The Black Gap Wildlife/Wilderness area *is* gnarly as all get out. Perhaps the safest and surest way to explore that area is on a mule.
The Black Gap Wildlife/Wilderness area *is* gnarly as all get out. Perhaps the safest and surest way to explore that area is on a mule.
No, it's not. And I used to drive a Forest Service jeep up and down a mountain (boulder and ledge and as close to vertical as I never want to get again) for fire tower duty. I have not ridden/driven anything as hairy as that since. Yes, it's all relative.Depends on your off road experience, I guess. I'd rate all the dirt roads as "easy" in Big Bend, even Black Gap. It's not like it's mountain single track. .
No, it's not. And I used to drive a Forest Service jeep up and down a mountain (boulder and ledge and as close to vertical as I never want to get again) for fire tower duty. I have not ridden/driven anything as hairy as that since. Yes, it's all relative.
Yet, the total risk factors are much greater in the desert. The 'trails' in the Black Gap Wilderness area are not roads. We saw a jeep or two turn around and back track. Randy's been in there many times and knows the trails well (he may even have the lines memorized ). It is significantly more remote than the national park and the terrain more rough and technical. People die in there (and in the nearby remote areas surrounding the park). But not just because of the terrain of the trails.
I would not ride a bike in there. Period. But that's me. I've ridden Old Ore, Glen Springs, Painted Gap and part of River Road in the park. But I won't be riding a bike in Black Gap Wilderness area east of the national park.
I'd much rather ride a sure-footed horse. A mule will do.
(maybe a wild longhorn? )
No, it's not. And I used to drive a Forest Service jeep up and down a mountain (boulder and ledge and as close to vertical as I never want to get again) for fire tower duty. I have not ridden/driven anything as hairy as that since. Yes, it's all relative.
Yet, the total risk factors are much greater in the desert. The 'trails' in the Black Gap Wilderness area are not roads. We saw a jeep or two turn around and back track. Randy's been in there many times and knows the trails well (he may even have the lines memorized ). It is significantly more remote than the national park and the terrain more rough and technical. People die in there (and in the nearby remote areas surrounding the park). But not just because of the terrain of the trails.
I would not ride a bike in there. Period. But that's me. I've ridden Old Ore, Glen Springs, Painted Gap and part of River Road in the park. But I won't be riding a bike in Black Gap Wilderness area east of the national park.
I'd much rather ride a sure-footed horse. A mule will do.
(maybe a wild longhorn? )
Good pictures!
Who's the chick in the new Mexico shirt?