We visited Big Bend in April 2022 after an absence of many years. In the 80’s and 90’s we enjoyed a few river trips in Santa Elena and Boquillas Canyons, mostly with HCC members.
I am not sure the exact gage levels when we did those trips back then, but on our recent visit the gage at Rio Grande Village was under 2 ft. What does that mean? Not enough water for a trip. No whitewater. We talked to a guide who was helping clients at the Santa Elena take-out. They are paddling upstream from there and some are camping in Fern Canyon. He told us that nobody is paddling from Lajitas down through Santa Elena like we used to do. One outfitters’ website states that the Rio Grande has been very low for the last 20 years. Outfitters used to use rafts, but no more.
We took a boat over to Boquillas, Mexico for lunch, but we could have easily walked across without getting our knees wet. The old Santa Elena takeout and parking lot isn’t even used. You really can’t get there with a boat. The Lajitas put-in is just a few yards wide and a foot deep. There was no discernable flow. NWS river levels can be found here: NOAA - National Weather Service - Water
We know that the entire western U.S. and northern Mexico has been in a prolonged drought, but the lack of water in the Rio Grande still was shocking.
Here are some photos showing the river back in the day and now.
Figure 1 Santa Elena 1998
Figure 2 Santa Elena April 2022
Figure 3 Boquillas 1990
Figure 4 Boquillas 2022
Figure 5 Lajitas put-in now
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