hey LF

[justmike]

got out here on new years. you did lajitas to the river in 4 hours? you're fast, man! took us 6 1/2 going out there. we stopped a lot though. only five hours coming back.


i went with a friend of mine from work.


here's another one at the entrance camp. brrrr!


here's me on the backside of La Mariposa. that's some descent, eh? little loose down there at the bottom!


the day before we set out, i took my bud over to SE canyon. he got this nice photo of the blue moon out there.


sunrise over the chisos on my way home. hated to leave!

[Lighter Fluid]

Oh man, what a great trip! I am definitely jealous.
I miss the Mesa a lot and hope to be back out there this year. Your pics definitely have me wanting to get back sooner than later.
The Entrance Camp is a great place to bed down for sure. The Rio looks to be flowing well in your picture. What was the water situation like up on top? Was there a decent amount of water in and around the tinajas?
It definitely does get a little loose around the bottom of that decent. The views into Mexico sure are nice on the way down though.
It sounds and looks like ya'll had a great time.

Thanks for posting this and thanks for the inspiration. I want to get back even more now!

[pyxiestyxie]

Gorgeous photos Justmike!

How long were you guys out there for? BIBE definitely looks like a place I want to visit.

Pixa

[justmike]

LF, it seemed pretty dry at the top. i reckon after march/april there'd be more water up there though. it was funny. the gal at the permit office was pretty skeptical about filtering the rio grande. she said, "people pee in that river!" haha! worked like a charm though.

hey pixie. this was just an overnighter.

y'all, i'll let ya in on a little secret. this was my first backpacking trip ever. i've done a lot of day hikes and car camping. but i hadn't carried a heavy pack to go spend the night somewhere since i was in the army a long time ago. this was much more fun, of course!

we got really lucky with the weather. had a full moon too!

[Lighter Fluid]

justmike,
Very nicely done for a first time backpacking trip!
Congrats!
The Mesa is definitely not a simple little walk in the park!!! I look forward to seeing pics of reading about more of your upcoming trips.
What would you estimate your packweight to have been for the trip?
What type of filter did you use for the water of the Rio?
did you take a stove and if so, what type and what meals did you prepare?

Congrats once again!

Thanks! LF

[justmike]

LF, my pack is an Osprey Crescent 70 liter pack. i had that thing pretty much packed full. prolly weighed about 45 lbs, which isn't a lot by backpacking standards, but a lot more than what i usually carry for a dayhike. as you know, a good chunk of it was water - five liters out, four liters back. i didn't drink all of it, but it's the desert, right? can't be too careful. i also supplemented several liters of water with electrolyte powder.

i used a charcoal filter (Katadyn?) and a msr pocket rocket stove.

freezedried chilimac for dinner (thumbs up!), freezedried eggs n bacon for breakfast (blah!) i need to find some better breakfast food. i'd rather eat a poptart than eat those "eggs" again.

[Lighter Fluid]

Were you happy with all your gear on your trip along the Mesa, justmike?
I would be curious to know if you are going to change anything about your gearlist, Now that you have taken first major backpacking trip.
Any items you felt didn't perform as you would like or that you felt were unnecessary?

freezedried eggs n bacon for breakfast (blah!) i need to find some better breakfast food. i'd rather eat a poptart than eat those "eggs" again.

I have heard that same reaction from others who tried the eggs and bacon.

[Peach]

Beautiful pictures! We just got back from Big Bend a couple of weeks ago and are heading back in February for a few days and have a week trip planned in March...

[Scotott]

This looks like a great area. I especially like that shot of the low hanging sun, just over the distant mountain range.
Thanks for posting!