Big Bend

On December 12th 2009 Rachel and I had been Married for almost three months and one of our life time goals is to experience all the National Parks. It was winter break at Rachel's job so we packed our car with trail mix, granola bars and camping utensils in preparation for Big Bend National Park in Texas. We had just double checked the apartment to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything (it would have been great if I'd remembered to pack a compass) and Rachel slipped on the wet stairs. They had been soaked from all the car packing traffic and the dirty Chicago snow. I watched her helplessly as she landed on her rear and thumped down one stair at a time until she was able to stop her skid. I could tell by her face that she was in pain, but she shook it off and said she was OK. She gingerly sat down in the passenger seat to start a twenty four hour ride sitting on a bruised tail bone.
Let the good times begin!
Two days later we arrived at the north entrance of the park. We had reserved a campsite high up in the Chisos Mountain basin and it was a good thirty miles from where we were. We thought it would be best to spend some time in the northern part of the park before driving to our campsite. We pulled out our map and decided the northern trail that looked most interesting was Dog Canyon trail. Devils den trail started half way to Dog Canyon so we hiked them both.
In the picture immediately to the right Rachel is making sandwiches and you can see Dog Canyon in the distance. That was our first destination. The beginning of the hike was dusty desert with some rocks stacks every hundred feet or so to mark the trail. We saw a marathon of roadrunners, but I was unable to get a good picture as they are very quick birds. In fact, during the whole four and a half day trip I was never able to get a good shot of one of these common but elusive birds. After about two miles, the trail descended into a dry wash about eight feet deep and fifteen feet wide. There is a sign at the lip of the wash, and this is where the two trails split. Behind the picture of the sign you can see Rachel standing in the wash.
The wash eventually led us into the heart of Dog Canyon and through to the other side. On the far side of the canyon the parks border with it's neighboring ranch was marked with it a line of stones. Rachel crossed that line....
Hardcore!
After enjoying the view from inside the canyon we back tracked to the Devils Den trail. This trail went the other way along the same wash for a spell and then eventually made a sharp left into the humble beginnings of the Devils Den canyon. I actually got a little nervous that we were heading in the wrong direction just before the turn off. With the high wash walls on either side of us we couldn't see the surrounding landscape. (that compass would have been nice). Soon the trail split and we had the choice to either continue into the mouth of the canyon or hike up along the southern side of it. We chose to hike up for a view from above. At the time the choice was made mostly because the rock pile on the right looked bigger.
As we climbed up hill we enjoyed how different the plant life in west Texas is compared to the mid west. I had never before seen much of the vegetation around us. We had Dagger Yuccas towering over us. Soon the canyon had grown to an impressive cliff to our left. We continued until we found a good vantage point to look over Devils Den and have lunch. We also took out Paul's Binocular for the first time (Thanks Paul). With the canyon and miles of spectacular desert landscape spread out below us we did what anyone would do, we tried to see if we could spot the car. We did see the car and the very shy and evasive yellow shirt guy's van was still beside it.

After our lunch we hiked the 3 miles or so back the the car. We estimate that we hiked a total of 8.5 miles on our first day in the park. We couldn't wait to hike more, but it was time to go set up camp.
On the way to the Chisos Basin we stopped at an archeological exhibit but I think we were both too excited to really take it in and appreciate it. Either that or it was boring- I'm not sure.
A winding, break pad wearing ride into the mountains later we were at our campsite. Rachel and I pitched the tent, and then she organized the car which was no small task considering we had just driven 24 hours in it. I set up our bed and got the tent ready and was planning on helping Rachel when I met our new Neighbor, Tim. He and his wife Janet own a vegetable farm in Vermont and they have three months to travel every winter. I showed Tim our plans to hike the south rim the next day and he said it seemed like a long way to hike. I assured him we could handle it and he razed us about being city folk. He said something along the lines of hiking in altitude is not the same as the elliptical. It was all in good fun. Rachel and I enjoyed their company and I think they represent well the friendly people that visit our national parks. They had a Bernese Mountain Dog, and that made Rachel like them right away.








Notice the Bernese and the buck hanging out in the camping area.












That night the sky was amazing. There was a new moon and it was the day after a meteor shower. Can you say booya?





It did get a little cold though this is the roof of the car the next morning.







In the morning, it looked and smelled like it might rain. We were worried we might not get to hike to the south rim that day. I made coffee and watched the weather roll into the basin. It was spectacular, the clouds came over Casa Grande and then got caught up on the mountains on the far side of the basin. The puffy white giants then got stuck in the bowl we were camped in and swirled around this way and that. Despite all the dramatics, it did not rain. I lured Rachel out of bed with coffee and we got ready for our 12 mile hike. As we were leaving, our new neighbor, Tim, jokingly asked what time he should send out the search party.

Our goal was to get to the south rim. There were two ways to get to it, so we decided to take one route there and another route back. On the way there, we took the Laguna Meadow tail. It was basically up, up, up and then up some more. There were some patches of oak trees that were in their fall colors in December and birds everywhere.
Miles and miles later when we were nearing the rim, we saw some really big paw prints on the trail. They were not fresh but it was exciting all the same. We were in mountain lion country for sure!
It looked like the lion followed the same path we were on. It had probably been a week since it rained last, so we figured that was when the prints were made. It still gave us an eerie feeling, and I couldn't help thinking she was watching us right then. Right at the peek of us siking ourselves out, a huge buck walked out in front of us and startled the heck out of us. There was a toilet (notice I didn't say bathroom) near there. As we were using it, the stag got very close to us. It was a little unnerving that he wasn't scared of us at all. Right then a woman came speeding up the trail using those skiing pole like hiking sticks. She spooked the deer and he ran off. It was then that I realized she was the first person we had seen so far on our 6 mile hike to the south rim. As as we walked a little ways, we saw the other hiker had just stopped in front of us because we had arrived at the south rim.


There was a vertical cliff hundreds of feet down and we were 2000 feet above the desert floor. We figured we had found a great spot for lunch. I pieced together a panoramic view using a series of pictures, but without a tripod it didn't turn out great. It gives a sense of the awesome beauty though.


After lunch, we headed back. Since it was winter and the days were so short, we took a small shortcut. Instead of walking along the whole rim, we headed back via Boot Canyon Trail. It was a great change of surroundings down in the canyon. The cooler climate allowed trees like maple, Douglas fir and ponderosa pine to survive in the desert as relic species left over from the last ice age. Hiking the Boot Canyon trail also afforded us a great view of Boot Rock.

We saw many birds in the canyon.


A lot of them were birds we know from home


that were wintering in Big Bend.


I told Rachel I sort of felt like the wintering birds


were wimps for not sticking the winter out in Illinois.


She reminded me that we were doing the same thing...


smart girl...


smart birds...


This Mexican Jay was new to us.


It let me get real close for a photo shoot.



When we were about 3.5 miles from the Chisos Basin we passed the Emory Peak trail head. Emory Peak is the highest point in the park and the trail was only 1 mile. The only problem was it was 1 mile straight up and we were running out of daylight. We decided that we got a great view already from the south rim and we should get back to camp. When we got back to our campsite, we moved camp to a more sheltered area. The night before had been quite windy and almost caved our tent in.
Our new camping area didn't have the view that our first had, but it was sheltered from the wind. We were able to sit out longer and view the stars. We saw some meteors that were so bright and long that you could talk about it while it was still streaking across the nights sky.

In the morning we had plans to drive to the desert and check out the hot springs in the south east part of the park. Tim told us he did the Lost Mine interpretive trail the day before it it was a must see. We had no plans to hike that trail, but squeezed it into our schedule for the day. It was totally worth it. Tim gave us the guide book for the trail. It was great. The trail had markers with numbers corresponding to explanations in the book about plant life, mountain peak names and other interesting points on the trail. The trail lead us up to a wonderful vantage point to view the Chisos Mountains and the desert below.
In only 4.8 miles, we were back in the car and much more informed about the plants around us. I could now tell the difference between Alligator, One-seed and Mexican Weeping Junipers. Since we added a 2 hour hike to an already fully planned day, we saved time by eating lunch in the car on the way to the Hot Springs Canyon Trail.
The Trail started out in the Rio Grande Village camping area. The campground was in a grove of oak trees with yellow winter leaves surrounded by desert. It was stunning. The trail led to a hot spring where the water was 105 degrees. We had our swim suits and 2 beers with us, and couldn't wait to get in the water. It had been 2 days and 28 miles of hiking since we'd last showered. The trail followed the Rio Grande along the hot springs canyon to the hot spring itself.

There was one other couple in the spring when we arrived. We got right in and cracked our beers. There was a lone horse on the Mexico side of the Rio grand. If anything we could say that this horse was rare but we thought naw, forget it, Yo homes to Bel Air!
Pardon me, I've been typing for a while.
The water was wonderful. It was the perfect temperature. We asked the other couple if they wanted to trade pictures with us and they agreed. I ran to get our camera and in my hurry I stepped on a submerged log covered in algae. I slipped and fell hard in the spring. The only part of me that wasn't submerged in hot water was the arm that held my beer. I fell like a pro and got to enjoy the only beer I had with me. As you can imagine the couple was uncomfortable with me using their camera after that. But they did and I got a good picture of them, and they us. The running joke after that one was "Beer guy fell down."
While we were soaking in the spa, we noticed a Mexican gentleman come out of the brush and get on the horse. He crossed the Rio Grande while we watched. We didn't see what he did on the American side. We figured he was the one behind the artwork and walking sticks we had seen for sale along the trail. There was a jar and a sign with prices. The sales were all based on the honor system. We later found out that the Rangers considered it contraband and confiscated it whenever they saw it on the trail or in the hands of American who had purchased the items.
After relaxing in the water for a bit longer, we headed back the way we had come.





Not a minute


after we got back in the car,


we saw a coyote.






After he ran off into the woods we drove to a nice place to watch the sunset.


The next morning after growing tired of eating breakfast and drinking coffee in the cold, we got in the car as soon as we woke. We drove to the desert to enjoy our morning in a warmer climate. We meant to picnic at the Santa Elena Canyon trail head, but I turned off the road on stop to early. We still had a beautiful view of the canyon during breakfast. It was still a little cold, but at least we had the sun. Every morning in the Chisos Basin the sun would rise behind Casa Grande and we would eat in it's shadow not feeling direct sunlight until hours after the sun had already risen.
We finished our coffee and drove to the trail head. The Santa Elena Canyon trail was only 1.7 miles round trip, but it was jaw dropping. It took us directly into the giant narrow canyon.




Here we are next to the Rio Grande.


Towering behind us is


the canyons maw.



Inside the canyon we found coyote prints in the mud. Someone with a last name similar to us had been there, however they were not as respectful to the canyon walls.
I couldn't capture the awesomeness of the inside of that canyon with a camera, but let me tell you it was impressive. The echo wasn't bad either.


Next on our agenda for the day was Mules Ears Trail.
This was a 5 mile hike that took us to Mules Ear Spring and a great view of Mules Ears Peaks. We wanted to do this and 2 more hikes before sundown, so we high tailed it up that trail. I think it helped that we weren't hiking in elevation for once. Moving fast wasn't all that challenging. I'm sure it would have been different had it been summer time.
Rachel in front of the spring
Mules Ear Peak


The contrast from the arid desert to lush spring was really wonderful. We saw a frog jump when we neared the pool, but this tadpole was not as quick to run away as his adult kin.

On the return hike, we got a great distant view of the Santa Elena Canyon.


After that hike, we weren't sure if we had time to do the remaining two hikes we had planned for the day. We decided if we could only do one, we should do balanced rock because we saw it on a postcard. If your at a national park you need to see all the postcard spots right?
Getting to balanced rock involved driving to the Grapevine Hills trail head. Getting there meant we had to drive down Grapevine Hills "improved dirt road". We were driving a Nissan Sentra and would have never made it if the road hadn't been "improved." We definitely scraped up the bottom of the car, but we got there. Rachel's a great off road driver. The trail was relatively easy. A little over a mile to Balanced rock. We had so much energy we actually ran at times. On the path, Rachel asked the people coming down if the rock was still balancing. We found out that it was.


Just a little way up hill

from the balanced rock, we

found another interesting spot.
















Here's a closer look


We didn't forget to take the postcard shot either.



After that adventure, we got the adventure of driving back down the "improved dirt road" We had time for one more quick hike so we drove to the Burro Mesa Pour Off. This was just a one mile trail through a valley to a dry waterfall.
Here's us standing on the bottom.

We hurried back out of the canyon so we could watch the sunset with the car in view. We didn't want to hike too far in the dark. The sunset over Santa Elena Canyon. It was beautiful



Notice the thin sliver of a moon. Think about this, the fact that there were no towns for hundreds of miles in all directions, no clouds, no pollution, and we were 4000 feet above sea level and you can get an idea of how amazing the stars were every night.
We got back in the car and drove back to our campsite / stargazing area.
While on the road we saw what looked like a big animal (or maybe two animals) with a pig face. We only got a glimpse because I was driving at 45mph and couldn't slow down quick enough to see what it was. We had heard there were javelinas in the area. They are a pig like desert animal. We were upset that we missed it because we were excited to see a javelina. I drove slowly the rest of the way to our campsite but we didn't see another. That is until we got into the campsite- they were running around everywhere.

After they had moved on, Rachel and I focused on getting dinner ready. Rachel heard something and warned me. I heard footsteps and told her it was a person. Then we saw a lone javelina clopping down the road hurrying after his herd. It was terribly cute. Later that night while we were watching the stars, Rachel warned me of a noise again. It sounded like the metal of a bear box, so I again said it was a person (city boy doesn't believe in animals). We turned around and saw a skunk trying and failing to enter our bear box. We sprung up and ran about 20 feet away from the critter. I shouted at it to try and scare it off. It didn't work. The skunk raised his butt to us and walked sideways. He was flanking us and showing us he was the one in control of the situation. I kept my distance, yelled and stomped around. He waddled off with no regard for my theatrics.


The next morning we took down the tent, threw out our garbage, and packed the car before going on one last hike. Windows Trail started literally 50 feet from where we were camped. It was only a 4.4 mile round trip starting with the first half downhill for a change. Half way down the trail, Rachel heard a rustling in the brush that she didn't think was small critters. After the last nights incidents, I had learned to trust that her ears are better than mine. I pulled out my camera in hopes of getting a shot of the beast, whatever it was. Rachel having a clearer head then I, said we shouldn't press our luck and suggested that we keep moving down the trail. That is exactly what we did.
The Windows view was incredible, but my camera couldn't pick up the contrast of the desert below. Imagine an expansive desert floor sprawling out beyond the rocks behind us.

On the hike back up near where Rachel heard that rustling in the brush we saw these.

We were soberly reminded that we were in...



Wet Bear prints on wood. Prints don't get any fresher then that.
We made it back to the car without incident.
We then reluctantly drove back to Chicago where the Bears and Lions had losing seasons and didn't excite anyone. Total miles hiked: 45.