| Article Index |
|---|
| Big Bend - Nov 07 |
| Hike to the 'Window' |
| Hiking Emory Peak |
| All Pages |
We reached the borders to Big Bend National Park at about 8 in the morning. Although I knew it was called the 'Big' Bend, I didn't quite realize how BIG it really is! We has to drive to over 40 miles into the Big Bend National Park to get to our campground. The campground was located in a basin surrounded by the Chisos Mountains. It was an extremely picturesque location to camp out at.
When we got there the campground was almost full. However, we did manage to secure a decent camp site, and then set out for our first hike: the window trail.
The window trail is a 5 mile round trip trail that takes you a 'window ' created by water erosion. The window is a pour-off that drains the entire Chisos basin into the great Chihuahuan desert. Although it was not a very difficult hike, we were woefully out of shape, and so it seemed a lot more difficult then it should be. We started off form the campground with a beautiful view of the canyon beyond which lay the 'window'.
The hike was peppered with some unusual looking plants. Like this snake-like plant:
Its anti-thesis:
Or this fascinating xerophyte:
Slowly, but surely, we were getting closer to the window.
And there was more to see, like this beautiful grass patch:
Some 'interesting' geological formations like this one:
and a Roadrunner running through it:
About 2 hours later, we got to the the 'window'. A breathtaking view of a 200 feet drop of the stream into the Chihuahuan desert
Although we got back at about 3 PM or so, we were really tired. Just an indication of how out of shape we were! We set out tent up and crashed for an hour and a half or so. By then, it was too late to start another hike. Sunset was in less than an hour. Instead I took stock of the Chisos Basin itself. It was quite a sight to behold. Behind our campsite was the Casa Grande:
It was nightfall soon, and the temperature was dropping fast. We'd know the next day that the temperature that night has down to 24F! Since Big Bend is so far away from all civilization, there is virtually no bright light sources (like headlights, street lights, buildings etc.) at night. The moon was shining bright, bathing the entire basin in the pale white moonlight. I did my best to capture it on camera:
