Saturday, February 17, 2018

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

Saturday, February 10 – We hiked our last trail today here on the east side of Big Bend National Park. It also began back at Chisos Basin as do many of the most popular trails requiring a 30 mile drive to the trail head.

We are hiking the Pinnacles Trail. This trail is a very populated trail because it is used to access several other trails in the Basin area. We noticed it getting pretty busy later in the morning as others finished their morning chores and hit the trails.

The trail is very well marked, but the surface could be troublesome. It consists of dirt with many areas rocky with golf ball/tennis ball size stones that could easily twist an ankle. It wouldn't surprise us if we saw several people limping around with sprained ankles, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. Wear sturdy shoes!

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

The trail moves uphill the entire 3+ miles. It begins with a fairly steep grade straight up the mountain and then continues with many sets of stairs and numerous switchbacks. The elevation gain is about 1600 feet in the 3+ miles of uphill trail.

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

An unusual flat area. Ahhhhhh.
CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

A tree with character.
CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

The overviews and scenery are fantastic. We especially enjoyed some of the high meadow grasslands we hiked through between the hills. On the way down the trail we stopped in one of these meadows, sat on a large rock and enjoyed a snack and a water break.

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

View from the top.
CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

It was about 49 degrees when we started out on the trail and remained somewhat chilly because the majority of the trail was in the shade of the mountain and surrounding trees and shrubs. It is a good idea to dress in layers because by the time we finished the hike, the temperature was in the mid 70’s and eventually reached reached the 80's in the higher elevations. It was nearly 90 degrees at the lower altitude of the Rio Grande River.

We saw several Mexican jays.
CHISOS BASIN…PINNACLES TRAIL

This is another hike we truly enjoyed and would certainly recommended to others camping in the area. We were on the trail for about four hours and covered 6.6 miles and 17,949 steps. The trail is rated moderate. We say that is correct and maybe even moderate+.

We sat out with our neighbors, Julie & Mark, until after dark enjoying happy hour and celebrating their first RV trip. They recently purchased a new to them trailer and are enjoying their first “shake down” trip. It was neat to share the knowledge about RVing we've learned over the past nine years. It brought back all the funny and enjoyable times on the road. The night sky was amazing. We could actually see the Milky Way….wow!

We are only doing a very short hike tomorrow; then relaxing the remaining part of the day before packing up and moving to the west side of the park and camping in Terlingua, TX. Hope you can stop back and enjoy the western part of Big Bend National Park with us.

Another gorgeous sunset.
sunset

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

9 comments:

  1. Great pictures. What a fantastic National Park

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  2. Love the wonderful pictures of your hikes so scenic, and your sunset photo excellent as well. Keep having too much fun.

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  3. A trail we didn’t do ... maybe next time. Thanks for taking us on a virtual hike. I think you will enjoy the west side of the park as well.

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  4. Thanks for taking us on your Big Bend tour, we haven't made it there yet. It looks so starkly beautiful. I don't think we would have taken that last boat ride across the river however!

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  5. Some great pics...the Mexican Jay as well as the sunset. You guys made some awesome hiking there and the view at top seemed very much worth it.
    It s nice to share with those just starting out in an rv and sharing some of your adventures and stories with them.

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  6. Okay, now I know that we share the same philosophy of life: "Let's do it all!!" But sadly, somehow we missed the Pinnacles hike. How did that happen? I guess we just have to go back to Big Bend. :-)

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  7. We loved those hikes in Big Bend! Looks like you've gotten back into shape for hiking. The west side is good, too. Enjoy!

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  8. Love the views from above! Too bad it is always a workout getting to them:) Those wide steps sure aren't for short legs! Beautiful sunset:) I am sure you were very helpful to the couple just starting out.

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  9. We too enjoyed the Pinnacles hike. Looking forward to your post from the west side of the park. LuAnn

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