Trailhead elevation: 2350 ft
Elevation gain: approx 1500ft (significant loss and gain along the trail)
Distance: 18 miles round trip
Difficulty: moderate to strenuous

I chose to hike during the heat of the day, approximately 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The trailhead for the Mesa De Anguila is easy to locate. Simply drive from the Panther Junction Visitor Center, west to Study Butte, following th signs along the way, and the turn on 170, SSW towards Lajitas. When you arrive in Lajitas you will see a sign directing you to turn left to the trailhead. This turn will take you into one of the residential areas being developed in the area. As of this report the area only has lot layouts and streets. There are no houses built in the development though there are maintenance buildings, a golf course, and stables in the area. The road forks and you need to take the right fork. The trailhead will be on your left hand side and is clearly marked with a sign that gives a trail description and maps it to the saddle as well as a trail rules sign.

Not surprisingly, I had the trailhead all to myself. I would be alone on the Mesa, and that was the point of this trip. I popped the trunk and began sorting thru my gear to make any last minute changes. i had been agonizing over my gear list for weeks in the hopes I could make this trip. Now, at the last minute of course, I was making changes. I shed a small item or two, flip flopped on whether to pack in my sleeping bag or not, and added extra food. I would end up regretting packing in the extra food and the sleeping bag.

I was packed for two nights on the Mesa, but was unsure if I would spend that long. The purpose of the hike was to venture onto the Mesa for some exploration, expereince desert hiking solo, and do so during one of BIBE's hotter months of the year. As it turned out, the day I hiked in was unseasonably cool, with the high in Lajitas hovering near 90. The following day that I hiked out was overcast and windy, making the all around hike very comfortable, but a bit disappointing weather wise, considering what I was hoping for. Regardless, I had headed out on the hike with full respect for the Mesa and with the utmost humility.

I had originally planned to camp in Zone W04 near Canyon Flag and requested that zone while obtaining my permit at the Panther Junction Visitor Center. The Park Rangers were kind enough to give me a permit with both Zones W03 & W04 ( A big Thank You for this and everything else the Park Rangers and staff did for me while I was there). This allowed me to alter my plan a bit and start later in the day, after I hiked the Lost Mine Trail.


Since I was hiking solo in the BIBE backcountry I filled out a solo hiker form and the ranger took pictures of me, my backpack, my shoe, and my shoe's sole. This, of course, for the purpose of finding me if I did not return my permit to a visitors center after the allotted time. A group of birdwatchers in the visitors center at the time seemed fascinated by the entire process.

The Mesa de Anguila trail starts out flat and well cairned taking you through an arroyo crossing that is a general pain as you sink and slog through its gravel bed. This is compacted by the fact that more than likely you will be carrying a large amount of water at this point. Especially during this season. Your goal is very clear and visible. The"Saddl" lies before you across the vast, flat, desert plain. On your way to the Saddle you follow cairns that weave in and out of yuccas, creosotes, junipers, and more.

If the hour is right you might catch a glimpse of wildlife through here, as I did on my way out when I saw the largest jack rabbit I have ever seen. The ground is dry, dusty, hard, and hot, and dotted with hoof prints and the occasional deposit of horse and burro dung.



The Mesa looks large and vast as you see it on your drive in, but as you hike ever closer to the Saddle you begin to appreciate even more the task before you. The trail up the saddle is hard and rugged. solid rock lined with scree, it is hard on the feet. I made it up fairly quickly, but even so would stop to catch my breath and take in the views behind me towards Lajitas and the trailhead below. In my opinion the Saddle is the most strenuous part of this particular hike I took. Whether going up or coming down, it is hard on the joints. One should take care with each step as it would be easy to fall.




When you finally crest the Saddle you are greeted by stunning views to your south of Mexico, and the Rio Grande snaking through a maze of Mesas. Off in the distance, to your east, you spy your next goal peaking over the miles of rolling desert terrain. La Mariposa. The terrain before you is rugged and harsh, yet beautiful. The desert before you is flat, but further ahead of you it rises and falls, and the trail follows as do the yucca, sotols, ocotillo, candelilla, and junipers.

The trail is well cairned and varied in its makeup. You will find yourself on hard packed dried ground covered in dust and scree at one point and then suddenly on solid slab, polished and potmarked with holes for potential tinajas. On this day, in early May, I was not surprised to find all the potential tinajas empty of water.


I hiked in a few miles before stopping to take a break, eat a bit, and get out of the sun. I found a small arrayo deeply potmarked from past tinajas whose walls were just tall enough to provide a bit of shade. I was able to pitch my tarp between a slab and a bush to provide myself with even more shade. I then, ever so carefully checked the area of slab I was about to sit on, as it backed up to a small crevice that could harbor a snake, scorpion, or any other potential threat. Finally, I sat and relaxed.


My break was not a long one but I was glad I took it when I did. During this portion of the day this was one of the few spots along the"trail prope" that I saw any opportunity to get out of the sun without having to fully pitch my tarp. I would find more further along the hike as I drew closer to the river, but those were a good 8 to 9 miles in.

The sun beat down even though the temps were cooler than expected. I regularly kept my bandana around my face to keep not only the sun, but the winds off of me. I regularly applied chapstick to my lips. The trail is a hard one. it is rough on the feet and knees. In my opinion it is as rough, if not rougher, than Marufo Vega or the Outer Mountain Loop Trail. Carrying the water weight I was carrying ( right around 7.5 liters or a tad over 16 pounds) made the trail seem even harder on my feet and joints. In almost any other season you could count on a decent chance of finding water in tinajas along the way, but at this time of year, especially in this rather dry year, I had gone in knowing water would be non-existent on the Mesa. Even if I did find a tinaja with water, my goal was to get to the river for my water supply and save any water in tinajas for the wildlife. At wetter seasons of year I would partake in the water provided in the tinajas, but in this season, which is always dry but was dryer than usual, I was going to pass up water until I reached the Rio Grande, unless it was an absolute emergency.

The trail goes back and forth between rolling desert hills, wide flat expanses suitable for campsites, and arroyos and potmarked slab. All are accompanied by an array of desert vegetation. Along the trail, every now and then, a lizard would hurridly scurry before me, darting to and fro, to avoid me. They moved to quickly for me to positively indentify, but if I hazard a guess I would say they were seven striped whiptails.




La Mariposa grows ever larger in the distance, and though you may feel as though you have traveled far and are almost to the large"upper mes" on your map that proceeds Canyon Flag, check again. You may only be to the point 3567ft and the small point to its east. If so, you have a couple of miles before you reach Tinaja Blanca and a little less than that before you reach the junction that splits off to Metates camp.


When you reach the first junction, you will find it clearly defined with a tall cairn and lined with rocks on either side and direction. You are faced with a choice of continuing towards Canyon Flag, La Mariposa, and the Entrance camp at the inner Saint Elena canyon, or heading towards the river, the False Sentinel, and Metates Camp. On this day I chose to continue heading due East towards the Entrance Camp. The sun was high above and pounding down, and I was carefully monitoring my sodium level and my liquid intake.

After passing the first junction I continued towards Tinaja Blanca slowly gaining elevation until I could see a rise before me and blue sky well beyond. As I drew closer, I saw the section juntion marked by two distinct cairns. Then the Mesa opened up before me, with La Mariposa to my south/right, the Mesa proper and its sheer cliff to my north/left, and the expanse below, my path to the river and the Entrance camp.


I started down the rough and now less defined trail to my right and descended towards the desert floor, turning my back on the trail at the junction that heads up the Mesa and towards Tinaja Luan. It is through this area that you might find it the most difficult to follow the trail. There are a number of game trails. One in particular is right after the junction and is easy to accidently follow. You will know you have taken the wrong trail if immediately after the junction, you begin to head up and along the side of La Mariposa. If this happens and the terrain suddenly changes from the sand colored desert trail to a rusty red colored trail similar to volcanic rock, you are on the wrong trail. Backtrack and find the cairn at which you first took that trail. At this point you should be heading [u]down[/u] towards the desert floor, not up towards La Mariposa.


The lower you descend, the more impressive the Mesa wall becomes. You will eventually cross the slab and arroyo of Tinaja Blanca and to your left, cut in the Mesa Wall, you will see signs of past pour off and the reason the tinaja was given the name it was.



Even the features that don't recieve name recognition on the maps of the Mesa are amazing and inspiring, such as the canyon that cuts into the Mesa wall, in the picture below.
This canyon comes cleary into view as you work your way down to the desert floor, around La Mariposa, and towards the Rio Grande.

The trail that leads to the river and the Entrance Camp is actually not much of a trail. It is more or less a series of cairns that lead the way. More like mountian climbing above tree line than trail hiking. The clearly cut trail was left behind long ago, and now one must be certain to keep an eye ahead for cairns. Some cairns will be obvious to see as they have been built up well, but others are small and nearly hidden and you may take a moment or two to stop, take a breath, look around patiently and discover the next direction one needs to go. At times the easiest course of action is to look for the hoof prints and horse dung and follow them, but the further you get around La Mariposa, the more careful you need to be.


A number of game trails cross through this area and if you aren't keeping a good eye out for the cairns you might end up following hoof prints the wrong way. If you do follow the cairns and the hoof prints, there is a good chance you will see the semi wild horses that roam the Mesa from time to time.


As your work your way around the backside of La Mariposa the desert before you is dotted with yucca, creosote, prickly pear, and hoof prints. Placed amongst these, the occasional cairn, your ever silent guide pointing you in the correct direction. You are now leaving the Tinaja Blanca, Canyon Flag, and the upper Mesa dehind you to the north. Even so, there are more spectacular sights to see, including an unnamed and spectaular Tinaja that would be easy to confuse as Blanca if you weren't paying attention.


As you pass this tinaja, you will finally get your first view of Saint Elena Canyon and the Sentinel.


Eventually you will have a small canyon below you on your left. To your right a wall rises above you as you walk a scree strewn ledge and navigate your way around a point. This section of trail is a bit strenuous, though I am certain the fact that it was around 5:00 pm, the sun was high in the sky and I had been hiking in the peak heat of the day for about 3 hours probably had something to do with it.

It's interesting how one relaxes a bit when they realize with certainty they are going to make it to their desert water source. Although somthing could have happened at that point, a fall, a misstep, a broken leg or turned ankle, I noticed that I was much more at ease through this last section. It was as if I could see the river in the near distance and a sense of nervousness I didn't realize existed before, was now gone.

I finished the curve on the ledge and saw my next cairn down below me. it led through som bushes and into an obvious wash. Far cooler, softer and shaded than the harsh sunbaked ledge I was standing on. I headed down to the cairn and stepped through the small tree lined entrance and into the wash. The soft gravel and sand based arroyo floor gave under my feet. You can go left or right from here. The correct direction to the river is left.



The sudden appearance of cool shade and lush green trees, combined with the soft ground is a welcome relief after the hard miles put in since one left the trailhead and ventured towards the Mesa and it's Saddle. There is a sense of haste and anticipation to finally get to your goal and the life giving waters that await you there. Yet one also wants to suddenly breath easy, relax, and just slow down as if on a pleasant evening stroll.



My arrival at the river was aknowledged by cattle on both sides of the border. Those on the Texas side were vocal in their resentment that I had disturbed their quite haven.
Though a few stuck around for a while, it was only a matter of time before they crossed the river and eventually disappeared to the south.

I got busy refilling my water bottles and one of my 3 liter hydration systems. The other still had 3 liters in it."Oh wel", I thought to myself."live and lear" I had ended up carrying in 3 extra liters of water than was needed to get to the river and that weighed roughly 6.6 lbs. I was solo and on the Mesa for the first time. I think it was the prudent decision at the time.

I treated the Rio Grande water with Klearwater, ate a strange array of food, inluding Spam wrapped in a tortilla (surprisingly good at the time), used Klearwater to wash my hands and as an oral rinse, took some pics of the sunset over the river and then lay in my bivy and gazed upon the countless stars in the sky as I listened to the relaxing sound of the rushing water of the river in the distance.
By 9:00pm, I was fast asleep.



I awoke early the next morning and watched the light of the sun peak ever so slowly over the cliffs around me. I ate what must have been 1/2 a bag of beef jerky, and added some salted peanuts to the breakfast menu and a tortilla as well. As I packed up and began to hike out, the morning light was still dim, the air still and the temperature cool.

I reversed my route, working my way back around La Mariposa, towards Tinaja Blanca and the junction. At the junction for the Metates camp turn off, I headed south southwest towards the river. I stood above Tinaja Rana and then worked my way down and around it.

This trail to the Metates camp is hard rock and dirt strewn with scree of all sizes. It would be very easy for one to turn an ankle here. As you continue down the pounding trail you parallel Tinaja Rana's arroyo in the canyon far below. La Mriposa is behind and beside you and the trail twists and turns while descending. I reached the point I was hoping to. From here I could see well into Mexico. I gazed upon a spectacular view of the river snaking in and out of mesas. The trail leading to the camp could be seen far, far below. All of this mesmerizing beauty was being watched over by the False Sentinel. This was enough for this day. I turned back, headed towards the junction and started for the trailhead. There was so much more to see on The Mesa and I had only experienced a small portion of it. I would plan to return again someday. Hopefully many times over.