I fought nature…

and nature won.

So over the past year or so I’ve taken up backcountry backpack camping, and yesterday I decided that I was ready to move past what State Parks had to offer and go tackle a mountain, Emory Peak in Big Bend N.P. to be specific. This was a bad idea for a multitude of reasons, which I will all cover in this post.

So my first mistake of the trip turned out to be going to Big Bend to begin with when I only had two days off of work. It’s pretty far away from Waco, and when I say pretty far I mean like the same distance as Mississippi. So after a long day of driving I roll into the park at about 5:30 and make my way to the Chisos Mtn. Basin. Once there I am quick to realize my second mistake, I forgot my boots. If this were one of my normal trips out to the hill country, then I would just realize that going backpacking without boots is a bad idea and head home, but at this point I am approximately 500 miles from home, so I decide that my sneakers will have to do.

So after getting all my stuff together I take off on the trail. This is mistake #3, not so much taking off on the trail but thinking that it would be a good idea for my flabby self to choose to camp at the top of the tallest mountain in Big Bend, when up to this I had never even driven up a mountain much less climbed one. Anyway, so about a quarter of a mile into the trail, there is a long steep climb. Now I have yet to mention it, but it becomes immediately relevant that I haven’t eaten in quite some time, which combined with my utter out-of-shapeness left my completely spent after taking on this first hill on the path up the mountain.

Now if I wasn’t a stubborn fool I would have quickly realized that I should probably just go back down and car camp, then day hike Emory Peak. But, as everyone should know by now, I’m a stubborn fool so I decide to press on. Now fast forward three hours of me struggling to lag my huge backpack up a mountain, and I have finally made it to the top. I am dead tired, damp from hiking through clouds/wearing a cotton overshirt, and in a completely desparate mindset. Despite all of these things, I was pretty optimistic about setting up camp and getting some sleep.

At this point it’s actually looking like I could win my fight with nature, as I was able to set up my tent quickly and get some warm dinner. Then disaster strikes. Mistake #4 comes in the form of the cold weather sleeping bag I bought two days ago, specifically my deciding not to give it a test run before I took it out into the field. The zipper broke. I tried to fix it, but to no avail. I tried to just use it in combination to cover up with, but it was too cold for that. At this point, I made the mental transition from rugged manly man to desparate cold camper on top of a mountain. In this anguished mental stat, I made a rash decision. I grabbed my camera gear, my flashlight and just headed down the mountain as fast as I could. Yes, that means I left all of my gear on the mountain, and yes I realized that it is a pretty horrible thing to do from the perspective of an outdorr enthusiast, but at the time I didn’t care.

So upon making my way down the mountain I got to my car and tried to sleep, which didn’t work out so well. At just about midnight, a mere six hours after I had entered the park, I fled. Just after getting out of the park on Highway 385, I got stopped by border patrol, nothing really happened but I thought I would share. Ultimately the drive home was a long one full of barely concious confusion. Fortunately I was able to find an open store in Ozona where I could get some refreshing cold beverages to wake myself up, which combined with listening exclusively to music which I could sing along to fueled my conciousness for the long drive home.

In the end, I fought nature, and nature won.

P.S. Just a random aside, I was able to pick up 1660 KRZI in Big Bend. It was interesting to listen to Tom, Butch and Intern over 500 miles from Waco.