Study Butte-Terlingua, TX (2-18-11)





Dog Canyon

 Big Bend National Park is one of those huge parks that takes hours to drive through.  No matter where you stay, you're going to have to drive quite a distance to get wherever you want to be in the park.  We decided to stay in Study Butte, on the western side of the park, just like we did last time, since it's closer to the hiking we want to do.
    Our first day here we hiked a trail that Paul had wanted to hike last time we were here, but we ran out of time.  So we hiked Dog Canyon and Devil's Den, about 8 miles, in 90 degree temperatures.  I was pretty tired when when we were done, but it felt great to get moving again.  We met  and chatted with several people along the trail, including a group on horseback.




 



entrance to Cattail Canyon



  We spent some time putting together a gameplan for while we're here because we definately have things we want to do and some of them are all day adventures.  Paul had heard about a trail that isn't on any of the maps and isn't in the trail guides, so we spoke to one of the rangers to find out more about it.  Its called Cattail Falls trail. Its not on the maps because it has a very fragile ecosystem, with plants growing there that don't grow anywhere else in the world.  We decided to hike it yesterday because its a relatively short trail and we wanted a relatively easy day.  Unfortunately, the road to the trailhead wasn't wide enough for our dually truck, so we had to walk an extra 2 miles just to get to the trailhead.  That made the total hike about 7 miles long.   Not bad, but not an "easy" day either.  The waterfall was worth it though!!   After hiking in the sun for a few miles, we arrived in an alcove that was shaded by trees and the mountain.  Inside there was a small springfed waterfall. There wasn't much water flow, but here in the desert its amazing to see any water!  We sat in the coolness and enjoyed our lunch before starting the trek back.