Intermediate to advanced. Horses need to be as safe as possible due to extremely remote location.

Big Bend. Organizer, Carol Grosvenor.

If interested, please download Rider Profile sheet in PDF, or see html page. Please print, fill out and mail it to Carol to help plan this ride and the prep clinic.

This three day ride in the 325,000+ acre Big Bend State Park promises to be the highlight ride of the year. This ride will appeal to riders who crave adventure, spectacular scenery, want to explore a wilderness area, and are willing to come prepared for this trip. I've ridden there before, and there is nothing quite like it in Texas-- maybe anywhere in the US. However, since it will be about a 500 mile trip into one of the most remote regions in the US, is covered in cactus of all types, it calls for a high degree of readiness on our part. I will put together one prep meeting to have a farrier show us how to put back on a shoe, and how to shoe a horse in duct tape, if necessary. Wout will talk on navigation and we'll go over camping and trailering issues. We will also confirm the medical team, discuss menus and food assignments, who is to bring what supplies, and appoint the emergency rider team. I will work most of that out from the Rider Profile Sheets.

Big Bend State Park, entered via Presidio, to stay at the main lodge and /or bunkhouse
Drive time from Austin: approximately 12 hours with trailer, with last 28 miles on a dirt road inside the park to the ranch house
Riding: Most of the riding is on old mining roads, some marked trails. There will be a few areas of the park closed for hunting, but this should not be a problem. Awesome scenery, very dry, remote, Indian remains (places were they ground corn meal in the rocks, etc.)and interesting cactus abound.
Weather can vary from warm to snowing in December, but daytime temps should be pleasant.
Navigation: Maps are provided. Bring your own compass. We need at least one GPS. Club may be able to buy one if no one has one.
Altitude: Ranch house at 4,2000 feet, some peaks up to 5500 feet, most lower.
Horse accommodations: 6 20x 20 foot pens, water available, no shelter such as a run in shed.
Price for horse accommodations: $7 per night per horse. Bring you own water (if horse doesn't drink well) and feed buckets.

Horse suitability and training:
Horses need to be competent trail horses, and be able to be ridden in a group without conflict. This is not a place for a very green horse. There are also crevasses in the soil, so you'll have to jump or step over them if riding off the roads. A little jumping training so you can ride over a cross rail in two point is suggested. Some areas are quite steep. Because of the danger of getting lost or left behind, we will probably ride in a large group, mainly at a walk or slow trot. Horse will need to be in shape for the long trailer ride and 3 days of riding.

Human Accommodations and Pricing:
Main ranch house and bunkhouse are next to each other, so some members of group could stay in each one. The club will pay $150 (one person per night) toward rental of a room in the main house, so that everyone can have use of the bathrooms, kitchen and living room.

Main house has 3 bedrooms with 5 queen size beds (two rooms have two beds). It is $50 per person per night to stay in the house, $100 per couple. Extra people in the room are still $50 each. Each bedroom has its own fireplace, and there is another one in the living room. There are 3 bathrooms in the main house.
The bunkhouse is divided with male and female sides. Each bunk is $20 each, with 2 bunks to a cubicle. There are community bathrooms in the bunkhouse. There is a fireplace in the living room, but not in the individual rooms.
No minimum number to rent the facility, as it is all rented by the person.
Trailer accommodations. At this time, they will allow you to run an electrical line to your trailer at no charge (assuming you're with the group, paying for a horse stall, etc.). I don't think they can accommodate a whole lot of trailers, but said 5 would be o.k. It doesn't sound like you can get your trailer real close to the horse corrals, though. I'm also not promising electricity to everyone. It may turn out there is only one outlet or something.
Firewood is not supplied with the accommodations. Bring your own.

Meals.
You can order catered meals in advance. They are $25 per day per person for 3 meals, or
$6.50 breakfast
$8.00 lunch
$10.00 dinner
We may also want to plan to bring our own food, much like we do in Bandera. We will discuss that at the prep meeting.

Travel route from Austin:
Hwy 290W to IH-10 West to Ft. Stockton
67S to Alpine
67/90 to Marfa
67S to Presidio
35 miles from Presidio (last 28 on dirt road) to ranch inside the Park,
Sauceda is the name of the town or the ranch house, but it is not on my maps. It is one mile south of the landing strip, so if you have an atlas, you may be able to see where that is. It is in the interior of the ranch.
I asked about taking Hwy 170 out of Lajitas and Terlingua, but was told the road is too mountainous to pull a trailer very safely, so the above route may be a little longer, but it is the preferred route.

Guides:
$100 to $150 per day. Guides have Wilderness First Responder first aid training.
This is an option, but is not required. May be good if you want to ride off the roads, though. There are some interesting Indian ruins, creeks, etc. that you can't see from the roads.

Readiness and Safety:
Clothing. You will want to be wearing heavy leather shoes, with thick soles, that you can both ride and walk in. You will also want to be wearing full length chaps or chinks, leather gloves, jeans and a helmet. Dress in layers as it is a desert so temperatures change quickly. The reason for all that heavy leather is all those very nasty cactus. It's not a good place to get separated from your horse.
Temperatures: Night, about 30, day, about 70.
Extra Tack: Bring along extra set of reins and a girth that fits your horse, as well as something to repair broken tack, such as strips of leather or twine and a pocket knife that you could use in a pinch on the trail.
Horseshoes. Horses will need to be wearing Old Macs with socks (to keep them from rubbing) or shoes. Shoe your horse one to three weeks prior to take-off in new shoes, to help avoid losing a shoe. We will also be bringing basic farrier tools, if we have to hammer one on, and some duct tape to make an emergency shoe, if necessary. Nancy Sutherland and Zack Metcalfe have farrier training and will take care of this. Read the following note from Zack on shoeing:
Before you leave for the ride I suggest you instruct your farrier to leave the third nail hole in the shoe open using only the front two and the last holes. That way if a shoe should come loose on the trail I will have fresh hoof to put a nail in to get on to camp and then the shoe can be reset properly. This is the way we did all of our saddle and pack horses with all the outfitters I ever worked for. Also instruct them to leave a little more clinch then normal. A lot of the farriers in this country are shoeing more city horses then country horses and a short clinch is pretty but it's not as strong.
Saddles and saddle bags: You will need to be carrying some extra clothing, food, water and other emergency gear (split up among riders), so you will need to have some type of saddle bag with you. A western saddle will be best, but if riding english, see if your saddle can have some hooks put into it to carry gear, or wear a fanny pack.
Riding Buddy: Each rider will be assigned a buddy.
Water: Carry 2 quarts with you (two canteens). There is very little water out there, but it is available at the lodge area and horse pens.
Compass and Maps: Carry a compass and a trail map. You can get one at a nominal price at Academy or Walmart. Wout will be teaching you haow to navigate by the sun and your watch, and going over use of compass and GPS.
Truck and Trailer: We will probably traveling in a caravan so that if anyone has a vehicle problem, help with be there. Please check your truck and trailer over carefully for any maintenance issues with your mechanic, before you go. We also need to make sure we have some extra spaces in the trailers in case we have a breakdown and have to get horses back in another rig.
First Aid: We will be putting together a good first aid kit for horses and people. We'll be riding with the emergency provisions. I will also research getting us a satellite phone for the trip so we could call the lodge, if necessary, since a regular cell phone won't work there. The guides have emergency first aid training, should we ride with one.
Camping: At both Madera Hills and Big Bend, we are going to be camping in areas that are not really camp sites. Madera Hills Ranch will be in a pasture. You may want to bring your own porta-potty. (Walmart- $50 -$70). Bring a camp stove, handi-wipes, long underwear, and a good sleeping bag, preferably for backpacking. You will not be able to use a generator between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in BBSP, and they can be hard to operate in cold weather. To stay really warm, get a sleeping bag liner for about $20 at Academy. We are working on getting all the campers electricity in BBSP. A bathhouse is about 100-200 yards from the camping area. at BBSP
Big Bend Ranch Phone Numbers (give these to your family when you go)
Tony at the Ranch 432—358-4444
Office in Presidio: 432-229-3416
RSVP Info:
If you are interested in this trip, please contact Carol Grosvenor by email or by phone at 512-894-0815.