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Dual Sport Adventure - Big Bend National Park Texas
Day Six, November 16th |
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As we were packing for the daily ride a fancy helicopter circled several times before landing at the Terlingua air strip about 9:30. No one got out, so Ron rode close enough to it to read US Customs. Rod said they had never landed there before and he had no idea what they were doing there. On our return that evening we heard that they had been lost and landed to get directions. So much for efficiency on the border. Left the ranch close to 10 am heading south on 118. We saw two fighters flash by overhead and wondered if something was up. This was not too long after reports of nuclear bombs possibly coming across the Mexican border. We re-entered the Park and headed east past Panther Junction and took a right onto Glenn Springs Road, a graded shellrock road. We took a right onto Black Gap Road where signs warned that this a 4 wheel drive road and not maintained - sounded like our cup of tea. From the very beginning we found the road the most difficult we had encountered in the Park. A few miles in we encountered large rocks in the road along a steep ridgeline. We had no problems, but rode with extreme care. It was tricky enough that we really didn't want to come back out the same way. Four miles into Black Gap Road we hit the toughest spot of our entire trip. The road twisted through a cut with vertical sides through a steep ridgeline. Attempts had been made in the past to ease travel by concreting over the roughest part, but weather had eroded the approach. Rocks had been piled at the eroded end to form a crude ramp leading up to the concreted area. This was fine for 4 wheelers, but posed a problem for our dual sports that would have to climb across about 8 feet of loose rocks the size of footballs to get onto the paved section. We studied this difficult spot for a long time, not wanting to be wusses and backtrack the way we had come. We considered gunning it over the rocks, but they were loose and a fall would land us right onto the concrete. We tried walking a bike up, but lost traction with no weight on the rear wheel. We hiked around both sides to see if there was a better way to go around, but there was none. We did notice motorcycle tracks on one side of this obstacle, but none on the other side indicating the previous riders had turned around. We finally decided to go for it. Ron rode his bike while Nancy acted as a spotter up on the concrete. Ron took the narrow sandy approach to the right of the rocks and made it up onto the concreted area but was unable to make the sharp left turn to avoid a big rock. He braked, stopped, and then eased his way around the obstacle. He then rode Nancy's bike up the same way, made it up on the concrete, lost traction, and made a soft lay-down. We got the bike righted, walked it up a few feet in first gear, and then Ron was able to continue. This route is definitely not for the meek. We looked at this challenge long and hard for at least 30 minutes before attempting to pass. After that the ride was fairly easy all the way to River Road. This difficult section would have been much easier if we had been heading north on Black Gap Road and had to come down across the pile of rocks. Extreme care still would have been required. We think it is easier coming down a technical section. Going up it is easy to loose traction and stall. This is no place to get seriously injured. It is an hour to get help, another hour and a half for help to get back to you, and two hours to a medical facility. We then headed east on River Road past the old Mariscal Mine and Solis and took a left on Glenn Springs Road. This was an interesting ride seeing the cloud covered Chisos Mountains in the distance. At the intersection of Black Gap Road we saw 2 dual sports heading the way we had just had so much trouble on and wanted to warn them about the difficult sections, but they did not stop and simply waved - we wondered if they made it through, our guess would be not. We continued north on Glenn Springs Road retracing our steps from earlier in the day. We took -pictures at a boulder field and then headed west on Juniper Canyon Road. This turned out to be the roughest road we had been on all week. Six miles of graded road through bedrock made for a 5-10 mph run for most of the way. Nancy commented that this section was aerobic and our arms, shoulders, and neck were aching by the time we reached the dead end. The ride back out to Glenn Springs Road was a test of our endurance. Ron was all over the road and had one close encounter with a cactus. This was a "technical rock garden" as they say in mountain bike terms. We were too tired and running out of time to venture up Pine Canyon Road so we hit the pavement and headed at high speed for Chisos Basin. The 6 mile ride up twists through an opening on the north side of the Chisos Mountains. There are inspiring views as you climb through vertical cliffs on each side. Oddly enough here we saw the first trees of our stay. We also saw warning signs for bear and mountain lion. This road has a series of cut backs crossing over a ridge and then descending into the basin where you will find a grocery/gift/restaurant/campground/lodge/info center. The temps up here were at least 10 degrees cooler than on 118. We had to buy long sleeve shirts to help us stay warm on the ride down. Most of the people we saw in the basin were hikers. We were disappointed with the basin, not a place where we would stay. It seemed too touristy and we like to be out on our own. The campground looked good, but cold. This might be a good central place to stay if you wanted to make several loops to through the park. It is the most centrally located facility. We came down and headed back to the ranch, arriving chilled, sore, and fried. Get the beer out! On the way home we had encountered heavy crosswinds that we had noticed before but today they were worse. At 80 mph a severe crosswind can put you in the wrong lane in a hurry. The winds were always stronger in the afternoons. Rod told us that the spring can bring high winds. Roads today were more challenging than many in the park but still not comparable to our favorite - the Old Ore Road. Campsites were friendlier along the roads today; we were not impressed with any of the campsites along the river road - too close to the border and too far from home. We started out wearing our riding suites and after we became more accustomed to the roads we switched to jeans and sweatshirts which were much cooler. We did see Park Rangers here and there during the trips, always on the paved roads in their white trucks/SUVs. |
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