Over the weekend I did some back country camping in Big Bend National Park, hiking over 20 miles through the most unique and isolated terrain in Texas. Beginning in the Chisos Mountain Range I camped under the numerous visible stars awaiting the visitation of one of the many black bears spotted in the recent weeks. However, my nerves got a jumpstart when after watching the sunset, and completing my climb to the top of Emory Peak (pics below), I saw 20 ft off the trail a set of yellow eyes in the desert brush reflecting off of my headlamp during my night descent back to camp. Turns out it was a "adolescent" mountain lion just watching me and then slipped away silently. I made my way quickly back to camp, constantly looking over my shoulder and wondering if its mother was nearby. I guess that is part of the draw of a night hike, it causes one to rely on your hearing senses, making me wonder if a rustle in a bush is a nervous javelina or just the wind causing my adrenaline to quicken.
Big Bend recently earned the distinction of the park with the least light pollution in the lower 48 states, making it a joy to sit and soak up the clearly visible Milky Way, planets, and shooting stars that seemed to slice the sky every few minutes.
After traversing the famous South Rim (pic below) I turned my attention to my limited water supply and filtered water from one of the few stagnant pools of water in Boot Canyon (pic below) killing the parasites with a piece of equipment called a Steripen. Despite the algae, it filtered crystal clear, even though I flavored it with Gatorade...for my peace of mind! I woke up at 3 a.m. the next morning to cut my way down the switchbacks by moonlight (pic below) to the car and drove the 8 hour journey back to my family and understanding wife. Thank you Jill!
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