Scouting, Volume 98, Number 5, November-December 2010 Page: 48
60 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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o TRAIL TIPS
BY LARRY RICE
In the Loop
Take an outsize Texas hike in Big Bend Ranch State Park.
DESERTS OF VARYING com-
position cover much of the
American Southwest, but I
have a special affinity for the
desolate, hostile, and lone-
some Chihuahuan Desert,
the easternmost, southern-
most, and largest North
American desert. Nowhere
is this arid region better
displayed than at Big Bend
Ranch State Park, the largest
and grandest park in the
Texas state park system. And
odds are you haven't even
heard of it.
Lying just west of Big
Bend National Park, with ele-
vations ranging from 1,800
to 5,136 feet, this former
working ranch opened to
the public in 1991. But the
park service has kept devel-
opment to a minimum in
the park's sprawling 300,000
acres. Instead of creature-
comfort amenities, you'll
find dry rolling grassland,
twisting side canyons, and
impressive gorges carved by
the rapid-laden Rio Grande
that separates it from Mexico.
Throw in echoes of human
history, a sprinkling of oasis-
like springs and pools, and a
vast variety of critters—many
of which are uncommon
elsewhere in the United
States—and you've got the
perfect desert to explore.
Big Bend Ranch offers
more than 66 miles of
trails, with many more in
development. If you don't
have much time, head out
on the 1.4-mile round trip
Closed Canyon Trail, an easy
two-hour hike through a
spectacular gorge, or take the
9.8-mile Rancherias Canyon
Trail, a good day hike to an
impressive slick-rock pour-off.
But if you want to backpack,
try tackling the 19-mile
Rancherias Loop Trail for a
true Wild West experience.
The Rancherias Loop
provides ample opportu-
10 miles
Presidio
Rancherias
Loop Trail
•' } /' Rancherias
V/ r" Canyon Trail
Redford
NEW MEXICO
TEX
Warno<
Education
Cente
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nities for solitude as you
weave through the creosote
bushes, prickly pear cacti, and
mesquite trees. Though the
loop is only 19 miles long,
give yourself two nights and
three days to complete the
trek. Only rock cairns mark
the trail, so you'd better
get fluent with a map and
compass. A GPS unit will
help, too.
Occasionally following
a century-old horse and
burro pack trail, the footpath
meanders through rugged
canyons and rocky arroyos,
climbs over saddle passes,
and descends rough ridges
along some of West Texas'
most dramatic desert sierras:
the Bofecillos Mountains.
Every day on the trail offers
challenges, vestiges of human
history, splendid campsites,
and spectacular vistas.
Numerous seep springs
offer liquid nourishment to
plants, (large cottonwoods
and willows), wildlife (mule
48
SCOUTING * NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2010
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 98, Number 5, November-December 2010, periodical, November 2010; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth299171/m1/54/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.