I just did a quick overnighter in Big Bend. I was trying out a GoPro camera so I made a short video of it Big Bend Video
Here is the regular report and pictures
One reason for this trip was to test out the new pack I’d made using an Unaweep frame and hipbelt. I wanted to make sure it worked well before I committed to using it on a longer trip.
Part way up two Boy Scouts caught up to me. They had gone out with one group and had run down the trail without packs or water to try and find the second half of their group. One was said he was dehydrated so I gave him some water. I hiked close to the boys to keep an eye on the dehydrated one.
Eventually we met the rest of the group coming down. Apparently there was some kind of mix up over who was supposed to get the permit and they’d ended up out there with no permit. Now they were hiking out. Didn’t seem particularly well planned to me but they were nice folks. I did tell the one boy he shouldn’t go off without water again.
Now free of responsibilities I sped up to Laguna Meadow.
I peeked into Blue Creek Canyon long enough to be glad I hadn’t tried to do the Outer Mountain Loop on such a compressed schedule.
I then sped up the trail toward the Camila campsites. The original plan had been to camp down in Blue Creek Canyon but there just wasn’t time to get there on this trip. I like fast hikes sometimes but other times it isn’t worth the bother.
I slept next to a bear box after a fun diner chatting with a couple of Scout leaders who were camped out there.
In the morning I ate breakfast with them and we shared stories about adventures and discussed the finer points of backpacking cooking.
One of the boys was wearing these leather slippers. Apparently he didn’t realize his hiking boots didnt’ fit until he’d got to the parking lot. So he hiked thin these instead.
The boy in slippers encouraged me to hike up to a rock slide before I left. “The only other way t see it is to climb a tree” he said. Yes he apparently had climbed a tree, I was beginning to like that kid.
My morning hike took me along the South Rim Trail with views that got better and better.
After a few miles of hiking along the South Rim I turned north to hike down Boot Canyon toward the Chiso Basin and my car.
As I headed north down Boot Canyon I heard a couple young voices arguing over a trail sign behind me. Low and behold it was the Scouts I camped next too. They’d taken a shorter route on Boot Trail and caught up to me.
The boys took off ahead while I hung back and chatted with the adult leaders a while.
One of the dads mentioned that the boys were in a hurry because they had eaten all their food. I had plenty of extra food so I sped up and caught up to them. They were very happy to eat the extra food I was carrying and I was happy to give it do them. My pack was lighter and it was gratifying to see them so happy.
After a short climb out of Boot Canyon the trail headed down steep switchbacks into the Chisos Basin.
The views were incredible all the way down and I hated to be leaving this place.
At the lodge I bought a snack and began the long drive home.
Gear Notes
The MYOG pack based on the Unaweep Harness was a big success. The hipbelt worked well and the weight transfer to my hips was amazing. I totally agree with Dave C. that the Unaweep/Evo packs are a great design. I want to build a new version that is slightly deeper (mine was just big enough). I also want to add side pockets which I missed.
GoPro Hero 4 Silver
I agonized over this decision a bit but I think the GoPro 4 Silver was a good choice. I didn’t us the screen a lot but when I did it was very nice to have. The video quality was a clear improvement over my old camera.
