The arrival of 2017 has opened a new chapter for the National Park Service and the National Park System, one that in the first days of the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress is fraught with concern over both the stability of the agency and the health of the parks.
The administration wants to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
Nominees for key agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy could support initiatives detrimental to natural resources.
Republicans in Congress are pushing to limit, if not entirely do away with, use of the Antiquities Act by presidents to designate national monuments.
Budget increases for the Park Service, feeble during the past eight years, could be even more meager.
It’s too early to say how these will play out, but they all bear watching. …
I feel the best hike in Big Bend National Park for most people is one of the South Rim Loop options. You can do those as long day hikes, but I’d recommend one night in a tent on the Rim.
Pick up your camping permit ($12 / night 2017) at the Ranger station near the Chisos Mountain Lodge. There’s a good store for last minute provisions.
The trailhead is right there. I started up the Pinnacles Trail.
Everywhere is scenic up this high. Great vistas in every direction.
A hiker showed me a photo of a bear he’d seen earlier in the morning. Cougar and bear sightings are frequent. They are confined to a small geographic area.
Cougars hunt the Carmen Mountain Whitetail. For the deer it’s either cougars in the National Park or hunters outside the Park.
Are these the Pinnacles?
Weather was good so I opted for the Emory Peak side trip. It’s the highest mountain in the Park.
Emory is dangerous. A teenager fell 450 feet to his death in 1999. Many turn back at the final scramble to the summit.
For me it was FUN getting up.
atop Emory Peak
I left a Summit Stone. Enjoyed the vistas … though it was very windy.
Down climbing is often more difficult. It is here.
Foolishly I’d not really paid any attention to my line on the way up. Several times I had to backtrack on the descent to find the safest route.
I picked up my pack on getting back to the Pinnacles Trail. Then carried on up the Boot Canyon Trail.
I’ve never seen so many Bear Boxes before. As a result, Big Bend has very few problem bears.
It was late in the day. I needed to hurry to get to the South Rim if I wanted to set up my tent in daylight.
There are standing pools of water here. You don’t want to drink from them.
I started with 3.5 litres of liquids.
Big Bend does an excellent job maintaining trails. #respect
At last light I reached the most scenic part of the trip.
Here’s the vista from the S.E. Rim.
In January it was very cold this high. And very windy. I had to cocoon in my sleeping bag to stay warm enough.
I woke early next morning. The weather forecast was for rain. I hurried down over the Laguna Meadows Trail taking only about 2 hours to complete the loop.
Note: We were there Jan 2017. Accessibility may change depending on what happens with Trump’s border wall promise.
Santa Elena Canyon is the single most popular spot in Big Bend National Park. Everyone stops here, even those who don’t normally hike.
The nature trail crosses Terlingua Creek, climbs several flights of ramps and stairs and then descends into the canyon along the Rio Grande. At this point the canyon walls loom over 1500 feet above the river below. …
In my haste to get over to the Canyon, I took off my shoes and waded Terlingua Creek.
That turned out to be a mistake. Everyone else found a way to cross keeping their feet dry.
Nobody regrets taking this short hike.
And I did finally get a photo of a desert cottontail. Or is it a small jack rabbit?
The best way to see the canyon is by raft or canoe. Local outfitters offer trips from one to three days in length when conditions allow, and river runners of intermediate or better skill level often go on their own. …
Note: We were there Jan 2017. Accessibility may change depending on what happens with Trump’s border wall promise.
Boquillas town is actually the small village in Mexico that sits on the eastern side of Big Bend National Park. It’s where many tourists cross to hike in Mexico.
A guy I met in the hotsprings recommended the Boquillas Canyon day hike. It’s about 1.5 miles return on the American side.
From the parking lot you climb up and over a bluff to walk alongside the muddy Rio Grande.
Supposedly these souvenirs on the beach ($6 each) were a fundraiser for the Boquillas school.
There was a donation box too for the Mexican fishermen who SING for tourists.
The cliff walls loom.
It is an interesting short hike.
Boquillas canyon is not as steep or sheer as Santa Elena. But it is impressive.
A reminder of the park’s past volcanic turmoil, the Langford Hot Springs (or just “hot springs”; everyone will know what you’re talking about) is a small, jacuzzi-sized pool of naturally occurring 105°F (41°C) water from deep below the earth. …
Edge of the Rio Grande
It’s a short walk from the parking lot. Bring a flashlight at night.
Even better is to hike the Hot Springs Rim trail first. Finishing with a dip.
The trailhead features the amazingly well preserved buildings from the Livingston family days.
I started up the Hot Springs Trail.
Continued on to the Hot Springs Rim Trail high above the Rio Grande.
Now, engineers have used cantilever technology to restore damaged sections of the trail along the narrowest and steepest parts of the Budi Gandaki gorge. …
Kurt Repanshek posted a comprehensive overview:
besthike.com 