Glacier Park Chat
I had heard good things about the park (and there is a pretty active chat page full of fans), so I had high expectations that weren't really met. It was a good trip, and I enjoyed my hikes, but it took a while for me to warm up to the park. I enjoyed my 2019 trip to Guadalupe National Park, also in Texas, much more (trip report link a few rows below this one).
In my 6 days, I hiked 63 miles, and completed a large percentage of the hikes in the park that can be completed as day hikes and didn't require driving on gravel/dirt roads. The park has more to offer backpackers and those with more rugged vehicles (my rental had super low clearance - I wasn't going to take any risks).
March 6 - Wednesday
Arrived in Midland, retrieved the rental car, and drove to Alpine for the night. I stayed at the Quality Inn, which was fine as a place to sleep for the night. The breakfast started at 6am, and had more options than I expected.
March 7 - Thursday before Spring Break - temps between 61-87 degrees
(I noted Spring Break dates because apparently that's a BIG DEAL here, and temperatures can affect how much hiking is possible.)
I left Alpine just before 7am and entered the park at the Persimmon Gap entrance station, which was unmanned when I drove through around 8am (when I saw everyone driving around with receipts taped to their windshield, I just left my annual park pass visible on my dash while I was hiking).
I stopped at the Dog Canyon trailhead for my first hike, probably my least favorite of the trip. It was fairly easy with very little elevation change. There were some small flowers blooming along the trail. The short canyon at the end was interesting to walk through. There was no one on the trail until I got close to the trailhead again.
After the hike, I headed directly to the Fossil Discovery Exhibit, and caught the 2nd half of the ranger talk there. Excellent exhibit, and the ranger program was top notch (I wish I had left a little earlier in the morning so I could have heard the whole thing). This was the highlight of my day. I ate my trail lunch at the picnic area here.
After lunch I continued south to the Boquillas Canyon Trail. The trail was lined with people selling souvenirs and tamales - I was not expecting this. They were not pushy, but it’s still not something I expect to see in a national park.
I highly enjoyed this hike into the canyon, and my first view of the Rio Grande. Sweet acacia trees were blooming along the trail. Colors were pretty even though it was still overcast.
After the hike, I drove to Terlingua where I was staying for the next two nights. I stayed at Big Bend Station, because their single-queen rooms were the most reasonable accommodation I could find. The rooms were nicely renovated and clean. The bed, as I had read beforehand, was very firm, but it was SO comfortable - I slept great. The only downside is that wifi doesn’t extend to these rooms, which are at the very edge of the property. Which wouldn’t be a big deal, but I didn’t have any cell service once I got south of Alpine/Marathon, so I had to walk to the nearby lodge building to get wifi and check in with my family. Oh - and the water was another downside. The shower worked perfectly fine the first night, but the 2nd there didn't seem to be much water pressure - I just waited a long time, and eventually got enough water to shower, though the temperature varied. There are apparently utility issues in Terlingua.
