Over the Christmas holiday we made a blitz trip to far West Texas. We visited Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe Peak National Park. We did three fantastic hikes. The first, to the Window from the Basin in Big Bend. The second, to a desk carried to a mountain overlooking the town of Alpine (Yes, a student desk carried by some track athletes. It then became a thing for people to fo and visit it. It’s hard to find, the map directions are confusing. There are notebooks in the desk and people write messages in them. That’s what we did). The final hike was to the top of Guadalupe Peak, the highpoint of Texas.
The first hike was about 5 miles round trip. We left late in the day and hurried, fearing it might get dark. It’s the worst sort of hike, the first half is all downhill. That means the return journey is 100% uphill. We got to the bottom and took some pictures, had a snack and then started back up. The light was slowly fading. The sun bathed the area in glorious reds and yellows as the sun stretched into the distance. I took loads of pictures, but none do it justice. We were glad late in the day.
The second hike was about a one mile round trip, but we stretched it into something a lot further because we got lost. We were looking at a map, but I totally misunderstood a marking on it and that lead us far astray. We looked like something out of children’s tale, wandering in different directions and turning in circles looking for the end of the rainbow. Eventually, we got headed in the right direction and then saw people in the distance. They were already at the end point. We went toward them. The return journey was a cinch and downhill all the way.
The last hike was 9 miles. It was very strenuous. The first section is very steep and then it settles into really steep. You gain about 3,000 feet of elevation through the hike. The hike was complicated by very strong winds that nearly took us off our feet a couple of times. The return journey was also bathed in the beautiful light of the winter evening. When we got down, we were really joyful.
I’ve been looking over my highpoint map, reliving many of the trips. Remembering the beauty of some (Virginia, part of the Appalachian Trail) and absurdity of others (Delaware, it’s in a trailer park). I have studied this map over and over again trying to figure out how close to 50 I can get. All but 2 of the ones I have left are high and difficult. One is a 40 mile round trip hike. One is a 56 mile hike. Some require a level of mountain expertise. They all will necessitate being in great physical shape. With 16 to go, I’m going to have to pick up the pace. I can’t afford to do just one a year. I need to average 3 a year to have a shot of getting them done by the time I am 65. And I have so many other plans: write my book ( I have notes and outlines), finish my animated film (I have found and bought an articulating rabbit to help in the process), and just this Christmas I got a puzzle that has pictures of all the state birds, which got me thinking of taking a picture of each of the state birds in their state. So, I’m ready for a new year, I’ve got plans.