Roaming About the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Badlands in New Mexico -

In the northwest corner of New Mexico, just east of the Navajo Nation, is 45,000 acres of wild land: the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Badlands. 70 million years ago the land was a river delta from an inland sea that used to flow from the present-day Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The millions of years that followed shaped the land, giving it its unique beauty. Layers of sediment built up from the river flow; swamps and ponds left build up of sedimentary rock; volcanoes deposited ash; prehistoric animals roamed; Laramide orogeny (a period of mountain making) lifted the delicious Colorado Plateau in one large chunk creating stunning unearthly landscapes, the ice from the last ice age exposed fossils and petrified wood, and erosion slowly brushed aside and blew gently the land dust to expose the area’s characteristic formations. Had none of these things happened over the course of these 70 million years, I may not be here now. But I am here. And this is how I roamed about.

Let it be known: This is a wilderness area so there is minimal signage, no amenities… no living souls about, though another car was in the parking lot when I arrived. There is no trailhead or markers about the expanse of land, and no map or informative post warning you that wilderness is not to be taken lightly. When I planned my visit weeks ago, I knew I’d have to take special precautions. Mostly because I’d be roaming solo, cell service was reported as spotty to non-existent (though I had moments of LTE), and the terrain had been reported to be disorientating. It’d be foolish and unfortunate to wander from the parking area, enthusiastic for the miles-long trek to see as many fascinating formations as I could, and get lost and die Into the Wild-style. I am sharing my preparations here as they may help others–or for others to offer me some tips.

For this trip–and others like it–I decided to purchase a handheld GPS unit. After some research, I bought the Garmin 64S. It’s pretty user-friendly and preloaded with a compass, maps, sunrise/sunset times, and geocaches if you’re into that kind of thing. But most importantly, I can program in the exact coordinates of my car in Bisti’s parking area (the hiking starting point) preventing that whole Into the Wild-style death. And also pretty darn cool, I can program the entire hiking route I wish to take and mark all the formations and features as “waymarks” along the way. Sure sure, this kind of a device can take away from the wildness of the experience, yes. But I’d rather have the option of using it if it saves me from foolish follies or even slow, embarrassing death. Along with the device, you can download GarminBaseCamp software. This is where it is easiest to add in the coordinates of all the points of interest you wish to include. Then it imports the route to your device. You can even share your route with friends and let them see where you’re at.

In order to locate the Bisti points I wanted to see, I used this very helpful inventory compiled by Aztec, NM’s tourist site. Here is a screenshot of my route stops, including coordinates. You can also see my coordinates for my visit to the neighboring Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness (which I skipped after being hoodoo-ed out after Bisti and wanting to get to Chaco Canyon, my next post.).

The GPS unit turned out to be a tremendous peace of mind. Marching off into the wilderness was briefly scary. I know for certain that I would be lost without it, likely still roaming about. In the end I only used my programmed route as a guideline. I mostly wound up following my whims… seeing an interesting formation and charging towards it enthusiastically, like hundreds of times. In the end I walked about 8 miles round trip and arrived back to my car safely after one fall on the loose rock. And I did get lost kind of… hit several dead ends in the higher terrain. My problem was that I was following the clearing from some river flow thinking it was a trail. But yes, there are no trails. American wilderness. Here are some of my favorite shots of this amazing landscape:

I flew into ABQ and got a room to crash for a few hours by the airport. Sleeping a bit on the plane and still being on NY time, I woke up at 3am to arrive at Bisti at dawn. Somehow I did it… and without any coffee. The road to Bisti has no gas stations or conveniences. I finally managed to get some Circle K coffee in Cuba, New Mexico around 3:30 pm.

My John Bender pose. I was excited to be all alone in this strange world. What a nerd.

I couldn’t explain these formations if I tried. The land was so strangely beautiful. Every turn of the head offered a different landscape to be in awe of.