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Published: March 7th 2017
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We awoke Monday to blasting winds coming down the canyon from the high peaks. I got up just before sunup and headed up the hill just above the campground, and I was so glad I did. As the sun rose, it did so into some low clouds way off to the east, they filtered the light into a crazy orange glow unlike anything I remember seeing. Being somewhat colorblind, I don't perceive color the same as most folks, but to me this was just amazing. I had my camera with me, and my phone, but I don't think I captured a picture to do it justice.
Later that morning, we spoke to the host couple, and they told us again, that while they could not stop anyone, they recommended in the strongest terms that the peak trail should not be attempted in this wind. They didn't need to tell us twice, I had researched that climb back home, and while it is not technical, there is a good deal of what is called “exposure” on that trail. In this case, that means narrow, rocky sections that have potential for serious falls. Nope.
So we worked out an alternate plan for the day. Cathy would hike the Foothills Trail to the Frijole Ranch Museum, and I would try the Tejas Trail up to the Bowl forest area. I say try, because I was not sure what the winds would be like up there. If it was bad, I was fully prepared to bag it and head back to the safety of Fred. Cathy made us individual lunches, we packed up, and headed out. After maybe a quarter mile, our paths diverged, and we said our goodbyes. The Tejas trail headed up the north side of the canyon where we were camped, and I had been eyeballing it during our hike yesterday. It climbed gradually on a long diagonal that weaved in and out of the ravines toward the top of the canyon.
The trail was good, and I was feeling strong and making great time. In 45 mins or so, I was at the highest point that I could see from back at the start. Rounding the point of that ridge, I could see another long diagonal traverse, ending at another ridge, so I kept
hoofing. I was getting pretty high now, and I thought surely, the entrance to the bowl would be just around THAT ridge. I should say here, that I really didn't have a decent trail map, just the one included in the park brochure, and that was of pretty small scale.
So, I kept going – as I got higher the winds increased, but they were not at all constant. It would be several minutes of light or even no wind, and then, suddenly, it would come blasting and howling, and I would stop and put a hand on my head to keep from losing my hat. Most places, the pitch was comfortable, but then it would get steep, and I would be reduced to “old man speed” for a bit. When I finally rounded that next ridge I was mystified, as I could not see the trail rounding the next ravine, where did it go? Then I looked up, and I saw a zig-zag waaay above me, at least 500' up – I still had some work to do.
After a bit more effort though, this
trail finally ran out of “up”, and I reached the top.. At intervals all the way, I had been in sight of our campground, and could see Moby and Fred, every time a little smaller. Now as I climbed up over this last ridge, I could see far, far back to the east. I could see the Davis mountains, north of Alpine, where the University of Texas has it's big telescope. I could even see, far to the south of that, the Chisos range of the Big Bend, where we had camped and hiked last week. I pulled out my phone and discovered that I had 3 bars of service – nice! I took a picture and posted it to Instagram – in real time.
I found a spot (mostly) out of the wind and in the sun, to have my lunch. According to my phone, I was at 7920' – the highest I've ever hiked, and a good 2700' above where we were camped. After a bit of rest, I shook the stiffness out of my old pins and headed back down. I hadn't quite gotten as far as I wanted, and
so I didn't get to see the big trees farther down in the bowl, but I had decided to turn back no later than 3:00, and it was 2:30. The trip down was uneventful, and I saw the same number of other hikers that I saw on the way up – zero. I also saw no mountain lions, or any sign of them. I have mixed feelings about that, I would have loved to see one, but it would probably have shivered my timbers if I did.
I got back to Fred about 5:00, Cathy was there, and was making a nice dinner of bean soup with spetzle – yum. She had also enjoyed a nice hike and had an interesting tour of the old ranch – those settlers were tough and resourceful people.
That's it for Texas now, we're off tomorrow for nearby New Mexico, and a trip down into Carlsbad Caverns. Time to pack up and go again.
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