Thursday, February 8 – What a difference being prepared for a hike! We started our day here in Big Bend National Park by driving the 30 miles back to Chisos Basin to take on the Lost Mine Trail. We were properly prepared for today's hike after yesterday's last minute decision to go ahead down the trail even though we didn't have our hiking equipment. Paul even packed in some pain medication for his arthritic hip. Lets go!
This is how Lost Mine Trail greets its guests.
The Lost Mine Trail begins with an uphill climb lasting about two hours until we reached the top of the mountain. The elevation change is about 1,600 feet. The trail is a series of switch backs with some trail type stairs mixed in. There are some areas of gravely rock and large rock surfaces and some slick rock type surface but most is a dirt surface. The trail is easy to follow and in good condition.
The trail.
Beauty along the trail.
Isn’t Nature amazing.
There is no mine at the end of the trail. It got it's name from an old story similar to the Lost Dutchman Mine tale in Arizona. The bonus at the end of the trail is the gorgeous panoramic view. We paused at the top for a relaxing snack, some water, and numerous pictures before heading back down.
That is the end…way up the hill.
This trail is marked moderate in difficulty on the trail map. We agree with that grade. We might give it a moderate+, if there is such a thing. The total distance was 5.1 miles and 14,103 steps according to our iPhone app. It took us about four hours to complete the hike including our lunch and picture breaks. The temperature was 49 degrees at the start (36 degrees overnight) and 76 degrees when we finished. Perfect weather for hiking!
Snack with a view.
We really enjoyed this hike and recommend it as “not to miss” if in the area. Equal in enjoyment to the Balance Rock hike and better than the Window hike. All the hikes have been very beautiful and quite enjoyable, but be prepared! We still have several more adventures planned, so stop back and enjoy Big Bend National Park along with us.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
