Bomar
SILVER Star
Holy s*** this is great! Keep on keeping on
The Heinous Truck in the Magnificent Desert - Big Bend 2017 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pmccraney
- Start date
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under_psi
SILVER Star
this is a great write up!
loving it....thank you all for making it last.....
loving it....thank you all for making it last.....
that would be amazing... this write up is great guys. I've never been there but this has put it on my bucket list. I think I'll forgo my next Utah or Co. trip to do this. Thanks for sharing the unbelievable pics and excellent write up ... I've sent this to several buddies to read.
Didn't see any pics of the wall construction
Construction started a few million years ago. Seems pretty stout.
- Thread starter
- #166
So, after descending back into camp from the "Other Side of Nowhere", we grabbed a quick lunch, folded up the tents, hitched up the trailers and hit the road, leaving the ridge lines of the solitario off in the distance.
Even though the State Park allows early reservation of camp sites, you have to obtain your backcountry camping permits on a daily basis. Probably a good policy... Helps keep tabs on where everyone is on their 400,000 acre playground. So, we had to go back to the Sauceda Ranger Station to get our papers for that night, which was not really a logistical issue since it was directly en route to our next destination on the southern end of the park.
Most of our group took a slight diversion on the way back to check out the Fresno Canyon overlook (pictured previously). Since Lou, Andy and I had already ventured out there while killing time on the way in, we decided to save some fuel and go straight to see the Shamans at Sauceda for permission to enter the Holy Land -- the Guale Mesa. We removed our shoes, offered a sacrifice, and paid our tithe to the local village.... After it was confirmed that our intentions were pure (i.e. we weren't just there to booze cruise), we were given formal permission to enter the sacred grounds....
We did receive a warning that the wind god who guards this territory was easily angered by frivolous offerings....and that Fireman's ugly blue truck was likely to offend him....
Even though the State Park allows early reservation of camp sites, you have to obtain your backcountry camping permits on a daily basis. Probably a good policy... Helps keep tabs on where everyone is on their 400,000 acre playground. So, we had to go back to the Sauceda Ranger Station to get our papers for that night, which was not really a logistical issue since it was directly en route to our next destination on the southern end of the park.
Most of our group took a slight diversion on the way back to check out the Fresno Canyon overlook (pictured previously). Since Lou, Andy and I had already ventured out there while killing time on the way in, we decided to save some fuel and go straight to see the Shamans at Sauceda for permission to enter the Holy Land -- the Guale Mesa. We removed our shoes, offered a sacrifice, and paid our tithe to the local village.... After it was confirmed that our intentions were pure (i.e. we weren't just there to booze cruise), we were given formal permission to enter the sacred grounds....
We did receive a warning that the wind god who guards this territory was easily angered by frivolous offerings....and that Fireman's ugly blue truck was likely to offend him....
- Thread starter
- #167
Actually our warning really consisted of a little stand-up placard at the ranger station's check-in desk (like a beer list on the table at a casual restaurant) that provides very general weather information on a short-term outlook. It's similar to what you what see on the weather channel's 5-day outlook but in paper form. For that night (Saturday), it had a picture of a mad-faced rain cloud with a lighting bolt and said "windy/thunderstorm warning." This sort of caught my eye, because every other day on the sheet was a goofy smiling sunshine icon which made a lot more sense when you look around you and see a noticeable absence of water or anything else that looks particularly "alive." But, we had our ticket punched to the promised land and we were rolling....
At this point, I'll mention that Guale-world is on the southern-central portion of the park, which is a little closer (as the crow flies) to some of the border towns like Lajitas and Presidio. So, as we topped a ridge, everyone got a couple of dots of cell service... In addition to the rapid-fire "dinging" from the back-log of un-received texts, we also receive a few weather warnings. A couple of folks pulled up the radar and there was definitely a little hostility brewing around us, confirmed shortly thereafter by some nice cloudburst on the horizon...
Yep, it took all of 10 minutes before we began to receive visual warnings that the weather gods were not happy with the ugly blue truck entering the holiest of holies.... a few rain drops started to hit the windshield and the wind started to gust, but we pressed on:
At this point, I'll mention that Guale-world is on the southern-central portion of the park, which is a little closer (as the crow flies) to some of the border towns like Lajitas and Presidio. So, as we topped a ridge, everyone got a couple of dots of cell service... In addition to the rapid-fire "dinging" from the back-log of un-received texts, we also receive a few weather warnings. A couple of folks pulled up the radar and there was definitely a little hostility brewing around us, confirmed shortly thereafter by some nice cloudburst on the horizon...
Yep, it took all of 10 minutes before we began to receive visual warnings that the weather gods were not happy with the ugly blue truck entering the holiest of holies.... a few rain drops started to hit the windshield and the wind started to gust, but we pressed on:
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- Thread starter
- #168
The trail (and scenery) leading down to the guale mesa are absolutely stunning. Pictures really don't do it justice (well, ron's might). At one point we just stopped the cars, all got out and took a few minutes just to soak it all in.
At this point, I'll shut up for awhile and you guys look at some of footage of the drive in to camp. Everyone took a bunch of pics, so they can drop in whatever they want. Here are a couple of mine:
After the other guys do a dump of their overlanding porn, I'll pick back up with us trying to get settled into camp. Even though the conditions were not perfect, it was perhaps the greatest night I've ever spent in the out of doors.
At this point, I'll shut up for awhile and you guys look at some of footage of the drive in to camp. Everyone took a bunch of pics, so they can drop in whatever they want. Here are a couple of mine:
After the other guys do a dump of their overlanding porn, I'll pick back up with us trying to get settled into camp. Even though the conditions were not perfect, it was perhaps the greatest night I've ever spent in the out of doors.
I'll pick up at the Ranger Station, where while we didn't have another run-in with Ranger Bob / Deputy Do Right, we did spend about 40 minutes doing what should have taken 5 minutes, which was checking into our campsite for the night. Somehow a $16 site fee turned into $64, and the nice lady running the register couldn't get the 1s and 0s right to save her life. David had left me his credit card to use for the charge, so i ALMOST let her just run it 
About 1 minute before doing just that, she figured it out, we paid, and hit the road.
There is no hyperbole in PMC's description of the drive out to Guale 2, as well as the campsite. If there is a better campsite east of the Rockies, I'd like to see it. While the eastern part of the park has lots to see, it's no where near as scenic as the southern/central portion of the park. Lots of elevation changes, peaks, valleys, etc, all of which stand in stark contrast to the desert floor. It really is remarkable geography.
The ride out to Guale2 from the ranger station took us 2 hours, and it felt like 2 minutes. I'll toss in a couple of my pics at this point, then let PMC go back to his story telling.
About 1 minute before doing just that, she figured it out, we paid, and hit the road.There is no hyperbole in PMC's description of the drive out to Guale 2, as well as the campsite. If there is a better campsite east of the Rockies, I'd like to see it. While the eastern part of the park has lots to see, it's no where near as scenic as the southern/central portion of the park. Lots of elevation changes, peaks, valleys, etc, all of which stand in stark contrast to the desert floor. It really is remarkable geography.
The ride out to Guale2 from the ranger station took us 2 hours, and it felt like 2 minutes. I'll toss in a couple of my pics at this point, then let PMC go back to his story telling.
Wow.
I see what you did there.....
So yeah, when we turned south off the main road the trail immediately started getting awesome. I was in the back of the pack looking into the sun and most all of the great shots for me were back the way I had come, but F-ing Fireman had snuck in behind me the BBT and was wrecking my shots.
Luckily, I remembered to screw on my lens filter so I was able to get some shots into the sun that looked pretty good
Massive
We got out and surveyed this piece of abandoned equipment and guessed what it was. Not a single person in our group knew what the hell it was, but we all knew Bossman would have known. Turns out it chopped up grasses stored in a pit for cattle to eat
Andy had gotten a bit ahead of the group and he was yammering on the radio about getting a move on so we would not miss the sunset
Luckily, I remembered to screw on my lens filter so I was able to get some shots into the sun that looked pretty good
Massive
We got out and surveyed this piece of abandoned equipment and guessed what it was. Not a single person in our group knew what the hell it was, but we all knew Bossman would have known. Turns out it chopped up grasses stored in a pit for cattle to eat
Andy had gotten a bit ahead of the group and he was yammering on the radio about getting a move on so we would not miss the sunset
At this point the view back behind me had gotten so incredible, I just pulled off the trail and waved Fireman through so I could take pictures back to the east
For the record, I 100% knew we were screwing up camping on this exposed shelf with forecasted 25 mph winds and thunderstorms, but it was like the siren calling sailors, we took one look at the spot and said screw it. We are staying.
For the record, I 100% knew we were screwing up camping on this exposed shelf with forecasted 25 mph winds and thunderstorms, but it was like the siren calling sailors, we took one look at the spot and said screw it. We are staying.
Man sorry. I got about 10 clips to choose from. They are all shades of bad.
- Thread starter
- #180
Bear with me/us... I know we've taken you along for the ride with a lot of details and pics, but everything prior to this is mere build-up to the finale.
So, Andy (lead truck) is the first to crest the final hill and catch the first glimpse of the Guale Mesa - and our proposed campsite for the night. He radios back and attempts to mentally prepare the rest of us for the holy-epic-awesomeness that awaits us around the last corner.
There are few sites reachable by vehicle that truly stun you (some notable places out West excluded). This was one of those.
We all edge our vehicles into the campsite area and stumble out with jaws dropped. At this point, the wind had kicked up considerably, especially out in this exposed area, so everyone (except Lou) scrambled for appropriate EAF outerwear. Without exaggerating, it was probably sustained 20+, with gusts nearing 30. Small-craft advisory type stuff. But, as Nolen mentioned, we weren't retreating back to Guale 1 campsite which is a protected (but far less scenic) site. We'd just have to deal with whatever wrath @Fireman's truck would bring upon us that night.
So, we all start jockeying for position. Some of us initially grabbed some nice cliff-side spots, but it quickly became apparent that it was going to be a very long night without some protection. So, most of us lined up our vehicles behind a small hill that provided the only natural wind buffer in the area (best/only picture I have of that is below, which is actually from the next morning).
Ron (foreground) was honoring his established perimeter, keeping a safe distance from me and my electronic devices; and Lou, for some odd reason, just said screw it and parked right in the main road, which (as we discovered later) happened to double as a wind tunnel. Fireman always sleeps in his truck because he's not EAF and doesn't have the roof thingies (as our friend diedre from Ft. Davis would call them), so he just parked.
Everyone else began to deploy their tents. I didn't even bother with it. I'd like to think it was because my jedi weather senses are more refined than the others, but it was probably laziness, or wanting to mix a drink, or just wanting to go take some pictures and explore. In the back of my mind though, I was beginning to weigh my options for the night other than the tent.
After we got reasonably situated, we all grabbed our cameras and scattered:
So, Andy (lead truck) is the first to crest the final hill and catch the first glimpse of the Guale Mesa - and our proposed campsite for the night. He radios back and attempts to mentally prepare the rest of us for the holy-epic-awesomeness that awaits us around the last corner.
There are few sites reachable by vehicle that truly stun you (some notable places out West excluded). This was one of those.
We all edge our vehicles into the campsite area and stumble out with jaws dropped. At this point, the wind had kicked up considerably, especially out in this exposed area, so everyone (except Lou) scrambled for appropriate EAF outerwear. Without exaggerating, it was probably sustained 20+, with gusts nearing 30. Small-craft advisory type stuff. But, as Nolen mentioned, we weren't retreating back to Guale 1 campsite which is a protected (but far less scenic) site. We'd just have to deal with whatever wrath @Fireman's truck would bring upon us that night.
So, we all start jockeying for position. Some of us initially grabbed some nice cliff-side spots, but it quickly became apparent that it was going to be a very long night without some protection. So, most of us lined up our vehicles behind a small hill that provided the only natural wind buffer in the area (best/only picture I have of that is below, which is actually from the next morning).
Ron (foreground) was honoring his established perimeter, keeping a safe distance from me and my electronic devices; and Lou, for some odd reason, just said screw it and parked right in the main road, which (as we discovered later) happened to double as a wind tunnel. Fireman always sleeps in his truck because he's not EAF and doesn't have the roof thingies (as our friend diedre from Ft. Davis would call them), so he just parked.
Everyone else began to deploy their tents. I didn't even bother with it. I'd like to think it was because my jedi weather senses are more refined than the others, but it was probably laziness, or wanting to mix a drink, or just wanting to go take some pictures and explore. In the back of my mind though, I was beginning to weigh my options for the night other than the tent.
After we got reasonably situated, we all grabbed our cameras and scattered:
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