2003-11-07 Lost Mine and The Window 2003-11-08 Pine Canyon and Ernst Tinaja 2003-11-09 Cattail Canyon 2004-11-04 The Journey 2004-11-05 Casa Grande and Lost Mine 2004-11-06 Cattail Canyon 2004-11-07 Santa Elena Canyon and Cattail Falls 2005-06-01 Chisos Mountain Lodge 2005-06-02 Emory Peak 2005-06-03 Desert Views 2005-06-04 The Window at Sunset 2005-11-03 Cattail Canyon 2005-11-04 South Rim 2005-11-05 Santa Elena Canyon by Canoe 2005-11-06 Santa Elena Canyon by Canoe 2002-11-08 Emory Peak and South Rim 2002-11-09 Cattail Falls and Santa Elena Canyon 2002-11-09 Terlingua and Lajitas 2002-11-10 Old Ore Road and Hot Springs 2002-11-10 The Window at Sunset

This was my second trip to Big Bend, so I already had an agenda of things I wanted to do and see. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. For most of the first 36 hours, the Chisos Mountains were totally socked in, making the views hit or miss, but the fog afforded us the opportunity to see the park (quite literally) in a different light. And as the fog lifted on Day 2, we found ourselves deposited in the middle of an eerie world of cloud-ringed rock spires with unearthly hues, swirling and roiling mists, and dark desert slopes punctuated by rays of sunlight.

Day 1 (Friday, 11/7/2003)

After a very windy and somewhat chilly night sleeping under a picnic table (long story), I awoke to clear skies in the Basin. But around mid morning, a thick fog started pouring in through The Window, and by 10 AM the Basin was totally enshrouded. I had intended to summit Casa Grande that morning, but due to the limited visibility and high winds, the rangers were advising people to stay off of it. I instead opted to complete the rest of the Lost Mine Trail (5 miles round trip, 1000 feet elevation gain) with the group. The views weren't exactly spectacular with 20-foot visibility, but at least there were some cool rock formations to climb around on at the end.

That afternoon, Ritchie and I drove around to the backside of The Window, because neither of us had ever seen it. The backside of The Window is accessible via. a 2-mile hike through the desert on the Oak Springs Trail (same trailhead as Cattail Falls) or via. a 3-mile hike up and over the rim of the Basin via. the Window Trail. The Window was flowing much more briskly this year than last, so it was producing a significant waterfall rather than just its normal trickle.