Thursday,
April 12th
We
drove south towards Mule Ears overlook, the start of our hike. We
stopped to cache water at a the Homer Wilson historical ranch (ruins) alongside
the road, also the halfway point of our hike. Water is unavailable
in the backcountry during most of the year, and the burden of carrying
one gallon per-person-per-day is very tolling during a multi-day trip....which
explains our water cache halfway.
We arrived at Mule Ears Overlook, and began the eternal process of assembling
our packs and gear. After dividing the food, water, and group gear
between people, we began hiking - the temperature was already over 90F.
During the first hour of the hike, Chris broke out in a small case of hives,
with a good-looking red rash on various parts of his body. He insisted
that is was due to the heat, and would dissipate quickly. The trail
was clear for the first few hours as we hiked east to 
Mule
Ears peaks, but turned into rough semi-marked terrain once we started north
through the canyons just beyond Mule Ears peaks. We intended to follow
the "Pack Trail" north, then east, and then north again until it hit the
Dodson Trail, as marked on the National Park topo map. But, on the
USGS topo map, the Pack Trail was marked differently, bearing due east
first, and then due north to the Dodson Trail. I should have recognized
this as a bad omen....
We proceeded north through a series of canyon washes and sandy riverbeds with occasion cairns to mark the way. The trail finally disappeared completely, so we proceeded according to the compass. Unfortunately, after a few hours of bearing northeast without a trail, it became evident that we were somewhat lost. We crossed a spring with a shallow (less than one inch deep) pool. Some of the group opted to refill and treat with iodine - this would become a much bigger issue later in the day. As 6pm rolled around, and with no other options available, we decided to camp in a riverbed, on a semi-raised ledge that provided some protection from flash floods. The long hot day had taken its toll on the group....Vic's legs were giving out, and his various muscles were visibly cramping from dehydration and over-exertion. Andy had threatened to throw-up, due to mild heat stroke. But Chris' hives had disappeared, as promised!
Most importantly, our water supply had become somewhat limited, as everyone had consumed far more than their allotted one gallon per person per day. We had refilled our water bottle once at the first canyon spring, but had only seen a few other standing murky pools for the remainder of the day. During our evening scouting around the campsite area, we found another small spring that dripped into a 10 inch deep pool of green murky water. Everyone refused to drink it. But, after a group calculation of how little water we would be able to consume if we planned to last until the water cache at noon the next day (if we found it at all), we decided to purify the green muck.
that
we knew must be the Dodson. Everyone was relieved and overjoyed.
We stopped for lunch along the Dodson (salami sandwiches and peanut butter) and continued for another hour or so until, to our further delight, we hit the Homer Wilson Ranch (ruins) and our water cache. The temperature had long ago exceeded 100F, so we spent the next hour lying on the smooth concrete floor of the ranch patio. It was 3pm, and we knew that we were too late to continue up into the Chisos Mountains for a second night in the backcountry. So.....we climbed back up to the road, hitchhiked back to the van, and went directly to the nearest supply store for cold beverages and ice cream.
Since
we were already at the south end of the park, we decided to drive down
to the edge of the Rio Grande, to investigate the possibility of boating
across the river and into Mexico. Only 4 of the 6 people in our group
were US citizens, so we had a few concerns about the idea. But when
we arrived at the river's edge we found, to our surprise, that the river
was less than 2 feet deep (all the way across) and that no border patrol
seemed to be present. We took off our shoes, crossed the river, and
walked into the small border town for a few beers and tortillas.
We crossed back into the US, and drove to a remote car-access campsite
just north of Panther Junction. During the drive north we crossed
a border patrol station, where a border officer inspected our vehicle and
checked our identifications. Chris had brought his passport and all
required papers, but Cecilia had nothing but her Texas Driver's License.
After a brief lecture from the officer, including a few threats of jail
and severe fines, we were again on our way, and arrived at the campsite
by sundown.
Sunday,
April 15th
After returning to the visitor center we decided to pack up and leave the park. We stopped for dinner at an outdoor restaurant next to the Gage Hotel in Marathon TX, just north of the park exit. After dinner we drove another hour north to Fort Stockton, where we checked into a La Quinta and spent the remainder of the evening relaxing, playing cards, and enjoying a few beers.