If eyes are the windows to the soul then legs are the transportation that get the eyes to where they need to be to see that soul. And after the 6 mile hike today, our legs are sore down to our soles.
We had 5 hours to wax philosophical and ponder questions like Why do National Parks exist? Why do we go to them? Why do we hike 6 miles in intense heat for a view? There are Captain Obvious answers like “cause they’re there” or “why not?” And then there are reflective responses that try to find the need it fills in us.
The hike to the Window in Chisos Mountains begins high in the hills. Four thousand feet higher and 20 degrees cooler than the desert scape where we live. Betty Ranger warned us that even though the sky was overcast, temperatures in the afternoon could reach 80! What we would do for 80 in our 107 degree living room.
The mountain scape is so picturesque and temperate, everybody visiting the park has abandoned the desert and converged on the Chisos Visitor Center and surrounding attractions. The campground is closed for road resurfacing, and the steep and winding access road up prohibits large rigs like ours, but “what the heck, maybe we will give it a try” we think, so idyllic is the setting.
The hike out to the Window is National Park Prime beef. Cutting deep into a slot canyon, it traverses lush cacti and succulent fields before dropping in to a dry river bed. Staircases are sculpted into the river banks. Rough hewn benches provide respite under thick cottonwood shade. It is perfectly natural, and also perfectly accessible, something National Parks do so well.
The slot canyon ends with impossibly steep rock walls surrounding all sides except for a narrow window providing a breathtaking vertical view to the desert scape far below. The hike has a huge payoff, a must have attribute for ones that require intense effort. It’s Instagram-city as visitors contemplate the wow-factor versus the ow-factor of falling out the window. It is perfect past time to people watch with apple, almonds, and an almost melted chocolate bar. The smooth boulders that make up the river bed have probably been sculpted to fit our body for a nap.
We had the whole hike out to take in the scenery and the return trip back to contemplate the why. Our interest started with curiosity, which led to our first real outing with Utah’s Mighty Five. Catching NP fever, we started making plans to visit more. Then we got the sticker map and now we’re up to 38 or something like that. But is that what it’s about? Doing popular hikes and claiming the sticker?
The towering rock walls make you feel small. Inconsequential in the grand scheme of earth. They also make you feel vital. Being within them, not looking at 2D screens. Experiencing the sounds of chirping warblers, the smell of blooming honeysuckle, the encounters with buzzing bees, the taste of warm water, so delicious when you’re so thirsty from sweating it out in triple digits and you think your legs won’t scramble over that last set of boulders to get to the other side.
Nature makes us feel alive. There is something about being in the slot canyon that speaks to us. It is a strong and powerful if silent voice when we are there. Later, when stuck in traffic passing yet one more strip mall in blacktopped America, it may be the only sane whisper of voice left in our heads.
National Park Lodges are a collection of cool real estate. The Lodge at Chisos Mountain has a 1960’s Mad Men-esq vibe and a view to wow. The food is decidedly average grill fare but so what? The local Tall City Texas IPA was refreshingly bright and nothing says comfort like an ol fashioned American cheeseburger, “dressed” of course.
Chisos Mountain at Big Bend National Park has it all. It is as beautiful as anything in Utah or California. What is probably saving it is the utter remoteness. You can’t bundle this destination with anything but a drive through the Midland Texas oil fields, and you know how much the kids love that!
As another Tesla owner unloads for the night a few spots down from us, it begins to dawn on us that with the exception of a few rooms at the Chisos Lodge, you are either camping at Big Bend or driving 6 hours to civilization at the end of the day. Civilization is so overrated.
