32.) Doing Frightening Stuff on Mountains Between Presidio and Big Bend

If you read the initial pages of this blog, you found that dealing with fear was a big reason I endeavored on El Paseo Mexicano in the first place. Then my desert dehydration experience hammered the fear aspect of the trip home really hard and good. Sort of like having permanently mounted electrodes implanted into the gooch of your brain. So, the decision to continue with El Paseo Mexicano after the dehydration incident was a measured response to overcome fear.

Then we had the twisties of Mexican roads - which were a Fear Generation Device all unto themselves.

Even so, by the end of the trip, I still felt the need to suck up a little more fear. That is what this blog entry is about. And it has to do with my fear of heights, my only significant phobia.

Here is where the stuff took place.

This is the high point of the mountain pass between Lajitas, TX and Presidio, TX, on Rt 170. We essentially climbed the mountain you see the foot of in the left side of the picture. It was pretty dog gone high... At least to me it was.

When we got up there, the view was spectacular. One could see a full 360 degree panorama, with one side plunging to the road below, and the other side being sheer cliff exposure of at least 1500 feet down to the Rio Grande itself.

So, in order to overcome this fear thing I had going, I (with the full support and insistence of Jimmy) stood on the peak of the mountain, fully exposed to the cliff. Here is the photo proving that I can deal with some fear of heights... (Yes, I am proud of this picture :)



The following videos show what is up. This one looks down at the bikes on the other side of the mountain.



This one looks, as best possible, down the cliff exposure to show the Rio Grande looking like a speck below.



Here are some other shots of just how high up this perch was.





Finally, a general panorama of the view from atop this mountain. It was wonderful. If you look closely, you will see a hawk type bird catching the currents in the canyon.



Yes, climbing this mountain was a big deal for me.