copuswalker

My brother and I will be heading there again in March.
Nice info from the unregistered guest! will keep that for the trip

__________________
There are those that hike and those that don't and those that say they will but won't.

toejam

Hey! It didn't look like that the other day!

There was a post-monster as I submitted that report and I had to re-paste it. But it looked right after I was done.

Neville

Hey folks, I'm contemplating this hike November. My previous desert hiking experience has been Canyonlands and Arches NPs plus Palo Duro Canyon, so I've some cairn following experience.

So, just how faint is this trail? I'm going to have a topo and compass anyway, but are these tools I'm going to depend on?

Thanks.

copuswalker

Pay attention and everything will be fine. It's not bad at all unless you daydream

__________________
There are those that hike and those that don't and those that say they will but won't.

toejam

It's faint, but you'll find it if you are patient. You will have to depend on the topo map, the compass not so much because because the views are mostly wide open. If you know where the trail is going it's a lot easier to find.

The tricky places are where it's single-track burro trails. At the foot of the mountains coming from the east trailhead the trail goes east from one drainage to another behind a hill. The key is a notch in a rock fence, and you won't see Acebuches Canyon until you are practically on the edge looking down into it.
http://www.thebackpacker.com/pictures/pic/myg338l.php
The place where the trail climbs out of the bottom of Acebuches Canyon is easy to miss even if you know where it is.
http://www.thebackpacker.com/picture...t6xu0fox7p.php
The top of the Acebuches drainage can turn into a bushwhack where you just head for the saddle - you'll see the trail if you are lucky. At Panther Spring the trail goes way up the side of the canyon and is easy to miss. North of Rancherias Spring the old two-track road can be hard to follow when it crosses the creek bed several times. And west of Rancherias Spring the trail is faint as it crosses a ridge, a drainage and then climbs onto Guale Mesa.

The park trail guide helps a lot. It's not easy to get lost at all. Wear heavy pants for the times you get off the trail a little.

01ACRViper

I went to the map room here at UT to look at the topos for the area, but as i figured, not much detail could be gained. does the trail use the canyons to get up into the bofecillos highlands? if so, how are the peaks up there? Oso Peak and Agua Adentro Mtn look close enough to the trail to do as a little side trip. would a bushwack to the solitario area in a day or 2 be feasable? i think it'd be a great trip to make your own way across the ranch

toejam

The USGS maps don't show the trail, but they do show a vast network of old roads/jeep trails. On my 3rd day I got close to Oso Peak after visiting Upper Guale Mesa and looking off the cliff into Tapado Canyon following old roads. You could climb Oso Peak as a dayhike from Rancherias Springs if you took the direct route on the jeep road up the north Rancherias Ck drainage. The state park road and primitive car camping sites are just north of Oso Peak. You could get further into the Solitario from the park road. There is a lot of exploring that could be done and a lot to see on the old roads. The park literature says not to get off the trail because of private land holdings so it would be a good idea to research carefully first.

WestTexas

Would it be possible to get a copy of the 7.5 quad section that they have marked up with the trail? It would be nice to study a little before hitting it the first time.

While I don't rely totally on it, my Garmin eTrex has been great. I bought the National Geographic topo series for Texas and it's very current and has lots of tools. One of which is that if I can see a trail on the topo, I can trace it and download the route into my Garmin.

For something like this, it would be nice to at least plug in a few key waypoints.

Thanks in advance,
WestTexas

toejam

I'm sure the park people would send you one in the mail.

WestTexas

I'm sure you're right. Did you get yours at the station where you bought your permit? If so, I think I can find a phone # or address.

Thanks!

toejam

Look up the park website from the "Parks" section on this site (click "View ALL Texas Parks" and find Big Bend Ranch State Park). Permits for the trail are given at both the Fort Leaton and Barton Warnock visitor centers. Try Barton Warnock first. They take credit cards so you might be able to give them a number and have them mail it right away.

WestTexas

Much appreciated!

copuswalker

When we hiked it we bought our maps on line. Barton Warnock had the same maps for less $$. I think they will mail them too!

__________________
There are those that hike and those that don't and those that say they will but won't.

WestTexas

Talked to Barton Warnock, the guy there said they don't really have any good maps, and they didn't have anything to mail. He didn't seem too interested in helping.

Oh well, we'll go hike it and I'll log it my GPS for future reference!

Thanks all.

copuswalker

Hmmm. We sure saw them in a big rack with drawers? Damned if they wern't right about the flashbacks My brother and I will be hitting it early to mid March and will rely on obtaining a new map at Barton Warnock? If you go before any feedback will be appreciated.

__________________
There are those that hike and those that don't and those that say they will but won't.