Mt. Livermore...trip report

[bdhawk133]

I just got back from a hiking trip to the summit of Mt. Livermore in the Davis Mtns, and I highly recommend it to everyone! The land is owned by the Nature Conservancy, so access is limited to groups by guide, or one of their handful of "open" weekends to the public. This area is absolutely beautiful. I have been kicking myself for days now for having forgotten my camera. So..... no pics!!! (Sorry Homero) I figured that the least I could do is tell everyone about it....

We left Friday afternoon at around 6:30, which put us there at around 9:15 or so. My brother-in-law and I were meeting up with the Permian Basin Outing Club within the Ft. Davis State Park to spend the first night. When we got there, we promptly found the campsite that had been reserved for the club, and began to set up camp so that we could join the others for stories and drinks. Most everyone turned in early, but a few of us stayed out howling at the moon till around 2:00 am. The night was beautiful, and the weather could not have been more perfect. We had a near-full moon, and no wind. You could hear coyotes for miles, and it was just cool enough that we didn't have to fight the bugs.

6:30 am came REALLY early, but after a few cups of coffee and the scramble to get everything ready for the day's adventures, we were wide awake and raring to go. Now... some explanation might be in order as to how the events of the day were to unfold. You see, normally when I go hiking, I get up early and get goin without wasting a moments time. BUT... I was meeting the PBOC for the first time, and little did I know that about half of the club is made up of people that range in age from 13 to 80 (with the majority between 45-70). I have to say that at first, I was a little discouraged at the fact that I was going to have to accept the slower pace of some of the others. But as time went on, I came to realize that being forced to slow down allowed me to experience many things that I would have blown past on my own. For this..... I ended up being truly grateful.

We all met at the entrance to the state park at 8:15 before caravaning down to Madera Canyon, where somehow we were able to cram every single person into three 4X4 vehicles. The roads we were about to take were going to be extremely rough, and only accessible to four wheel drive. After packing everyone in like clowns, we drove down the road about 5 miles to the entrance of The Nature Conservancy land. After meeting our guide for the day, we were finally able to begin our journey towards the top. Because of the variety of skill levels within our group, we were going to be taken as high as possible by vehicle, leaving only about 3 miles of hiking towards the summit. This way, everyone had a good chance of being able to bag the second tallest mountain in Texas (not counting the sisters of Guadalupe Peak). At 8378 ft., this was to be an incredible experience for which all but two of our group would conquer.

The road to the trailhead should really not be considered a road at all. It's definitely only for the experienced off-roaders, and consists of multiple stream crossings and many steep climbs. I was absolutely surprised at the amount of water through this area, but considering how much rain they have gotten, I shouldn't have been. After the first mile or so, I couldn't believe I was still in West Texas. The area was incredibly lush and reminded me more of the forests of New Mexico than Texas. I road in the back of one of the trucks with an avid bird watcher, and was lucky enough to spot several different falcons, hawks, and other rare birds. We couldn't wait to get out and explore this wilderness on foot. The 6.5 mile drive up the mountain took forever (I think around 1.5-2.0 hours), but we finally made it.

Once we started the climb, our guide had no problem with everyone splitting up and challenging the mountain at their own pace. My brother-in-law and I promptly put it in gear, and began flying up the hillside. This didn't last long though because to our surprise, the hike was much more steep than was expected. I am sticking to my belief that this climb was much more strenuous than Pinnacles in Big Bend, and also Guad Peak. There were few level spots, and almost all uphill the entire way. So.... either the cervezas from the night before had cast a spell on us, or it was just plain hard. Since it was only 3 miles, we didn't suffer too bad, and were able to spot some wildlife along the way. The place was literally crawling with short-horned toads that look quite different than the horny-toads of my part of west texas. They were a pinkish color, and much smaller. Among these, we spotted several deer, birds, and other various animals.

We were supposed to end the day rappelling, so to prepare ourselves, we took several detours off trail to climb a few of the rock faces. A few times, I thought I had climbed myself into a pickle of which I wasn't going to get out of. But alas, I was able to find just the right foot and hand holds, and eventually got myself out of trouble. Eventually, we made it to the summit. We were happy that we could finally sit down for lunch and take a well deserved breather while we waited for the others to make their way to the top. Not long after we arrived, the rest of the group began to trickle up, and we all sat in the cool breeze and shared our discoveries of the journey. Supposedly, from the peak you can see the Guads on a clear day, but we were slowly being consumed by a storm (may have been part of Norm). Just before we left, the winds picked up and it started to sprinkle a bit. Luckily, everyone had finished their snacks and were ready to begin the trek down to the trucks.

The trip down was really uneventful except for the fact that I was able to ski about halfway down. The grade was so steep, and the rocks so loose, that had I have had a pair, I would have been at the bottom in no time!! Once at the trucks, we took a load off, and fired up the satelite radio to catch some of the football games while we waited for the others!! By the way (GO RED RAIDERS!!!!!!! and HOOK'EM HORNS!!!)

By the time everyone had reached the trucks and were were able to drive out of there, the day was coming to an end so we didn't get the chance to rappell like we had hoped. Unfortunatley, I needed to be back in Midland on Sunday, so we left that Saturday night and made the short drive home. This weekend was an absolute blast! For anyone wanting to experience a new area, I highly recommend looking into some of the open weekends at the Conservancy, and making the trek through many of the trails they had to offer. I noticed about 10-12 different trail markers on the way to the summit trailhead, of which I hope to return and explore some day.

Sorry I didn't come away with any pictures, but I hope that some of you can take my word on how amazing it was, and take the chance to experience it for yourselves. I am going to try to get in touch with some of the others that did take pictures so that I can hopefully share them with everyone. Have a good one!!!!

[Al]

bdhawk, thanks for the tip!  Did not know about the trips.  Excellent report.

Al

[homerboy2u]

BDHawk133, Thank you for your trip report an excellent story on your latest travels, but honestly?....who's fault was it that made you forget the camera? friends?..cervezas?..mood of the trip?,were getting warmer.......it's like a cake with out the icing,man...

[riverrat]

Sounds like a really great adventure! Good luck finding some pics!

[madplanter]

I have pics of my hike to the top, from back in Feb 2006....yes it is quite steep, and we took many many rest breaks, but made it to the top eventually.  When we started, it was early morning, and about 13F degrees, but at the summit, around 11am, it was a comfortable 65F.
we could just make out the guads, and could easily see Marfa and Valentine.  I will post a link to photos.  It is a great climb, and the conservancy land in the Davis Mtns is very well managed, and very rarely explored by the public.


mp

[TexasAggieHiker]

I worked for The Nature Conservancy for 6 years.  It is a really good organization.  Who was your guide?

[madplanter]

.

Here are some photos of my
Mt Livermore climb:

again, this climb was in Feb 2006
during an 'open hiking' weekend
with permission from The Nature Conservancy.

at the entrance gate on HWY 118, just west
of the McDonald Observatory...



frozen creek water crossing...




Mt Livermore & Baldy Peak in sunrise light,
as seen from the entrance gate.



80ft Ponderosa Pines... is this West Texas ??

[madplanter]

.

you basically are climbing a very steep 4X4-only
dirt/rock road, that goes right to the top, but
they will not allow the public to drive the road
because it is so hard to maintain. 

the visitors must park 3 miles from the summit,
and hike the road.

this photo doesn't look so bad, but it
is quite steep...




at Bridge Gap, and already 7300ft elev.
...as high as most peaks in the Chisos




getting closer...




Baldy zoom shot




supposedly there is a stand of quaking Aspen trees
somewhere below the white bluffs.




can't get over the tall pines...




did I mention it was steep ?



finally, the summit is near...




after a short scramble up some
exfoliated loose flag stone...




on top... 8379ft Elevation




Geodetic Survey Emblem




this photo is not good, but try to imagine
the Guads on the horizon...dead center is
Capitan et. al.




looking to the SouthWest..



can you see the bustling burb of Valentine ?




looking ESE at the Glass Mtns on the
horizon...Blue Mountain, with Mitre Peak
poking up, and some of the DMR in the
foreground.



Facing Northeast, Richman Mtn
and the McDonald Observatory
on Mt Locke and Mt Fowlkes




Marfa glistens in the distance..



south face valleys full of pine trees...




another shot of the observatory...





the end

[madplanter]

I bet bdhawk133 comes up with prettier photos...
It should be very green right now.  In Feb,
the oaks were wearing winter brown.

mp

[bdhawk133]

I worked for The Nature Conservancy for 6 years.  It is a really good organization.  Who was your guide?

Pam.....didn't get a last name, but she said she had been with them for a while. She was great!

[homerboy2u]

Madplanter, thank you for such great pictures....i hope that someday i get the chance to go and visit them. The more i look a t these pictures, the more i convince myself that there is so much resemblence to the mexican mountains to the south. Namely Sierra del Burro and Sierra del Carmen's, what great pictures,again.

 and those Ponderosa Pines...they look just like the ones in Maderas del Carmen. maybe i am asking for too much, but would ther be any Google Earth waypoints for us fellows to fly over?

 BDHawk...maaan !!!

[madplanter]

....i hope that someday i get the chance to go and visit them.

homero !

you can come stay with me & my wife at my cabin in the Davis Mtns,
and hike in the Nature Conservancy...

but in return you must take us to quatro cienegas !

.....and Maderas Del Carmens.......and El Carmen.....and...Creel....and

[sleepy]

I've wanted to climb that since I first laid eyes on it.

[bdhawk133]

Great pics MadPlanter!!!! It is soooo much greener right now. I really was amazed!

[homerboy2u]

homero !

you can come stay with me & my wife at my cabin in the Davis Mtns,
and hike in the Nature Conservancy...

but in return you must take us to quatro cienegas !

.....and Maderas Del Carmens.......and El Carmen.....and...Creel....and

Thanks for the invitation MadPlanter;

 Cuatrocienegas seems to be the next place to travel,but probably will have to be done next year, in the meantime i have a schedule trip to Sierra del Carmen on Octuber 24th.God willing.

  I did not made too much noise this time,since i wanted to check first the conditions of the road and the area down there...or should i say: Up there?. I have not been there since February 2006,it is long over due a return trip.

 I am making (investing) alot of money to have my truck in tip top condition , this time....hello East Texan!!! and hopefully do the complete circuit....

 My previous trip was logged Here , but i did not like it too much. There is missing waypoints,Youtubes videos,much more information so me ...anybody can schedule a trip there.

 We should be able to do a good trip report, for everybody to enjoy.