Emory Peak Trail

"This is a challenging and technical a roundtrip hike to the highest point in Big Bend National Park (7,832'). The last 25 feet require a scramble up a sheer rock wall, but your reward is the ultimate panoramic view! From the Basin Trailhead take the Pinnacles Trail for 3.5 miles. At this point, the one-mile trail to the summit cuts off and heads upward. For fantastic views and solitude, this trail is hard to beat! Watch out for loose rocks if you’ve got weak ankles. Hiking poles are an absolute must. Incline is comprised mostly of stairs and very rocky paths Views are stunning, especially the last 1.5 miles (after the junction where the toilet was). The mountain wall in Mexico was breathtaking and somewhat creepy as it looked fake There are two “summits” when you arrive at the end, the right one is much more difficult and without bouldering experience we would not recommend. Joey ended up doing the left summit (which is a little bit lower and did not have the view into Big Bend National Park but instead towards Mexico). It was still a scramble but less sketchy. If we had to go back to Big Bend, we would probably not do it again since it’s a fun day hike. We did it for the bragging rights. There was a bathroom at trail head (which is always nice)"

"9.8 mile out and back to the highest point reachable by trail! Rated hard."