From Austin

Day 55: Didn’t sleep well last night. Mix of heat, wind shaking the tent, and some unidentified animal grunting almost all night.

Finally got up around 4:30 and broke down camp before getting in the car to drive to the trailhead. I reserved the site for two nights, but there is another campground by the trailhead and closer to the park exit, so it will be a better option for tonight.

I’m on my way around 5 for a drive that takes about 45 minutes. It’s still very dark out. The park is barely in the Central Time Zone, so the sun comes up pretty late. Once I get to the trailhead I take my time making and eating breakfast as well as packing some snacks for the hike. If I had a hiking partner I’d put on my headlight and start in the dark, but don’t want to take the risk of encountering wildlife solo, so I impatiently wait until nearly 7 to begin.

Today’s hike is a loop that includes an out and back to Emory Peak. It should be a little over 17 miles with a few shorter options should I need them. It’s the last hike of the trip and will be a good way to go out.

Sunrise is golden hour with birds chirping and the first rays of sunshine lighting up the sky. It’s also relatively cool out with temps in the mid-70’s.

The majority of the elevation gain is in the first few miles and I’m happy to get it out of the way early. Taking advantage of the weather I push the pace on the switchbacks. As I’m adjusting my water hose I hear a a hiss in front of me that after yesterday is unmistakable. It’s a rattlesnake a couple feet ahead of me. I back up in a hurry before it rattles its tail. The snake spends a few minutes staring me down before slowly slithering off the trail.

Following the snake break I continue the hike. I reach the trail for Emory Peak a few minutes later and am make my turn to head for the highest peak in the park. Around the 4.5 mile mark the top comes into view.

The trail description warned of a section of scrambling at the very top and even from far away the rock column is a little intimidating.

I follow the trail up to the rock and am met by two vertical columns. It’s tough to tell which is Emory Peak, and more difficult to determine which is the easier climb, until I hear voices at the top of one. It’s incredible how much easier it is to find a route up the rock when you know that someone has done it before you.

Finally, I made it to the top and am greeted by two groups of 2. The first are a couple of friends from the Austin area, the second is a young couple from rural East Texas, Travis and Ellie.

There is not a ton of room at the top, but we take turns eating pictures and munching on various snacks.

The guys from Austin headed down first then Travis, Ellie, and I began the descent. The Austin duo is headed straight back, but Travis and Ellie decided to join me for the longer hike. I’m pretty excited to have found a group for the last hike.

It doesn’t take long to reach to get back to the Northeast Rim Trail and we take a right to continue south and continue the long version of the hike. Shortly after that we see a sign for the South Rim Trail, which we know we are supposed to connect to. The trail is pretty moderate especially compared to the hike up to Emory Peak. There are additional signs for South Rim Trail making me comfortable enough to not double check the AllTrails map at every trail crossing. However, when I finally take out my phone to check it vibrates letting me know we have gone off course. I take a closer look and realize we went down Boot Canyon instead of East Rim Trail. It will still take us to South Rim Trail, but cuts off over a mile of the trek, which works well because it is getting warmer.

We follow Boot Canyon Trail through a canyon with a dried river bed. Occasionally there are pools of water with small water snakes that are a fraction of the size of the rattlesnake I saw earlier. We are nearly 10 miles in and decide to stop for lunch once we reach the South Rim Trail. Fortunately, it comes into view quickly and there is even a small tree for us to sit under.

The view is spectacular. Not wanting another smushed sandwich for lunch, I enjoy a meal of cliff bars and an apple, while the others enjoyed some deer jerky.

After lunch we continued along the rim for a little less than a mile soaking in the view as much as we could.

Soon after our descent into the canyon began it began to sink in for me that the last hike of the trip was almost over.

Big Bend had definitely exceeded my expectations and I was so grateful to finish off the trip in such a beautiful place.

We had parked in different spots, so with about a half mile left to my parking lot Travis and Ellie took a side trail to get to their car and we agreed to get together for s’mores after dinner.

Completing the hike is surreal. I’ve been so lucky to hike all over the American West and it’s hard to believe I won’t get to again for a while.

I spend a few moments in the car reminiscing before driving to my campsite in Chino Basin Campground, which is adjacent to the trailhead.

I take my time setting up camp, and am greeted by the campground hosts as I’m getting ready for dinner. They apologize that I stayed in the Rio Grande Campground, remind me that there is a dishwashing station at the restroom, and confirm that the hike we did today is the best one in the park.

I went down to the dishwashing station to clean my bowl from breakfast before making dinner. As I opened the door I looked down and saw a massive scorpion. I quickly shut the door and backed away. Texas is trying to kill me.

With no intention of trying to remove it I returned to my campsite and cleaned my bowl as best I could there before preparing supper.

After eating I head down to Travis and Ellie’s campsite. They already ate at a food truck by the campground store, and are taking it easy following the long day. We chat for a while, then make some s’mores. It’s the first s’more of the trip, which means I’m officially a camper now. The sun has already set behind the rock formation surrounding the campsite, but it is still light out and we hike up a nearby trail for about 10 minutes to the last remaining hues of light.

After the hike we say our goodbyes and return to our respective campsites. I take my time getting ready for bed soaking up as much as much of the last night in a National Park as I can before going to bed.

Day 56: Woke up around 1:30 to the wind whipping the tent. The tent is staked down well, but it is still pretty loud.

I’m able to fall back asleep until 6:30, which is incredibly late for me. I feel a little like a teenager who over slept, but I did need the sleep and tell myself that my body has not adjusted to Central Time.

I hustle to get packed up and am out of camp at 7, taking one last look to admire the canyon at daybreak.

On the way out of the park I stop for gas and the tank fills very slowly. The camp host told me the station ran out last week, and it must be nearly out again. I feel lucky to get any and take just enough to get to the interstate. I’m doubly lucky because I get to see sunrise from the gas station.

The drive through West Texas went pretty smooth, and I move from the desert to the Texas hill country around lunch time. I’m reading through a biography on LBJ, so it’s cool to see some of the cities he grew up in.

I get to Austin a little after 2 and head for the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. The library is only open to historians, but I got to see the museum (and use a student discount to get in!) and really enjoyed it.

One of the highlights was getting to listen to some of the recordings of LBJ from his conversations in the Oval Office. There was also an animatronic LBJ that had clips of jokes he told.

There was even a replica Oval Office with the furniture he used while President.

The Museum is on the campus of the University of Texas, so I was able to walk around campus for about an hour including the UT Athletics Hall of Fame.

I tried to make it out to the field, but was unsuccessful.

Following the visit to UT I met my friend and former coworker Josh, and his girlfriend for dinner at the Oasis, which is a Mexican restaurant on Lake Travis.

After dinner we headed back to their house in Round Rock and stayed up talking a little past my bedtime.