There is a big, somewhat challenging, day hike at Big Bend. It can range from 12 – 16 miles depending on how you do it. There is a lot of climbing up mountains, down through canyons, along creek beds, and up along the rim of the Chisos Mountains facing south toward Mexico. Unless you are going to do some backcountry camping, you need to plan all day for this hike. You have to pack all the water that you will need and be prepared for harsh sun and/or strong winds. But it is worth effort as it is often like hiking through a series of post card images.

I did a version of this hike about 8 years ago. It was about 14.5 miles and it took me nearly 9 hours. I was in worse shape then than I am now and I remember having to stop for breathers along the switchbacks multiple times. I was also so sore and tired that I could barely move by the time I got back to my tent that evening. I remember being satisfied with the hike but it was all I could handle. I have been wanting to do that hike again to see if I am any more fit than last time, and this year I got around to it.

I started at the Pinnacles Trail and climbed up to Emory Peak, the highest point in the park. This takes you up 4.5 miles and about 2400 feet of steady climbing with several switch backs (see the map above). I didn’t attempt Emory Peak on my first hike out there years ago, but this year it seemed doable. One thing I remember from last time is all the Mexican Jays along the trail. These blue and white birds are very pretty and not very shy around people. So, I guess it was worth packing my heavy telephoto lens along the trail. I took these photos around the junction of the Pinnacles trail and the Emory Peak trail.

While at the trail junction at Pinnacles Pass, I took a several photos handheld to stitch into a panorama later. To get a good series of photos to stitch, you need to make sure that you control the metering and focus so that each image can be stitched cleanly. To do this, I put the camera in manual mode, figure out the settings I want for exposure, set focus, and switch to manual focus so the autofocus doesn’t attempt to refocus. Then I carefully overlapped about twelve photos sweeping from right to left from one gnarly old tree to the next. The photos were all taken vertically, at 50mm focal length and stitched in Lightroom. Then the final pano was edited as a single photo. Not a wall-hanger but it shows the view from the pass looking north.

Continuing up the trail to the peak, you climb across a mountain side of golden grass blowing in the wind. The trail starts as an easy climb and gets progressively steeper and rockier as you approach the peak. You make a few rough switch backs along the side of the mountain that takes you to a boulder strewn scramble. Once at the top of this, there is a bare cliff face climb the final 20 feet or so to the radio antenna.

When I got to the final climb up the bare cliff face, I knew that I could make the climb, but I was worried about coming back down. Especially loaded with 25 pounds of pack. So, I didn’t go up to touch the radio antenna on the craggy top. But I did 99% of the climb, which I am satisfied with.

After that I hiked back down Emory Peak trail to the junction with the Boot Spring trail which descends into a canyon. I wanted to take the Northeast Rim trail around but I began to worry that I would run short of daylight and miss sunset as this would add a couple of miles of climbing to my hike, so I continued up the Boot Canyon trial to the South Rim. I saw a lot fewer people on this part of the hike. I think I only passed two other groups of hikers up on the rim.

Once up on the rim trail, you can see for miles across the desert. Looking to the southeast you can see the high cliffs of the Sierra del Carmen in Mexico. Maybe someone was up there looking back toward me.

I wandered along the south and southwest rim, taking it easy and enjoying the view. I wanted to enjoy the time up here as this was the main point of the hike; the trail back to the basin is about 6 miles of long switchbacks down the mountains. There are backcountry campsites up here and I think it would be fantastic to camp up here and take in sunset and sunrise from the high cliffs. I don’t think I want to do that alone though.

The image below shows a high cliff rising above the desert along the southwest rim of the mountain range. I worked with the idea of foreground objects here, but in the end I like the lonely looking cliff with he desert hills far below. I just need a big horn sheep or something standing at the edge of the precipice, looking out over the landscape.

After this I began the long hike back down. I made it back to my truck an hour before sunset. My phone says I did 16.9 miles on that day and spent a bit over 7 hours hiking. When I did this hike about 8 years ago, I remember having to stop and catch my breath multiple times on the climbs. On this hike I just kept going without needing a rest and I climbed even higher. I didn’t feel any shortness of breath related to the elevation either. During the steepest parts of the climb, I clocked my heart rate at about 85% of maximum, which is a little over what I target when I do cardio exercise, so that seems to have paid off. So, I feel good about being in better shape even though I am older. Aside from my feet, I wasn’t particularly sore from the hike and I ended up hiking up to another place for sunset afterwards.

A peaceful hike and some assurance that I am improving my fitness. A great day. Thanks for reading.