Big Bend - South Rim Trail

We decided to tackle the longest hike on the first full day we are staying here, so we ate a big breakfast and headed towards the Chisos Mountain Basin in the mountainous center of Big Bend for a 13-mile hike.  This one had been recommended by two (much younger) hikers that we talked to yesterday.  It's always fun to watch people size you up when you ask for hiking advice.  Without being rude, they are trying to decide if we are durable enough for the long hikes.  Since we are hiking almost every day, we are up for any challenge.  When people ask us about our jobs, we are thinking about saying that we are "professional hikers." 

The hikers from the day before recommended bringing 100 ounces of water per person.  By the time Denisa packed that much water, plus snacks and lunch and more snacks and the daily supply of tangerines and more snacks . . .  We weren't sure it all would fit in our two backpacks. 

Note to self:  we also brought about half of this stuff back home with us.  I think we over-packed a little!

The parking lots are full since it is spring break, but there are so many trails that it doesn't feel busy.  We started straight up the pinnacles trail around 10:30.  Straight up is not an exaggeration.  Imagine stairs that go up for three hours.

But also imagine beautiful view points along the way.  After stair-stepping our way for hours we are now at eye level with the majestic vertical rocks at the top of the mountains.

We saw several Mexican jays on this hike, and we finally got a picture of these beautiful blue birds.

 You can see that we have made good progress, as the lodge and parking areas where we started are now tiny dots under that pyramid looking hill in the basin.

We were passed by a convoy of pack mules that were taking supplies up to a group that was working on trail maintenance.  These guys are really "professional hikers."

Our destination was the south rim of the Chisos Mountains.  This rim has a 2000 feet drop off that gave us 50-mile-views into Mexico.  The hazy conditions didn't allow us to see all 50 miles, but it was a spectacular view point!  

Mark took a panorama picture of the view from the south rim, because it just can't fit into one camera shot.

  We ate the lunch we packed as we paused at the very windy south rim.

We went to separate ledges and took pictures of each other to try to capture the steepness of the rim area.  You can see Mark in his white cap on the edge of his ledge . . .

and you can just see Denisa's profile standing on another ledge.  A missed step would result in a plunge down the rim about 2000 feet down.

When you're on an 8-hour hike, you want to spend some time soaking in the views from the top.

The loop hike continues on the Laguna Meadows trail.  This less steep descent from the mountain takes another 3 hours of hiking.  Here we discovered that some of the trees at Big Bend are host to mistletoe.  You might guess why Denisa is smiling as she poses under the mistletoe!



  

We stopped for a snack break, and we could see for miles.

 
The good news is that during the long descent there are great views of the surrounding mountains.

The bad news is that a rain storm blew in and we slogged through a misty rain for the last hour.  We were soaked by the time we got to the car!

It took us 8 hours to hike the 13-mile trail.  But we felt a sense of great accomplishment at conquering the south rim!  Tomorrow we're planning to give our legs a rest, and try some kayaking here in Big Bend.