It only took 14 years, but I finally talked Gina into returning to Big Bend National Park for a camping trip. Her first trip, in 1996, got off to a shaky start when we rolled into the campground and the thermometer at the little store showed 114 degrees. In hindsight, it’s clear that visiting the desert during the last week of May is a bad idea if you’re not a big fan of heat. Then there was the fact that we went there in my little Ford Ranger that didn’t have air conditioning. Then there was the late-night incident with the javelina. Then there was the sandstorm that blew in and drove tiny grains of sand through the tent fabric, coating us in grit. We cut the trip short after three days and fled back to comparatively mild Little Rock.
This time, with a March trip planned, the weather promised to be much more reasonable and it was. It was even pretty chilly during the nights. Granted, I haven’t been many places in my life, but Big Bend is the most beautiful, scenic and downright neatest place I’ve ever been. This trip was my third to the park. I shot about 500 pictures and have picked out about 40 to put on the blog, so I’m going to dole them out over the next few days as I find time to get the photos processed. If you want to stretch you’re imagination, you can pretend I’m doing these entries in real time even though the trip was actually last week. I recommend you do that.
We rolled into the Chisos Basin on Monday around noon. The first order of beeswax was to claim a campsite and set up the tent:
Circumstances conspired to put my cousin Dale and his wife, Amber, along with my Uncle Dale and Aunt Judy, in the park at the same time. Here’s a fun Don-In-Big-Bend fact: All three times I’ve been to Big Bend, my Uncle Dale has been there at the same time. Only on the first trip did we go together. The other two times we went separately without collaboration. We planned to meet at the Basin for a Monday hike to The Window and then down out of the mountains to Oak Spring. Dale and Dale and Amber and Judy had parked a vehicle at the end of the trail so that we could enjoy the hiking rarity of a one-way trip.
The park is big on putting the fear of God into you by reminding at every turn that the park is home to mountain lions and bears. Gina kept a weather eye peeled for one of the big cats all week, but never saw one.
The Basin is big bowl in the center of the Chisos Mountains, which are situated in the middle of the park. All of the rain (and there’s not much) that falls in the Basin drains out of the mountains through an increasingly narrow chasm until it pours over a 200-foot drop to the desert below. The rock is polished smooth from a millions of years’ worth of gritty water passing through. I don’t know exactly how often water actually makes it all the way to the pour over, just a few times a year. The Basin gets an average of less than 20 inches of rain a year. It gets a little spooky as you get close to the edge of the pour over with that slick-looking rock (although it’s not really slippery unless it’s wet) and the wind howling through the narrow opening. I’m amazed that there’s not at least one knucklehead a day falling off that thing.
Amber posing majestically as the wind whips her hair.
Usually, hikers turn around at the Window and head back to the campground. But we backtracked to where the Oak Spring Trail connects with the Window Trail and continued on out of the mountains into the desert beyond. Unfortunately, I told Gina that the trail was downhill all the way. That’s true except for the half-mile section that goes straight up to climb the shoulder of Vernon Baily Peak to get around the Window. Gina’s not in good shape and she’s getting over brain surgery. She turned all red and dramatic by the time we reached the high point. I feared she would bail on the trip as a soon as we got back to the car.
Dale and Judy on the Oak Spring Trail above the Window.
After cresting the hill, the Oak Spring Trail is a pretty easy downhill cruise for the next couple of miles. At one point the trail becomes an eyebrow on a steep, steep slope covered with rocks and cactus.
Watching for Indians with my trusty cactus at my side.
Self-portrait with Carter Peak in the background.
Aunt Judy, who humors me by claiming to be a fan of Post Irony, shot this portrait of me and Gina with a 11-16mm Tokina zoom at f/7.1 at 1/200 with -2/3 stop exposure compensation. I should have told her to get a little closer to us though.
The world famous Indian tie-down tree at the Oak Springs trail head. According to my GPS unit we hiked 5.7 miles, a long walk by my standards and a great way to start our stay in the park.
Coming in the next post: Some better photography.
Comments
Great pictures. I will get closer next time.