How Denisa and Mark enjoy the mountain top differently . . . and a bad ending to our day

On our first full day at Big Bend National Park, we were up early. In fact, we watched the sun rise over the mountains as we made the 45-minute drive to the Chisos Mountain basin in the center of this big park. After talking to the ranger yesterday, we knew that we had to be up early to get a parking place for some of the most popular trails within this most popular part of this popular national park.

As the sky got brighter, we got closer to the Chisos Mountains that were covered in a haze of wispy clouds this morning.

We had really planned to hike the Window Trail this morning. But when we saw an open parking place for the coveted Lost Mine Trail, we snagged it in a hurry. With only 15 parking spots for this second most popular trail in the entire national park, we changed our plan for the day. We suddenly found ourselves going up the mountain to the Lost Mine, rather than down the mountain to the Window.

Low clouds in the mountains are fun to watch. This morning's heavy clouds completely filled the valley below us.

The early morning sun was just lighting up the mountain peaks above us as we started the hike. The other advantage to getting up so early is that the temperature is comfortable in long pants and long sleeves. With high temperatures forecast is the upper 80s and 90s this week, we were soaking up the cool this morning.

As we hiked further, those mountain tops were getting closer.

Mark and Denisa plod up these mountain hikes at about the same speed. But when we get to the top, our behaviors are completely different. Denisa is satisfied to have made it to the end, with the best views of the mountains around us.

Mark, on the other hand, is always searching for the best view point, or trying to get to some higher knob or perch that no one else would consider climbing.

He enjoys being that person that everyone else is worried about on that perch where no one else would go. Now Denisa has to move from her easy end-of-the-hike spot to try to get a picture of Mark's antics.

She would rather be taking a picture of the birds in the bare trees here at the top of the mountain.

Not all of Mark's extra climbs are above us. He looked down and saw this light colored rock that looked like a camel. Can you see the camel in the picture below?

He said, "I'm going to ride that camel," and he was off down that slick rock to stand beside the camel's head.

Meanwhile, Denisa is repositioning herself to take a picture of Mark riding that rock camel far below her.

Sometimes Denisa follows Mark, and we got to this tippy top point of the Lost Mine Trail together. Denisa liked sitting here, enjoying the view.

But Mark enjoys climbing on top of that tippy-top, just because it's there.

Denisa enjoyed her spot that is now above the surrounding mountains. But Mark is just wondering if he can get to that funny-shaped rock pillar on the right hand side of the picture below.

It took some rock scrambling, but he managed to make that climb. He enjoys standing right by that tall rock column that no one else would consider exploring. Turns out that it was bigger than it looked from a distance, because you can barely see Mark standing in the "palm."

This scramble was far enough that Denisa had to get out the other camera just to verify that is Mark standing so far away.

Denisa enjoys sitting very still in one place, waiting for the blue birds to come closer for a picture that doesn't even need a zoom lens.

She found that these are Mexican jays, and they are very willing to come closer to hikers that are sitting very still. Denisa enjoys that.

But Mark has now spotted another rock structure further away, so Denisa is going to have to use that zoom lens in that direction. It's hard to see him standing up on the far left side of the ridge.

Yep, that's Mark--doing what he enjoys on mountain tops.

He has his phone with him, and he snapped a picture of the ridge of rock directly in front of him. Thankfully, he had enough sense to recognize how narrow that fin of rock is and how risky it would be to continue with straight drop-offs on both sides.

He swings the camera back to where Denisa is still relaxing in her tippy-top spot. She leaned over but you can barely see her.

We definitely enjoy the mountain top differently! After a relaxing hour for Denisa at the top, and an hour of Mark gaining more steps and elevation change, it's time to head back down the trail. The clouds have reappeared, and the sun is no longer lighting up the mountains around us as we descended. They almost look like the muted tint of a painting in the background.

Even though we enjoy the top differently, we both really liked the Lost Mine Trail. We understand why the parking lot is always full, and why it's the second most popular trail at Big Bend National Park. It's supposed to be a 4.8-mile hike with 1,130 feet in elevation gain. But with all of Mark's extra scrambling it was 5.8 miles with 1,332 feet in elevation gain for him.

We ate our picnic lunch, and felt rested enough that we decided to try another hike. We had read about the Pine Canyon trail, and so we headed that way. We don't have to worry about the parking here, because the trail head is a six-mile drive on a four-wheel-drive-only road. When we visited here eight years ago, we had only a little car. So now that we have a four-wheel-drive pickup, we are excited to get to explore some trails that weren't an option to us on that first trip. We were two miles down the Glenn Springs gravel road when our rear driver's side tire started losing air fast. It went flat in a hurry.

We found that a sharp rock had punctured the tire right between the tread.

Mark had never had to change a flat on this pickup, so we learned where the jack is stored and how to get the full-size spare out of storage. Denisa loves that Mark is good at situations like this, and never loses his positive attitude. This flat tire will change our plans for where we will hike and drive during our stay here. We never did make that Pine Canyon hike. The clouds kept it cool, and we had a beautiful view, but this was certainly a bad ending to a very good first day at Big Bend National Park.