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Published: November 30th 2007
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Well now that we are safely back home I suppose I should finish the last half of the trip. This post will not be quite as colorful as the last one I’m sure, since it has been a little over a week since we made it home.
So, Friday morning after feeding the deer, we got up, broke camp and headed out for Big Bend, which by the way is a whole lot farther than one would think. Alpine was a short hour drive away from Fort Davis, and wouldn’t you know it, we got there just in time for lunch. So after finding the grocery store for a few odds and ends, I stopped to top off the truck with fuel (yeah, lesson learned). While paying for gas I asked where a good place to eat was. And after a little Spanish chatter with the old guy mopping the floor, I was directed to take a left at the light, cross the railroad tracks, take a right and go one block to a place they called Fusion. Two things became very apparent: 1.) It WAS on the “other” side of the tracks, and 2.) It IS the place for
lunch. Well, judging by all the trucks parked around it anyway. Serving a fresh glass of ice tea and a hand made hamburger that rivals the best anywhere, Daniel and I enjoyed what we knew would be the last “civilized” food for a few days. It’s just too bad that we couldn’t linger over it longer than we did.
With the gas tank and our bellies full we headed toward for Terlingua and ended up getting to Big Bend around 2:30. Maybe I should say that we got to the entrance at 2:30, the headquarters is still another 22 miles or half and hour away. From Panther Junction (the park HQ) you have a great view of miles and miles of desert and mountains to the Northeast, and we were fortunate enough to see a rare line of rain showers march across the desert in front of us just as we got there. The rangers here were extremely friendly and helpful, and being first time visitors knew just the questions to ask to get us where we wanted to be. They gave us a quick run down of the rules, no campfires, firearms, collecting rocks/arrowheads/dino bones.... got it. They
informed us about carrying plenty of water.... got it. They explained about bears and mountain lions, look as big as you can, yell and wave your arms, act aggressive, throw rocks.... wait bears and mountain lions, throw rocks, what if I hit one and make him mad, were all questions reeling through my head. I wasn’t too worried though, I knew if it came down to it, that I could run faster than Daniel (love you son).
We chose a campsite up in the Basin a couple miles from the trail head, and we were going to have to hustle to get there before dark. It was only 3:30 when we left the Head Quarters, but the Basin was another 20-30 minute drive and Sunset was right at 6:00. Parking the truck and stuffing our packs with all sorts of last minute “oh yeahs”, we turned our backs to the truck and walked away right at 4:30 to head up the trail. Now I won’t bore you with all the details of the puffing and wheezing that went on next. But we walked into our camp site two miles, 950 feet elevation gain and an hour and 45 minutes
Mexican Jay
Joining us for breakfast later, which by the way is no leisurely stroll. With a great sigh of relief on my part, we rounded a bend in the trail and walked into camp, only to be greeted by the local welcoming committee. We made quick work of setting up camp and then sat down to what were THE best powdered potatoes I have ever eaten. Remembering the bear warnings, and seeing the bear boxes provided, Daniel considered sleeping in the big one and after dinner gave it a little fit test to see if it would work out. He managed to fold himself up enough to close the door, but I don’t think the idea of spending the night in a cold metal box appealed to his senses. With the Sun having bid us farewell for the day, the temperature making a hasty retreat from the warmer numbers and with no campfires in our future we decided to take refuge in the warm confines of our sleeping bags.
The early morning hours of Saturday, brought a few rain drops down on us and a reluctance to shed our warm cocoons. But the ground was starting to get hard and fighting my way back to sleep was becoming increasingly impossible. During breakfast we were joined by a local family of Mexican Jays that were looking for a hand out. So we pulled out the trusty trail mix and passed out a few more peanuts.
Later Saturday afternoon we decided to do a little exploring. Daniel’s idea of exploring naturally did not include taking the trail anywhere, but instead went something like this: “See those rocks up there? Let’s go up there.” Of course once we reached “up there”, “up there” wasn’t good enough, so farther up the mountain we went. Our camp was at roughly 6350’ elevation and a quick read of the GPS told me that our little Saturday afternoon exploration took us up to near 6900’ in less than a half a mile. We might have continued, but several factors played into our (mine) decision to turn back toward camp. 1.) We didn’t bring any water. 2.) It was getting latish, and I DID NOT want to be up there after dark. And 3.) I am a little more out of shape than I like to admit.
Night number two was just as nice as the first, with a fast rising moon and stars so bright it was hard to tell where one constellation ended and another began. Sunday morning came crisp and cold, and we were up early packing up camp for the trek back to the truck and trip home. A hike that took an hour and 45 minutes going up, only took us about an hour coming down. Reaching the truck, we were quick to strip off our sweaty shirts from the morning’s dissent. The temperature was in the mid 40s but it sure felt good. As we stood shirtless at the truck in the crisp morning air, congratulating each other on a very successful first ever backpacking trip and unpacking ourselves, we were soon to notice that everyone else was bundled in their coats and scarves, gloved hands cradling cups of coffee or hot chocolate. Changing into a dry shirt and securely stowing everything in the truck we cranked up and headed for home.
And that would normally be the end of the story; however, 45 miles west of Junction we had a semi breakdown with the truck. It lost power all of a sudden and wouldn’t go faster than 40 or 50 miles an hour. We pulled over on the side of the road and looked at everything. We sat with the truck turned off for about 20 minutes while I gave it the once over, twice. There were no leaks and all of the fluids were normal. Everything seemed as it should be. I was a little apprehensive when I started it back up and put it in gear. But it straightened up and didn’t give us any more problems. Turns out the fuel filter needed to be replaced. I guess running the tank so low a few days before didn’t help the matter.
But we are safely home and awaiting our next journey.
Troy & Daniel
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