Big Bend National Park: Hot Springs After Hiking, Anyone? (Day 3)

Magnificent view from about two miles into the Emory Peak Trail

I have done a decent amount of hiking/trail running in the Smokies, the Rockies, on Oahu, HI, in other State/National parks around the country, and even in Ireland.  That's not to say I'm particularly discriminating, but if you're looking for a short day hike that will rank in the top of your memories, try the Emory Peak Trail.  It is about 10 miles round trip, unless you're over confident and go two miles out of the way due to not needing any stinking trail signs, like me.  Yay for extra work outs!  Don't expect to make very good time on the way up, because pretty much everything is uphill with an elevation gain of 2400 feet over 5 miles.  I'm sure people who can run the whole way exist, but I'm certainly not one of them.  I run the flattish parts, and of course the downhill.  That's why I don't have pictures going back down.

This fearless Mexican Jay flew down beside us and hopped closer and closer, until he decided to get eye level about 3 feet from me.  I felt like a Disney Princess, albeit a very dirty and tired one.

Maybe he was just trying to point out how well we matched.

We saw plenty of other birds, and also a young buck on the trail.  None of the animals seemed concerned about our presence.  When we saw the deer, he waited a little while, lost interest, and just sort of wandered away.  There were also a few horseback riders, at least up to the campground.

Once you make it to the peak of the trail you'll have to do a little bit of rock climbing.  It isn't anything major, but it you have a fear of heights it may not be the best thing for you.  There are actually two peaks, and I tightened my shoelaces and went up both of them.  Krishna stayed below due to common sense and the heebie-jeebies, which allowed him to take this picture of me leaning over about 2/3 up the shorter peak.  

Once I made it to the top, I realized I had picked the shorter of the two peaks, so I had to go up the second one too.

Aah, that's better.  You can just barely see the Chisos Basin Campground and Visitor Center on the right.

This was at the far end of the Emory Peak summit.  You'll find it if you're looking for the best vantage point to take pictures of the Chisos Basin.

Nowadays, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey is called the National Geodetic Survey, and, according to Wikipedia, is responsible for the National Spatial Reference System, which is way cooler than it sounds at first.  If you're interested in learning more and possibly being filled with gratitude, check out this page.  I didn't even know it existed until I found this marker and looked it up.  

I'm having a blast, and he's having heebie-jeebies.  I wish he wouldn't worry, but I guess that's just twue wuv.

After taking this picture, we beat a hasty retreat down the mountain and headed to the hot springs.  This time we made it there before sunset!  There is a bit of a drive to the short hot springs trail.  It may make you nervous, wondering "Just how far am I going to have to walk to get to this spring," but don't worry, it is only about half a mile.  As a plus, you can see some ancient pictographs at the top of the cliff if you look closely. 

Not pictured: pictographs.  This is, however, a pretty good preview of the hike you'll encounter on the way to the hot springs.  Flip flops are just fine, but your feet will get sandy on your walk back to the parking lot.

 Also, I discovered that the abandoned buildings have murals that are worth checking out, particularly if you love kitsch.

These were lodging for the now defunct health retreat's patrons.  Each room has a different mural.

We got to watch the sun set, and as the temperature dropped things got steamier and steamier, interfering with pictures.  We're sitting right by the intake, where the water is the hottest--about 105°F.  The walls of the hot spring keep out the Rio Grande's chilly water.  As you can imagine a desert river would, the water level changes pretty dramatically depending on rainfall, so you will probably have a different experience every trip.  

This is definitely the best picture spot in the spring.   Also, the warmest.  Score!

The best part about the spring's setup is that once you get too hot, you can go for a cold plunge in the Rio Grande.  It's tough the first time, but it gets easier each time.  

So cold, but oh, so good--particularly once you get back in the hot water!

We stayed to watch the sky for a long while, and I saw a shooting star!  We would have brought our bottle of champagne with us, but alcohol is prohibited here because of the health risks involved in drinking too much and getting in really hot water.  It is a prudent idea, but I really think we would have been fine if we sat away from the hot water outlet.  We hung out for a while in the spring and met a family from India who were super friendly and entertaining.  It was fun to not be the only white girl around married to a Krishna.

The night was young, but we ended up heading back to camp and having Soto for dinner.  Soto is deliciously spiced Indonesian chicken soup; I highly recommend you try it if you ever get the chance.  We were so warm from the hot spring that we didn't try to cook in the tent this time.  What an improvement!  We brought in the New Year with champagne under the stars.  Despite not being able to drink it in the hot springs as we had planned, I have to say this has been my favorite New Year's celebration to date.  It was health oriented and completely stress free.  Sure, we were sore from the hike, but it was a satisfying kind of sore, mitigated by the mineral water soak.  

< Day 1     Day 2

Big Bend National Park: Hot Springs After Hiking, Anyone? (Day 2)

Top view of unnamed Tinaja off Old Ore Road.

The part of our night that wasn't spent trying to stay warm in our very ventilated tent consisted of trying to calm our ever vigilant dog, Ria.  She hadn't been camping in a while and was on pins and needles every time the wind gusted, which was about once every two minutes.  We slept in, and then made fried eggs and root veggie hash inside the tent.  This left us warmer, with an added bonus of a steam bath in eau de potato.  Ha!

After some bike maintenance, we headed to Old Ore Road.  It is a 26 mile point to point ride.  They say allow 3 hours for driving, but those estimates are for 4WD vehicles.  You can do it faster on a motorcycle, of course, but you probably won't, since there are so many views that are pause-worthy.  My favorite part of the ride was stopping to explore a small canyon that had been polished smooth by rushing seasonal waters, called a Tinaja.  There are other, bigger tinajas to see in the park, like the Ernst Tinaja, but we had this one all to ourselves.

This was part of my view as I snacked on a Clif Bar in the unnamed tinaja.  So pretty!

As we continued down Old Ore Road, we encountered several SUV's.  Most of their drivers let us pass by, but others didn't catch the hint.  We also ran into a caravan of photographers from Houston driving identically decked out Toyota FJ Cruisers, and one fellow was nice enough to take the following shot of us.

This part of the road ran below an impressive ridge with some beautiful geological formations.

We rode a few more miles, and then found ourselves on top of a very large hill with a lovely view.  The rest of the ride was nice, but rather flat.

This was the highest point on the Old Ore Road, and the view was gorgeous.   

We had intended to stop by the fossil exhibit on the way back to camp, but time was short and we wanted to make it to the hot springs before dark, and we still had to stop for gas.  Hurrying in general makes me cross, but after passing on the exhibit, hurrying to the spring, and getting stuck behind what felt like the slowest driver of all time we arrived in the parking lot just after twilight.  By the time we were at the spring, it was pitch black.  Oh yay!

Crazy hair lady is not impressed.

My grumpy face didn't last very long, though, because the water was so relaxing, and there were so many people having fun in the hot spring that night!  I had no idea it would be so popular--it was hard to find a place to sit.  I guess I could have been disappointed at all of the extra company, but I was thrilled to know that I wasn't alone in my affinity for hot springs.

As a bonus, that night was a new moon, so the star gazing was dazzling.  No, I'm not over exaggerating--it was truly spectacular.  Big Bend National Park is one of the best places in the country for star gazing for several reasons.  Firstly: you aren't near any sources of light or air pollution.  Secondly: deserts are dry, and places that are dry don't get many clouds.  Thirdly, down by the river there isn't a lot of vegetation or other view obstructing, well, anything.  I am convinced that we picked the best time to go star gazing in Big Bend, and I'd encourage you to do exactly what we did.  It is an incredibly beautiful and romantic way to enjoy a long winter's night.

< Day 1     Day 3 >

Big Bend National Park: Hot Springs after Hiking, Anyone? (Day 1)

There are two dirt bikes in this picture, but you really have to look for them.

K and I spent New Years at Big Bend National Park.  We thought, "What better way to relax and connect with the natural world than to go ripping through the desert on dirt bikes?"   It'd be a tragedy to live a full year in TX without having that experience.  I first learned of the park while looking for natural hot springs open to the public, and although the pictures weren't particularly inspiring, I knew I had to make a pilgrimage.  I didn't even check out any of the scenic pictures, which turned out well because I had no expectations going into the adventure.  Everything was fresh and new, at least to me, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  Access to the park for 7 days cost us $20 for the car and included K's bike, and an additional $10 for my bike.  It was super nice of them to let us use the car pass for K's bike.

The park, though massive, was surprisingly busy. I would definitely try to make reservations if I were going in the spring or fall.  Site #31 was surrounded by scarily thorny mesquite trees and well protected from the wind, as were most of the sites in that corner of the campground.  That corner of the campground is excellent for people with trailers or more than one vehicle because most of the sites have pull through parking.  None of the Rio Grande Valley sites have electricity, but they all have bear lockers and grills.  Speaking of bears, Yogi doesn't seem to be that interested in campers anymore.  If you're negligent in putting away your food, you may be visited by some javelinas, though.  Camping was $14 per night.  The views are epic, and the campground is close to the natural spa, so I consider this a massive win.

Day 1

The day was spent making camp, and finally riding the River Road East to Black Gap Road, then home.  You read that right--camp = home, because home is where the dog is.  While the scenery from the River Road East was beautiful and interesting, the riding itself wasn't a challenge.  I was hoping for trails, or at least unmaintained old dirt roads.  I recommend it whole-heartedly to someone who hasn't been off the pavement yet.  River Road West is supposedly more challenging, but we didn't make it this trip because of range issues.  K needs to get a bigger tank, and I wouldn't mind one myself.

The gravel River Road East had some sandy parts, but otherwise was oh, so smooth.

This part of the River Road East was curvier, and had interesting geological formations.

I couldn't help wanting more, thinking, "Is this it?"  Riding in Breckenridge has spoiled me!  Not to worry: Black Gap Road was much more interesting, and I rode for all I was worth.  I think I freaked K out a bit, since he's not used to following me.

This is where the River Road meets the pavement.

The sunset was glorious, turning all the rocks shades of pink and purple.  It affected us, too-- turning us into meat popsicles on our way back to camp.  All was well once we tucked into the lamb, barley, and parsnip stew I had canned earlier during the holidays.

Passing through the tunnel on the way back to camp during a fabulous sunset.

Day 2     Day 3 >

On the Conquering of Mountain Passes in Breckenridge, Colorado by Dirt Bike in 2012

I wrote this in the summer of 2012 and totally forgot about this post until today.  Whoops.

Krishna did something amazing.  As my birthday present, he secretly arranged for us to take a trip out to Colorado to go dirt bike riding with a bunch of his racing buddies.  My hubs knows me so well!  :)

We ended up staying in an impressive chalet that could sleep something like 20 people comfortably.  The owners were apparently big hunters, because there were trophies in every room--including a moose in the great room.  Let's just say it grew on me.

I had no inkling of what a terrible rider I was until I tried going off-road.  I spent the first 3 days with a death grip on the handle bars, but at least I didn't get nervous and yak in my helmet.  That's a plus, right?

Fearless and manipulative little rodent.  He ended up making a show of perching on one of our buddies' boots, and in return he got crumbs of cliff bars.  No doubt we killed the poor creature with our handouts.

A beautiful scene in Alma, CO--the highest incorporated town in the country!  (2014 edit: Probably not anymore.  Hah!)

Insert cliche statement about bridging the gender divide.

Yeah, it doesn't look like it, but the climb up was tough (at least, for me).  I'm positive that SUV came up a different road than we did.

This was my first water crossing ever.  I balanced with my feet in the air and didn't get wet.  Amazing!

I have such great friends.  Thanks for the perfect commemorative chocolate!

These are my favorite directions.  I'll have to get myself more of this.  Also, more chocolate.

I'll never be injured again.

Thank you, Wisconsin Outside for your picture!

I'm cursed.  Oh, say it isn't so!

After a month off to let my pinkie heal, I ran another 18 miles during a LPTR fun run.  Good times were had by all who were not injured.  Unfortunately, this didn't include me.  My finger hurt from the swelling that always accompanies my digits on long runs. (Whine, whine, wine makes me feel better.)  I could deal with that just fine, but about five miles in I skidded off the end of a lovely boardwalk through the marshy South Kettle Moraine and hit my knee.  Big deal.  I've taken worse falls than that--like that time I tried doing a wall flip in parkour for the first time.  

I continued on my merry little way, thinking that today would be a good day to break the 20 mile mark, until I hit mile 13 or so.  Things went downhill fast from there, even on the uphill sections.  

Should I have stopped?  Yes.  Did I?  Well, what would you expect from Ms. Attempted Wall Flip?  Apparently I have no sense of danger or tendency towards self-preservation.

On the up side, I found a hat and the food at the finish was particularly delicious.  On the down side, I gave the hat to the run director.  Oh, and I injured my knee enough to be unable to run for the following month.  The Ice Age 50 doesn't look like it is going to happen for me.  I guess I'll have to spend more time on my mountain bike.

I've still got 9 other perfectly good fingers.

Maybe I should change the Adventures tag to Injuries.  

An Eventful Weekend

I had a half great, half unlucky weekend.  

Saturday was the great part.  I had planned to train by running with Krishna in the John Dick Memorial 50K, but he twisted his ankle during our Wednesday LPTR run so I was forced to leave him behind.  I finally got to experience having a crew, and it was everything I had hoped and more.  I ended up running a bit more than 18 miles, and it was a pleasant experience.  My right quad cramped up during the last four miles or so, but it wasn't too bad, especially since Krishna had the brilliant idea of picking up some beer during my last lap.

Zach Bitter won the race with a time of 3:33, so I feel motivated to do some speed work.   I should mention that not only is Zach super fast, but he is also super friendly and personable.   

The unlucky part came Sunday night.  I had just gone on a quick recovery run with Krishna when I thought to myself, "Hey, I bet Ray's is deserted since its Superbowl Sunday!"  In case you're wondering, Ray's is a super fantastic amazing indoor mountain bike park that is open during our icy Wisconsin winters.  It was--in fact--deserted for a Sunday night, so I was going faster and taking more risks than usual.


I was feeling pleased with myself for escorting some little girls away from a blind spot on the XC loop.  "Girls, this isn't about you getting in trouble--it is about you staying safe!"  I felt like a cartoon superhero, complete with charming smile and thumbs up sign. Its true, we love cheese up here.


Ten minutes later I was even more like a superhero.  I got some air, superman style, but by flight was stopped short against a conveniently inconveniently placed ramp to the second level.  Swoosh, with your powers combi... crunch.  My glove had to be cut off.  The only good thing that came out of it was that I was able to point to my mangled finger and tell the girls "Now you know why I said it is dangerous to play over there."   That'll teach 'em.


I had surgery to screw my poor phalanx back together Wednesday, and now vicodin is making everything seem more interesting and entertaining.  Hopefully I will heal well and will be back to waddling/running in about 10 days.  Playing piano will take more time, though.  Boo :(

     Today I feel like a real Wisconsinite, because I completed my first real winter run. Seven miles on the Ice Age Trail in the snow may not sound like much, but it was like running in sand. Very cold sand. I have to give props to Krishna for sticking with me the whole time, even though I slowed him down significantly. It was such a relief to finally arrive at the lodge full of skiers and LPTR runners.

     LPTR is the acronym for the Lapham Peak Trail Runners. They're a group of folks who really like trail running, and most of them are ultra-runners. I'm always excited to tell people about them because they've built a club that helps to make you a more competitive runner without the pressure that I've felt from other running clubs. Don't get the impression they aren't serious-- there are plenty of elite runners in the group.

     However, it is an encouraging environment, and the general attitude is kind of reminiscent of the Hash House Harriers -- a drinking club with a running problem. Running with LPTR feels as natural as getting together to have a beer with your buddies. Sure, you're pushing yourself to get faster and stronger, but once you finish, you get to join up with the group and shoot the breeze. Of course, it helps that the lodge has a lovely cast iron stove.

What better way to kick off this blog than by announcing that I have finally committed to my first ultra-marathon?  I have finally put money down on a race: the Ice Age 50k.  Here is the race site.  Krishna ran the 50 mile version with our good buddies, J&J last May.  This is a picture of them at around 6 am, just about to start on the long haul.

I took this photo near the restroom.  I still associate a stench with this photo, despite how cute it is.