Backpacking Big Bend Outer Mountain Loop
Big Bend National Park

December brought along a lot of laziness in my life meaning not much training and building up my winter weight. I thought planning a January trip to Big Bend to do backpacking might knock me out of my doldrums so I set out to do the Outer Mountain Loop (OML). It turned out to be a good trip and reminded me to get to work on my conditioning. Read on for the story.

Planning the trip

For those of you that are familiar with my trips, you know that I enjoy the planning phase. Why should this trip be any different? I fired up my Road Trip Planner software and started getting my geek on.

My path was taking me through New Mexico so I thought I’d hike up Sierra Blanca and camp at Cave Campground. The next day would have me arriving at Big Bend. My first night at Big Bend would be at Rio Grande Village Campground where I made a reservation, making it easy for me get on the trail the next day. My loop would take 4 days and include Emory Peak. Then my trip had me going to Georgetown, TX to visit friends returning through Palo Duro Canyon state park near Amarillo, getting home the next day. Well, that’s not exactly how it worked out…but it sure was a great plan!

Sierra Blanca

Sierra Blanca is on the Mescalero Indian Reservation. There are several places online that say you can hike it without permission, although I find that to be pretty presumptuous and disrespectful. I reached out to the reservation staff through their website and asked permission. They were clear that the mountain is for Tribal members only. That left the neighboring Lookout Mountain as a possibility but not the main mountain.

Big Bend Backcountry

Big Bend requires reservations for their backcountry sites, which I was able to complete through recreation.gov. One night was in a zone camping area, no reservation required. I would have to get a backcountry permit. Those are only available 24 hours in advance and have to be picked up at the Visitor Center.

The weather looked promising. I took both my warm Marmot bag as well as my lighter REI SubKilo bag. Another twist on my usual setup was food. Recently I’d purchased some dehydrated eggs to try instead of my usual oatmeal, dried milk, and dried blueberry combination. It was a small weight savings, although I felt it was worth testing out.

OK, detailed plan and reservations in place, time to head out!

Getting to Big Bend for the Outer Mountain Loop

Friday, January 14th, I headed out on my trip. The weather in Littleton was pretty nice when I left, with temps expected to drop during the day. My hope was that temps would be stable down south. Weather forecasts said highs in the 60’s and 70’s, lows in the 30’s and 40’s, ideal!

By the time I’d reached Las Vegas, NM, I’d decided to scrap hiking Lookout Mountain. There were two factors that impacted my decision. First, just like in Sienfield in Bubble Boy, I was making good time and didn’t want to mess that up! Second, the idea of potentially camping on snow wasn’t that appealing. Maybe reason two was bigger than one.

The change in destination allowed me to take a more direct route through Roswell and Carlsbad. I didn’t have a particular destination in mind for the night. I’d let timing and free camping determine my path.

One thing I discovered, there isn’t any good overnight camping options between Carlsbad and Fort Stockton. The further south you go from Carlsbad, the more how oil drilling dominates the landscape. It’s not a pretty place or where I’d want to camp. In the end, I pushed through to a picnic area about 30 minutes south of Fort Stockton. No one was there, so I set up my tent in the dark right next to my Jeep. Temps were in the 60’s with pretty gusty winds. Those temps suggested my lighter sleeping bag would be good.

During the night, several cars and vans joined me overnighting at the spot. The wind whipping my tent made for a difficult sleeping, and mysteriously I got a bit chilled overnight. When I woke up from one of a only few hours of sleep, it was 33 and really windy. Not exactly what I was expecting. It was only about 2 hours before I arrived in Big Bend. Overall, an uneventful drive with a bit of sleep deprivation.

Big Bend NP

My first stop was the Panther Junction Visitor Center. The staff was really helpful as I picked up my backcountry permit. Once that was done, I headed down to my reserved camping spot in the Rio Grand Village campground. That’s about a 45-minute drive from the visitor center.

Along the way, I came across some wild horses and snapped a few pics. You can see how dusty it was in the group horse picture. With the strong winds, there was limited visibility because of that dust. There are also some pics of the huge cliffs to the east. It turns out those are in Mexico and part of the Maderas del Carmen park. That area looks amazing for exploring.

Boquillas Canyon

It was early so instead of going to the campground, I headed over to Boquillas Canyon and took a short hike (about 4 miles roundtrip). It gave me a chance to check the temp of the Rio Grande (it was kind of warm where I was at) and be just across the river from Mexico. During the hike I saw a canoe across the river. I wonder if this is used by the people selling trinkets on the trail? A few things I haven’t really seen on a National Park trail before.

The hike was a nice change of pace after all the driving. From there, I headed to the campground and set up my tent. This time I was going to use my heavier bag. Near sunset, I walked up the nearby nature trail to a small ridge. Several others were there to watch the sunset and capture a few pics. There was a donkey on the Mexico side but it was a bit dark for a great zoom shot. The sunset was nice and then I headed back to camp, eventually calling it a night.

The first night was interesting. I heard braying donkeys from across the river, an owl hooting nearby, and lots of coyotes calling out. I love hearing the coyotes! Morning brought cold temps (23℉) with plenty of frost on my tent and sleeping bag. I was SO happy I was in my warmer bag!! It made my decision for me, that’s the bag that’d be going in my pack.

Big Bend Outer Mountain Loop – Day 1

After packing up camp, I headed out to the trailhead. Twenty minutes into the drive I remembered I’d left my food in the food storage locker at the campsite…such a dummy. That only added 40 minutes to an hour drive! Eventually, I made it to the trailhead and loaded up my pack with everything. Finally, I was headed out on the trail!

My loop started at Homer Wilson Ranch on the Dodson Trail. The pack was heavy with the all the water. At Big Bend, they tell you there aren’t reliable water sources in the backcountry. That isn’t completely accurate, Upper Juniper Springs is reliable and I’d planned to get water there along the way. Still, I had over 6 liters of water and planned to be careful on consumption. Normally I’ll carry 2-3. There will be those that say 6 liters is not enough. Maybe, maybe not. One thing is for sure, my personality that likes to have everything worked out did NOT like having to think about water consumption.

Dodson Trail is a desert hike without too many ups and downs. There are some good views looking back west although I’d probably skip it next time. The day was warm and sunny, though, which makes for a great day no matter what. I made my way along, worrying about water and wondering how far I’d go. I met 4 people during the day, all friendly and willing to trail chat. My day ended just south of the Juniper Canyon trailhead where I set up camp. The spot I found was great. Clearly my conditioning was lacking. I was beat after 9-10 miles.

At one point during the night I woke up and thought “Wow, that was a quick night’s sleep”. Suddenly my sleepy brain realized it wasn’t the sun that was up, it was the full moon shining into my tent. It was probably 1AM, what a dork. Overnight temps were in the upper 30’s, good sleeping weather.

Big Bend Outer Mountain Loop – Day 2

Morning was brisk but comfortable. It was the first morning with the new dehydrated eggs and I wasn’t impressed. Soupy, semi-hard scrambled eggs do not make an ideal breakfast. Still, you get what you get on the trail. Note to self, stick with the oatmeal strategy!

There’s a road that ends at the Juniper Canyon trail with a bear box. This is where most people cache water for their Outer Mountain Loop hikes. Any water past the date is available for use by others. There was a half of a gallon jug from 1/9 and another full gallon left by trail angels. I went ahead and replenished two liters from the 1/9 jug although I didn’t really have to. It helped quiet the annoying voice in my head constantly wondering how water consumption was going. That voice is really annoying!

Beyond the trailhead, the path takes you through some more desert and then transitions to a mix of juniper trees and scrub while beginning the climb up to the rim. I took my time since I only had about 6-7 miles to get to my campsite. About two-thirds of the way, I got to Upper Juniper Springs. There were a lot of people saying how this spring could be hard to find. Ummm, not really. You simply take the branch off the main path at the metal sign, continue into the trees and turn uphill at the metal pipe. The spring is at the base of the rock.

The spring had a lot of bees flying around. We agreed not to bother each other which worked out great. The shade was nice and cool, so I rested, drank plenty of fluids over a half-hour or so, and then filled all 6 liters up using my water filter…I’m paranoid about drinking unfiltered water.

At about 4 miles, the trail became quite a bit steeper. Again, the poor training regimen kinda became evident. It was slow going with plenty of rests and enjoying views, and I eventually made it up to Juniper Canyon 1, my campsite for the night.

Shortly after setting up camp, a family of whitetail deer came though. There were a lot of deer in this area of the park. I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the sun and reading, wondering if my conditioning would allow me to do Emory Peak after all.

Big Bend Outer Mountain Loop – Day 3

My second breakfast of eggs confirmed my first breakfast’s impression, stick to oatmeal. After that lovely breakfast, I decided to skip Emory Peak. The hike added about 5 miles round trip and I didn’t want to take that on hauling my pack up the mountain. Later I found out from a ranger that there are bear boxes near the base of Emory Peak so you can leave your pack there. If I’d known that I would have done it. Oh well, live and learn.

The first stop of the day was one of the few toilets near the rim. These backcountry toilets are kind of interesting as you can see from the pic below. Nothing special and they use peat moss to help control the smell and improve composting. For all campsites along the East and South Rim, it’s either find one of these to use, or haul out your waste. Maybe that’s all a bit TMI, although you should be used to that in my blog posts!

OK, with that information behind us, let’s move on. I spent the morning leisurely strolling along the East Rim Trail. There were plenty of overlooks where you can fall to your death, it’s best to watch your step. Even hiking casually, I still got to my campsite at 11:00. I guess I should have left my pack there and then done the Emory Peak even though it was now 7 miles round trip. Instead, I set up camp and wandered along the South Rim Trail taking pictures and having lunch. Then I read more in the sun and relaxed. I have to say, I don’t regret how I spent the day!

Dinner was spent right at the edge of the rim followed by a beautiful sunset. My last night on the trail was wonderful, despite a strong wind throughout the night. I did notice my pad was going flat during the night. I got a picture of the nasty thorn that made it into my pad…everything is prickly in the desert!

Big Bend Outer Mountain Loop – Day 4

My last morning at camp, as usual, was a mixed set of feelings. I was looking forward to visiting my friends in Georgetown yet I knew I’d miss being out on the trail. Once camp was packed up, I headed out knowing it would be a relatively easy hiking day.

Blue Creek Trail has a really interesting canyon area with some beautiful brown rocks. I captured some video to send to my mom (that was just for her), and you can see the pictures below. Overall, this was a great hike out with a fair amount to see. It was a great way to end the backpacking portion of this trip.

Roadtrip Home

Once I got to my Jeep at 2PM, I unpacked a few things and changed my shirt, then took off for my 5.5 hour drive to Georgetown, TX…because that’s fun. My friends, Ted and his wife Susan, live in Georgetown and were kind enough to let a stinky hiker come by to visit. Once I showered, we had a good visit. Thursday night we went to 600 Degrees Pizzeria, yummy! Thanks to you two for the hospitality and good times!

The weather changed while I was in Georgetown with temps dropping significantly. My enthusiasm for camping on the way back left with the warmer temps. Instead, I decided to haul back to Littleton and did the drive in one day. No regrets on that one, it was great to be home, see my honey, and sleep in my own bed.

Summary and recommendations

My biggest recommendation for Big Bend is to skip the Dodson Trail. A shorter backpacking trip out to the rim and then day hiking around the park would probably be a better tact. I’d recommend one of those hikes be the 1.5-2.0 miles (one-way) up the Blue Creek Trail from Homer Wilson Ranch. That would allow you see that canyon area.

The other thing I’d recommend is bringing your passport and exploring Maderas del Carmen. The description of the park seems really interesting and it would make a great one-day or two-day side trip.

Overall, I enjoyed Big Bend. This National Park has been on my list for many years and it felt good to get it done. I’m partial to my beloved Colorado, however, and can’t wait for warm weather here.

Big Bend Outer Mountain Loop Route