Easy hike recommendations

[Wendy]

Need some help.  We've visited BiBe a number of times and are starting to plan our annual spring break trip.  The kicker is I was in a really bad car accident last summer and can't get around as well as I used to.  My legs were really mangled in the accident and this will be our first trip back to BiBe since then.  

I got trekking poles for Christmas which I'm hoping will help with my balance and stability, but I won't be able to go up and down any steep grades and won't be able to go very far on foot.  We do have a high clearance 4X4 so we can get to any easy trails off the beaten path if we can drive some of the back country roads and then do a short easy hike.

Any recommendations that stand out as being a possibility?   I'm bound and determined to do this trip, even if I can't hike the trails I used to be able to.

[Al]

These come immediately to mind: Ernst Tinaja, Santa Elena Canyon, Hot Springs (get in the "healing waters"), Boquillas Canyon, Mariscal mine area and I'm sure folks will come up with many more!  

Al

[Robert]

Might help if you clarify how far "not too far" is for you. Is it 1 mile, 2 miles, or something else. Also what does "steep" mean for you? Al's suggestions are good hikes but I would not have suggested some of them based on your comments.

I would suggest hiking up Lost Mine Trail as far as you feel comfortable. The Hot Springs trail is a great idea and you can continue down past the springs to extend it. Grapevine Hills is another area you can walk in to and turn around when you want.

Any of the Ranger interpretive walks would be great. They never go very far and you learn a lot. Check the schedule when you get to the park. Instead of trying to hike a ways down a trail you should try to explore something in more detail. Dugout Wells, the ruins down by Castalon, Blue Creek Ranch (Homer Wilson), Glenn Springs, and the Sam Nail Ranch are all areas where you can spend considerable time walking around without having to walk a great distance.

[Roy]

Dog Canyon should be good.  Mostly flat, not too many people, and there should be cliff swallows and canyon wrens nesting in March.

[RichardM]

How about Indian Head Springs?  The Chimneys trail is pretty flat, as is Burro Mesa Pouroff.

[BigBendHiker]

All great suggestions thus far.  What about the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail?  It is fairly flat.  It does have that boardwalk over the pond but if that can be navigated OK, it is a pretty neat hike.  Towards the end, there are some Indian mortar and grinding holes that are neat to see.


BBH

[Wendy]

Might help if you clarify how far "not too far" is for you. Is it 1 mile, 2 miles, or something else. Also what does "steep" mean for you? Al's suggestions are good hikes but I would not have suggested some of them based on your comments.

Yeah, I definitely should have clarified.  About a mile is probably all I'll be able to handle.   I've done most of the hikes Al suggested in the past.  Ernst Tinaja won't work because I can't climb up on the rock steps to get to the water hole and Santa Elena is way too steep.  

Stuff like Glenn Springs, Dugout Wells, and the nature trail at RGV are going to be about all I can handle, I'm afraid.   I won't even be able to get to the top of the hill at RGV.   I just want to cry every time I think about not doing all these hikes, but I've already had 6 surgeries on my legs and don't particularly want to mess up all the reconstruction done so far.   My surgeons would have a fit if they knew I was planning to go at all.  LOL!  I'm sure you all understand the pull of Big Bend though, and appreciate that it is important therapy for me just to be there even if I can't do much.

So, if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!

[Al]

I'd do the hot springs.  Been there more times than fingers I can count, although I am an Aggie.  Enjoyed it everytime.  Have a great trip!

Al

[chisos_muse]

You don't have to worry about any of the established hikes. It's probably just as fun to drive around the park, pick a flat spot that isn't too brushy and explore a bit as far as you can walk. Check out some of the ranger programs, pack lunches and sit and enjoy views. If you have the right vehicle, I'd take advantage of the backcountry roads too. Lots of little gems to be seen there. Drive to Barton Warnock and stroll the desert garden, then drive the river road past Lajitas. On the way back, stop and get a pizza at Longdraw. BYOB and enjoy the locals 8)

[presidio]

You don't have to worry about any of the established hikes. It's probably just as fun to drive around the park, pick a flat spot that isn't too brushy and explore a bit as far as you can walk.

Excellent advice. There is so much more to see than what the park promotes.  If you do anything that is not in the various guidebooks you are seeing more than 99% of the people who visit the park ever do.

I know of one little hike, though probably not for your current situation, that is never more than 50 yards from a gravel road, is about 2.1 miles in length paralleling the road, sporting with small pouroffs and narrow slots but needing no equipment and just a nice hike. You can hear traffic so that may bother some, but no one driving the road will even know you are there. Hundreds drive by it every year and have no inkling what is just out of their sight as they head toward 'official, approved by the NPS' places.

If you haven't yet done it, you will be amazed at what you can find even hiking across desert flats that appear to have nothing remarkable to offer when viewed from the roads.

Explore, don't follow.

[woodrow]

Where is your secret hike located Presidio ??

[chisos_muse]

Where is your secret hike located Presidio ??

Well, you know what they say....if he TELLS you, then he has to...... :o

And, if he told you...... it wouldn't be a secret!

[presidio]

Where is your secret hike located Presidio ??

Well, you know what they say....if he TELLS you, then he has to...... :o

And, if he told you...... it wouldn't be a secret!

Well, I knew as soon as I mentioned it, someone would ask. It's not a secret...just a place few people think of. It has the appearance from a short distance of not being anything all that special, until you get into it.

Let's just say it is east of the Chisos and south of the road to RGV. That ought to narrow it down quite a bit for those who are fairly familiar with the park.

It can be approached from either direction but top down is arguably more fun since you can slide some of the pouroffs. There's nothing over about 8 feet or so that you have to negotiate at any one time.

I will post a teaser photo in a bit.

[presidio]

Here are 3 teaser photos (a whopping 2 more than I originally promised) of a hike that is near a road, yet invisible to the majority who drive by each year.

Looking down drainage from the upper end




One of the several slide areas. The rock is quite well polished and slick.




A view of a narrow slot about midway through the hike. The drop here is about 6 feet.

[jamesb]

this looks like it would be real fun. but cant figure out where it is at. I have been down the road to RGV a hundred times or so, but im stumped. I do have a few ideas of where to look.

James