Journey to Dreams: Big Bend

I've now been home a week after my five night Camping and hiking trip to Big Bend National Park. The hikes were great, the camping had a few cons. But overall I really loved the time there.

I arrived on a Sunday afternoon after an eight hour drive. It took longer than I was expecting but for 80% of the drive it was foggy and drizzling rain. Big Bend was sunny and warm when I arrived. I immediately set up my tent and campsite. Thank fully I had booked a site on the end of the row as the sites were smaller and closer than I had expected them to be. I had also thought that the parking would be a pull-in onto the site, but it was just a paved area on the side of the road. The sites were so close you could hear the conversations from all the neighbors. Not ideal for this introvert, but I did my best to keep my focus on the beautiful scenery around me. I also did discover after arriving that the AT&T coverage that had previously been available at the campsite was no longer provided. I would have to drive to the Visitor's Center and connect to their WiFi. While it was nice to unplug for the week, my daughter worries and likes to get updates at the end of the day to make sure I survived my hikes.

The first night just as I was falling asleep the winds picked up. It was insane, the gusts were almost collapsing the tent. It pulled free from the stakes at two of the corners, and the tie down loop at one corner tore free from the tent. I had to find some large rocks to place inside at the corners to hold the tent down. I think I got at most three hours of sleep.

I was up before the sun and had my coffee and breakfast in the dark. As soon as it was light enough to see to walk on the trails I set off on the Windows Trail. It is one of the most photographed areas of the park. It is a downhill hike to the Window, with of course, an uphill return. 961 feet in elevation gain, 5 mile round trip. It was a beautiful hike and I pretty much had the trail to myself on the way down and only passed people heading down on my way back up. It was a good start to my planned hikes.

Monday afternoon i hopped in my car and headed out to the Southwestern corner of the park. The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is a 30 mile road that ends at the Santa Elena Canyon. It has multiple scenic stops along the way. I took my time and was remaining optimistic that the weather would stay cool enough to do the hike through the canyon along the Rio Grande River. It was perfection. 65f degrees, partly cloudy skies. The trail was somewhat busy, but I was able to find my own isolated pace that gave me the solitude I desired. It is a great hike, 1.8 miles round trip with slight elevation gains - mostly at the start. It would have been perfect except some kids coming up the trail behind me discovered that when they yelled they heard their echo. They were loud and managed to scare off all the birds in the area. That was a bit annoying.

The winds died down from the night before and it was a pleasant evening and night. The moon was full which was beautiful, but it was so bright that the stars weren't as visible as they are when it is not.

A few pictures taken around the campground.

A good nights sleep and another early morning. The planned hike for Tuesday is the Lost Mine Trail. 4.8 miles with 1131 feet of elevation gain. I once again started barely at first light. I was a mile up the trail at a spectacular over-look just in time for the sunrise.

This is one of two of my favorite pictures. The other one is of the cactus on the Windows trail.

I loved this hike as it was challenging but not difficult. It was very scenic and the views from the peak were amazing, but if heights bother you it can be a bit dizzying.

After this hike I went back to the campsite, ate some lunch then fell asleep for an hour. I just spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading and just enjoying the views and wildlife.

Wednesday I slept in, and stayed all warm in my sleeping bag until the sun was up. The lows had dipped into the low 40's overnight. I had adjusted my hiking plans and had decided against driving the seven miles down a rough dirt road to get to the Balanced Rock trail. I would've loved to do the hike, but the Park Ranger warned me about the bad conditions of the road leading to it. I did not want to risk damaging my car so I decided to get out and explore the Southeastern corner of the park. This area includes Rio Grande Village, Boquillas Border Crossing and Boquillas Canyon. My first stop was Boquillas Canyon. It was warming up quickly and those canyons get hot fast. This one isn't as scenic as Santa Elena, but I still enjoyed the hike. It also wasn't as busy and was much quieter. From there I drove over to Rio Grande Village but there really wasn't anything to see or do there. I had been interested in a trail there, but I couldn't locate it. I asked at the Visitor Center nearby and he said it wasn't safe to hike when temperatures get above 80f, it was already 84f. So I got back on the road and headed back north. Not too far up the road I met a coyote walking down the road heading towards me. I stopped and rolled down my window to take some pictures. He stopped by the car and looked at me with interest. So I talked to him for a few minutes, then suggested we both be on our way before another car comes along. He continued on his southward journey and I headed on north. In addition to the coyote and the various bids I also saw Wild horses and Burros, Deer, and fox.

Wednesday night was rough. New campsite neighbors had a 14 month old with them that cried and fussed most of the night. I got very little sleep. I gave up at 5:30 am, and decided to head on over and start up the Pinnacle Trail before daylight. I have a headlamp and I figured if I took it slow I'd be fine. I could see one other person ( their headlamp) on the trail ahead of me and I knew others would soon follow. The Pinnacle trail is classified as a hard trail. It is over 8 miles in length with about 2000 feet in elevation gain. The trail takes you up to Emory Pass to the base of Emory Peak, the highest point in the park. It is nearly all uphill for four miles. This would be the longest single hike I had ever done. The trail has a lot of stairs and switchbacks. The only time I had difficulties was that some of the steps were a bit tall for me. ( I am only 5ft 3 in.). Hiking poles really helped on both the ascent and descent. I did get passed by five different people on the way up. All much younger men. I was proud to be the first woman to the top that day and also probably the oldest. I hiked a bit further past the top to catch a view out over the east side of the Chisos Mountains. It was quite the beautiful sight. It was early afternoon before I returned to the campground. My feet were sore, my legs were tired but I felt amazing as I was so proud of what I had accomplished this week. I look back to where I was 22 months ago and how badly out of shape I was. I still have a ways to go to be ready to do the Inca Trail in 13 months and EBC in 18 months. I am more confident and determined though to complete those goals.

Here are the last of my pictures from my final hike - The Pinnacles Trail.