The last night of the Big Bend trip was spent car camping in the back of the 4Runner. Fox awoke at 4am, got out of the truck, and saw a shooting star crossing the night sky. Due to a fuel error there was no stove so breakfast and coffee were cooked over an open fire, which we were able to pull off quite well. Within an hour of waking up and eating breakfast the rudimentary camp was packed up with some food in our bellies. The plan for the day was to hike the nearly five mile roundtrip Lost Mine Trail as our final destination, which begins near the elevated Chisos Basin.
Shortly after the first rays of sunlight arrived and we had driven few thousand feet of switchbacks we reached the trailhead while the day was still cool. As we began the hike Amaris was convinced we would see a bear on the trail and kept talking about them as we passed a pair of birdwatchers who had eyed a Mexican Jay, which we would see many of on the return hike. We were fortunate enough to have shade still as the switchbacks were enjoyable and after the prior day's scorcher on Mule Ears Spring Trail it was a nice change. About halfway up the trail we met another hiker and chatted while we walked to the summit.
When we reached the summit of Lost Mine the sun finally peaked out over the western peaks and we soaked up the spectacular views. After about thirty minutes of enjoying our last morning in Big Bend it was time to make the descent and leave the magical summit. On the way down we were greeted by a few Mexican Jays that were dancing through the trees and following us for quite a while. As the sun moved higher and higher the heat definitely began to kick in - start early is the best advice we can give for Big Bend.
After passing several groups on the way down, we reached the parking lot, which was completely full, and a few groups were just getting ready to start the trek with the sun in full force. We started the drive out of the park and had not even reached the northern boundary when Fox had to pull over for a quick power nap. Between the long sun filled day yesterday, the early morning, and Lone Mine hike today we were completely spent to the point where driving was difficult. Following the nap we powered through to Marathon and stopped at the V6 Coffee Bar again. A long break was taken for breakfast, coffee, and Fox decided to have a Matcha Latte, which would power him all the way home like the little engine that could.
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