Between the week’s running and yesterday’s hiking, I declared an Xterra hike today. We did the bulk of Old Ore Road after dark on the New Year’s trip in 2018, so I decided to sleep in and then visit that with a picnic at a vista pull-off.
And of course, Ernst Tinaja is at the end of that road, which I always enjoy wandering through. But one of the first pools was full. Despite trying my best to find a way around, my hike was cut short.
I will say I’m proud of that mantle, but I couldn’t repeat it wearing my backpack with water and camera, which I didn’t want to leave behind. So I moved on.
The normal path through…
Upper Burro Mesa Pouroff
I’ve realized I have my Big Bend favorites but need to branch out slightly. An easy but dramatic looking hike I found on AllTrails was the Burro Mesa Pouroff, two hikes split at the midpoint by a 500+ foot drop where there is, presumably, a waterfall after rains. I did the upper half this time, which made for a nice canyon hike.
This was a great, and I had it all to myself. It’s a side-stop on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive that doesn’t call a lot of attention to itself. And it has just a few rock scrambles in it to keep things interesting.
Sotol Vista
The tour of big hazy skies continued just down Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive at a rest stop called the Sotol Vista.
