Musings of Kyooyoo: Yoo 681

Continuing Big Bend!

Our first morning in the Chisos Basin began with a big scuffle in the bushes, followed by a deer darting into our campsite. It seemed really surprised to see us, skidded to a halt, and darted right back into the bushes. The sun wasn't up over the mountains yet.

We packed up our gear and set out to find the trailhead for the famed South Rim Loop. It was only after we'd walked up a road for half a mile that we realized we were going the wrong direction. Slightly defeated, we went back to camp and lazied into the car to drive to the trailhead instead. We also debated buying an official topographical map at the gift store but decided that just taking a picture of the map at the trailhead would be enough.

Not that I would usually advocate that approach but we found our way around.

The first 30 minutes of the hike were uneventful until I heard the rattling.

It was as I was passing a rather large bush and the noise was unmistakable. Despite the fact that I had most definitely already made it around the snake, I darted back down the trail screaming and bouncing, knocking into Morgan and Dylan in the process.

Real cool.

We crouched down and peered into the bush from a distance, trying to acquire sight of the demon beast. Dylan swore she could see it but Morgan and I saw nothing. We could still hear it though and it sounded tangled. Which is probably why I didn't get bit in the first place. It was a thick bush and the snake had no holes to push thru and strike.

I debated turning around and calling it a day. Snakes have a way of filling up my quota for nature like nothing else can. Morgan maintained the cool though and led the way, sprinting right passed the bush and a safe distance up the trail. Dylan and I, on the other hand, decided it'd be way smarter to give that bush a wide berth by venturing further into snake territory on the other side of the very vegetated trail.

It only took us ten minutes to go about ten very careful feet.

There wasn't a real winning solution but we did make it passed the snake and my already vigilant snake-watching tendencies were at level hawk the rest of the day.

Luckily so because that wouldn't be the last rattlesnake we encountered.

The hike continued up and up and then over and around until we reached the vistas of the rim. And they were awesome.

We spent a lot of time eating snacks and then lunch and stopping to take in every viewpoint.

And playing the Cool Runnings soundtrack because it's a good one.

During one of our mandatory morale boost snack breaks, I unknowingly sat on a cactus needle. It lodged just so in my shorts that I didn't notice it until we'd started hiking again, and then I had to brush it just right for it to poke me. After several minutes, it could not be ignored. But it was also impossible to find so I ended up stripping down to my undies right in the middle of the trail so I could find this black cactus needle embedded in my black shorts.

Another cool moment.

One of my favorite parts of the day was in Boot Canyon. At least I think it's called Boot Canyon. Very different from the rim portion of the hike but pretty in its own right. We found enough water to soak our feet in and laid there for almost an hour, watching the clouds and laughing about dumb things. It'd been hours and hours since we'd last seen any other people and it felt like we had the whole world to ourselves.

The funny memory that stands out most is Morgan, picking at her toenail with a pocket knife, and then asking us to remind her not to use it on her teeth later.

Dork.

Eventually we started hiking again. And it was about 15 minutes later that I saw a black and white striped tail disappearing off the trail into the tall grasses just ten feet in front of us.

I'm so glad I saw that snake before I heard it and could give it the space we both desired. Demon beast number two curled up just off the trail, definitely ready and able to strike at any passerby. We gave it a wide berth but I did take the time to snap a picture.

Not the easiest thing to see!

Then Morgan found a tree she loved because of its red bark.

We got to a junction where we could either head back to the Basin or a couple miles further to Emory Peak, the tallest point in Big Bend.

With plenty of daylight left, we chose Emory Peak.

And the toilet.

Smile Morgan!

Chisos Basin below!

Snickers at the top!

We climbed and climbed with the trail becoming more rocky and technical towards the top. Eventually we reached the last approach to the "peak" and decided we didn't feel comfortable with the exposure and rock scaling required to actually stand on top of the rock. That or we'd lost the official trail and were on the wrong side?

Either way, we parked our backpacks and butts just a few feet below the actual peak and enjoyed the still awesome though not quite 360 degree views.

It was another favorite part of the day. There was little wind, we were the only people for miles, and everything felt perfect. I could have stayed in my rock recliner perch thru the sunset and beyond.

Except for not wanting to hike miles of snake-infested trail in the dark.

The hike down was procrastinated as long as possible and the light was golden with the setting sun as we traipsed down miles of rocky ledges. Besides the two snake encounters (which thankfully ended well!), the day had been absolutely perfect.