After stopping at the visitor center I went to a nearby trailhead to hike a set of trails. Several trails and parts of trails were closed due to hurricane damage. First I went out Christmas Road and took a left at the fork onto Ring Levee Trail. The trail has a recently reconstructed boardwalk, but it ends and the trail is closed about .15 km from the end on the maps.I headed back to the fork and took the other branch. The Wood Duck branch got wetter and wetter until it was underwater as far ahead as I could see.
I headed back to the trail head and headed out the Plantation trail on the other side. I planned to do a loop using it and a couple other trails. I encountered sections of the trail that were covered in water, but was able to get around them. When the trail was covered in water as far as I could see, I turned back. I was able to hike 4.6 km with no elevation gain.
Next I drove a short way through the preserve to Bayou Coquilla trail. The trail is a path on higher ground with some boardwalk. On the way many side boardwalk lookout points were closed, which are probably being repaired as I write this.
The trail is close to the bayou at the start then gets away from it before ending at the Lower Kenta Canal. Another trail goes off from here, but it was closed. The hike, out and back was just under 2 km with no elevation gain. It took about a half an hour.
https://mountainadventures.us/post/jean-lafitte-nhp-barataria-preserve-2
#Louisiana #NPS #Wetlans #Hiking #JeanLafitteNHP #Bayou
A drive out of Chisos Basin and down into a cloud, then east along the road to Rio Grande Village and Boquillas Canyon, finishing with the climb back up into the Chisos Mountains.
Big Bend National Park sits in the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest Texas, where the Rio Grande runs along the southern border between the US and Mexico. As the river enters and exits the park it cuts through dramatic deep canyons.
In the heart of the park rise the Chisos Mountains; the only mountain range in the US completely contained within a national park. The Chisos Basin sits at the center on these mountains, at a higher elevation than most of the park, with a campground, lodge and trails.
This video is part of a Big Bend National Park series on Mountain Adventures.
#BigBend #Texas #NationalPark #ChisosMountains #RioGrande
When I got up my first morning in Big Bend National Park, there was a layer of ice on everything. I figured it was not a good day to go up high in the Chisos Mountains, but still wanted to explore them a bit. I started with a hike from my cabin to a loop from which included trails going up higher. There is access to the Pinnacles Trail from the main cluster of Chisos Basin Lodge cabins. I took Pinnacles Trail up to a connector to Laguna Meadows Trail and took that trail down to where it ends at the Pinnacles Trail. This short loop was 2.75 km with only 99 m of climbing and took about 50 minutes with stops for photos.
There was a great view towards the exit of the basin. I took these two photos 13 minutes apart from different locations looking in the same direction. They show how the clouds were changing the lighting that morning.
https://mountainadventures.us/post/big-bend-chisos-basin-hikes
#Texas #NPS #BigBendNP #Desert #NationalPark
https://mountainadventures.us/post/pecos-river-high-bridge
Just west of Amistad National Recreation Area in Texas, US-90 goes over the 1,310 feet long Pecos River High Bridge. It is the highest highway bridge in Texas, at 273 feet above the river when built in 1957. The Amistad Lake may fill this area at higher water levels. There is a viewpoint and picnic area on the south of the road on the east side of the river. Look for the turn to the access road about a quarter mile away from the bridge.
While the river is wide, filling the canyon upstream of the bridge, the river naturally narrows downstream. It continues a short distance before the Pecos River runs into the Rio Grande.
