. Water: no water on this section until the Rio Grande. I actually skipped going to the river to save time as my intent was to get water at Solis Landing the next morning. I passed near to Y Spring but did not investigate to see if water was available.
Day 3: Followed Mariscal Rim until junction with Cross Canyon trail. Followed this trail over to Solis Landing. Road-walk for appx. 7 miles to the Mariscal Mine area. From mine area cut cross-country to the Elephant Tusk trail. Went up trail about 1.5 miles. Water: Rio Grande at Solis Landing. Two vehicles stopped during road-walk and offered water.
Day 4: Continued up Elephant Tusk Trail. Eventually lost the actually marked trail probably about 1 mile from the Dodson. Simply cut north until connecting with the Dodson. Followed the Dodson to the Juniper Canyon trail and followed this trail for about 2 miles. Water: I didn't drop down to a couple of springs to investigate if they had water but Elf(?) spring was a fantastic source of water. Several deep (6" or so) pools. A couple of other springs were adequate for water but unsure of names. When I was unsure of route on the Elephant Tusk trail I cut up a drainage initially and discovered a spring. Am still researching to discover name of spring. Dodson spring also had water but was algae covered. I did not go further up to see if better pools.
Day 5: Followed Juniper Canyon trail and connected with the Chisos network of trail. Hiked all of the Rim trails etc. Continued on the Pinnacles trail to the visitor Center. Water: Water cache at Juniper Canyon trailhead and Boot Canyon had numerous springs (with thin film of ice).
Mileage per day were appx. 1 - 15, 2 - 18, 3 - 18, 4 - 16, 5 - 16. I figure about 83-84 total mileage. With only about 11 hours of good light and very slow off-trail hiking, it was pretty much all day hiking to get in these miles.
If anyone is interested in more detailed information about the water feel free to PM me and I will try to get specific names for the springs that I actually passed. I saved their locations in gps and need to download and compare to other reference material to verify names. Also, if you want more detailed information about the route I can give more detail as well. I had also done a trip to the same area in November hiking a slightly different route (i.e. I went over Jacks Pass instead of Fisk Canyon and I hiked the spine of the Mariscal mountains instead of the road-walk to the mine).
This is a very difficult route (I would almost say grueling) and is only for people that have good navigational skills. Once you leave the Dodson, the "trails" are only marked with cairns (often overgrown) so be prepared for this. The intentional off-trail sections were actually easier to negotiate than attempting to follow cairn marked trails. Except for sections within the Chisos, the Dodson, and the Mariscal Rim you will not encounter any other people.
On both trips to this area I took capacity to carry 6 liters of water. If I should ever attempt to hike from the Chisos to the Rio Grande again, I would up this to at least 7 if not 8 liters. If I were to stay just within the Chisos/Sierra Quamada, I would stay with 6 liters. The difference is crossing that desert floor. Even though the forecast was for low 70's (I don't know actual temp) it is just oppressive heat.