#emory peak

[ceezthemoment]

[digitalnomadic]

Near the tip top of Emory Peak Big Bend. You can see the weather station. All the fog look is from sugar canes being burned in Mexico.

[thorsenmark]

The Cliff Walls of the Santa Elena Canyon (US) Caught in Silhouette (Big Bend National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: When I first decided to capture this image, I ran into a decision on how to properly meter this setting in what appeared to be a large dynamic range with those portions of the canyon still in shadows from the mid-morning sunlight and those far off areas of the national park and Chisos mountains shining brightly away. Here I decided to work with that and keep a portion in silhouette with the nearby cliff walls on the US side of the border. The Mexican side had some reflected light but in general the Santa Elena Canyon was in shadows and silhouette.

[thorsenmark]

There Are Those Moments... (Big Bend National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: When one stops driving and takes in a view of mountains that seems to stretch across the horizon as well as the near to far. I'd just finished exploring the Santa Elena Canyon and was heading back into the main part of the national park to enjoy a hike on a desert trail (I found myself enjoying two, but that's a later story). For this setting, I wanted to capture the rolling hillsides and folds in the desert landscape nearby. Not only was the view one to soak in but I also found the color contrasts to complement the far off view to the rugged Chisos Mountains off in the distance. The Chisos Mountains with Emory Peak and the South Rim just seemed to stand out from this roadside pulloff. By keeping my SLR camera in M mode, I was able to adjust the metering with the shutter speed to capture a slightly lower exposure during the bright mid day sun. By angling my SLR camera slightly downward and then cropping, I found I was able to bring out a feel for a more panoramic image.

[our1chance]

360 Video of Peak Emory Peak Big Bend National Park

[brightandbroken]

Big Bend National Park 02/18/15 - 02/23/15

Meet our friends Steve and Joshua at the top of Emory Peak, the natural hot spring and the massive Santa Elena Canyon!!

[moderndaynomad]

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK. PART FOUR.

Herb and I made our way up to the lodge, within the Chios Basin of Big Bend National Park. We found our seats at a two person table right next to the large pane glass window. From here, we could see the breathtaking views that only seemed to be enhanced by the bright blues peaking through the haze of clouds, that before covered most of the mid day sky. I ordered a B.L.T with fries, while Herb ordered the chicken fried steak. We sat there for around an hour, learning about each others family lives and what not. "Save room for desert!" said Herb. "I don't know," I said, "I'm pretty full already, that meal was amazing." He then glanced up at me and said, "desert is like the period at the end of a sentence." "Ha-ha, ok, i'll order a milkshake." Once we both satisfied our sweet tooth, we mad our way back down to there general store within the basin campground. "The Window trail I was talking about is right down that way if you want to check it out," said Herb. "Sounds good, might as well since I'm here." 

Without grabbing any water I strolled down the walkway in the direction he pointed. I saw a sign that said "Trail to 'The Window' this way." I followed it down for about a mile and realized it was a lot further than I had thought. I decided to keep going instead of walk back to the van to grab water, which was pretty naive, but things have a way of working themselves out. Halfway down the trail I ran into a younger couple I had first seen in the parking lot. "How's it going?" asked the guy. "Great man," I replied, "just trying to take it all in ya know." I let them pass me and then continued to make my way down the trail. I eventually caught back up with them a few minutes later and we started chatting. I soon found out Chris and Erin had been going to school in Corpus Christi, and they decided to take a short trip to Big Bend before Chris started his "big boy" job as a male nurse. 

Once the three of us reached The Window, I offered taking a picture of them with his camera. After snapping a couple shots I asked if they could take one of me, and of course he obliged. "We are gonna hang out here for a bit and have lunch, we brought an extra sandwich if you want one." " No I'm fine thanks, I just had a huge lunch." "What about water?" He replied back. "I would actually love some water! I had no idea how long this hike would be and its getting pretty hot. I can't believe I didn't bring any." "Here ya go, just take your own bottle, we have extra."

After the improv photo shoot we made our way back up the trail. As we walked, the couple began talking about hiking Emory Peak the next morning. Emory Peak is the highest point in the park, sitting at roughly 7,800 ft. It's something I thought about doing but hadn't made up my mind. That evening as Herb and I returned back down to our back country living, I couldn't get hiking Emory Peak out of my head. If I don't get up early tomorrow and just do it, I probably won't get another chance, I thought to myself. That night I tossed and turned and had trouble sleeping. I decided to set my alarm, get up at a decent hour, and drive back to the basin to make the accent. I hadn't planned this with Chris and Erin but thought there was a good chance I would see them up on the mountain at some point. 

I woke up that next morning before the alarm, already prepared to head out. I made my way back up to the Chios Basin and as I pulled up into the parking lot, sure enough, there were Chris and Erin. I honked my horn as a pulled into the parking spot next to them. "Hey guys!" I shouted. "Have you hiked yet?" "Nope," Chris replied, "we just pulled up." We spent the next three hours hiking to the top of the peak. Once we made it to the top we threw off our packs, found a place to sit, and enjoyed lunch. After filling out stomachs, making phone calls to family and lots of photos, we made the long two and a half hour decent back down the mountain. "A beer would be so good right about now," I said to Chris. "We have some in our cooler," he responded. After we arrived back at the parking lot tired and sore,  Chris invited me up to the room they rented for the night for a hot shower. I accepted the invite as I hadn't showered in five days. We spent that night talking about the hike, the crazy fate of us meeting two days in a row, and enjoying cold beers. They told me of a young guy from Argentina they met in the hot springs the night before. "He was a really cool guy," they explained. "He flew into San Diego and bought a car and then he will eventually make his way back to Argentina. Once he gets there he will sell the vehicle for double what he bought it for and pay for his whole trip. He's all by himself like you, and hes just been crashing in the back of the car at night." "No way!, I exclaimed. I wish I could have met that guy!" 

Once it got a bit late I left Chris and Erin's room and headed back down to my van. I had parked it in front of their room and planned on crashing there as I had been drinking. I didn't want to risk the half hour drive back to the other side of the park, especially when the way back requires low gear driving up and down winding hills, and dark dirt roads that go on and on for miles. I decided to walk down to the store to grab one more bedtime beer before I called it a night. I grabbed a Bud Light and bag of chips, and while walking back up, I saw a car running. The license plate said Cali and the lights were still on. I looked around and saw a dark figure filling his water bottle at the water fountain. "Hey man!," I yelled in his direction. "Where are you from?" With a broken English accent he yelled back, "Argentina!" I laughed out loud and replied back, "that's funny, because I've heard all about you!" Sure enough, this was the fellow I had wanted to meet. His name was Agustin and when finding out he had no place to stay that night, I invited him to sleep on the floor of the van. "I will sleep here in your van," he said. "I wake up too many times at night, its hard to stretch out and get comfortable in the car." That night I couldn't stop smiling. It had been an amazing day of adventure and I couldn't believe what a small world it really was. We spent the next couple hours drinking beer, telling stories and exchanging information. Agustin left early that next morning to head North to San Antonio. I might not ever see him ever again, but something inside of me tells me otherwise. You never know what will happen when you travel, as long as you get yourself out of your comfort zone, the world can be at your very feet. 

[anarcho-bootyist]

Emory Peak - 7832 ft.