I went to Big Bend Ranch State Park last weekend. We were going to do a three day trip and try to mirror Matt from Austin's trip that is outlined here.
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/bikepacking/big-bend-ranch-bikepacking-dec-2010-trip-report/We drove down and arrived late and camped at Grassy Banks, which is 12 miles further past the Barton Warnock Visitor Center southbound on highway 170. We got there at midnight and setup camp. We woke up the next morning and got moving late, because it was cold. We packed up the cars and drove back to the visitor center. I checked in with the park ranger and he complained about us booking actual campsites. He said that they require people to pack in a bucket so that they can pack out their own poop, but since we were on bikes we would not be doing that. I asked what he would like us to do and he said it did not matter, it was too late. He said the central booking agency was a one size fits all, but the park did not fit that mold. He also did not have a map for sale, I asked. All he could give me for a topographical map was a print out for the epic ride. It had the majority of the trails we would be riding, so good enough I thought. He also told us where there was supposed to be water. Bring a water filter!
Day 1 we left and the road was easy riding. It was uphill, but just slightly. We passed a house and a mine and stopped to look at both. By lunch with our late start (probably 11am) we were only hitting the creek bed. So far we had found some single track trails and we enjoying everything. After lunch we continued on. The trail crosses a dry creek bed that doubles as a vehicle road. This was not too bad, except that sometimes it is hard to find the trail on the other side of the road. We missed it at some point and started following the road. Horrible mistake. The dry creek was loose enough that we could not pedal on it. Three of us were running 29+ with Surly Knards 29x3 and we still sunk into that creek rock too much to pedal. We walked for a long time and it was quite a downer and hurt moral. We found the trail again and by this time we were hitting the real uphills. It was rough just coming out of the creek bed to hit these hills. Strava shows one as being a category 4 hill climb. We finished the night close to where we were told there would be water, so we decided to just get water on the morning of day 2.
Day 2 we woke up and rode a quick half mile to the water hole. Dun dun dun, it was dry. Well crap. So instead of doing the loop around the Solitario, we rode directly to the Sauceda Ranger Station. It was an easy 7-10 miles and we got there before noon. Since our camp for the night was going to be at Los Ojitos, we decided to go there next, as it was only 2-3 miles from the ranger station. We set up camp and unloaded our bikes. We road the Horsetrap trail clockwise. The first half was gradual uphill. The second half was super rocky and technical downhill. It was great fun.
Day 3 we just followed the Epic Trail out. This was my favorite day. There were of course up and down hill climbs, but that day we would lose 2000 feet overall so its mainly downhill. The downhills were a real treat. It was everything to super fast to super steep and technical. I loved this day. Going 20 mph with a loaded 29+ bike on singletrack is great fun!
Search instagram for #desertshred2016 for pictures.
There were 6 of us and we broke one chain, had two bikes knock their rear axles out of alignment, and only one real flat. Four of us were running tubeless and we had multiple holes, but the sealant fixed the holes pretty quickly. The one real flat was a large thorn combined with the bead braking loose. The two people running tubes had sealant in the tubes and also tire liners.
The bikes we had were -
Surly Pugsley with Rabbit Hole rims for 29x3 Knards 120 tpi
Surly Pugsley Ops with Rabbit Hole rims for 29x3 Knards 120 tpi (both of these were tubeless and the 27tpi Knards on the ECR were probably better suited to the terrain)
Surly ECR
Surly Cross Check with a flat bar and 29x2 mountain bike tires
Salsa Marrakesh with the stock drop bars and 29x2 mountain bike tires
Kona mountain bike
Everyone ran with soft bags save for the Kona. He had a rear rack and panniers. Each of us carried about 4 liters of water.
Expect a long drive there, with an amazing ride.
