The itinerary for our final day at Big Bend National Park included two must-see’s: the Langford Hot Springs and the Santa Elena Canyon.
From our parking spot, a three-mile hike on the Hot Springs Canyon Trail took us to our destination. After climbing literal rocks hundreds of feet in the air to reach the Emory Peak summit the previous day, the slow build of the canyon trail felt effortless and serene.
The reward of our trek on the Hot Springs Canyon Trail was sitting in bath water with ten strangers. It was… really nice! Although I can’t imagine the hot springs hold the same appeal for summer hikers. Even in November, temperatures reached close to 70 degrees some afternoons.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.
After the hot springs, we loaded back in the car and headed over to the Santa Elena Canyon—easily the most beautiful spot of the entire trip.
And the trickiest!
If there’s no other visitors around when you arrive (like us), it’s up to you to figure out that you actually have to roll up your pants and wade through the knee-deep river water to reach the start of the trail.
The water jolted me back to college and post-track workout ice baths. It was cold but definitely worth it.
Next time I would love to take a day trip or two-day river float through the canyon; there’s several local outfitters who provide these services.
It was a shock to see so much thriving vegetation after spending the past five days almost exclusively in desert conditions. It felt like Jurassic Park.
It was tough to leave the canyon but once we were on the road, we were ready to get home. We made somewhat of a mistake by taking the “shorter” Old Maverick Road rather than the main road back into Terlingua, which we learned is not 100% drivable unless you’re in an off-roading vehicle.
As the sky grew darker and the air colder, the cellphone service petered out and—soon enough—the warped washboard road took us through more than a few cratered-out pieces of earth where the river used to flow.
Next time, we’ll take the scenic route.
Big Bend gave us a nice goodbye on our way out, for the last time :(
Fajitas, tacos and Revolver Blood & Honey beer at the High Sierra Bar & Grill.
Once back in Terlingua, we headed to High Sierra Bar & Grill at the El Dorado Hotel for our “last supper” of the trip. There, we found everything that we were craving after the previous day’s monster Emory Peak hike—buffalo wings, fajitas (for me), tacos (for Gordon) and, best of all, Revolver Blood & Honey beer.
The meal more or less marked the end of our trip.
The next morning, I’d run around Terlingua snapping a few more photos before piling our things into the car and heading back to reality, the prospects of a new job and perhaps a new direction in life dangling before me.
To the desert—I hope to see you again, soon.
