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Big Bend Newbie

5K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Show Killer 
#1 ·
My 23 year old son and I visited Big Bend National Park a week ago with my '17 JKURHR with (at the time) 1500 miles on the odometer. Never been to Big Bend. Never drove a Jeep overland. I am hooked!

We arrived late in the day, selected our campsites at the ranger station, and drove Old Ore Road to our campsite at the Willow Tank; didn't arrive till after dark. Finished Old Ore the next morning including a hike at Ernest Tinaja and then visited Rio Grande Village for fuel and a few supplies we forgot. The northern section of Old Ore was much rougher than the southern section. We were rushing to get to camp, so we didn't enjoy the northern section as much as we would have liked. Willow Tank was a fine campsite but we'd go for Roy's Peak next time if available.

Looking south on Old Ore Road


The day ended with us moving on to our next campsite, Rice Tank on Glenn Springs road. Another nice campsite with shelter from the north wind that arrived with a cold front, frequent lightning and heavy but brief rain.

The next morning, we made our way south on Glenn Springs to travel Juniper Canyon. We sure want to stay at Twisted Shoe campsite next time . . . beautiful! Rained a bit on the road but the washes were pretty firm.

Juniper Canyon Road looking NW


Next up, Black Gap Road. A little nervous with a brand new Jeep and first time on Black Gap and ALONE! We had seen only two other vehicles so far on the backroads. Crossing Glenn Spring was fine. Water wasn't very deep . . . bottom was firm. The northern section that drops to the valley in the south was my biggest concern. It took us some time to navigate mainly because I wasn't sure of this stock vehicle's clearance. My son was directing me from outside the vehicle at many points during the descent. The Jeep was squatting in the rear due to the weight of our supplies and the hitch rack we used to carry two 5 gallons jerry cans of fuel, HiLift jack and shovel. Still, we didn't bottom out once.

Black Gap Road looking SW


The pinch was sort of uneventful. The remainder of the trip south on Black Gap was sort of boring; hot (for January) and a ferocious southwest wind. The northern section was the fun part. Finished up the day by visiting Mariscal Mine and traveling east on River Road and then back north on Glenn Springs to our next campsite: Glenn Springs 1 (I believe). This site is back on Black Gap Road just across from the springs/water crossing. Another great site!

The next morning, we traveled Pine Canyon Road to check out the campsites. Great views. Finally, we visited the Chisos Basin. Too many people!

The coyotes were out in force in BBNP. They were certainly not fearful of humans. While taking photos on one remote stretch, a coyote walked within five feet of me. Curious more than anything else. The coyote on the park road, however, seemed to have his game on. Cars stopped numerous times to feed him.

We had hoped to travel River Road the entire distance from east to west; same for Old Maverick Road south to north. There is just not enough time in two full/two half days for this much travel. Next time!

All in all, a great trip for us and now we are anxious to find overland opportunities closer to Austin. Except for friend's ranches, I don't think there are any. Airing down from 40 psi to 22 psi sure made the backroads comfortable. We aired back up with the SmittyBuilt compressor before traveling on the paved roads. Did this twice.

Lots of photos that I will share when I'm on the proper computer.
 
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#2 ·
What would I do differently next trip? Find a way to reduce weight. We travelled heavy trying to cover every eventuality. We had enough “stuff” including food and water to last over a week on the trail. We had a few redundant items (like air compressors and recovery straps). With the rear seats down, we used almost every square foot of volume in the back of the Jeep for our gear.

We’ll certainly keep the tools/compressor/recovery gear. Maybe cut back on the heavy things like the heavy folding table/chairs. Keep the two 5-gallon jerry cans of water stored inside the Jeep? Given the geographic location, yes. The 12’x10’ tent doesn’t weigh that much but the two cots certainly do. Unfortunately, the comfort of cots is something we are not willing to forgo. The Artic 65 qt. ice chest weighs almost 40 pounds empty and consumes a huge amount of volume in the Jeep’s interior. While it keeps ice for many days, the trade-off is weight and space. I need to check the part no. of the Jeep’s rear springs . . . I added the receiver hitch after I bought the vehicle so maybe I can upgrade the stiffness of the springs to accommodate the weight of these overland trips.

The only reason I will add a lift and larger tires is for function. Given the success of this trip on stock 32” MT’s and stock suspension, I don’t see a lift in my near future. May not look as cool, but still functional.

Didn’t have to dip into my jerry can fuel reserves; still nice to have in a pinch. I never worried about fuel. Fuel transfer is quick, though. I tried it at home using the siphon tubes that you shake up and down to get going. Also have a Mr. Funnel to remove water and debris.

The biggest WIN was having my rack fabricated at a local welding shop. Along with the hitch tightener, I have a rock solid platform for hauling extra fuel, HiLift jack, shovel and other accessories WITHOUT reducing my departure angle. The rack actually protects my spare tire. WIN! WIN!

Finally, what Rubicon features did I use on the trip? Didn't use the swaybar disconnect. I tried 4Low on a small section of Black Gap along with front and rear lockers. Don't think i really needed the lockers; just wanted to try them out before I actually do need them. I'm sure I'd have been fine with 4High the entire trip. Probably could have used 2wd the vast majority of the backroads.
 
#5 ·
Awesome! I'm headed down there the last week in April. I am meeting some friends the last few days of the trip and we are going to wheel and camp in the state park. I'm going early though and going to explore the national park. I thought about staying in the Chissos Mountain Lodge but think I'd rather camp instead. How do the camp sites work? Do you need reservations or is it first come first served?
 
#6 ·
You'll want to visit the National Park's website for the latest rules. You have to select "primitive roadside" campsites in person at the ranger stations. Once we arrived, I was not able to select my first choice in sites but we still ended up with what could, arguably, be considered some of the best sites in the park. I purchased a backroad guide and map from the bookstore at the park a few weeks before our trip so that I could plan. They mailed the items to my home.

Primitive Roadside Campsites: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/roadsidecamps.htm

I really like Old Ore Road the best. Much diversity and plenty of things to do after exiting the vehicle. Ernest Tinaja was worth the short walk.

Willow Tank on Old Ore was a good overnight location. Roy's Peak would be my campsite of choice on Old Ore. Beautiful surrounding hills. The farther you go south on Old Ore, the less exciting (except for Ernest Tinaja). The roughest sections are in the northern half. And, the safest sites are farther away from the Rio Grande. The ranger was trying to convince two dudes that Solis was not a safe site; they decided otherwise and he finished with "remember that I told you so."

Glenn Springs Road and the Pine Canyon and Juniper Canyon spurs are home to good campsites. We stayed at Rice Tank on Glenn Springs and were well protected from a storm one night from the north (plenty of thunder/lightning/rain). A really nice campsite on Juniper Canyon is Twisted Shoe (my first choice).

We were also fortunate to stay at Glenn Springs 1 that is just across the spring on Black Gap Road. A well protected site.

We visited virtually every campsite on Glenn Springs, Old Ore, Juniper Canyon, Pine Canyon, Black Gap, and the eastern portions of River Road. I'd have to say that given the fact that every primitive roadside campsite was taken that week (MLK weekend), we were able to select great sites. We arrived at 3:00 p.m. on that Friday and many sites were already taken. By early the next morning, we learned that all sites were taken.

Hope you get there early enough to select the site(s) you want.
 
#11 ·
Looks like a good time. I will be making my 1st trip to BBNP next weekend.
 
#12 ·
I've been twice over the last year. It's a good time -- especially Black Gap. Funny story, I was driving towards Black Gap for the first time and came across a Ford Explorer driving away from the pass. You don't see many vehicles out there so people usually stop and chat for a bit. Anyway, these two guys say they had to turn around because they couldn't clear the ledge in the pass. They looked my Jeep up and down and said "Not sure you'll be able to make it either. You may want to turn around." I chuckled and said I'd go check it out. As you all know, it wasn't anything crazy. Shortly after I got to Mariscal Mine a stock Rubicon full of ladies pulled up. They'd also spoken to the guys in the Explorer and we had a good laugh at their expense.

Anyone looking to do Black Gap for the first time, rest assured you can make it through in any stock Wrangler.

 
#13 ·
Yeah, I'm feeling pretty confident that I can handle anything Big Bend throws at me.

 
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