This ain't the same river you see in New Mexico or Colorado. I mean it IS the same river, but it is different. Been there, done that. So whadda ya want to know about the Rio Grande del Norte? It is a good one to do from now to the end of May. June to Sept is just too damned hot down there. Like 110 in the shade in the canyon and all the springs where you can get fresh clean water are HOT. Folks, Presidio is constantly the hotest place in the nation day in and day out all year long. There is reason for that. This is hot country. The water is hot, teh rocks are black and the sun shines deep all year long. My wife tells of vacationing through ther as a kid and remembering that the cokes in the cold drink machine in Presidio were HOT. That is from a 5 year old more than 50 years ago. She don't fergit nuttin! I'll tell ya a great Presidio story later on when I got time to write it up. Do I recommend it? You betcha. They have been having a lot of low water due to drought conditions at the headwaters of the Rio Conchos coming from Mexico that joins the Grande at Predidio. Most of the water from that point is from the Conchos, the Grande del Norte being used up for irrigation. So is the Conchos now. for an outfitter, I'd suggest Dessert Sports. Check out their website and get Big Bend weather and Rio Grande gauge readings (the only place available on the Internet) from them at http://www.desertsportstx.com/DS/BBdaily.html#anchor47419 To do the Lower Canyons it needs to be 3.0 feet at Rio Grande Village. It is 2.0 today. That it too low. You'd have to drag it a lot on a rocky riverbed. You could do Colorado canyon or Santa Elena or Boquillas with no problems though. Most outfitters down their outfit raft trips. In my opinion the Rio is NOT a raft river! Too damned slow. It is a canoe or kayak river, but rafts are ultimately safer in it so the Park Service promotes them and people want to do "pay and go" raft trips, not "pay and go" canoe or kayak trips. Rental raft trips require no skill at all, only a MasterCard. The entire river along there for 150 miles is in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and is administered and permitted by Big Bend National Park. There is no reason for any competent canoest or kayaker to use a guide or bve outfitted except for shuttle service. Those canyons are awesome folks. Real desert country. Anything else I could tell ya? John LeBlanc But by all means some day go there. >From a Mag article about the 10 best paddles 3) THE RIO GRANDE The Rio Grande marks the boundary between the United States and Mexico. Much of the time it flows through a haunted desert landscape of volcanic hills and mountains and deep gorges, an area now protected as Big Bend National Park in Texas. Canoeists on weeklong expeditions paddle between towering cliffs and past banks overgrown with tamarisk trees and bamboo. A highlight is the run through Boquillas Canyon, the longest and most tranquil of the five major canyons on the river. Stops are made for hikes up tributary canyons and soaks in hot springs. Season: November-February Contact: Odyssey Adventures The "bamboo" they speak of is really River Cane. Phragmites sp. And there is more Mesquete than Tamarisk. The longest canyon is NOT Boquillas, it is San Francisco and about three others all one canyon known as the lower canyons that totals about 50 miles of 1500 feet to 2000 feet above you. Straight up on both sides in places. They are downriver from Boquillas. Boquillas is a quiet, easy two day paddle or good relaxed overnighter raft trip good for neophites, but a good one none the less. It has easy auto access at both ends of it. The others have auto (truck or high clearance SUV) access, but they are NOT easy accessable. 20+ miles of rough desert road to some of them. An all day round trip (6-8 hours) for just 40 miles. Think about it. That is why they tout Boquillas. Colorado canyon on the west of the park has better access by road and an interesting town of Terlinga and Lajintas, then Presidio/Ojinagua farther west. Texas also has Big Bend State Ranch natural area and Meciso has recently added natural area/preserves on their side. If you go, be sure to visit Boquillas, Mexico. IT is a step back in time of 100 years. No running water, no electricity, just adobe houses and a Cantina that serves killer tacos. Worth the Burro ride across the river to see. The paved oad runs out along the river at Presidio adn dirt road at Candelaria. Too tough of a country for anything short of burros. You need to see it to believe it. A good place to go in winter even if not doing the river. I get off every Christmas to New Years and if I catch the Rio at 4+ feet at Rio Grande Village, I'l GOING! Meet me ther adn we will have a Merry Christmas but without snow. By the way, the DO have flash floods in those canyons and San Francisco rose 65 feet a few years back. The town of Sanderson had 20 feet of water flowing down main street. When it rains in the dessert, it rains! John LeBlanc *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>This ain't the same river you see in New Mexico or Colorado. I mean it IS >the same river, but it is different. > True. The original Rio Grande pretty much peters out in Southern New Mexico. Nearly everything in the Lower is from Mexico. I've done the Lower Canyons from Big Bend to near Dryden TX on occasions. Definitely not a rafting river. Still fun, though. For me the best time is early April, when many of the cacti are in bloom. That can be very spectacular. It's usually a 6 day run down the river. I use Sunrise County Canoe Expeditions (Marty Brown's operation in Maine) for these trips and he's a good outfitter for this. JP *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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