Backpacking the Dodson Trail

 

                        

This weekend, we decided conditions were right to embark upon a backpacking trip into the desert, following the Dodson Trail for about 5-6 miles. In only a few minutes, we had left the last of the crowds behind. We would have complete solitude until late morning of day two. The terrain grew wilder and more rugged as we continued on, with thorns and spines from desert plants tugging at our pantlegs. We climbed up and over a steep, nearly 5,000 foot pass with dramatic views to the far-off canyons to the west and a hidden valley to the east. We continued east across the valley and up a drainage that ended in another pass, this one about 5,250 feet. Here, we found a campsite amongst the cactus, ocotillo and yucca. At sunset, we scampered up to a 5,500 foot mountain for an incredible view of the sun as it dropped beyond the southwestern horizon. The most amazing show, though, was yet to come. The desert stars came out one by one until they lit up the night sky like dazzling diamonds. A deep cold descended upon us, bringing the temp well down into the 20's.  

 

 

Black Throated Sparrow perched on Ocotillo plant

  

 

 

 

 

 

We awoke in time to see the starry sky turn from black to dark blue, then took a short walk to watch the sun rise over a distant mountain range. We weren't surprised to find ice in our water bottles. We played a game of UNO, ate our typical camping breakfast of oatmeal, muffins, and hot cocoa, and then packed up our tent. The hike back to our car was easier than the previous day's hike, as the uphills were now downhills. The cold morning quickly heated up and we took off layers at each break spot, and found ourselves seeking shade, rather than sun. An hour's drive brought us back to our Chisos Mountain home.

Canoeing the Rio Grande

 

With strong paddle strokes, we propelled ourselves up the Rio Grande toward Santa Elena Canyon. The clear, turquoise water lulled us into believing it would be an easy paddle, but a few minutes upstream, we realized we were in for a challenge. The water was so shallow in places that we had to get out and drag the loaded canoe up and over the rocks. After an hour or so, we entered the Santa Elena Canyon and disappeared into the shadowy expanse of the 1,500 foot tall rock walls. The air temperature was in the high 40s and the water was VERY cold (from recent snow melt), so our feet were soon painfully cold from the frequent dunking as we stepped out and dragged the canoe along.

 

The water looks misleadingly placid. Between the shallow water and the fast current, we had a hard time paddling upstream through many areas. 

 

Entering the Santa Elena Canyon (above)

We continually admired the geological features, like this natural amphitheater, along the route.

After arriving at our campsite, we explored Fern Canyon. As we climbed up through the rocky, desert environment, we couldn't imagine how it earned its name. But look! Water seeps through the rock wall, allowing this patch of ferns (and a few others) to enliven the landscape.

 

A campfire took the chill off the evening air, and we were able to stay up late, watching stars appear one by one. Soon complete darkness fell, and the Milky Way glowed overhead.

Morning light on the canyon walls

 

 

 

We were quite content to "go with the flow" downstream the next morning. Mike steered us skillfully through a few tricky spots, and we gratefully exited the shadowed walls of the canyon and entered into the full desert sunshine. From there, we relaxed and enjoyed the experience of straddling the US/Mexico border for another 7 miles to our takeout spot at Cottonwood campground.

A Major Winter Storm in...Texas?

 

In late afternoon on December 30th, a major winter storm descended upon Big Bend. Light rain and fog turned to heavy snow and a raging wind. Wind chill factors dropped well below zero with 30-40 mph winds. The storm raged overnight and by morning, about a foot and a half of fresh snow lay on the ground. Snow continued throughout much of New Years Eve and temps stayed cold. The road into (and out of) the Chisos Basin (where we live) was closed for more than 2 days.

On New Years Day, the sun came out and the fresh snow, which covered everything in a thick layer, shown brilliantly.  It was an incredible way to say goodbye to 2020 and a wonderful promise of a fresh, brand new year.  Welcome to 2021!

 

 

 Jasper spent many happy hours playing in the snow in our yard.

On our family hike to "The Window," we came upon icicles...perhaps the biggest ever seen in Big Bend!
 

We were surprised to see that Big Bend had some rather impressive snow removal equipment, and it was definitely necessary after this particular storm.
 

A little taste of the Old West!

 

One of our Christmas presents to ourselves was a horseback ride in the desert outside of Terlingua. We headed out on a beautiful, sunny afternoon past an old Cinnabar Mine site, through a wild looking canyon and into a lonely part of the desert. 

This was Jasper's first horse ride and our third (the first two were VERY wild experiences in Colorado!) Our horses were well trained, but they still needed us to tell them what to do...and what NOT to do. Jasper caught on quickly and was able to pull the reins and issue a well placed heel. Susanna's horse started acting up halfway through (it had lulled her into complacency!) and eventually she decided to just let it stop to eat whenever it wanted, rather than get her shoulder yanked out of its socket trying to pull the 200 pound head up with the reins.

The whole ride was great fun, but we were glad we hadn't signed up for a day-long tour...we wouldn't have been able to walk the next day for all our soreness! 

 

A Christmas to Remember atop Emory Peak

(View from the top of Emory Peak)

The first rays of sunshine were streaking over the high summits as we stepped outside into the frozen air for a climb to the roof of Big Bend. For a month and a half, we've looked out our back windows at the massive bulk of Emory Peak. Today (Christmas Day) we will climb to its 7,825 foot summit!

The temperature rose gradually as we climbed higher and higher up the Pinnacles Trail. We took lots of breaks, aiming for the sunniest spots, since we could hardly break a sweat in the chilly air. Mexican Jays and Acorn Woodpeckers flew from tree to tree, highlighted against the piercing blue sky.

Switchback after switchback we climbed, until reaching the intersection with Toll Mountain. We ate our lunch in the sunshine, then set off on new-to-us terrain. A mile and a half later, we neared the summit. We came to the base of a steep, rocky wall. The twin peaks of the summit were on either side. Susanna began the final climb, felt overcome by a dizzying fear of heights, and said, "this is high enough!" Jasper and Mike continued up, scrambling for handholds, while trying not to look down the steep drop-offs. Suddenly, we could go no higher. We had reached the roof of Big Bend! A 360 degree view greeted us and we were awestruck by the beauty of the scene. After a few moments of reveling in the feeling of success, we held onto the pole sticking up from the highest rock (it was windy!) and took each others' pictures.

Jasper was an amazing trooper on the hike. It was late afternoon when we stepped back into our home and we all felt a bit tired. All in all, we had hiked more than 11 miles, climbing (and then descending) over 2,500 feet. The sun set, turning the clouds crimson. This was a Christmas to remember!

Backpacking the High Chisos Mountains

 

On December 10/11, we embarked upon our first family backpacking trip into the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend NP. (We can walk to the trailhead from our home.) The weather was phenomenal and our spirits were high throughout the 15 miles. We started off carrying about 40 pounds of water (yes, pounds!) but fortunately drank it along the way so our backpacks got lighter and lighter from one sip to the next. 

 

The scenery was stunning, and Jasper is such a good hiker that the whole experience was positive. We climbed about 2,500 feet of elevation over the course of 4-5 miles, then arrived at the Laguna Meadows campground. The campsites are typically quite a nice distance apart from each other in the Chisos, and this site was no exception. We set up our tent, relaxed for awhile in and around our site, and later in the afternoon, we all hiked out to the Laguna West campsites.

We got back to our tent in time to watch a glorious sunset against Emory Peak. We were cautious about bear/mountain lion safety as we prepared our simple dinner of mac cheese and cheddar broccoli rice, followed by hot chocolate. (Later on this trip, we spoke with a solo female backpacker who had a mountain lion approach her as she was cooking her dinner in the dark! Also, there were piles of bear scat nearby.)

The stars were out of this world (literally!) and the sky was mostly clear when climbed into our tent. It rained for about 4 hours during the night, which is very unusual for this area. We awoke to clear skies and shivered as we ate breakfast. 

We were back on the trail by 9 a.m., enjoying the gradually warming temperatures, phenomenal 360 degree views, and fun snack breaks along the way. We ate lunch in a sunny spot near Toll Mountain.

(Jasper, with his little friend "Oso" the bear)

From there it was down, down, down the Pinnacles Trail, past the Boulder Meadows campsites, where we took a nice break in the shade. Jasper was still energetic by the time we reached our house, which is a good sign for future trips.

A Winter in Big Bend National Park

(Upon arriving at Big Bend!)

When Mike first mentioned that he might apply for a 3-4 month winter detail at Big Bend National Park in Texas, my mind jumped to the reasons that it couldn't possibly work. Jasper is in school, right? Well, actually he's live-streaming this year due to COVID-19. I have to be in Michigan for my job, right? Well, I'm already working virtually due to COVID, so what's the difference between doing it from Michigan or the middle of a national park in Texas? 

Mike applied for the detail, and we got more and more excited about the possibility over the next 10 days, at which point he was offered the position! Not only would this be a chance to live and work in a different park, in a very different region of the country, but it was also a temporary promotion for Mike!

We had less than 3 weeks to plan this adventure, but managed to create lists of supplies we'd need to bring and tasks to ensure that our home would be safe during the snowy months of our absence. We needed to fit all of our supplies (backpacking equipment, my work computer/printer and supplies, Mike's uniform and work equipment, and EVERYTHING else!) into our beloved (but admittedly smallish) Prius, so we were very particular in our packing. It all fit! We've done many long distance road trips with "Thunder" (the car) and it's always accommodated all of our needs. (And Toyota's not even paying us to say that!!)

We planned to depart on Thursday morning to head to Mike's mom's house, but a winter storm was predicted overnight, so we hurriedly packed up, said goodbye to our home, gave an emergency key to our neighbor, and drove to Marquette on Tuesday evening. The adventure had begun. At this point, we could stop thinking of all the things on our “to do” list, and just enjoy each day.

Every day, we drove about 8 hours. Jasper was very enthusiastic about keeping track of license plates as we drove across the country. In the end, he documented plates from 42 states. Each new state was a matter of celebration.

After 5 days of driving, we crossed the border into Texas. The landscape changed quite dramatically as we passed through areas with greenish hills and then through long stretches of dry and dusty towns filled with oil trucks and refineries. It was unappealing, to say the least. I told myself that no matter how bad it was, we knew we'd only be there for 3-4 months! 

 

But finally we started to see mountains in the distance, and the scenery became more and more dramatic. Big Bend is a surprisingly green desert. We wound our way for about 20 minutes from the park headquarters in Panther Junction up into the Chisos Basin, and we were astonished by the beauty that surrounded us. The dramatic rock formations, trees, and changing deciduous leaves near the rocky peaks were just stunning. 

                                            (Casa Grande, as viewed from our house)
 

After moving in to our "new home," we took a family exploratory walk and just soaked in the beauty of the sun setting on the red rocks that surrounded us. Each step revealed new views, new plants, the possibility of new wildlife. We actually saw a black bear and two cubs wandering through our neighborhood, and upon closer inspection, LOTS of huge piles of scat.

The next morning, I took a little walk down the road into the empty group campsite. I was awaiting the first glow of sunlight on the cliffs above, and wasn't disappointed. The smell of creosote filled the cool air and gradually the abundant bird life made itself known, flitting from one desert bush to another and breaking the silence with their calls. This winter is bound to be FULL of wonder and beauty.

 

  (An acorn woodpecker in Big Bend's high mountains.)