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Route: South Rim - Emory Peak Loop (TX)

Submitted by VicAguirre1 on Sat, 11/14/2020 - 05:42pm
Location
Texas, US
Distance
16.59 mi
Vertical Gain
3,652 ft
Description

The South Rim Trail in Big Bend National Park is possibly its most iconic trail. This trail is typically done as a day hike or as a 2-3 day backpacking trip.  The trail starts at the Chisos Basin parking lot trailhead and works its way up to the south rim.  The route described here follows the South Rim and the highest trails in the park, including an out & back segment to summit Emory Peak. Running counterclockwise:  Take the Laguna Meadows trail to the South Rim trail, East Rim trail, drop down to the Boot Canyon trail and up to Emory peak, the highest point in Big Bend.  From Emory peak, you follow the Pinnacles Trail back to the Chisos trailhead.  These are the highest elevations trails in the park and have some of the best views in the state. 

The "Loop only" variation bypasses seasonal falcon closures on the East Rim Trail by taking the Boot Canyon Trail directly from the South Rim Trail.

Check out this trail on AllTrails.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/texas/emory-peak-northeast-rim-south-rim-loop

Emory Peak only, without the full loop, has its own Route page:  https://fastestknowntime.com/route/emory-peak-tx

 

 

GPS Track
TrailRun20201114080152.gpx3.86 MB
South Rim Loop - Big Bend NP_0.gpx83.39 KB

FKTs

Related Routes
Emory Peak (TX)
Outer Mountain Loop (TX)

Comments

I actually think neither of these guys did the "loop only". The current description of the route includes the full loop--including the east rim. The Boot Canyon shortcut is at least 1.5 miles shorter and a much easier trail than the east rim. Since the east rim trail is closed for peregrine falcon nesting in the late winter and early spring, either people should recognize they must visit at another time of year when all trails are open, or the description here needs to be modified so the "loop only variation" excludes the east rim trail and include the boot canyon trail.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It seems like when this route was first suggested the "loop only" variation gpx file skipped the east rim trail despite no mention of it in the description. Therefore, I have decided to codify this as the "loop only" route by clarifying the difference in the route description