South Rim BBNP - January 2006

[M.J.]

strangely I kept getting rained on - it turned out that the clouds had frozen on to the needles and leaves of trees and when the wind blew water fell - the first picture is of frozen cloud in pine needles in my campsite SW4 - the second picture is a camp visitor

[M.J.]

After an overnight hike in the Sierra Madre (http://forums.outdoorreview.com/showthread.php?t=1222) with my Dad and brother I was told that I would be reaching the South Rim alone. I was happy to hike and camp alone but wished they could have joined me. The third picture is of the clouded mountains in front of me.

Hiking up to the South Rim via Laguna Meadows is a real slog and pretty serious excercise. Unfortunately, it is not terribly photogenic - in that big picture desert sorta way. Maybe I was breathing too hard.

It took me three hours to get to SW4 and took a number of clothing changes. The clouds that I hiked in to were cold and wet - despite generating alot of heat I kept having to adjust layers.

[M.J.]

the South Rim is one of the best views in North America - on a clear day you can see 200 miles south in to Mexico - the southern boundary of the park which is also the boundary between Coahuila and Texas is the visible bend in the Rio Grande from which the region and park take its name

on this day the view from the South Rim was dramatic with clouds and haze making the Sierra Madre and desert below appear gothic

[M.J.]

after lunch, reading my book and doing the math I decided that I would end up finishing the book about sunset and would then be forced to sit alone, under overcast skies in camp waiting for sleep - I decided that I'd head down, meet my family and drink alot of beer - what was planned to be an overnight hike ended up being a 15 mile day hike

My Dad's pack which I'd borrowed for the hike was great - it's an Osprey Aether 75

here are some more pictures from the South Rim

[M.J.]

I hiked down via Boot Canyon and the Pinnacles Trail

the first picture is evidence of a recent fire - probably caused by lightning - the left side of the trail has typical desert grasses - the right side is burned - only cactus survived

there was water available for filtering from the top of Boot Canyon

the third picture is a handsome stone wall - almost English and out of place in BBNP

[M.J.]

the "boot" - which gives the canyon it's name is the first photo

the second photo is the first view back in to the Basin from the top of the Pinnacles Trail

[M.J.]

another view in to the basin makes it seem like civilisation when compared to the views from the rest of the day

the final picture is down through the Window

[JohnK]

Great photos and enjoyed reading about your trip!

Have a swell one > John