piper01
Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2013
- Messages
- 182
Nov 26-27, 2016
(previous part here: http://backcountrypost.com/threads/big-bend-national-park-thanksgiving-2016-part-1.6423/ )
We started Saturday the same way we had the previous day, with watching the sunrise.
Quick stop at the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook to see the walls glowing in the early morning sun.
Beautiful inversion in the valley around the Chisos Mountains. We had driven through the clouds in the basin, then suddenly broke free into clear air as the road ascended. I caught this remnant before the clouds fully dissipated.
We set off on our long hike of the trip: up Pinnacles trail, to Boot Spring and Boot Canyon trails, to the Northeast Rim trail, Southeast Rim trail, Southwest Rim trail, and out Laguna Meadow trail.
Texas Madrone shedding its bark
A bit of fall color
Why did the tarantula cross the trail?
Boot Cabin
More fall colors
Mmmm...that water looks tasty.
Deer crossing.
Out of the forest, into the meadow.
Stunning views from the rim.
Lunch with a view, convenient rocks to sit along the rim just to the left of the tree.
More rim views
The late afternoon light was quickly fading, but we stopped to linger just a little bit longer. With the short amount of sunlight, we had planned for hiking out in the dark, so might as well enjoy the hard-earned view.
Perfectly placed tree.
Lime green lichen.
Glowing rocks in the distance.
Sunset on the trail
And one more sunset picture further down the trail before I finally put my camera away for good and we got down to the business of hiking out in the dark. Final estimated mileage for the day with our backtracking and side trips to look at stuff: ~18 miles.
Sunday dawned bright and early. After the long hike the previous day, nobody else had the energy to get up early to go watch the sunrise at our usual spot. The early morning view from camp was still beautiful though. Cottonwood Campground was great; nice and quiet with no generators allowed, and large grassy sites with room for multiple tents and some distance from the neighbors.
It was time to pack up and go home, but with a few more short stops in the park to stretch our legs before we left.
Chisos Mountains, from Tuff Canyon Overlook
View back to Santa Elena Canyon, from Tuff Canyon Overlook
Human shadow puppets on the Tuff Canyon walls
Beauty and the Beast
Mule Ears (or Batman's winter home)
Burro Mesa. That pink layer is volcanic rock thickening into the basin, not sandstone as I would usually assume.
Burro Mesa Pouroff, spider-monkeys for scale
Looking back towards the pouroff
Pink volcanics filling the undulations in the underlying topography
And one last picture as we left the park. Goodbye, Big Bend!
(previous part here: http://backcountrypost.com/threads/big-bend-national-park-thanksgiving-2016-part-1.6423/ )
We started Saturday the same way we had the previous day, with watching the sunrise.
Quick stop at the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook to see the walls glowing in the early morning sun.
Beautiful inversion in the valley around the Chisos Mountains. We had driven through the clouds in the basin, then suddenly broke free into clear air as the road ascended. I caught this remnant before the clouds fully dissipated.
We set off on our long hike of the trip: up Pinnacles trail, to Boot Spring and Boot Canyon trails, to the Northeast Rim trail, Southeast Rim trail, Southwest Rim trail, and out Laguna Meadow trail.
Texas Madrone shedding its bark
A bit of fall color
Why did the tarantula cross the trail?
Boot Cabin
More fall colors
Mmmm...that water looks tasty.
Deer crossing.
Out of the forest, into the meadow.
Stunning views from the rim.
Lunch with a view, convenient rocks to sit along the rim just to the left of the tree.
More rim views
The late afternoon light was quickly fading, but we stopped to linger just a little bit longer. With the short amount of sunlight, we had planned for hiking out in the dark, so might as well enjoy the hard-earned view.
Perfectly placed tree.
Lime green lichen.
Glowing rocks in the distance.
Sunset on the trail
And one more sunset picture further down the trail before I finally put my camera away for good and we got down to the business of hiking out in the dark. Final estimated mileage for the day with our backtracking and side trips to look at stuff: ~18 miles.
Sunday dawned bright and early. After the long hike the previous day, nobody else had the energy to get up early to go watch the sunrise at our usual spot. The early morning view from camp was still beautiful though. Cottonwood Campground was great; nice and quiet with no generators allowed, and large grassy sites with room for multiple tents and some distance from the neighbors.
It was time to pack up and go home, but with a few more short stops in the park to stretch our legs before we left.
Chisos Mountains, from Tuff Canyon Overlook
View back to Santa Elena Canyon, from Tuff Canyon Overlook
Human shadow puppets on the Tuff Canyon walls
Beauty and the Beast
Mule Ears (or Batman's winter home)
Burro Mesa. That pink layer is volcanic rock thickening into the basin, not sandstone as I would usually assume.
Burro Mesa Pouroff, spider-monkeys for scale
Looking back towards the pouroff
Pink volcanics filling the undulations in the underlying topography
And one last picture as we left the park. Goodbye, Big Bend!
