This was planned for a couple of days a Paint Gap 3, then on to Big Bend Ranch State Park/Fresno Vista, for three more days.
Gear
Trip Report
Not much to report here; I’d booked two nights at Paint Gap 3 (formerly Paint Gap 4, note the name change) to be followed by three more over at Fresno Vista in Big Bend Ranch State Park. I’ve stayed at both of these spots many times.
So things on this trip didn’t end up as planned, in many ways. But that’s o.k.–what’s the saying, “a bad night in the backcountry is better than a good day at work”? Yeah, I know that’s not it but whatever.
Things started roughly, out of Austin. As I was checking the air in my tires before departing I discovered a sheet metal screw in the tire. I went down the street to a local shop and got it repaired quickly. Fortunately it wasn’t too close to the sidewall.
Early the next morning I got up pretty early and turned off the water to the house. Cold weather was forecast, potentially record cold. Possible teens in Austin and a bit uncertain for the Trans-Pecos. Sometimes the forecast out of the Midland NWS office predicted the cold front wouldn’t quite make it to the Mexican border, and sometimes they showed it passing through the park so I would be keeping a wary eye on the weather the entire trip. I left Austin in the morning just after 7:15, and got to Panther Junction at straight up 3:00. From the time I left Ft. Stockton until I got to Park HQ at PJ I encountered zero vehicles headed towards the park. PJ was pretty crowded, however; I wondered if it was due to the Big Bend Ultra race going on that weekend. I spent a few minutes getting gas then headed out to Paint Gap #3, and arrived there at 3:30. The road had a few minor washed out spots in the bits that are mostly dirt/sand but nothing concerning. I noticed one vehicle at PG2.
I set up camp pretty quickly. I did not put up my tarp, as I only was going to be there two nights and didn’t feel it was worth the effort. Especially with the chance of high winds coming with the cold front. But the weather that day was Big Bend perfect; highs nearly 70 and dead calm. As I was setting up, a man and his dog came strolling down the road from the gap. We greeted each other and I went back to setting up and they went back up the road.
As the sun set Venus and Jupiter popped out quite bright. Because of the patch I checked the tire pressure on all four tires (they were fine). I took a few night photos with the iPhone and went to bed around 11:45.
Around 1:00AM I was awakened by a strong gust of wind. I supposed it was the front passing. I had to get up and re-secure the tent to tighten it up a bit, put my earplugs in and went back to sleep. In the morning, I checked my thermometer which I’d left on the bear box; it read 20º but that seemed unlikely as my water bottles were not frozen solid. I chalked it up to radiative cooling. I put the thermometer inside the bear box, and it read a more believable 24º.
Now, I’d had my annual physical with my doctor just a couple days before this trip. I had been diagnosed with hyponatremia (low sodium) as well as anemia, likely caused by my frequent blood donations last year. We adjusted my medications but he told me I was good to go (“Just don’t freeze to death,” he teased me). But early on this morning I’d had some heart palpitations, and decided to forgo my planned extensive exploration down past the old ranch buildings below in favor of some less strenuous excursions. Instead I climbed up from the Gap towards the ridge to the northwest and looked around. I’d been up there briefly in the past, and knew it as a place with some animal sign. (I’d seen a squadron of peccaries come from there one night.) There are nice views of the Chisos and some decently flat spots and I think I’ll take a lunch break up there some time.
As I was walking along the road back to my site a white NPS truck pulled up behind me. I stood to the side to let it past but it pulled next to me and the driver apologized for “sneaking up” on me. It was two NPS volunteers, and we chatted for a while. They asked how the site was and I mentioned I’d been there maybe four or five times previously. And I mentioned I’d seen some burnt charcoal, The woman offered to clean it up right then but I demurred. They mentioned that site gets slammed pretty hard, and they’re just pleased when they don’t find traces of a wood fire. They pulled into the parking area by the site, turned around and headed out.
By that evening the weather forecast had turned grim. Trying to predict the weather at my next site, Fresno Vista in Big Bend Ranch State Park can be a guessing game as the nearest weather stations are usually Presidio or Lajitas/Terlingua area. But I gathered forecast lows in the teens, and winds sustained at 25-20 gusting to 35-40 for the next two days and nights. I decide while I could do that, did I really want to? The answer was no. So the next morning I decided I’d head to Marathon, get a room at the Marathon Motel, and just head on home unless there was a surprise change in the forecast.
The next morning after breaking camp I stopped in at Panther Junction, picked up a few souvenirs and decided I do the “new” to me Lone Mountain Trail, and I’m very glad I did. It’s a nice way to enjoy the desert and avoid the crowd, it’s not difficult to park there, and you don’t have to spend a half day just getting there and back, avoiding the headache that places like the Basin have become. I spent about an hour on it, ate some snacks when I finished, and headed up to Marathon.
While I’d had a less-than-ideal at the Marathon Motel a few years earlier (noise from upstairs disrupting me downstairs) I decided to try it again, as the Gage Hotel is out of my price range. I got a room. I was a bit dismayed it was bottom floor adjacent to the one I’d been at previously. But no one ever checked in upstairs and noise was never an issue.
I walked about a half-mile down the road to the White Buffalo Bar, the Bar in the Gage Hotel. It was pretty empty, but since the Brick Vault was closed that day it was about the only option for dinner and a beer. I sat at the bar, got one of their huge White Buffalo Burgers (it was good), and watched the NCAA National Championship game between OSU and Notre Dame while have a few beers. I chatted for a while with some guys next to me from Ohio (not big football fans) who did a lot of somewhat extreme sports. It was a good night, and I walked back to the motel.
The next morning it was pretty chilly, 11º there but not too windy. The weather at Fresno Vista (or at least the closest sites I could find) was as predicted. I headed for home.
One final note. A few days after getting home, I checked the mesowest weather network to see what weather had transpired out there. While Monday night had indeed been as predicted, the rest of the week turned out to be pretty damn nice. Oh, well.
Gear:
- 2-300lbs of firewood (unused)
- Keen Circadia Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots (size 13)
- Hubba Hubba NX (2019) tent