bisti this weekend

I am going to go up to the bisti badlands this weekend and see how it looks when its covered with snow. I have 4x4 and boots.
Any other suggestions?

The 4x4 won't do you any good - you can't drive in the Bisti. However, a mule or a Sherpa would be useful. I've been there several times - as recently as last month. It's a wonderful place, but be prepared for a long hike.

Many of the dirt roads here turn to grease when it rains or snows. I wasnt planning on driving over the rocks! I am going to pick up a blm map tomorrow.

skillian said:

The 4x4 won't do you any good - you can't drive in the Bisti. However, a mule or a Sherpa would be useful. I've been there several times - as recently as last month. It's a wonderful place, but be prepared for a long hike.

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I have a BLM map. Unless they've done some serious cartography these last four years, it isn't going to do you a lot of good. You need a compass. And an article or two by the likes of Robert Hitchman (Photograph America) who've written about where the best formations are. There are no signs or visual clues to where the best formations are and you could spend hours wandering through the central plain looking in vain for something to photograph and wondering what all the fuss is about. You'll need to carry water and a little food. Be careful if its wet underfoot. It rained for a while on my last visit and my boots were twice the normal size when I got back to the car, and it gets slippery. Take a sheet of polythene or whatever to put your camera bag down on.

Its all worth it though.

When there, if you meet some of the Bisti Boys, send them my best greetings. :confused:

The best formations begin after about an hour's walk straight east of the parking area. When you walk through the opening in the fence, you'll pass a small butte (or hill) on your left. Once you get around it, just keep going in a straight line east from the parking area and follow the wash - it's the lowest point in the area and may have bits of water still in it, or mud ripples. If you walk along that wash for an hour, you'll run right into some of the more interesting formations. I'm putting out my first portfolio this year and it's actually on Bisti. Wonderful place, but really does require some hiking. I went in there with an 8x10 view camera and heavy Ries tripods and it nearly killed me.