Date: 2013-01-30
From: Going West

To: Los Angeles
Miles today: 0.0

The trip out west was a success, but we ended up doing less hiking than we had planned. After driving from Daphne, AL to San Antonio, TX the first night, we set out for Big Bend National Forest on January 23. We left I 10 and took 385 south to Persimmon Gap, an area which was used as an entry point to the area for Comanche raiders headed south to Mexico centuries ago. Racing the setting sun we walked along the Rio Grande, where we watched a young Mexican man cross the border to set up hand crafted goods for sale. A note left with the items stated that the money would support families in Boquillas, a nearby border town which has suffered immensely since restrictions on border crossings by American tourists since September 11, 2001.After finishing the river walk we headed to our camp site. The park volunteer we spoke to gave us a 90% chance we could drive to the camp site in our Camry. We took it slow and made it to camp just as the sun was beginning to set. From a hill next to our tent site we could see two other groups of campers, one of which within ear shot. Michael and I were quick about setting up our tent and getting dinner going. Fires are banned in Big Bend due to the risk of forest fires so we cooked on my Pocket Rocket backpacking stove. The stove is great for quickly heating up water and food but doesn't put out much ambient heat. After eating we drank some rum and went to sleep. Temperatures were below 30 that night and my brother and I each woke up several times from the cold. Due to space constraints in the car we only had one sleeping pad and it was of lesser quality. More insulation from the rock hard desert ground would have been nice. In the morning we slowly cooked oatmeal and tea and enjoyed the desert sunrise before heading to the Chisos Basin to begin the South Rim Trail.This ended up being a beautiful 13 mile hike with great vistas of the park all the way into Mexico. We did the whole day in around 6 hours, pretty good since neither one of us had hiked in a long time. Temperatures ranged from 60s in the sun to there being snow on the ground in the shade. At one point we broke through a couple inches of ice to filter water and refill our bottles. Unfortunately we did not see much wildlife on the trail, a couple of kangaroo rats and birds only. There were however javelina, deer, and coyote tracks everywhere. I was really hoping for a mountain lion or bear sighting (several hikers were actually attacked by lions last year). After finishing the hike, we drove north through Border Patrol checkpoints (they laughed and waved us through when they saw our Alabama plates) to Van Horn, TX on I 10. The next days trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico officially depleted Michael and I of any enthusiasm we had for making detours in the desert of this area. I have never seen anything so desolate and I started missing trees pretty quickly. We made the decision to go ahead and continue to Phoenix, AZ and then Los Angeles the next day. We had a good night catching up with my brother's fellow FSU film school graduates. A few days later, I flew home and continued preparing for my through hike of the Appalachian Trail.At one point in LA I did pull my right hip flexor, a muscle I tore when I was 15. I think it happened while horsing around with a friend's kid, and don't think it was related to my hike in Big Bend. Nevertheless, it scared me for what it might mean for my thru hike and I have been stretching and exercising that area every day.Today (Jan 30) I bought a set of Leki hiking poles and a Tarptent Moment from a fellow thru hiker from Pensacola who is planning on beginning his hike on March 23rd. I hope to see him on the trail.My plan for the next few weeks: day hikes, acquire clothing and gear still needed, and Laissez les bons temps roulez! (Mardi Gras)Can't wait to start walking north.