There was only one way to spend our first full day in Big Bend National Park—by summitting the national park’s most challenging and highest point, Emory Peak, which sits at 7,825 feet of elevation in the Chisos Mountains.
To climb Emory Peak, you must begin at the Chisos Basin Trailhead, which also doubles as a campground and features the park’s only full service restaurant and lodging (definitely staying there next time!).
We followed the Pinnacles Trail and zigzagged up the Chisos’ hairpin turns for 3.5 miles before reaching a rest stop, where adventurers can either turn back, proceed to the Boot Canyon Trail, or take the one mile “detour” up to Emory Peak.
From the Chisos Basin Trailhead to the top of Emory Peak, hikers gain a massive 2,500 feet of elevation.
Map via National Park Service
Quick photo op on the Pinnacles Trail.
Almost to the top!
The one-mile trek up to Emory Peak was by far the toughest hike we did all week. When you finally get to the top, there’s a flat base area with essentially two towering 30-foot rock walls that you have to climb in order to reach the actual summit.
Gordon and I in the “base area” below the rock scramble. The man taking this photo pretended to throw my phone off the mountain! Funny!
The rock scramble to the peak was a lot scarier than I expected and I couldn’t help wondering, later, how many people have fallen to their death.
Turns out, not many, as fatalities in the park are pretty rare and more likely due to dehydration during the brutal summer months. But in 1999, a high school freshman named Colt Perryman who was scared of heights died after taking a misstep during the descent from the top. This article from the Dallas Observer about the accident and Perryman’s father’s struggle to find peace, is so sad, especially knowing how terrifying it is at the top.
During my own descent, a friendly stranger and experienced climber was nice enough to coach me down. He said later that he used to jump out of airplanes for a living (air rescue officer? professional bungee jumper? I can’t remember), but even he gets second thoughts during the climb. This video gives you a pretty good idea of the experience.
My advice? If you don’t feel comfortable, enjoy the view from the summit. It’s beautiful there, too! If you’re feeling brave, then go for it—just make sure to refasten your hat.
We made it!
And that’s when I discovered that Gordon can nap literally anywhere.
After the photo op, there was still had a lot of hiking to do. We coasted back down the Emory Peak Trail and took the long route home via the Boot Canyon Trail and Laguna Meadows Trail. We started the hike later in the day than most people, close to 1 p.m., so we had to keep up a fairly brisk cadence to make sure we got back to the trailhead before nightfall.
Our stats by day’s end included about 12.9 miles of hiking, 2,500 feet of elevation gain and seven hours out in the wilderness.
Heading back down from Emory Peak.
My favorite view of the trip.
Sunset goalz
We power-hiked the last few miles through the sunset and barely beat nightfall.
During the hour-long drive out of the park to our evening lodging in Terlingua, a tiny “ghost town” famous for its international chili cook-off competitions, all we could think about was food (namely, cheeseburgers, buffalo wings, chimichangas, queso), thanks to our strenuous day and the fact that we hadn’t had a real meal since Thanksgiving dinner—which was, by then, two days prior.
Chips, queso and beer (Coke for Gordon) on the patio at the Starlight Theatre. My soul, at peace.
The grand Starlight Theatre.
There’s only a handful of restuarants to choose from in Terlingua, and we found ourselves at the super-crowded Starlight Theatre. I didn’t eat the cheeseburger of my dreams (that would be Shake Shack), but it got the job done.
That night was our first of two evenings sleeping in a tipi at Buzzard’s Roost, which had similar glamping provisions as El Cosmico (electric blankets, outlets, coffee, latrines) while being way more remote. There were only three tipis total on the property, compared to the dozens of rentals at El Cosmico. And as quiet and serene as Marfa felt, Terlingua is a literal ghost town on the desert.
It was pretty glorious. Even if it was too windy for a campfire :/
