Well my son and I had an excellent time last week!
We were there from 3/9 to 3/15 and the place was practically empty :)
The weather was absolutely wonderful.
It was in the 70s during the day and 40-50s at night.
My 6 year old son had a real blast exploring around the desert.
He also enjoyed sitting in the front seat!
The snakes weren't out yet but he got constantly reminded to look out for them.
We stayed two nights at Yedra 2, two at Fresno Vista, and two at Guale 2.
All very nice sites with their own charm.
I will say that Guale 2 took the cake....
What a place!!!!
Many of you helped answer some question in the other thread.
The tires did extremely well. I aired down to 25psi for the whole week and that was nice.
The main road with it washboards was practically smooth with the tires low.
However, that lowered my clearance to about 8-9 inches and I'd hit something now and again.
We explored much of the parks roads and they were in decent shape.
We obviously went all the way down Guale road, but we also went down Fresno Canyon and into the solitario.
Of course the truck got scratched to hell but I knew that going in. It's pretty much unavoidable.
To me, those roads weren't all that bad. I think they can be best described by saying a 4X4 enthusiast would be disappointed in the lack of challenge, but for an amateur off roader would find it a good way to learn a few things...
The road down the solitario and Guale had been worked on with a small front end loader.
They are obviously trying to make it not sooo crunchy....
We went down to Mcquirks Tanks (where we saw about 20 javelina) and it got a bit rough down there. Going past the tanks just got worse. We went a little way but it didn't seem worth it to go much further...
The main goal of the trip was for my son to have an exciting time exploring the desert.
He had been to the Big Bend area twice before but he was too young to recall.
This time I didn't have to carry him anywhere... :D
The hike to ojito adentro was a real treat, as was the hike to the cinco tinajas.
Those were really the only two 'formal' hikes we did.
The rest of the time we just explored around washes and draws and around the campsites.
The old homestead 'below' Guale 2 was kind of cool and that old road must have been something to drive up!
We went over to the Guale Trailhead and hiked around there (there isn't a trail there, just the trailhead
)
that was cool to walk along the cliff and look down into oso canyon.
Next time I want to spend more time in the southern portion where most of the canyons are.
That looks like some great terrain to explore.
I didn't end up with any flats, so that was nice.
We drove probably 170 miles within the park over the 6 days.
Every two days when changing campsites we would swing in Sauceda and get some water and ice.
Guale 2 was our last stop and the wind on the last night was kicking up quite a bit so we didn't have a fire.
So whoever got there next had plenty of firewood....
At Guale 2 they found a nice spot to sleep. It's behind some rocks so it protects you from the wind.
You also have a nice
viewHowever, it didn't go without incident...
On the way out of Guale on the last morning, I torqued and twitched a little too much somewhere and snapped the sway bar link. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't know that at the time. I just took it real slow to get out to the main road.
In Presidio, I deemed it fine for highway travel and made it safely back to Austin.
I put up some photos
here.
This place is a real jewel for those that really want to get away.
I truly hope they don't change the accessibility and the roughness will keep the numbers down.
It does seem that is the intent so it will be a great place to visit for years to come.
I can't wait to explore with just a pack on my back.
I think there are many great places to be seen.
Scott
