RIO GRANDE — Far downstream from the San Luis Valley, the Rio Grande runs through Big Bend National Park where river enthusiasts experience stunning canyons with 1,500-foot walls. Downstream, past the park and these deep canyons, the Rio flows through what is known as the Lower Canyons, a remote, wild, and stunningly beautiful area.  

From the headwaters of the river in the San Juan Mountains within the Rio Grande National Forest, to the Gulf of Mexico, the river flows almost 1,900 miles. The Rio is the international boundary between the United States and Mexico for about 1,000 miles and is known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico. In the Lower Canyons and the national park, boating downstream, the left side of the river is in the US, and the right side of the river is in Mexico.  

For 69 miles, the free-flowing stretch of the Rio Grande winds its way through Big Bend National Park and desert expanses and stunning canyons of stratified rock. For an additional 127 miles to the east of the park, where the Lower Canyons are located, the river is protected as a Wild and Scenic River. The Rio continues to flow beyond this protected portion to the Gulf of Mexico. For the well-prepared, an extended float trip through the Lower Canyons provides opportunities to explore the most remote corner of Texas and experience the ultimate in solitude, self-reliance, and immersion in natural soundscapes. 

Boating on the Rio in the national park and on the wild and scenic offers people an opportunity to cross back and forth between the US and Mexico many times along their float as they navigate the international boundary located in the river. 

Once, while I was covering a news event in Big Bend National Park with then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in 2010, he asked park rangers just exactly where in the river was the actual boundary he was told, "Somewhere in the river," he asked, "In the middle?" and was told, "Not necessarily, the treaty [The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848] states the boundary is the ever changing deepest point of the deepest channel." Upon launching downstream in a canoe with a park ranger, Salazar was told by a ranger, "We will just stay over on the left side of the river so we don't enter Mexico and cause an international incident with Mexico." For those not taking the extended Lower Canyons trip, the Rio, where Salazar was canoeing, offers great sightseeing opportunities from land and by boat on shorter trips.  

I had the opportunity to float the Lower Canyons with friends who owned a commercial outfitter and were using the excursion as training for new river guides. It was a wilderness experience I will always cherish. 

The river trip through the Lower Canyons is a remarkable experience that lasts eight to ten days. Once boaters are in the canyons, the only exit is at the end of the trip, as there are neither towns, villages, nor exits along the way.  

The National Park Service has this on their website regarding the Lower Canyons, "When paddlers enter the Lower Canyons, they disappear from the 'real world', passing days and nights confined in a narrow gorge hundreds of feet high. The immediate detail a first-time visitor notices is the absolute silence. Heartbeats echo in eardrums. Sounds of breathing are amplified. At first, paddlers learn to speak in hushed whispers; then, they may not speak at all. The lilting song occasionally breaks the hypnotic rhythm of paddling of canyon wrens or the reverberating bray of the occasional burro.  

"Silence is intermittingly shattered by the low, almost imperceptible rumbling of upcoming rapids; rumblings which soon turn into a deafening roar of water slamming against rock."  

During our nine spectacular days on the Rio, we did not see any other humans, neither on the river nor along the river in Texas or Mexico. Few river trips offer this opportunity of solitude.  

This solitude is remarkable and comes with a risk. Because the canyons are so steep and remote extraction in the event of an emergency may not be possible. Once you begin the journey, the exit may be eight or more days away. 

On my float, we did have satellite phones that might help in an extreme emergency to contact the US Border Patrol, which theoretically could assist in an extrication in an emergency, provided a helicopter is available.  

On my excursion among our group, we had one Medical Doctor and one Paramedic, both trained in wilderness medicine, who had the expertise to stabilize a patient in an emergency. All good, if a helicopter was available.  Thankfully, we had no emergencies and enjoyed the ride on the Rio.  

During a visit to the Rio Grande near the Lower Canyons by this reporter in May, the temperature in Rio Grande Village, located along the river in the national park, was 108°F, the hottest place in the US on that day, according to the National Weather Service. The national park and the river are located in the Chihuahuan Desert, where extreme heat prevails from May through October, and are best visited during other times of the year. Anyone considering a Lower Canyon expedition this fall or in the winter should begin planning and make reservations soon. 

River trips in the Rio near Taos are spectacular and much closer to the Valley than the Lower Canyons. Far Flung Adventures in Taos (575-758-2628 and www.farflung.com)offers full-day class IV adventures through the Taos Box, one of the most exciting sections of whitewater in the Southwest. 

For the Lower Canyons both Far Flung Outdoor Center (432-371-2633 and www.bigbendfarflung.com) and Desert Sports (432-371-2727 and www.desertsportstx.com) in Terlingua, Texas, offer guided Lower Canyon river trips for approximately $2,000-$ 2,500. They also have one-day and three-day trips.