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Dual Sport Adventure - Big Bend National Park Texas
Day Two, November 12th |
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We left Terlingua Ranch on the first real adventure on day two. Rod, the ranch manager who plotted our course, was giggling the entire time he was showing us the route in the map room, so we knew it would not be an easy ride. We purchased two USGA maps which covered any area that we might get lost in today and we had the good old GPS receiver loaded with fresh batteries too..... and lots of water and food. We took Lake Ament Road out to Hwy 118. This 10.5 mile graded road had some unusual scenes. One property had an old school bus and windmill. The owner seemed to have collected old tires for years in the hopes of building a Mother Earth recycled tire home and then lost interest. Then we came into a large boulder field where car and house size boulders had broken off from a large, steep mountain and rolled across the road. We finally came to Lake Ament, with doorless outhouses and covered picnic areas surrounding a 3 acre dry lake bed. We just couldn't quite picture it as a scenic lake or family picnic area. We went north on 118 about 1 mile and took a left on North County Road, aka Hen Egg Road. This really took us into the desert - flat, dry, deserted, and perfect for naked riding. We continued west and the road suddenly became more mountainous and rocky. We really had to watch for the washes where you suddenly dropped into a steep downhill for 20 feet and encountered loose gravel, sand, boulders, and very rough riding across the wash. Coming up and out of the washes was just as bad. We had problems finding the main road and at times had to double back and take GPS readings and plot our location on the map. Then we entered a real maze of roads going in just about every direction and as far as you could see. We took many GPS readings and somehow managed to stay on Hen Egg Road (more or less). At one point we made a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end looking over the edge of a steep canyon. We had similar problems for the next 5 miles but with luck we finally intersected the north/south access road Rod had told us about. Here we headed north looking for the Top of the World. We continued north several miles and ran into a very difficult climb where we very carefully turned around and came back down. Heading south on the north/south access road we passed many hunting camps (sure glad it wasn't hunting season) and difficult washes. We found the easterly crossover road which intersected the road leading back north to Hen Egg Road. This was a very technical ride where Nancy lost her license plate when bottoming out in a wash. The next 20 miles we re-traced our morning route and the ride became difficult as we became more fatigued. Arrived back at Terlingua at 5 pm to pop brews. Traveled a total of 90 miles in seven hours, only hitting 3rd gear a few times. Damage - one license plate bracket and fender broken, one loose hand shield. Bodies seriously hurting from continuous muscle strain. NOTES: Map, GPS, water, food, first aid are all essential. We observed no wildlife today. We might have seen 6 places where people were living, but no signs of life other than one house at the beginning of Hen Egg Road. Very technical riding in many places - not for the amateur rider. Shifting should be accomplished before technical areas. We slowed at curves, declines, assents, and washes - all hazards. At several corners we encountered very steep drop offs as much as 100 feet. Going over the edge would have resulted in serious injuries. To summarize, be prepared, ride safe and cautious, keep your bearings. We cut this ride short after realizing that the planned route would have been too long. Keep alternate routes in mind, we were glad we did! We sure were glad that our cycles had been completely serviced - with safety check, and new tires before riding into these remote areas. It gave us a sense of security - one less thing to worry about. |
