Trip Report: Big Bend Day 5 & 6

Completing the Outer Mountain Loop

This is the trip report for our final Day on the Outer Mountain Loop and the drive home. Make sure to catch up with Big Bend Days 1 & 2, Big Bend Day 3, and Big Bend Day 4.

Sunrise on Blue Creek Trail

Wake Up

When we went to bed, it was warm out, but by the time we woke up, everything was covered; all our gear was so wet that it required extra shake-outs. We had our standard oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, then started our walk a little before 7 am, which was before sunrise.  

Orange fungus on Blue Creek Trail

Blue Creek Trail

The trail was just a continuation of the day before: a gravel drainage area with cairns scattered around to guide you. I’ve read online that it’s easy to miss the cairns and get lost in the drainage area, but I’d think that would be pretty hard to do, as there is only one way to travel in a canyon.

A cave a little way off the trail on Blue Creek

After about an hour of hiking, we saw a huge cave in the distance, so we took an hour-long side quest to go check it out. The first part required us to fight through brush, and almost every plant has thorns of some sort. Then it was a hands-and-knees scramble up broken rock that involved some short slides down. Finally, in the cave, it was a large, open space split into 2 sides, full of calf-deep moon dust. Exciting as it was, there were no ancient artifacts or cave art, so we carefully made our way back down.

Inside the cave on Blue Creek Trail

As we continued up Blue Creek Trail, the canyon continued to narrow, and the drainage area began to shrink. We also passed multiple campsites that would have been amazing compared to where we stayed the night before. If only we had been a little further along and had better light to search.

Looking South and back down the way we came on Blue Creek Trail

Eventually, we made it out of the creek and into a forested area (this is the turn I was warned could be easy to miss), and then the dreaded switchbacks started. I’m guessing this section is 2 miles of steep and never-ending switchbacks. To make this section even better, the sun crested the mountains and began heating everything up; however, the views were spectacular as we looked back down into the canyon.

Jack walking through a wooded section on the Blue Creek Trail

After tirelessly trudging along for a while, we located the free camping zone sign. Doing a very imprecise map check with the fingers, we estimated ourselves about 2 miles shy of the Laguna Meadows Trail junction. This caused a small freak-out moment because it put us way behind schedule; thankfully, the junction seemed much closer than I'd guessed.

The amazing view from the highest point on Blue Creek Trail. It was a steep climb!

Chisos Mountains

Pushing on, we made it to the Laguna Meadows Trail junction and headed towards the Rims, where all the amazing views can be found. On the way there, the sun was out in full force, and it was pretty warm when not in the shade. The climbs along the Rims were a little milder, but it didn’t matter because we were so tired and our feet were tender from being wet all morning.

Views from the South Rim

The views were all amazing as we moved from the South Rim to the Southeast Rim to the Northeast Rim. We stopped under a shade tree for lunch near the Southeast Rim. I’ve been told that if you just have enough, you can stop at one section of the Rim to make sure it's the South Rim. After walking all of them, each has its own amazing characteristics, and I would say it’s worth spending time at each.

Looking down at the terrain below the Rims. I have a feeling that is a section we walked through on the Dodson Trail

We stop to eat lunch under the shade of a tree as close to the edge of the Southeast Rim as we could find. This short lunch break makes me want to spend a night camping on the Rim to enjoy a sunrise and sunset. We then headed around to the Northeast Rim, but spent a little less time viewing the surrounding area than before because it was getting late in the day.

Stopping for a lunch break with an amazing view of the Southeast Rim

The Northeast Rim led us to Boot Canyon Trail, where we paralleled Boot Canyon. Along the canyon, there were pools of varying sizes. We stopped at one of the larger pools to take a break, and because Jack swears he saw fish. Unfortunately, there were no fish, but the pool was teeming with life as insects scurried across the surface and dove deep within the water.

View from the Northeast Rim 

 Carrying on with the hike, we found a stretch of the trail that was beyond unexpected. It was clearly autumn in this area as the trees were displaying leaves of orange, red, and yellow. Finally, we reached the junction of the Colima Trail, which also seemed like a whole new place. The Colima was short and steep, but the trees here were more like an alpine area than the oaks and pines we had grown accustomed to.

Large pool of water in Boot Canyon

With our Rim loop completed, we found ourselves on the Laguna Meadows Trail again. Laguna was a pretty mild trail back down into the basin, but by this time, my feet were tender from being wet all day. In a weird turn of events, Jack was in his groove and flying down the mountain, and I was making him wait up for me. The trail is just a series of switchbacks as you descend, and the views felt less impressive than those we experienced earlier in the day. I just wanted to finish Laguna Meadows Trail.

A slight change of scenery as the leaves turn red, orange, and yellow 

Making it back into the Chisos Basin, our feet and bodies were feeling pretty rough at this point, and we just wanted to finish. Finally, we arrived at the trailhead and had, but had another .5 miles down to the campgrounds. We made it back to basecamp, but Bmo was nowhere to be found, so we started making ourselves comfortable while snacking on Cheez-Its. After a short wait, Bmo showed up and made us some amazing burgers and smores, while we all shared tales of our adventures. It wasn’t much longer, and we were more than ready for bed, which is when Bmo went off to hang out with some of our campground neighbors.

Jack and I are finally back at Basecamp, a little before the sun went down

The Drive Home

With a 5 am wake-up, we packed up and skipped breakfast because we knew we could find something in a small town later. With everything packed in the car, we were off, hoping to see some wildlife or a bear on our drive out of the mountains. Wish come true, we found a coyote in the middle of the road eating trash. He was clearly not concerned about us, and he won the game of chicken, forcing me to maneuver around him and his treasure.

A coyote was scavenging through trash as we made our way out of the park

Another oddity: as we left the park, there was a huge amount of trash scattered all over and along the side of the road. It turns out a family was hauling a bunch of stuff and was hit from behind, which is what caused the mess. Thankfully, everyone was injury-free. After this, the trip was uneventful, and we were sad to be leaving such a majestic place but thrilled to finally be back home.

The Giveaway

To celebrate the final portion of our Big Bend trip report, Team Adventures with BeeGee is giving away 12 Steps to a Lighter Pack (linked to our book report). Use this book to gain a little knowledge and lighten your load.

Leave a comment below about your first time or your ideal trip to Big Bend National Park for a chance to win our February giveaway. Also, if you like the blog, follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.