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2006.09.29 - Ah the wonderful drive from Fort Worth to West Texas!
There are sections with hilly scenery between Weatherford and Sweetwater, and when the
mountains come into view near Pecos, its a sight to behold! But then there are the stretches
in between... The Mitchell Counties where all you can do is stave off the boredom with
speaker-thumping, volume-intensive music. This was my lot in life on Friday, September 29th,
2006. Despite the miles and miles of flat Permian Basin fields and brush, I was excitedly
driving toward the "sky island" of the Davis Mountains.
I eventually made my way to the beautifully scenic roads leading up to The
Nature Conservancy's Davis Mountains Preserve, thankfully finding the gate unlocked and
open. At about 5:00 PM, I urged my Corolla down the bumpy dirt road up to the sign-in table
for the preserve's open weekend. I spoke with the friendly folks staffing the event and
learned that I was one of the first ones to arrive. With plenty of golden sunlight
illuminating Madera Canyon, I wheeled into the nearby campground to take my pick of the best
tent sites.
After getting everything set-up in a great spot beneath a large tree (with
no "widowmakers", I decided to take a liter of water with my camera and headed off down the
main Madera Canyon Road just to scout out the route. Walking along in the peaceful setting,
I went about 3.0 miles to the 5th wet river crossing before deciding to head back for
dinner. Petite frogs chirped in song as the moon rose over the shallow canyon walls. I made
my way quickly back to the car, entertained by a spectacular sunset over McDaniel Mountain
in between.
Upon reaching my camp, I noticed that several other cars and a few
campers had arrived while I was out hiking. Luckily for me, the RVs were at the complete
opposite end of the camping area, so I wouldn't be bothered by the din from generators all
night. Lazily dropping my pack inside the tent, I decided to forego the gourmet freeze-
dried dinner of chili-mac, and instead head a short distance into Fort Davis for some local
fare. Twisty, dark drive where my check-engine-light came on aside (eventually found out it
was a catalytic converter trouble code), the burger I had in town was absolutely
phenomenal! With a full stomach and dreary eyes, I drove back under the pitch-black night
skies to drop into my tent for a deep, warm sleep.
2006.09.30 - I awoke to a glowing panorama of nylon as the first
rays of sunlight hit the walls of my tent. Emerging out into the cool, crisp morning air,
I was really excited to get moving up the trail to Mt. Livermore. Initially, I had kicked
around the idea of walking the length of Madera Canyon and climbing up completely under my
own power, however, since I knew that the Nature Conservancy folks would be providing 4WD
transportation up to Bridge Gap, it was easy to make the lazy decision. With how grueling
the descent from Mescalero Mountain would
prove to be later in the day, I came to a real appreciation for my decision.
A bottle of tea and a slice of cold pizza served as breakfast whilst I
hurriedly gathered together the gear I would take along for the day. Even though I was
cheating to get up to Bridge Gap, I'd still be hiking just under 10 miles with a tough
cross-country descent back into Madera Canyon. I tried to keep my pack light, but also
wanted to bring enough in case the day took longer than I expected. I drank 2 quarts of
fluid before setting out, so I figured that the 5 quarts I brought along would be more
than enough. Little did I know then that my reserves would dwindle to nothing with 5 miles
still to go in the day!
People slowly trickled out of their tents and over to the trucks that we
would be taking up to Bridge gap. After everyone assembled, the group numbered about 15.
The largest portion of our party were members of a local Boy Scout Troop along with a
leader or two. Splitting up into three SUVs, we headed onward & upward!
Not much to report about the drive except that the river crossings were
much wetter and deeper than normal due to the frequent & heavy rains that had been hitting
the central Davis Mountains. It was a very good thing that I didn't try to take the
Corolla on the canyon roads!
The whole group finally made it up to Bridge Gap and set out en masse
toward the summit. Everyone took the road in lieu of the Limpia Chutes Trail at the
request of our guides. I initially hung back to listen to the natural commentary provided
by one of the knowledgeable folks, and was very interested to learn some more about the
flora and fauna native to the area. I soon decided, however, to start making my way up
the route more quickly since I still wanted to make it over to Mescalero Mountain. The
short mile of road went by very quickly, and I soon found myself as the 2nd person on the
summit.
The final pitch up the summit block was not at all difficult, and opened
up to a fabulous 360-degree panorama of the Davis Mountains. I enjoyed a snack on this
lovely perch and obliged the other hiker to take a summit photo for me. As I sat back down
to enjoy my cheeseburger, the population began to grow...
The Boy Scouts had finally made their way up and were zooming all over
the area with glee. It was nice watching them experience this, and I even began to
reminisce about my own days in the Longhorn Council's Troop 40. My trip down memory lane
ground to a screeching halt, however, when a few of the scouts started throwing rocks off
the top. I was extraordinarily shocked to see that the leaders didn't seem to care at all
that this was going on! After only two or three missiles being hurled down toward the
other hikers who were still coming up, I piped up and told them to stop. After a bit of
goading, they finally ceased, and I was left as the crotchety guy who wouldn't let anyone
have any fun. Thankfully, none of the other were hit, but two ladies commented that they
had a close call while walking up to the east base of the tower.
Righteous indignation aside, the hike up Mt. Livermore was spectacular,
though brief. At some future point, I plan on returning for a full hike up Madera Canyon
to the summit, however, on this occasion, I still had some more climbing to attend to...
Across the rocky and sometimes steep Tobe Gap Ridge, laid my ultimate objective for the
day: Mescalero Mountain.
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The sun's rays fall on Pine Peak as the shadows grow longer.
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A peaceful moonrise from Madera Canyon
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Wispy cirrus clouds above Mt. Livermore; it would rain 48 hours later...
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Driving up Madera Canyon; Livermore & The Arrowhead loom above
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The desert "sky island" was in bloom in the Davis Mountains
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Some of Livermore's cliffs overhang Madera Canyon
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Devil's Tower or Baldy Peak?
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A view from the summit pinnacle with Sawtooth in the distance
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Jacko visits the highest point in the Davis Mountains
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TX Mountaineer on Texas' 5th highest peak
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Looking onto Brooks Mountain from Livermore's summit
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