Bush Mountain Trail Traverse

Bush Mountain Trail is a high-country route from Pine Top to Dog Canyon. This full traverse starts at Pine Springs, follows Tejas 3.7 miles to Pine Top, then takes Bush Mountain 12.3 miles to Dog Canyon, for 16 miles one way. The route bows west along the escarpment above the cliffs, then runs through the isolated north end of the park before climbing to Dog Canyon. It is a very long, hard day in wilderness; allow about 10 hours, and more if grassy tread slows you. The route profile suggests roughly 3,600 feet of accumulated climbing. If you want the shorter north-south crossing without the western detour, Tejas runs from Pine Springs to Dog Canyon in 11.8 miles.

The first 3.7 miles follow Tejas, climbing out of Pine Springs Canyon into the high country. Pine Top is where the full Bush Mountain distance begins. Stay on the Bush Mountain line as it turns west; the Tejas junction offers other routes that would change the walk. The high country is not one continuous bare ridge: the route moves between open slopes and more wooded, rolling stretches.

Bush Mountain winds far to the west, above the cliffs on the escarpment's western side. Bush Mountain Wilderness Campground is 2.7 miles from Pine Top; 2.2 miles farther, the route meets Blue Ridge. You get long views across the cliffs and desert as the path curves around the western side. At an open section, include the pale slope and trail line in a photo; the path gives the landscape a sense of scale.

Past Blue Ridge the trail is much less traveled. Grass can hide the tread, and cairns mark the route; around the camp and junctions they can be hard to pick out. NPS recommends a compass and paper topographic map, and says to be ready to navigate. The route leaves the high ridge, drops through the isolated northern park, climbs over Manzanita Ridge, then descends into Dog Canyon. Give this stretch time; it is no place to count on a fast finish.

The western escarpment exposes the Capitan Reef, a vast fossil reef that grew along the edge of the Permian Delaware Sea about 260 million years ago. The reef was buried as the sea evaporated, then uplift and erosion exposed it as the modern mountains. Along this route, that story sits in the pale limestone cliffs and ridges that make the trail swing west.

This is a one-way hike between remote access points. Pine Springs and Dog Canyon are 110 road miles apart; allow about two hours for the drive and arrange a pickup or second vehicle before starting. There is no on-route water, so carry everything you will need. Pets are prohibited on park trails. If you camp at a designated wilderness campground, a backcountry permit is required.