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

Day 2 - Friday, November 4, 2005

Somehow, in four years of exploring Big Bend, I had managed to miss the Laguna Meadows Trail.  In 2002, I had day hiked to the Southeast Rim after climbing Emory Peak, but I went out and back through Boot Canyon that time rather than taking the full loop through Laguna Meadows.  So on Friday, I joined up with Kim, Michael, Cindy & Jeff, Brent, Laurie, Will, et al to do the full South Rim loop.

The South Rim is the southern edge of the ancient volcanic caldera that forms the Chisos Mountains.  It is much more of an abrupt boundary than the North Rim, presenting a mostly sheer profile that descends more than 1000 feet into the southern desert below.  The Rim is a 6-mile hike from the Basin along either the Pinnacles/Boot Canyon Trail or the Laguna Meadows Trail.  A 4-mile rim trail connects the two, offering spectacular views toward the Rio Grande valley to the south, Santa Elena Canyon to the southwest, and the Sierra del Carmen to the southeast.

We hiked more than 16 miles with well over 2000 feet of elevation gain, traveling up Laguna Meadows to the Southwest Rim, looping around via. the Southeast Rim and Northeast Rim Trails, then returning via. Boot Canyon and The Pinnacles.  I can't say whether taking the loop clockwise would've been better -- it depends on whether you prefer your pain all at once or spread out over time.  Going up The Pinnacles and Boot Canyon would put almost all of the climbing in the first 1/3 of the hike, whereas going up Laguna Meadows (as we did) spread out the climbing over the first 2/3 of the hike.  "No more up" was an oft-heard phrase.