Big Bend Adventures with SFA Students

We had a great time taking people out to Big Bend National Park! This was during our Spring Break, so we had ample time for hiking and canoeing within the park. Our crew got up bright and early and left Nacogdoches at 5:00am on Saturday, March 8th. We were in the park until Saturday, March 15th.

Our first activities consisted of day hiking around the park. On the 9th, we visited the Panther Junction Visitor Center before making our way to the Grapevine Hills Trail (2.2 mi). We scrambled up rocks and boulders and ate lunch next to some buzzing bees. We suspect they liked the color of our bright yellow backpacks. Luckily, the worst injury of the trip was a singular bee sting! After Grapevine Hills and our group picture under the Balanced Rock landmark, we headed to the Castolon Visitor Center and the Santa Elena Canyon Trail (1.7 mi). Our group explored the canyon and its scenic views both inside and out. (There may have been a group howl or two!) It was lovely seeing two entirely different ecosystems within the park. Afterward, we headed back to Panther Junction and made burgers in the parking lot before attending a ranger program, “The Stars Over Big Bend.” Our group learned all about constellations we would be sleeping under for the week—exciting stuff!

Our next day started bright and early at the Emory Peak trailhead. We meandered and climbed up the forested hills of Chisos Basin and had lunch on the top of Emory! Our buddy bison companion found its name, Emory, and rode on Loriana’s head for much of the trip up the mountain. Being on top of Texas sure was awesome (and terrifying). We hiked over 10 miles!

For the 11th, we began our backcountry portion of the trip through Boquillas Canyon, a 33-mile canoe excursion. From that point, we were on our own! The 12th, 13th, and 14th consisted of learning how to canoe, working together, and conquering those 33 miles! Boquillas has three class 1-2 rapids that everyone cruised down. Our nights were full of good food and the game “highs, lows, and buffalos.” We modified it nightly, but Miranda and Allen’s favorite edition was “peak, crash-out, and bison.” Our group saw the lunar eclipse on the 14th and, unfortunately, braved a windstorm between 2:00-6:00am. Spirits were high as we made it to our take-out point in only one hour! Our last full day in Big Bend consisted of loading up gear and taking everyone to the Hot Springs Historic area: we saw pictographs and relaxed in the hot spring for most of the afternoon.

The day of the 15th was bittersweet—we all were a bit hesitant to leave. However, all good things have to come to an end eventually. As we made our 12 hour drive back to East Texas, the group shared photos, memories, and plans to go line dancing together.