daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Our last day at Big Bend was spent hiking the iconic Santa Elena Canyon. The canyon is always stunning, and this time there was someone in a canoe enjoying the Rio Grande. It looked so fun!
The canyon was a perfect way to end the trip to Big Bend. But there was one more thing that we were looking forward to: burgers at Pepito’s Cafe. It was so good!
Our one full day in Big Bend was a busy one! After a quick breakfast and camp breakdown, we headed over to the Hot Springs. The water was clear and warm, and we took advantage of the cool river to alternate between hot and cold. The healing waters of the Rio Grande felt so good!
Next up was a hop over the border at the Boquillas Crossing for lunch at Jose Falcon’s. My chile relleno and beer was great. It was very different from the kind we get in Austin.
Fuelled up on Mexican food, it was time to burn those calories on the trail. We’ve never hiked The Window Trail in the Chisos Basin, so that was our destination. It was such a cool trail when ends at a viewpoint which is the actual Window. Such a great view, and we chatted with a few other hikers who arrived at the same time. Very cool vibe with the cool air flowing into the canyon, and Mexican Jays joining us.
Our campsite for the evening was Robbers Roost, a backcountry site that you need a high-clearance vehicle to reach. Because it so remote, the sky is super-dark and it’s perfect for astrophotography. Unfortunately, the winds were very strong this weekend, so there was a lot of dust and haze in the air. That made shooting the Milky Way (which was just over the horizon) difficult. But the dust did make for nice sunset colors!
And guess what? The Lyrid meteor shower was just starting up, so we got treated to a nice show!
It’s nice that my friend and I like photography. Dark skies in Big Bend are a highlight of the trip for sure, and we stayed up until 3 am taking photos. So fun, and nice way to end an awesome day.
Today is day one of a camping trip to Big Bend National Park. My buddy and I have camped out here a few times before so the itinerary was a mix of our favorite trails and a couple of new ones.
We took my friend’s Jeep which meant we could visit a remote trails and stay any of the backcountry campsites. It really opens up the park to more activities!
Our first trail was the Grapevine Hills Trail to Balanced Rock. It was my third time hiking this one, and every time has been great. It’s a short trail, but the rock formations at the end are super cool!
Next up was a drive to Ernst Tinaja. On the way we stopped at an old cowboy gravesite. I’d love to know the story behind this person. Or perhaps it’s better left to the imagination. 😃
The tinaja was really interesting, with layered canyon walls and plenty of fossils in the exposed limestone. Another short hike with a big payoff. Recommended if you have a high-clearance vehicle.
We were treated to some awesome skies and storm clouds on the drive to our campsite. Luckily we didn’t get any rain. But the photos were much better because of the clouds.
When we reached the Rio Grande Village campsite we were greeted by a pack of friendly javelina. And by friendly, I mean they weren’t aggressive. The pack of 13 javelina just slowly moved their way through the campground, looking for grubs and other goodies. So cute! 🐗
We set up our tents, had dinner and then settled in for the evening. It was a long day on the road, a couple of nice, short hikes, and wildlife in the campground. Oh, there were also a few wild horses walking around the campground. So funny and unexpected! 🏕
This morning I woke up at 5 am and right outside my tent was the Milky Way. It was awesome! I got out my Fujifilm X-E4 with 18-55 mm lens, put it on the Ultrapod and took a few shots. There were only a few clouds in the sky so the shots looked pretty good, and I even captured a few shooting stars. In fact, with the 30-second exposure, almost every shot had at least one shooting star in it. It was so cool!
Soon, the sun made its way into the day, and after a sunrise photo and some coffee, it was time to hit the trail. We hiked Laguna Meadows Trail all the way down to the Chisos Basin, seeing one large bear along the way. It was digging a hole near the trail so we had to scoot past pretty quickly, bear-spray at the ready. Very exciting!
At the end of the hike, I splurged on a Topo Chico and mango ice cream bar before we hit the road. After a couple of hours we arrived at Fort Stockton and had lunch at Pepito’s, where I had a huge burger. It was a good way to satisfy my hiker hunger!
Here are a few more photos and the Strava track from the last day of our Big Bend trip. Enjoy!
After a strenuous hike yesterday, we were looking forward to an easier day on the trail. But first, we had an early morning visit from some deer as we broke down our campsite and had a quick breakfast. Then we hit the trail and hiked to Boot Springs to see if there was any water flowing from the pipe (there wasn’t).
After a short rest at the cabin, we headed up to the North Rim where we enjoyed the awesome views, eventually making our way to the South Rim 3 campsite, where we’d spend the night. SR3 is an excellent site, with a great view of Mule Ears and Santa Elena Canyon in the distance. It was so cool to watch the changing light on the landscape below.
Here are a few snapshots from today’s hike and campsite, a time-lapse I recorded during our dinner, and also the Strava track:
Today two friends and I made the trip from Austin out to Big Bend National Park for a few days of camping and backpacking. The drive out was pretty cool, with lots of interesting clouds to take photos of. And when we arrived at the trailhead, the weather was just about perfect. We still had some cloud cover as we made our way from the Chisos Basin up Pinnacles Trail to today’s destination of TM1 (Toll Mountain) campsite.
While on the trail, we came across three black bears. They were looking for food and didn’t mind us taking photos and watching them for a while. It was our first time to see a bear at Big Bend so we were all stoked!
The top of Pinnacles Trail is pretty tough, especially with heavy backpacks, but we made it to the top successfully. It was at the junction of the TM1 campsite, Pinnacles Trail, and Emory Peak Trail that we saw the evidence of the fires that swept through the Chisos. Lots of trees were blackened and burnt, and the smell of burnt wood lingered in the air. Luckily, the campsite was untouched so we were able to set up our tents, cook dinner, and then fall asleep pretty quickly. We were all worn out from the hike, and also the long day of driving.
Here are a few snapshots and Strava data from today. Enjoy!
Today I broke camp and headed down Colima Trail to the Boot Canyon Trail. I decided to return to the Chisos Basin via the Pinnacles Trail, which is the same trail we hiked in January, but just in the opposite direction.
Pinnacles Trail is pretty steep towards the top, with some fairly large steps. I remember when we hiked up it, my thighs were burning since we were carrying all of our water. I think my pack weighed 43 lbs (19.5 kg). This time, I was traveling down (a trekking pole is very helpful) with a lighter pack (32 lbs / 14.5 kg) since I drank almost all my water and I was thoroughly enjoying it. Ideally, you want to finish your hike with no water left in order to minimize weight, and I did pretty good in that I ended up back at the car with .5 liters remaining.
On the way down, I passed a lot of hikers going up the hill, and a bunch of them were really suffering. I could fully empathize with them! On the first day, your pack will be the heaviest, but at least your legs are fresh. Anyways, I encouraged those hikers who looked most exhausted and kept on descending into the Chisos Basin. The trail went by quickly and after just ~2 hours I was back at the car.
I really enjoy solo camping, and solo travel in general, and this trip to Big Bend National Park was a relatively safe way to satisfy my wanderlust during this COVID-19 pandemic. I’m so glad I went!
