Originally posted November 16, 2018
Rio Grande Big Bend NP- Rocky Mountain Canoe Club
Trip Report by Tracy Hays
with, Bill Rivers, Tracy Hays, Janet Hays, Merlin Wheeler, and Alan Couture, the fab 5
Texas, like most of the west has been in drought conditions for some time. There was concern that this trip might be cancelled due to low flow of the Rio Grande through Big Bend. Summer of 2018 the flow was often below 100 cubic feet per second. However, by October, the flow had improved and stabilized around 400-500CFS in Big Bend. There are two gauge stations, Castolon near Cottonwood Campground, and Rio Grande Village, below the hot springs. I looked up the flow after our trip and used the gauge we were closest to and added it to this report.
October 19-27 2018
Day 1. Friday October 19th, 2018. Last night we camped at Rancho Topanga, a nice campground just 7 miles from our put in at Lajitas. Cost was $10 per person. Very overcast all night but no rain. We broke up and left about 8:30 a.m. Didn’t get light until nearly 8 a.m. Drove to the put in at Lajitas and rigged our boats. Started shuttle at 9:50 a.m. Gassed up in Terlingua and stopped at Panther Junction for our permit for Backcountry camping. On to Heath Canyon Ranch to pick up Butch, the ranch manager to drive our car back to the ranch so all our vehicles would be at the takeout. The shuttle cost us $200, and parking at the ranch was $100 to park our four cars for 10 days, and there was a $10 each take out fee. The roundtrip shuttle took us 5 hours and we put in at 3:30 p.m. Paddled about 2 hours just over 6 miles and it was partly sunny and 65 degrees. Alan and Merlin went tandem in a 17‘canoe, Bill paddled solo in a 14’ canoe, and Janet and Tracy each took 9’ whitewater kayaks. We found a nice place to camp. There were several small rapids which made for a fun day. And the rain began. Flow today was 425 CFS Castolon
Day 2. Awesome thunderstorm last night, light rain late and early a.m. We didn’t hit the river until 10:30. Helmets on today. No trouble until we got to Entrance Camp rapid. We stayed left but should have went right. Fast shallow water over many rocks. Alan and Merlin are still getting used to paddling together. They get stuck on the rocks and swept under a tree,and flip their tandem canoe. No injuries. We all took the wrong line. Many Campers at Entrance Camp. Glad we camped before we got here. Wall Shot just before Santa Elena was tricky. Here we entered perhaps the most beautiful canyon in Big Bend. Made it to Rock Slide Rapid and scouted it. We took the Texas gate. Bill went first and gave us a “whistle signal” to tell us it was doable, and we all made it through. Santa Elena Canyon was awesome. Had lunch in the canyon just down from Rock Slide. It misted and drizzled most of the day. We camped between the Santa Elena take out and Cottonwood Campground. It’s started raining again just as we got camp set up. Cold supper in the tent tonight. Flow today was 900 CFS Castolon
Day 3. Got going around 10:30 a.m. again and got to Cottonwood campground at noon and refilled our water. There is a power line crossing over the river to Mexico just beyond the take out to Cottonwood Campground. We also scouted the campground before the trip to confirm potable water here and marked the willows with red tape at the takeout. It would be very easy to miss this takeout had we not scouted it. This is an important stop as there is no potable water available for the next 5 days of this trip. After Cottonwood we headed into what park personal refer to as “The Great Unknown” because it is not often paddled, 40 miles of flat water and the road is very rough. Still more beautiful scenery. When we got a quick glimpse of the mountains, the tops were shrouded in clouds looking like a scene from a King Kong movie. There was enough quick water and sharp turns to keep things interesting. We had more afternoon rain and no sun for 3 days now. We have run out of dry clothes other than what we sleep in. Camped near Johnson Ranch. Flow today was 700 CFS Castolon
Day 4. The moon was out most of the night only to disappear
an hour or two before sunrise. More rain and drizzle – and lots of mud. Got
going at 10:30 a.m. again. Much of the scenery today was Cane grass, Willows
and Tamaras and more less equal portions. There was the occasional hint of
distant Mountain Vistas only to be obscured by low clouds. Still a nice paddle.
Small Rapids, quick water and sharp turns. Must be careful not to get sucked
under the overhanging cane grass on fast outside corners. It often hangs a good
8 feet over the river and that is where the fastest water is and the current
tries to take you there. Went about 20 miles today. Camped about four or five
miles before Tally. Set up the Outfitter Wing to get out of the rain for
supper. Hope for some sunshine tomorrow. Flow today was 700 CFS Castolon
Day 5. Drizzle started again just after 10:30 when we got
going. There was a hint of sun early but it didn’t last. Paddled into Mariscal
Canyon. Absolutely beautiful. There was a tricky little rapid just before the
entrance to the canyon. The Rockpile and the Tight Squeeze are the named rapids
here. Bill picked a good line through both rapids and we all followed. I nearly
flipped in the Tight Squeeze. We had lunch under an overhang just below Tight
Squeeze rapid. Then it began to rain pretty good for several hours. Camped a
mile or two past Solis. Put up the Outrigger Wing to cook supper under as we
did the night before. Despite all the rain, spirits are high. Flow today was
550 CFS Castolon
Day 6. Last night after we all turned in we had a good hour
of wind driven rain. Bill and I got up in the darkness and moved the boats to
higher ground. Before sunup we had more wind-driven rain for an hour or so. By
the time we got going it was nearly 11 a.m. but we had a mostly clear sky. We
hadn’t seen the Sun for five days and it felt wonderful. We paddled in to San
Vicente Canyon which was beautiful. It’s not as deep or narrow or long as the
three main Canyons but really nice. There was a nice pour over waterfall
created by all the recent rain. Many streams poured into the Rio on both sides
of the river. Every wash was running. Most of these probably seldom flow. We
planned to camp just below the hot springs and spend the evening soaking in the
hot water. Just before we got to the hot spring, there was a raging side creek
a color of dark chocolate only a few shades lighter than black. It looked wild
enough to keep me on the opposite side of the river. As we past the hot spring
we could see the water crashing over the one remaining wall. We were very
disappointed to discover that the river had destroyed the masonry walls of the
hot springs and it was full of mud and debris and nasty looking foam. We did
still camp just below the Hot Spring and enjoyed sitting in the sun this
evening and then watching the full moon rise. Flow today was 1900 CFS Rio
Grande Village
Day 7. Woke up to total overcast and no sunrise. It soon
cleared though and became a beautiful day. We paddle through Hot Springs Canyon
to Rio Grande Village. Here we filled our water jugs again, cleaned up some,
and got a few supplies. Just down from Rio Grande Village there is a Border
Crossing where tourists can take the International Ferry (a row boat) to
Boquillas, Mexico to spend the day in this quaint little village. As we passed
the town of Boquillas, there was no one and no horses at the stable and no one
to row the ferry. I remember the border crossing is closed one day a week, must
be Thursday. We had already decided to not go into town. Had lunch at the mouth
of Boquillas Canyon. There was a nice bumpy rapid just past town. The canyon
was spectacular in the sunlight that we were still getting used to. We paddle
just a few miles into the canyon and set up camp. Merlin had camped at this
spot before. This was our best camp so far. Big rocky area for a kitchen with
no mud and a sheer cliff perhaps 1200 feet high across the river from us. There
was a large grassy area behind for tents. A side Canyon entered at our camp so
we hiked up it. We expected the hike to take 10 to 20 minutes to reach the end,
but the canyon seemed to go on forever. It was a beautiful canyon. We found
many dead birds – we think they were cave swallows. We wonder if they could not
handle the extended wet and cold days. We hiked probably 3 miles and there was
no end to the canyon in sight. We were hungry so we turn back to camp. This was
a short paddle day maybe 10 miles. Flow today was 2500 CFS Rio Grande Village
Day 8. We paddled out of Boquillas Canyon. It was another beautiful sunny day. There was one named Class I rapid, but at the higher water level we all thought it was at least a Class 2. We set up our last camp just beyond the end of the canyon on a sandy beach. I think Rabbit Ears is probably the last good place to camp in the canyon if that is desired. Flow today was 1500 CFS Rio Grande Village
Day 9. Today we paddled to our takeout at Heath Canyon Ranch. There are a few small rapids that will get your attention in this section. Merlin stayed to camp at the ranch. Alan, Janet and I and Bill went to Marathon for lunch. Then Alan took off for Albuquerque for his next adventure, and Tracy, Janet and Bill went to Seminole Canyon State Park to begin our next adventure. Flow today was 1000 CFS Rio Grande Village
In total we paddled 128 miles, the entire southern boundary of Big Bend. We had no concerns about safety being on the Mexican border for 9 days. We had 5 days of rain, 4 days of sunshine and 9 totally fantastic days of high adventure and great comradery and overall higher flow than expected. A positive of all the rain was a greener Big Bend than most get to see.
