Big Bend National Park, Day Three: South Rim Trail (Via Laguna Meadow Trail)

-
The South Rim Trail is ranked near the top as the best strenuous day hike in Big Bend. With a full day left to explore in Big Bend, I knew I had the time to tackle the South Rim hike and last night I decided I would do so, given that I wouldn't have another opportunity to do the hike for a long while, if ever.

There are two ways to the South Rim - via the Laguna Meadow Trail or the Pinnacles Trail. They both have the same net elevation gain to get to the South Rim, but the Laguna Meadow route is less steep, so I wisely elected to proceed via Laguna Meadows.

After another buffet breakfast at the Lodge restaurant, I started my hike at the Chisos Basin Trailhead at 8:15 am. I got to the start of the Laguna Meadows Trail after about a half mile. Then the trail continued for 3.6 miles where it connected with the South Rim Trail. The South Rim Trail then winds its way through the top of the mountain for two miles to the East Rim Trail. About halfway to the East Rim Trail, you can veer off the South Rim Trail and walk up to the cliffs of the South Rim and enjoy a panorama view of the desert, and mountains, and far into Mexico.

I made it to the South Rim in about two and half hours. Believe it or not, I had three bars of AT&T cell service and was able to text the family that I had arrived safely and was also able to share some of the views I had. During the entire hike to the South Rim, I did not see another person, though a deer did cross my path. I returned to Chisos Basin by a different route, and will do a separate post for the return hike.

Here is my South Rim hike, by the "numbers":
  • 13.59 miles
  • 5 trails (Chison Basin, Laguna Meadow, South Rim, Boot Canyon, and Pinnacles)
  • 5 hours and 15 minutes of hiking
  • 6 hours of total time on the trails and the South Rim
  • 2,531 feet of elevation gain
  • 23 minutes per mile pace
It was truly an awesome hiking experience, though I was thoroughly exhausted beyond all comprehension when I arrived at the Chisos Basin Trailhead at about 2:15 pm, six hours after I started.

Here are some of the views I had from the South Rim.
The South Rim where I took my photos!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Driskill

-
Image
My next stop, before the first "official" stop of the day - the LBJ Presidential Library - was The Driskill , an iconic hotel which opened in 1886 and is located on the corner of 6th & Brazos Streets in downtown Austin.  Colonel Jesse L. Driskill came to Texas in 1849 and became a prosperous rancher and cattle baron. He spent $400,000 to build The Driskill Hotel as "the finest hotel south of St. Louis." I parked the car and walked to the hotel and impressed to no end. It was the ultimate in luxury when it was built and it remains the ultimate in luxury today. I was tempted to stay for breakfast since my own hotel’s breakfast was crap, but I had a schedule to keep so I moved on after 10 minutes. Portrait of Colonel Driskill which presides over the opulent lobby The opulent lobby
Read more

Blanton Museum of Art

-
Image
Every guidebook I read and every website I consulted listed Blanton Museum of Art as a must-see attraction in Austin and as one of the best museums in Austin. The art museum is located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, and its art collections are housed in the Mari and James A. Michener Gallery Building (I didn't know that Michener, a Doylestown native son, had a connection to Texas).  I spent about an hour and a half at the museum and then called it quits. It was an early and busy day, so I headed back to the hotel to call it a night (but not until after I drove to Mount Bonnell and stopped in at  BookPeople , Texas’ largest independent bookstore and a staple in Austin’s book community since 1970). Here's some of the art I saw and liked at the Blanton Museum of Art. Plexus No. 44 , in the plaza between the museum's two main buildings An Albert Bierstadt painting (also saw one at San Antonio Museum of Art) A Fredric Remington painting
Read more

Gruene, Texas

-
Image
My Fodor's guidebook for the Texas Hill Country mentioned a little town called Gruene (pronounced "Green") and called it a "pristine portrait of Texas history" and said it was "revered as a place of Texas legends." In the center of town is Gruene Hall , a dance hall and saloon that served as the social venue before becoming a live music venue in the 1970s. The entire town has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  I decided to stop in the town on my way to Austin as it was only a short detour off I-35. I parked the car in a large open parking lot, and did my own walking tour of the little town, which has a boutique hotel, antique stores, lots of restaurants, a river outfitter, and tons of specialty shops. For an early dinner, I decided on a burger at the Gristmill River Restaurant which is housed in the old river-powered cotton gin. For dessert, I got a scoop of sea salt caramel ice cream in a waffle cone from Rhea's Ice Cream s...
Read more