Photo #6

This is one of my favorite photos. For our last day in Big Bend, I convinced Eric to embark on the longest trail that was in our brochure. The hike connected 3 separate trails to form a 14.1 mile loop. We got up at the crack of dawn, and drove to the ranger station near the trail head. While I ate breakfast, packed my backpack, and downed a coffee, Eric threw the trash away that had been accumulating throughout the trip and got some info regarding the hike.

The first mile of the hike was stunning. The weather was cool, the air was clean and crisp, the lighting was gorgeous, and the grade was a slight downhill. I was really pumped to begin this journey and put 14.1 miles under my belt. This picture was taken on the one mile descent down the trail. Once we got to a fork in the trail, Eric got out his trusty map with an all-to-familiar/ slightly concerned look on his face. You guessed it... we were on the wrong trail. In fact, we were never on the right trail. My faithful guide had disappointed me again. Needless to say, I was pissed because that now put us back about an hour and a half and we had originally planned the 14.1 miles to take 8 hours and end around 5pm. Since it gets dark around 5pm, there wasn't any wiggle room to work with so Eric and I trekked back up the 1 mile hill (this time slightly uphill) and decided to cut the 14.1 mile loop back to 10 miles. Including the 2 miles that we were on the wrong trail, Eric and I hiked 12 miles that day. And looking back on it, Eric's "happenstance" ended up being a blessing because my legs were ready to call it quits after mile 12.

His "happenstance" also allowed us to see a javelina. While busting ass back up from the one mile mistake, head down and sweating profusely, I nearly ran right into it. I sort of froze and managed to squeal "there's a pig" to warn Eric who was a few paces behind me. Eric bravely stepped up and flailed his hiking sticks in the air while shouting "go away pig!". It slowly gazed toward our direction, and meandered down the hillside after giving us the "you stupid humans" look. We later found a half eaten prickly pear cactus pad that it had sacrificed to clear the path for us. We must have spoiled his breakfast. Although my camera was conveniently hung from my neck ready to capture any moment, I was temporarily brain dead from fright. I don't know why I was so scared because they are pretty harmless looking. I guess that it just caught me off guard since I was preoccupied with silently cursing Eric with every step.

We ended up having a great hike and I later apologized for being so upset about his innocent mistake. He felt awful about it. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter. In fact, it allowed me to get this great shot. So, this shot is dedicated to the disoriented navigator, my loving husband and adventurer seeker, Eric.

Here's a pic of a javelina, since I choked under pressure. http://cronkite.asu.edu/newsroom/biggamepermits-javelina.JPG

On the next trip to Big Bend, I definitely want to return to this trail and hike it in full. It's absolutely gorgeous.