The Window
The Window is a hike to a large pour-off on the west side in the Chisos Basin. Pour-offs are an interesting topographic feature in the desert. A pour-off is a dry waterfall in a rocky canyon or dry wash where rare flash-flood water pours during heavy rain. They are characterized by smooth, polished, usually dark rock which has been shaped by erosion over millennia. Big Bend has several notable pour-offs, and The Window is the most famous.
The hike starts at the Chisos Basin campground and descends westward toward The Window. The canyon funnels into a narrow slot before the pour off. This tapering of the rock walls is cool to experience on the way to the lookout. The Window itself is an area of polished gray rock leading to a steep drop-off. We did this hike in the late afternoon, so the warm light of the afternoon sum contrasted with the cool colors of the shaded pour-off. This is a good area for photography, but need to be careful due to the exposure at the edge of the dry fall.
After enjoying The Window for about a half hour and taking the requisite photos, we made our way uphill back to the trailhead, arriving shortly after sunset. We enjoyed this hike and thought that pour-off was really cool. That said, the rest of this hike was less interesting than other areas in the Chisos Mountains. I definitely recommend visiting one of the pour-offs in Big Bend, and The Window is a great one, but if forced to choose among the moderate difficulty hikes in the Chisos Basin, I would pick the Lost Mine Trail.
