As fall approaches, so have the rains arrived in the Big Bend. And so, it’s time again to backpack up into the High Chisos trails and camp on the South Rim. You certainly don’t hear “fall” and “flowers” spoken in the same sentence, but then again, it’s a different place, the Big Bend. It wasContinue reading “Late Summer on the South Rim”
Category Archives: Backpacking
Backpacking the Continental Divide
The Continental Divide. The backbone of our continent, where the waters running off the eastern slopes drain into the Atlantic and those going west drain into the Pacific Oceans. The location of our latest backpacking adventure. My longtime climbing and backpacking partner Joe and his wife Sara met me in southern Colorado over the FourthContinue reading “Backpacking the Continental Divide”
Wind Rivers Finale
My 6th. trip to the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming will probably be my last one into these mountains. During the past 25 years I and a few very close friends have made an annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains, from New Mexico to Montana, and all points in between, for extended (8-12 days) backpackContinue reading “Wind Rivers Finale”
High Uintas Wilderness
The Uinta Mountains are the highest east-west oriented mountain range in the U.S. They are located in the extreme northeast corner of Utah, and extend into Wyoming, and are a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains. They contain the highest peak in Utah, Kings Peak, at 13,528 feet. I last backpacked in these mountains in 2004,Continue reading “High Uintas Wilderness”
The South Rim
It’s hot…really HOT. So far this month the little weather station on my desk has topped 100 degrees every day. Last month was the hottest June we’ve had in the 10 years we’ve lived in Marathon, TX. But, it’s always cool up on the south rim of the Chisos Mountains, in Big Bend National Park. And, withContinue reading “The South Rim”
Blood Marks the Trail
If you love the outdoors, and especially the desert outdoors, then you have probably read Edward Abbey, and in particular, Desert Solitaire. The line in that book that has forever branded itself into my psyche reads, “In the first place you can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the goddamned contraptionContinue reading “Blood Marks the Trail”
Marufo Vega Revisited
It has been awhile since I threw on the backpack and headed out the Marufo Vega Trail, one of my most favorite hikes in Big Bend National Park, and one of the best kept secrets in the entire park. With two consecutive days of 80+ degree sunny weather, the timing was perfect, as were theContinue reading “Marufo Vega Revisited”
Up on the Great Divide
August always brings me to the annual backpack trip, and this year we headed off to southern Colorado to hike a section of the Continental Divide Trail, or CDT, one of the three border-to-border through-hiking trails in the U.S. We planned to hike from near Silverton, CO, to a trailhead near Pagosa Springs, CO…a distanceContinue reading “Up on the Great Divide”
Back on the Mountain
It’s July again, and that means time to train for this year’s backpacking trip to the high mountains. That means spending some time on the High Chisos trails in Big Bend National Park. And so, with a break in the weather (afternoon thunderstorms that usually don’t arrive until July and August) I packed up andContinue reading “Back on the Mountain”
Go Take a Walk in the Desert
Sometimes you go for a walk for exercise, and sometimes you go for a walk just to discover. This weekend we had a clear sky and a full moon, so I decided to get out into the desert for an evening of discovery, and I was rewarded with beauty. The afternoon was clear, sunny andContinue reading “Go Take a Walk in the Desert”
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