After a cool, pleasant night, I awoke on Big Bend Sierra Quemada – Day 4 with a nagging throb in my left knee, and knew that the final leg into Mule Ears and my truck was going to hurt. 800 mg of Ibuprofen washed down with a quart of water, 2 Pop tarts, and we were ready to go. Since it was early and cool and it wasn’t far to ME Spring, we dumped all our water except 3 quarts and headed on the lazy downhill walk to the junction of ME trail and the climb up the escarpment out of Smoky Creek.
Pictures are a little scarce on this leg (because of my leg), but we followed water for about 1 1/2 miles below our campsite and well outside the canyons the before it finally disappeared into the gravel of Smoky Creek.
Some of you who have hiked Smoky Creek before may recognize this spot, but probably have not seen it with a waterfall.
The trek to the escarpment was quick and not overly painful, and the slog up the escarpment was slow, but one step at a time gets you up the hill. We cruised into Mule Ears Spring after a short rest on the escarpment and then made the final assault on the small rise toward the terminus of the trail.
It was with a sense of accomplishment that we both gave a sigh of relief as we shrugged off the packs that had burdened us for the last 4 days. I gave LGKs a big hug and thanked her for being such a great and strong partner as well as being a wonderful daughter. So ended Big Bend Sierra Quemada – Day 4 hike.
We had a couple of cold Capri-Sun lemonades from an ice chest in my truck and headed IMMEDIATELY to Study Butte for a shower and change of clothes.
After the shower (worth it at 5 x’s the price) we headed to PJ to turn in our permit and up to the lodge for lunch.
I had the BBR Cheesburger and 3 glasses of tea, and LGK had the Cheeseburger off the kid’s menu. Her burger was exactly like mine and she ate every bit + french fries and 2 glasses of Sprite….maybe I should feed her more on the trail.
We headed back to the Basin for our last night and spent the afternoon getting rid of trash and cleaning things for our departure the next morning. That evening we spent an hour together watching 2 episodes of the \”Gilmore Girls\” on a portable DVD player before sleeping in a real bed (inflatable) with real pillows in our big tent at the Basin. Felt like a 5 star hotel, but after being in the Quemadas, it seemed a bit crowded and noisy.
The next morning we packed up early and were given a great Big Bend sunrise send-off before we headed back to Houston.
What a beautiful way to head home.
We arrived back in Houston via Hwy 90/ I-10 the night before Thanksgiving, tired from the drive and physical effort of our hike, but my mind was clear and my soul refreshed.
So is the life of an addicted Bender.
For those who are interested in such things… Gas was cheaper ($2.14) at PJ, than it was in Marathon ($2.22) and I picked up a tank in Del Rio for $1.43 (Chevron)
Below is the elevation profile for the entire loop. If anyone needs any tracks let me know.
Thanks for reading, I hope I didn’t ramble too much!
