Big Bend National Park High Point Trip Report

Emory Peak (7,825 ft)

Date: May 30, 2002
Author: Fred Lobdell

Emory Peak is the HP of Big Bend National Park as well as of Brewster County. There is a good trail up this one, as previous trip reports have noted. When you reach the end of the trail you will be facing two summit blocks. The one on the right is the higher, and is therefore the true summit of the mountain. The summit block is perhaps 30 feet high, and the lower 10 feet or so require some Class 3 scrambling. Above that level the slope becomes gentler. If you're nervous about height and exposure, as I am, you may want someone to spot your feet on the descent. There is some serious exposure on a couple of sides of the summit block, and I was told by a ranger that there had been a fatal fall two years previously.