Every year, Cindy and I, co-founders of the Wine Hiking Society, make it a priority to embark on an adventure together—just the two of us. It’s our way of reconnecting, recharging, and feeding our shared love for the outdoors. This year, we set our sights on Big Bend National Park.
I’d been to Big Bend before during a road trip for my husband’s birthday and absolutely fell in love with its rugged beauty and remote charm. I couldn’t wait to return, and I knew Cindy would be up for the challenge. So, this past February, we packed our bags and flew from Salt Lake City to El Paso, Texas, ready to take on the Outer Mountain Loop—a demanding yet rewarding 30-mile backpacking trek.
The Journey to Big Bend
After landing in El Paso and picking up our rental, a Jeep Wrangler, our adventure started with a scenic drive to Marfa, Texas, where we spent our first night. Marfa’s eclectic vibe and small-town charm set the tone for our trip. We treated ourselves to a delicious dinner at the Water Stop, fueling up for the journey ahead, and spent the night in an Airbnb as unique as Marfa itself.
Terlingua: The Gateway to Big Bend
The next morning, we continued to the quirky and historic town of Terlingua, a gateway to Big Bend. Once in Terlingua, our goals for the day were to:
✅ Talk to the rangers at the Panther Junction visitor center & see if the springs had any water
✅ Go cache water if the rangers say the springs are unreliable
✅ Find our camp for the night & set up our tent
✅ Get lunch at a yummy local Mexican spot
✅ Relax before our big day tomorrow
Stopping at the Visitor Center
The Panther Junction Visitor Center was our first stop in Big Bend. We had a few things to consider with our trip:
- Did the springs have water? Or, would we have to cache some water and carry quite a bit on the trail?
- If we had to cache water, was the road still passable after the heavy rains the night before?
- Would we need to change our route, which would mean carrying bear canisters (and more weight)?
Although we reserved our permits online a few months ago, things were dependent on what the rangers would tell us.
The rangers said only one spring was currently reliable. Since it was early in our route and not as helpful as other springs would’ve been, we decided to go ahead and cache water.
That meant we’d have to carry 8-9 liters of water (~20 lbs) on Day 2, which was our steepest day. 😞 But, that also meant we didn’t need bear canisters (2.5 lbs) since we planned to keep our reserved spots, which had bear boxes. 🥳
So, at least our packs weren’t as heavy as they could have been. 😳
Even though the temps were in the 40s when we cached water, temps were projected to be in the mid to high 70s for our trek. We were going to need our water!
After we drove down the dirt road to Juniper Canyon to cache our water, we made our way to our cozy Hipcamp site just outside the park, soaking in the quiet desert night and marveling at the blanket of stars overhead. Terlingua’s offbeat character and breathtaking night skies made it the perfect prelude to our backpacking adventure.
Day 1: The Adventure Begins
We woke up early Friday morning, quickly loaded up our packs, and made the 30-minute drive to Homer Wilson Ranch, the trailhead where we’d start our adventure.
After eating breakfast at the trailhead, it was time to hit the trail. We had 12 miles to our first campsite, and it was going to be a warm, sunny day. Starting early was crucial!
After a short initial descent, the trail began to climb. Luckily, we were in the shade for this rocky ascent. Once we crested the top, we were in the sun. But a light breeze kept us cool, and the trail flattened, making the trek long but relatively easy.
After 5.5 hours on the trail, we made it to our water cache at Juniper Canyon Trailhead. We grabbed our water for the night and hiked the last half mile to Twisted Shoe, our home for the night.
Twisted Shoe is technically a car camping site. While it has a bear box, it has zero shade. By the time we arrived, it was hot! So, we made a shade tent out of our 3P Nemo Dragonfly tent with our fly, footprint, and poles.
After relaxing in the shade for several hours, the sun finally began to set. We were finally able to finish setting up our camp and enjoy our hot Mountain House dinners before settling in for an early bedtime.
Day 2: The Steep Ascent
Day 2 was set to be the hardest day of our 3-day trip. We only had 7 miles to cover, compared to the previous day’s 12. But, half of those miles would require climbing more than 3000 feet in elevation.
What would make the climb worse was that we had to do it with 8 liters of water in our packs. One liter of water weighs 2.2 pounds, adding 18 pounds. That didn’t include the weight of our gear.
Plus, it was supposed to be our hottest day, with temperatures peaking around 80 degrees. 🥵 We hoped for a breeze and crossed our fingers that the forecasted clouds showed up.
We woke early, broke down camp, and scarfed our breakfast, all in the dark. As we hit the trail, the sky began to glow with pinks, oranges, and blues—hopefully a good omen for what lie ahead.
As the sun rose behind us, to our delight, we saw wispy clouds spread across the sky. And, what luck, we had a breeze on our backs! Perhaps we wouldn’t roast on the trail after all!
We made quick work of the first 3 miles, which were mostly flat with only a slight elevation gain. But, then the trail began to rise, and we knew we’d reached the start of our steep ascent.
Knowing shit was about to get real, we stopped for a snack and fueled up with some carbs. Then, we put our heads down and began the slow slog to the top.
With more than 3000 feet to climb in ~3 miles and 18 pounds of water sloshing on our backs, we focused on putting one foot in front of the other. (Pictures never do the steepness justice.)
Every now and then, we’d look at our watches and gasp at how little distance we’d gone since we last checked our progress.
We took one last break a mile from the top. Before making our final push, we questioned why we thought backpacking was fun and why we kept doing this to ourselves.
And finally, with our backs soaked in sweat and our legs exhausted, we reached the end of our ascent.
Night 2: Camping at 7000 Feet
We had just finished climbing more than 3000 feet of elevation in 3 miles. Still, we had almost another mile to our camp spot for the night.
On the way to our campsite, we passed (and stopped to use) a backcountry pit toilet. This toilet is only for pooping, and no peeing is allowed since it’s a composting toilet with a delicate balance.
We were exhausted by the time we made it to camp around noon. We set up camp, ate lunch, and proceeded to nod off in our backpacking chairs.
At 7000 ft, this camp was much cooler. A soft breeze and lots of trees made our camp feel a little cold, even. Soon, we decided to get into our warm tent and take a nap.
We awoke around 3 pm and decided we felt rested enough for a 3-mile round-trip hike to the South Rim on the Outer Mountain Loop. Reviews online had said the extra mileage was worth it, and boy was it!
After sitting and enjoying sweeping views of Big Bend and the Rio Grande in the distance, we headed back to camp just in time for dinner and another early bedtime.
Day 3: The Final Descent
It was all downhill from here—literally. While Day 2 required us to climb more than 3000 ft over 3 miles, Day 3 would have us descend that much in the same distance. The downhill was steep and rocky, but the switchbacks made it doable.
Eventually, the switchbacks gave way to a wash. We were initially relieved to have a flatter path with smaller rocks. After about 3 miles on the loose, pebbly path, our legs were ready to be done with the wash.
As we neared the end, we were surprised to see reddish orange, jagged hoodoos among the Texas desert landscape.
At last, we reached the end of the wash. The last stretch back to the trailhead and our rental Jeep required one final, uphill push. We were tired but motivated to be done. Clean clothes awaited us! So, we ascended without any hesitation.
Back at the Jeep, we baby-wiped down, changed our clothes, and headed toward Marfa, TX, for lunch. Just past Marfa, we stopped at the Prada store, which is actually a random art installation in the middle of nowhere.
For a second, we considered trading in our hiking boots for heels. But, in the end, we decided we’d need the boots for our next adventure.
Where should we go next?! Tell us your ideas below!
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