Help! thoughts about a hike in late Dec-Jan

How many days?
How many miles / day?

Arizona – Bryce/Zion for example – I don't know anything specific though

I haven't got out to Big Bend but I love the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. From everything I've heard Big Bend is at least as good. You mentioned distance but there are a couple things to remember. First days will be shorter, south Texas is better but still it gets dark early. So you won't have the hours to do big miles. Second you will have a heavier pack carrying water (more on that later). Between those two you can exact to do somewhat shorter mileages then in other areas (or in summer).

There was a thread recently about Big Bend requiring bear canisters in some areas (other areas apparently have bear boxes). Might be worth checking out. For a shorter trip I'd suggest bringing your own can so you can have one of the smaller lighter ones (rentals tend to be the bigger models). Also they said bear proof containers approved by the IGRC. Well they just approved the Ursack so that MIGHT be accepted there, again worth checking out before you make the trip.

If you do a desert hike anywhere I suggest you bring a solid pack that can carry water well. I use a 2.5 pound Exped Lighting for my desert hiking. There are some lighter packs out there that theoretically could carry 35 pounds but the lighting does it much better. I tried putting similar weights in a Zimmerbuilt pack and an HMG pack and neither was as comfortable.

It is a bit of a bummer carrying lots of water weight but if you keep everything else light its not unbearable. I packed up for a weekend trip and my total pack weight was around 28 pounds with 2 gallons of water. Heavy but not unbearable by any means.

Desert Southwest: Lower elevations around Phoenix AZ and the Big Bend area (both state and national parks). Great time to be there so I'd monitor water supplies, need for bear canisters, etc… Call about water flow even in winter.

CA: Big Sur areas Ventana mountains overlooking the ocean were mentioned by Backpacker magazine in '98; I was there one March and wished it cooler. May need to find trails fairly maintained however as that brush can overgrow a trail.

Bryce and Zion are in Utah. And they would both be cold and possibly snowed over in late Dec or Jan

The Superstition Mountains near Phoenix are nice in the winter. But they may still get below freezing at night

we have 10 days. Miles? For us , we did Wonderland in 9 days not 5 or 6 as some of you might. We usually do moderate miles.

So I am a farmer in NC and can only really get out in the winter so I always do at least one trip in the SW usually in the Nov.-Feb. window. My long time favorite is Big Bend and they have modified the bear canister requirement which you can read about here on my page about the park. Water should be pretty good this year but it is far between sources and depends on the part of the park. The rangers are usually not informed or won’t give you very good info on water. Big Bend Chat is the best source of current info. Luke is right, the days are short but the weather is usually perfect. “Big Bend seems short” Not sure what this means unless you are talking about the Outer Mountain Loop but there is far more to do and lots of off trail opportunities. Contact me if you want more info.

I also will do trips in S. Utah but mostly in late Oct. and early Nov. otherwise it can be too cold/snowy.

My first trip to Death Valley will be this Dec. so I will report back but the big thing is there is essentially no water aside from man made sources, at least in the valley and the mountains get pretty cold.

Love it there – it's just amazing. You do need to plan your water a bit, but there are places to cache and there are some reliable sources in the park.

I would not at all consider myself a desert hiking fan – I'd actually never been – but Big Bend should absolutely be on everyone's bucket list. I've done the outer mountain loop and it's just phenomenal.

Here's a link to my trip report: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=86848

I'm reluctant to over-recommend Death Valley, as the weather is highly variable and your nights might still be cold. Days probably very nice (70+?), but you might still put on your jacket at times, and definitely at night. It's also very hard to stitch together an actual backpacking trip in DV; I've given up and just car-camp and day-hike. But it IS a magical place in Dec-Jan, it really is.

Southern Utah definitely not warm enough in mid-winter.

I live in northern California and cannot recommend anything north of L.A. in winter. It is rainy and, even when not rainy, kind of chilly. That includes coastal areas, such as Big Sur.

I wonder about Anza Borrego Desert near San Diego.

Big Bend sure looks interesting; people here are making me want to check it out.

In the past, if I wanted "warm" in January, I would head for South America. Plane tix have gotten expensive, though, and some countries (such as Venezuela) get insane just after Christmas, when everyone there is traveling and it can be hard to snag inter-city transit.

– Elizabeth

"so I will report back but the big thing is there is essentially no water aside from man made sources"

The exceptions are the big springs. One in particular that I hike to has the largest flow of any spring in Death Valley. However, you have to get off the roads and get way back into the slot canyons to find them.

–B.G.–

Thanks for clarifying that Bob, I knew when I typed it, it would read wrong. What I meant was along and in the Death Valley (along the valley floor) itself. Yes there are some springs up in some of the canyons. I am looking forward to the experience.

Anybody done the southern start of the PCT? Is it an interesting section? Prob OK in early january I would imagine.

I live in San Diego and dont recommend Anza Borrego or the Southern parts of the PCT.

I worked as an outdoor guide for about 5 years (in the San Diego region) and its not that Anza Borrego is bad, but to be honest, I'd rather drive out to Big Bend and hike the Outer Mountain Loop. Anza Borrego doesn't have enough "long distance trails" to sustain a week long trip. Plus their are so many impacted "off road" tracks" that constant throw up dust every time a jeep drives by (at least once an hour).

I have only hiked the San Diego parts of the PCT, so I cannot comment on large southern parts of the PCT, but I'd prefer Big Bend over the San Diego parts of the PCT.

I highly recommend Big Bend in December. I did the Outer Mountain Loop in December last year.

I went Counter Clockwise:

Day 1: Half Day, camped at JF1
Day 2: Hiked to SE2 on the South Rim (Highly recommend a site on the South Rim)
Day 3: Hiked to Blue Creek Ranch (Water Cache), camped in nearby area
Day 4: Hiked along Dodson Trail, (camped somewhere in between Mule's Ear and Elephant's Tusk Juctions)
Day 5: Hiked back into Chisos and spent night in CO2
Day 6: Hiked to parking lot, arrived at trailhead in the morning

I am by no means a fast hiker, but I am used to desert backpacking. That being said, I drank ALOT of water on day 5 trying to get back into the Chisos mountains. There is significant elevation change in a relatively short amount of time. When I went last year, Fresno Creek WAS running, but I wouldnt count on it being reliable. I would not recommend counting on Fresno Creek for water.

People on Big Bend chat are helpful, but their river reports can be … conflicting.

I hope this helps

such helpful info!

Now pondering Big Bend…

We prev had a lot of fun with Bear Mountain etc near Sedona(West Fork) but achange of pace is nice.

I have to recommend Gumo in Texas. In my view Big Bend has one big trek (noted above). Gumo has pine top, the escarpment, tejas campground, mckittrick canyon campground, dog canyon, the bowl, permian reef, and the peak (day hike).

both require you to pack water, neither allows camp fires…

for the suggestion

Uncertain how good the hikes are? But first bits of reading about them sound interesting.

Big Bend is awesome and there are plenty of quite long trips if you're good with some quite rugged off trail hiking and navigation. The Superstitions are fantastic as well and there are loads of loop opportunities. Pick up the Beartooth Press map.

We did Peralta there and enjoyed it- do you have other favorites for Superstitions? Also Beartooth for Superstitions or Big Bend?(Or both?)

Anything in Superstitions better than Bear Mountain near Sedona?