After another amazing year had drawn to a close, I pondered the ways that I could start 2014 on high note. My wife was officially at the half-way point in her law school career and we both felt that we needed to get away from the city for a while to decompress and relax. Given our desire to avoid anything crowded and our need for serenity, there was only one place to go; Big Bend National Park! Neither of us had been to Big Bend before so we didn’t know exactly what to expect but everything and everyone described it as one of the most remote and peaceful environments in the world. A massive space that strecthes for miles in every direction and has everything from mountains to deserts. It is so big in fact that its the only National Park that contains an entire mountain range (The Chisos).
The drive from San Antonio via Highway 90 was quite scenic and seemed to deliver a slow but steady buildup to the landscapes of the park. Once you reach the small town of Marathon you find yourself surrounded by mountains and deserts that at times can seem otherworldly. Due to a much later than anticipated start to our day we didn’t arrive at the park until about an hour after the visitor center closed for the night and with only a small amount of fading light left with which to setup our camp. We pitched our tent in the Chisos Mountain Basin Campground and after getting everything set up for the night, headed up to the lodge to aquaint ourselves with the area. Fortunately for us, the lodge not only had all the information we needed for our stay but also a nice diner style restaurant for us to enjoy a hardy dinner for our first night in the park.
The next morning we awoke with the sunrise and quickly began to pack up our gear. Sarah had noticed the night before that the lodge restaurant offered a buffett style breakfast every morning so we decided to stop in and refuel before our long hike. After breakfast we went to the visitor center to obtain our backcountry permits and then returned to our campsite to finish getting everything together for our journey. Once we finally got our backpacks loaded down we set out out into the backcountry. Our original destination was the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains but due to our unfamiliarity with the area and the amount of time it took us to get packed up we ultimately decided to head to Toll Mountain instead.
The hike was a strenuous three mile climb into the Chisos that offered plenty of great views and a handful of encounters with the native wildlife. We did pass a few groups of day hikers on their return trip to the basin but for the most part, the trail was a quiet place. Once we arrived at the campsite we setup our gear and noticed we still had some daylight left so we decided to try for the summit of Emory Peak in time to watch the sunset. Emory Peak was about another mile from where we would be camping but since we didn’t have to carry our packs we made great time. The trail grows steeper and more dangerous as you near the summit ultimately culminating in a fairly treacherous rock scramble that requires some basic rock climbing skills. Our timing turned out to be perfect with us reaching the summit only moments before the sun reached the horizon. Once the sun had set, darkness began to descend upon us so we didn’t linger on the peak for long. We hastily made our way back to camp and called it a night.
(Note: Neither of us got much sleep atop Toll Mountain thanks to a howling wind that began in the middle of the night and our genius decision to save weight in our backs by leaving our pillows behind the day before. While mother nature cannot be controlled, I can assure you that I will never again go backpacking without a pillow of some form.)
The next morning we began to stir at sunrise and I prepared a Mountain House Lasagna for breakfast as Sarah began packing our gear for our descent. As crazy as it sounds, breakfast was actually quite good and much needed after our constant bout of restlessness the night before. Shortly after breakfast we finished packing and departed back to the mountain basin via the same route we had come up the day before. During the descent we decided that after two nights of camping we should to treat ourselves to a nice bed and a hot shower so once we arrived back at the basin we checked ourselves into a room at the lodge. Still fairly early in the day, we unloaded our gear, got cleaned up, and headed out to see some more of park.
After having a quick lunch we headed west for the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and the Santa Elena Canyon. Once out of the Chisos Basin we descended to the desert floor where we were greeted with beautiful vistas in every direction. “Scenic Drive” is often an overused term across America but it was definitely well deserved if not an understatement in this instance. The Chisos dominated the view to the east and a seemingly endless mix of mountains and desert defined the western horizon. The speed limits are low but barely necessary as any sane person will want to travel as slowly as reasonably possible to even begin to try to take in all that surrounds them.
Once we finally reached the Santa Elena Canyon trailhead, we parked and began making our way towards the massive canyon. The hike is a relatively short one with no real elevation gain aside from the climb up to the entrance of the canyon itself. Once inside, the layers of erosion and the colors on the massive limestone walls are quite stunning. In some places the walls rise up to nearly 1,500’ and the majority of the canyon is quite narrow.
One cool feature of this unique landscape was the tremendous echo it produced at even the faintest of sounds. Many of our fellow hikers felt obliged to have fun with this and of course Sarah and I occasionally joined in. After spending some time getting a few good shots from inside the canyon, we made our way back to the car. Our timing was perfect and we were treated with a breathtaking sunset as we made our way back to our room at the Chisos Basin Lodge.
Once we arrived back at our room, we cleaned up and headed over to the lodge restaurant for our final dinner in the park. It was fairly busy and while waiting for a table we stumbled upon a unique puzzle themed after the US National Park System in the gift shop. After we finally got a table and finished our meal we decided to add it to our tab when we were paying the bill. Sleeping on a bed was heavenly after our nights on the ground so we made sure to get the most out of our stay and slept as late as we could while still being able to catch breakfast at the restaurant on the way out. Having taken the Highway 90 route into the park, we opted to go along the faster yet somewhat less scenic Interstate 10 route back to San Antonio. Overall we had a wondrous time and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the remote landscape of Big Bend National Park. Though I’m not sure I intend to return any time soon, it is definitely a place that everyone should visit at least once.