My son Will and I went to Big Bend last weekend for our annual President's Day Weekend pilgrimage. The main purpose of this trip was to meet up with several old friends, relax in the park, eat good food, and do a few day hikes. No serious outings were planned. Despite some "weather related equipment issues", the trip was a great success. And as we soon found out, the weather would be the star of this show.
We drove all day Wednesday the 15th and set up camp in the Group Camping Area in the Basin. I left the backpacking tent at home, and instead brought my "Wal-Mart Special" tent, which has the one advantage of being ”roomy”. Besides, "I've never had any problems with it in the desert." Not one of my smarter moves.
While we were setting up camp, a Ranger came by to give us an update on the recent Mountain Lion activity. They had captured one on the Lost Mine Trail (which was still closed) and they were still tracking two in the lower Basin along the Window Trail, (also closed).
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16
A cloudy and cool morning rapidly gave way to a warm and sunny afternoon. We chose to hike the Hot Springs Canyon Trail from the Springs to Rio Grande Village and back. Before we even reached the springs, we saw these tracks in the sand. (Mountain Lion? Coyote? Hard to tell in the sand.) They were about 3" in diameter (no doubt the loose sand made them appear larger than they were). Whatever it was, the tracks heading straight into the river and disappeared.
Although I had canoed this stretch of the river, I had never been on this trail before. I was impressed with the views of the river, the Sierra Del Carmen, and the Chisos. And of course the added bonus of finishing up in the Hot Springs makes this a worthy day hike in my book.
We were back at camp that afternoon, preparing dinner, when a thunderstorm hit us by surprise. It didn't last long, and when it was over, a rainbow appeared in the Basin, between us and Pulliam Ridge.
Apparently the pot of gold is located somewhere in the Basin! (But I already knew that!)
Before we could get dinner finished, round two of thunderstorms rolled through, this time with some rather impressive lightening displays. Thunder echoing in the Basin is a very awesome thing, and something that I had never experienced. Once again, this was a short-lived storm, and we continued with dinner. Someone in our group commented that we now seen every kind of weather that Big Bend could throw at us. To which I said, "No, we haven't seen hail yet." I should learn to keep my mouth shut...
This is what a hail storm looks like coming through the window...
We had pea-sized hail, that once again passed quickly, and we finally got to eat. Later that night snug in our "Wal-Mart Special", I counted six more short thunderstorms that seemed to roll through about every 30 minutes or so. Things were going well until about wave number 5 when the "Wal-Mart Special" began to leak, just a little...at first.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 17
Despite the leaks, we were "mostly dry" when we woke up Friday morning. And once again I opened my big mouth and said something like: "It rained more last night than in all the 20 combined years I've been coming out here. Surely that's all the rain we will get." I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.
There was a high overcast when we first got up, but soon after sunrise, a dense fog blanket started rolling through the Window from the desert below, and it kept coming, and coming, and coming.
Soon the Basin and High Chisos were socked in, and we headed to the west side of the Park for a few more day hikes. First stop was Cattail Falls, which was still just a trickle, despite the rains.
No trip to Cattail is complete without a stop at the “Tie-down Tree”.
We then headed to Burro Mesa Pour-off (bone dry) and then over to Burro Springs, another trail that I had never been on. Since I have never seen it before, I have nothing to compare it to, but the tinaja was full, and there was a trickle of water in the stream bed, for a ways downstream.
We returned to camp to find mostly clear skies, but soon the wind picked up and the temperature began to drop. It was about 10:30 when the rain and lightening hit. This time a steady rain that lasted almost until daybreak. At this point, I wouldn’t say that the tent was leaking, I would say that it was raining inside the tent. We slept in rain gear, and some how managed to stay just dry enough not to freeze.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18
We awoke to find snow all over the High Chisos. While there was some sleet and ice around the campground, for the most part, we were just below the freezing line. We discussed packing things up a day early, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
So after a little breakfast, we managed to find enough semi-dry clothes, and headed up the recently reopened Lost Mine Trail. Hiking in snow in the High Chisos was such a rare treat. After the first few hundred yards, we made the first tracks, all the way to the top.
The snow continued to get deeper as well climbed with accumulations of 2 or 3 inches near the top.
The top was windy and still quite cold, but it was such a different view than I have ever seen before.
We were back down by lunchtime, and we drove to Rio Grande Village, and it's 80 degree sunshine for showers, and to throw our clothes and sleeping bags in the dryer. Finally dried out, we spent a much more comfortable night in the Basin, before heading back home the following morning.
By the way, if anyone is interested, I have a tent for sale...cheap!
