Bikepacking Big Bend

I was in Big Bend last month and completed my first bikepacking trip.  Yes, bikepacking.  Think backpacking but with everything strapped to the bike.  I have backpacked in Big Bend and traveled Overland style too.  Exploring the park by bike and staying out overnight sounded like an interesting new way to see, experience and explore the desert.  So I made advanced plans and specifically booked a campsite for an overnight.

Travel by bike in Big Bend is possible but you have to know what you can do.  The hiking trails are off limits to bikes.  However, Big Bend has a great network of rough roads you can bike on.  These vary from basic gravel to high clearance, lifted 4x4 needed.  There is also a network of back road campsites across the desert to use.  Understand by campsite, I mean a patch of gravel and a bear box.  No water, no shade, no amenities at all.

While many bikepackers travel for multiple days I planned a simple overnight trip as water is a limiting factor here.  In short, there is no reliable water source in the backcountry.  So the two options are carry it all or precache it at places.  Being an overnight, I opted to carry it all.  8 liters for an overnight.  Many say you need one gallon of water per day.  I believe that is far too low and I always take 8 or 9 liters on any overnight travel in Big Bend.  Between the heat, sun, wind and dryness of the desert you need a lot of water.  8 liters turned out perfect as I drank plenty on the trip out and got back with one cup left.

Strapping all the water on the bike was one of the biggest parts of the planning.  Actually getting all the gear on the bike was something I had thought about and planned from even before I bought the bike last summer.  I specifically bought this model (Trek Roscoe 6) because it has mounts for a rear rack.  I knew I would want to utilize one for any bikepacking.  I bought the rack last fall.  I then found some MOLLE panels design for car sun visors and attached them to the rack with zip ties.  This gave me the ability to lash things to the side of the rack easily.  Panniers are not very popular in bikepacking as they are too big and tend to snag stuff.  I had a MOLLE bag I though might be a good size and having the panel that was MOLLE made it easy to mount.  I then picked up a few ski straps and dry bags with daisy chains on them giving me a secure way to strap bags to the top and both sides of the rack.  This would hold my clothes, food, camp kitchen and some water.

I already had a half frame bag and some small tube top bags for my tripod and other items. This worked great for day trips but I knew I needed more storage.  The way most carry their tent is to lash it to the handlebars.  That seemed like it might flop around a lot.  I found some inexpensive bar extenders that seem designed for extra space to mount phones.  I bought two of them to create a cradle of sorts that allowed me to get the tent tight and stable with the added bonus of keeping it away from my cables.

The front forks become the next spot to store gear.  My suspension fork has no mounts for gear so I had to create them.  Saw a tip online of using electrical tape to mount a bottle cage.  Knowing I needed to carry as much water as possible, I opted for using two Blackburn cages so I could fit a 1.5L bottle on each.  Got those taped on and was able to now mount 3 liters of water to the forks.

I also carried my standard 10L Osprey riding pack that has a 2.5L bladder in it.  I also carry my camera and my tool kit here.  I was now basically set. I had all my camping gear, camera kit, small tripod, 8 liters of water, food, clothes, spare tube, etc.

The site I had reserved was about 14 miles up the Old Ore Road.  This is a rugged 4x4 road that travels the east side of the park.  I arranged with the park rangers to leave my vehicle at the ranger station overnight (they give you a permit for this).  

So at 1030 on a February morning I left the ranger station at Rio Grande Village and started pedaling for the Old Ore Road.  Did I mention that Big Bend had a gnat hatch this year of Biblical proportions?  anywhere along the river was so bad with gnats many were wearing head nets.  Packing the bike meant there was a cloud of them around me.  As I pedaled out on the road they swarmed me.  Hundreds of them.  going for your eyes, ears, nose, mouth. The ride up the paved road through the tunnel would be the worst part of the trip as the gnats swarmed me.  Luckily once past the tunnel they began to decrease in number and I would pass beyond they river area they were.

I had about 17 miles to travel to my site.  After getting beyond the gnats I took my time, stopped for pictures and explored locations.  It would take me about 4 hours to make it to my site.  I arrived mid afternoon and it was hot.  Temps were in the mid 90's.  In February.  It had been 28 the morning before and would drop to 37 my night in camp.  Gotta love the temp swings in the desert!

Like I said, my campsite was a patch of gravel in the desert with a bear box.  In the heat of the day I used the bear box for shade!  Sat there and drank a small Gatorade I had packed in one of my bags.  There was quite the feeling of happiness and success that I had been able to do this and be here in a desert camp with my bike.  Just me alone in the desert.

As it got late in the day, I set up my tent, explored the area around camp and made supper.  I often do overnights here with just a bivy sack and just granola bars for food but with the cold nights and fear of gnats being miserable I was glad I had my one person tent and stove for a hot meal.

I was lucky enough to catch a great sunset.  As a photographer, I always look forward to that. Luckily the clouds were fairly thin and would fade overnight.  I also got Orion rising over camp as day faded into night.  This allowed me to set up and complete the photo I had planned for weeks- a star trail over my tent and bike.  This is why I pack a tripod with me.  I sat it up and my got my camera secured and stable with a battery bank to keep it powered all night. After watching the stars for awhile and listening to the absolute silence of the desert I turned in to sleep.  

I was up around 0400.  The star trail was still running and the sky was clear.  It was chilly with temps in the 30s so I was glad to have packed a hat, gloves and a down jacket.  I watched the stars and waited for the Milky Way to rise over the mountain to the east.  At that point I stopped the star trail having some 7 or 8 hours of images.  I switched over to photographing the Milky Way.  I would do this until the night began to fade.  By then I was hungry so I fired up the stove for breakfast. Eating under the stars in the desert alone is always fun.  I waited for sunrise and then began the process of packing up.  I got everything back on the bike which was lighter now as I was down to my last two liters of water for the ride out.  

I rode slow, took in the sights and stopped quite a bit for images.  A glorious morning with nice light.  I set up the tripod to get a few images of me riding in the morning light.  I stopped to see the cactus, found bluebonnets and watched the butterflies.  A good morning to be out on the bike.

As I made my way down I encountered the US Border Patrol and a Park Ranger driving the Old Ore Road.  Big Bend is at the border so you will see them both active in patrols.  We chatted for a few minutes and they continued on.  I kept pedaling and would reach the pavement just after 1000.  It was now just a short ride down through the tunnel back to my vehicle and into the clouds of gnats.

I was gone a total of 24 hours.  

This was seriously fun!  I certainly see the interest people have in travel by bike.  It allowed me to get to places I might otherwise not see and do so in a fun mode of travel.  I hope this is the first of many trips by bike.