March Trip 15-20 or 21st

[STARLITDARKNESS3]

Ok, I have been procrastinating for a few weeks now.  Now, I have to start preparing. We will be in the park during Spring Break and, again, I am looking for the great advice from everyone here. 

We will arrive Saturday the 15th and will camp in the Basin.  My group consists of Mom, two daughters (16,15yo), two sons (13, 14), myself, and a Junior Firefighter (17).  My son, 14, has been with me many times.  My mom has been with me many times as well.  My new kids (GF's kids) have never been, neither has the 17 yo FF.  We will carry our car camp gear and our back-pack gear.  We will be flexible with our itinerary, but want to have a few things that we can do for sure.

The breakdown: (Group 1) Mom, girls and 13 yo will stay behind at base camp while we do an overnighter or two night hike.  Group 1 plans to hike the window trail, Drive to and hike Grapvine Hills, enjoy the camp and the camp food while Group 2 (My 14yo son, 17 yo FF and myself) does the overnighter.  My mom will dictate what all that group does.  She can do some of the hikes but not alot.  The kids just want to chill and do easy stuff.

Group 2.  We have a few options.  My son has talked about hiking Juniper Canyon.  If we do this, where is the best place to cache water?  We would hike up Pinnacles, detour to Emory Peak, travel down Boot Canyon Trail and continue to Juniper Canyon.  We are hoping there is water at the Boot Canyon location.  I realize that availability of campsites is a concern.  We are hoping that since we will be there early Saturday Morning there will be a chance.  Assuming we get a campsite somewhere along Juniper Canyon, Colima 1 or Boot Canyon, I have the following questions.

Q. Is it best to start this hike near Twisted Shoe (at Rd.), camp in Juniper, Colima, or Boot Canyon, then continue the next day to Emory and the Basin? 

Q. Should we start at the Basin, Camp at any of the above mentioned, then contiue down Juniper and arrange pick up at the road? 

Q. I'm thinking of this as an overnight hike. Should I consider it different, extend it, or do it as a day hike? 

Ok, thats options 1 & 2.
Option 3.  Continue with the recent surge in MV trail hikes.  A two night trip here seems more appropriate, but if we have to we can plan an overnight only.  There is plenty of info from the recent trips but any advice is always welcome. 

Option 4.  My son and I have always wanted to hike the Tornillo Flats and camp out there.  We have talked about hiking Tornillo Creek from near the Fossil Bone Exhibit to the area near the bridge that leads to RGV.  I know that this will take some time and alot of effort and planning.  I dont know how technical or if even possible without alot of detouring.  Ok, the other part of this hike is what our 4th option is.  If possible we would like to hike, explore, the Flats on the West side of 385.  We figure we can zone camp overnight somwhere along the creek, expanding the possibilities of exploring the area.

Q. What zone camping areas recommended?
Q. What key sites along this area are must see?
Q. Any and all advice you guys have??

Option 5.  Whatever overnight hike with an overnight stay that you can recommend.  We are very flexible any trip we have taken to BIBE and plan on remaining so this time.  So, give us your choice of an overnighter, please.

The remainder of our trip will consist of Driving the park roads.  We will travel down Paint Gap and spend an afternoon or morning exploring this area without a doubt.    Thank you Jr. Ranger.  No doubt we will travel to the showers and the Hot Springs during our visit.  Boquillas and Santa Elena are in the plan as well.  Our hopes are to catch views of desert flowers, I know the best times are usually in April, but one can hope. 

We will end our trip in Terlingua Ranch, doing some fossil hunting.  We plan on searchhing for the better part of the day before driving home.  I really hope to have some good pics to share with all of you.  Oh yes, one more question.  I think I asked before.  What camera do you all recommend?  I'm spending between 300-400 dlls.  Can't do more than that  . 

Thanks to all of you in advance.  I hope to meet some of you there, March 15-20th.  Homero, if you want to make the rest of the drive from Seminole, you can join us too. 

[homerboy2u2]

Very interesting...your bringing the whole church school with you....let's see what we can do around those dates.

[jeffblaylock]

Wow. Alot to think about.

My thoughts, roughly in the order they occurred to me (which may not match the order you presented them, so I'll use your numbering scheme.)

Do you have your Basin campsite(s) reserved already? How many vehicles are you taking?

2A-B. Depends on your vehicle situation. Hiking-wise, it is certainly easier to begin your hike in the Basin and walk DOWN to the desert. Ride-wise, it is easier for your driver to drop you off in Juniper Canyon and have you walk back to camp. As for camping, there are not a lot of zone sites in Juniper Canyon, but it is certainly possible to camp there (beyond the No Camping sign, of course  ) without needing a specific site. The Colima sites are kinda out of our way, but on the plus side they are among the most likely available. As for a water cache, your only real bet is the end of the Juniper Canyon road.

2C. That's a REALLY long day hike, so it is better as an overnighter, especially once you factor is transportation time (either getting TO or getting BACK from the trailhead).

Personally, I would choose Blue Creek Canyon over Juniper Canyon because you get to see the South Rim (unless you just take Colima Trail) and the transportation situation is much easier.

3. Always an option, though I would avoid MV if the temperature will exceed 85 during the heat of the day. There is NO SHADE and no water except for the Rio Grande. If you do a 1-nighter, I'd recommend taking the South Fork to the split-rock campsite and not dropping down to the Rio.

4. I don't have enough experience in this area of the park to comment, other than there are a number of options for the Banta Shut-In and Estufa Canyon. Same warning on temperature, although there is more water on this route than MV.

Zone camping. The Smoky Creek area around the Mule Ears is a worthy area to explore, assuming the temperature is agreeable. Backpack out to the overlook of Smoky Creek drainage and set up base camp. Then spend a day exploring. I also like the Chimneys Trail for a 1-nighter out and back or get dropped off at one end and picked up at the other. There is also the Mariscal Rim area, but that requires a 4x4 and plenty of time to reach the trailhead (and even more time if you hike from Talley to Solis via the Cross Canyon trail).

Camera. Pick a name you know and understand how it works before you go. Personally, I am a Canon man. Pick one that has an actual viewfinder. LCD screens are great until the sun is overhead at 1 p.m. and you can't see what the blazes you're shooting at. I'd take a bigger optical zoom (NOT digital zoom) over more megapixelage for the money. You should be able to get a very nice for $300-$400 but also remember: extra batteries, media. The memory card that nice camera comes with won't hold much, and no digital camera does any good without power.

[STARLITDARKNESS3]

Wow. Alot to think about.
Do you have your Basin campsite(s) reserved already? How many vehicles are you taking?

We do have a campsite in the Basin reserved.  We will be taking two vehicles, this should make it easier.

2A-B. Depends on your vehicle situation. Hiking-wise, it is certainly easier to begin your hike in the Basin and walk DOWN to the desert. Ride-wise, it is easier for your driver to drop you off in Juniper Canyon and have you walk back to camp. As for camping, there are not a lot of zone sites in Juniper Canyon, but it is certainly possible to camp there (beyond the No Camping sign, of course  ) without needing a specific site. The Colima sites are kinda out of our way, but on the plus side they are among the most likely available. As for a water cache, your only real bet is the end of the Juniper Canyon road.

2C. That's a REALLY long day hike, so it is better as an overnighter, especially once you factor is transportation time (either getting TO or getting BACK from the trailhead).
Personally, I would choose Blue Creek Canyon over Juniper Canyon because you get to see the South Rim (unless you just take Colima Trail) and the transportation situation is much easier.

I agree, We prefer to do an overnighter.  We had not considered Blue Creek Canyon, it is certainly a good option.  Would it be ok to leave one of our vehicle near HWR for our return drive to the Basin?

3. Always an option, though I would avoid MV if the temperature will exceed 85 during the heat of the day. There is NO SHADE and no water except for the Rio Grande. If you do a 1-nighter, I'd recommend taking the South Fork to the split-rock campsite and not dropping down to the Rio.

We might have to leave MV for another time..  Ok, Great advice on all options. Thanks Jeff, we have to get a jump on the camera as soon as we can too.  So, I have my son looking over Juniper and Blue Creek as I type this.  I'd still like to keep the Flats area as an option.  We will try to finalize our plan in the next week and a half.  Thanks again.

[huachuca]

We'll be a week behind you - Friday (3/21) in RGV then up to the Basin on Saturday thru the 28th.   Silver 4DR Tacoma w/NC tags & 16' Scamp camper (looks kinda like an egg) - stop by if you see us

Looks like Jeff covered you on the hikes and his advice on becoming familiar with whatever camera you choose is spot on as well.  Canon's S5 (8MP w/12X optical zoom) is in the price range you listed.  Lots of nice pro-type features but good quality pics just w/point & shoot auto mode.  Camera runs around $325 @ Amazon.  Add $50-70 for a 4Gb card and you're set.  Carry plenty of AAs on this trip and upgrade to a charger and NiMHs when you can.

Enjoy the trip - Al

Moderator note:  followups on camera recommendations have been moved to
Camera for under $400? (plus SD cards)


 

[homerboy2u2]

Looks as though your good to go SLD.......We should get an answer to see if we are game for the march 14th trip over to Amistad & Seminole Canyon.

  I truly hope I can meet you there, meet your 4 kids ? and Mom,and wish you farewell over to BiBe.

Saludos y Bendiciones.