Total Eclipse Kayaking & Hiking Westbound

We meet at our gateway hotels near San Antonio International Airport at 4:00 AM for a pre-dawn road trip to our eclipse basecamp, where a hot breakfast spread (as well as the adventures completing the Total Eclipse Kayaking & Hiking Eastbound itinerary) await.

The morning is spent competing in camp games, paddling in the reservoir that surrounds us, and mentally preparing for the visceral excitement of experiencing the solar eclipse from within the path of totality.

Early afternoon is showtime. We don protective glasses (included), stretch out on camp chairs and camping mattresses, and begin to feel the otherworldly cooling of the midday sun as the moon completely occludes it.

Witnessing the total solar eclipse is an utterly amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. We won't stop talking about it for the rest of our time together.

We grill up celebratory cheeseburgers before bidding adieu to the eastbound adventurers.

We leave camp set up and depart for a day trip on the Pecos River. Our put-in is just upstream of its Rio Grande confluence, beneath the towering Pecos River High Bridge. This, the tallest bridge in Texas, looms 273+ feet above the water and is nearly as breathtaking as the limestone canyon that cradles the river. We kayak upcanyon toward the site of the historic Pecos Viaduct railroad crossing, where engineers from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania devised a means of getting trains across the daunting river gorge in the early 1890's.

We indulge in a sandbar lunch of tomato basil tuna on an everything bagel with garden vegetable cream cheese, before pointing our bows back toward the van.

After a pitstop at camp to change, we head to the Whitehead Memorial Museum to learn about life on the frontier, then continue to a tasting at the oldest continuously operating winery in Texas.

The day concludes with dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, offering a taste of regional cuisine (cost not included).

We pack up camp and load the van, bound for Big Bend National Park.

Today, we hike Boquillas Canyon Trail to overlook the river, then descend to the water at the mouth of the trail’s namesake canyon. We explore all the way until the canyon walls close in on the Rio Grande’s flow leaving no room for a trail.

At lunchtime, you may choose to leave the trip for an optional, unguided visit across the border to Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico, for a meal at Jose Falcon's Restaurant & Bar. US or Canadian passports or passport cards are required and costs associated with visiting Mexico are not included.

Adventurers who elect to not leave the trip for a foreign country are treated to a scrumptious picnic and soak in natural hot springs along the Rio Grande.

Once reunited, we enjoy optional showers (cost not included), then establish camp in the stunning Chisos Basin, before stargazing from the least-light-polluted National Park in the 48 contiguous states.

After breakfast, we depart on a trail near camp into the heart of the Chisos Mountains. Sweeping views of the vibrant high country frame the desert and Rio Grande corridor far below. We gain elevation gradually and are treated to increasingly spectacular vistas.

An optional, very challenging hike continues to the summit of Emory Peak, the highest point in Big Bend National Park. Woo-hoo! Prefer to skip the extra miles and elevation gain? Relax in the sun with other adventurers who prefer a more restful day while the “Energizer Bunnies” of the group claim the summit.

Once together again, we retrace our steps back to the trailhead and return to camp.

We pack up camp, then head back down to the Rio Grande. This time, in the west corner of Big Bend National Park, miles upstream of Boquillas Canyon.

We kayak into Santa Elena Canyon, a magnificent stretch of river with 1,500-foot limestone walls. Feeling utterly swallowed up into the earth, we paddle deeper, approaching the mouth of Fern Canyon. On a gravel bar, we break out camp chairs and sandwiches from our boats, then bask in this amazing place.

Should the river level not permit the Santa Elena paddle, we explore the canyon's majesty from a hiking trail that winds into its mouth.

In the afternoon, we drive to Marfa, Texas, known for its unique art scene and mysterious lights. Comfy hotel rooms await, as well as dinner out in town (cost not included).

On our final day, we drive to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. You have a choice of two adventures: Want to undertake an extremely challenging hike to incredible views from the highest point in Texas? Guadalupe Peak is for you! Or would you prefer an only slightly challenging hike among otherworldly scenery? The Devil's Hall hike is for you!

Adventurers heading for Guadalupe Peak depart with day packs loaded. It’s a gigantic, 4+ hour hike with 3,000 feet of elevation gain to the top. Yikes! Amazing views (and yummy Bad Adventures snacks) fuel us along the way.

Looking for a milder day? The second option is also fantastic. We scramble among a wash of boulders at the feet of the imposing mountains to reach the Devil’s Hall, a striking corridor of vertical rock walls.

Once reunited, we enjoy a final late lunch together of roast beef and Swiss sandwiches. In the afternoon, we start getting misty-eyed over the trip coming to an end as we drive to El Paso to say our goodbyes at hotels near the airport.