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!

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.

An unusual flat area. Ahhhhhh.

A tree with character.

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.

View from the top.

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.

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.

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