Day 6 -
With my buddies motorcycle down and out with a busted radiator, our plans for a scenic cruise down Pinto Canyon were put on hold. Rather than leave one of us behind to fend for themselves, we decided to do a little hiking and more beer drinking.
Day started off early for me, per usual this trip.
Climbed to the top of one of the hills near our camp to make some coffee and watch the sunrise
Sunrise over Terlingua Abajo
My buddy owns a coffee shop in town and hooked me up with a bag of beans for the trip. Give them a once over if you like old bikes / hipsters
http://flattrackcoffee.com/
With coffee out of the way, we took our time getting around and finally made it to the Basin around noon. My friends hadn't done the Lost Mine Trail, so I suggested we do it.
The Lost Mine Trail is a pretty easy hike. Just under five miles roundtrip, I think it offers some of the most rewarding views for minimal effort. That said, it can still be a dangerous hike. We passed a group of people helping a hiker down the mountain who had broke his leg in a fall. Nearly 3 hours later, we passed park rangers still trying to cart him off the mountain. Big Bend is no joke.
safety first?
Had a memory card go bad, so I lost a few photos from the hike
But life goes on.
We spent the rest of the day puttering around, flirting with park rangers, tossing rocks at old cans and watching the sunset. Which seemed to last an entire hour.
Iphone 5s
Nikon D4s
The colors out here were insane
Another 'photos do no justice' photo
After one of the best sunsets of my life, we made like bandits to the hot springs. We had it to ourselves for a long while...
Really wish I had a tripod for this one, but I just sat the camera on the ground.
We finished out the trip the next day with a trip to Balmorhea State Park a few short hours away. Riding through Fort Davis to get there, it was another little highlight of the trip. No photos of all the ice cream I ate on the way there
Balmorhea State Park
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Apart from riding with friends I've known since elementary school and having never ridden in Big Bend, one of the reasons I wanted to do something semi remote and rugged was to get ready for the TWT ride to Mexico next month. I packed up the bike with everything I would need for 8 days (including food!) and put together a tool kit that got used every day. I learned a little bit about what else I need (soft bags) and what I can live without (nothing, i need everything
). I rode the KLR harder than I've ever ridden it and just about rode my old rear TKC80 bald.
This trip was beyond awesome, just need another swing to get to some of the areas we didn't get to explore. Thanks for following along